motorcycle riding ability.
 

i know some of you all ride a motorcycle. you'll understand. no doubt, riding a motorcycle is a perishable skill. you dont do it for a long time, while it isnt like starting over..it isnt (ironically) like getting back on a bicycle either. haha.

when i was younger and living in San Francisco, i think i went 5 years without a car. i would rent one, if i needed it. but for my transportation, i went thru two sportbikes. rain or shine i would ride it to work. boy, you get good like that. being young and an idiot; that meant fast cornering and the occasional wheelie. now? no!, i focus on my street survival skills, and being smooth and predictable to other drivers. i remember i could walk a sport bike down a truck ramp easily..i could push my sport bike up a curb backwards to park it on the sidewalk. it was like second nature. all part of living in a big city with a motorcycle. my current idea of a "sunday morning ride" has changed. less trying to drag a peg while racing towards that restaurant "Alice's" and more, "hey, i wonder if Alice's has cinnamon buns?" :D

i'm not there yet. my 8 year hiatus, atrophied my motorcycle skills. i bring this up because i want to take a big motorcycle trip. my mind is all over the place. from shipping my bike to Spain, to simply heading out my front door and seeing what is happening in Canada. I've never done a trip before. not like that. there is just so much stuff i am not familiar with, like carrying extra fuel and even HOW to load bags for balance. I'm gonna do it for sure. my wife is on board. she wonders why i havent done it already. i am still trying to get really really good on a motorcycle i think. i definitely do not what to tell her that!!

i know two of you here on PPOT have done it for sure. i'll probably have to do this solo, since my circle of friends are all car-based for now. my motorcycle friends are scattered about the country and have their own ideas on what riding is about. Spain might not be on the agenda.

you all see that blog where that lady is riding around the world?

its called "ON her Bike" or something. she starts in Korea. pretty wild.

I loved traveling in Spain, but it has been a looong time since I've been there. Spanish drivers were some of the worst in Europe (in my experience), so I'd perfect my riding skills before going. Maybe things have calmed down there but I doubt it.

true. i threw Spain out there has an example..it was easier to spell, than Portugal. :)

i think Italy would be awesome as well. easy to navigate.

Longest trip I ever took when I had a motorcycle was going up to Laguna Seca for the bike races.
I'm too old now to consider doing that as the weather is too unpredictable for my liking. I'd rather be comfortable in my car.

I think it all has to do with your own human facilities. What is your reaction time now vs. 10 or 20 years ago? Hearing? And vision. My peripheral vision is not like it used to be and I'm not talking about left and right only. I don't see things above me like I once did.

The skills of handling a motorcycle are as much about that particular bike as they are in general. You do need to get some easy miles on the bike for a few stints and let it sink in. You can't relearn in one day. And the main reason for that is fatigue. The more you ride and build up familiarity, the more tired you become. Your stamina will thank you to for taking it in bits.

Then, off you go, but don't push it. Why anyway?

solid point. i think a sportbike would be painful at this point. :) when i see them, i wonder how i did it. my nuts would go numb all leaning into them.. and with a passenger?!! there is no way.

You should hook up with Richard....drag his azz back here for an epic thread....serious on both ;)...

i've read that riding with a partner is super challenging. you have to be on the same page with a lot of topics.

skills, stamina, hunger, bladder size, money...the list goes on.

i'm pretty sure he rides better, longer, eat less, and can go longer without peeing....we know he's richer..hehe..


but yea, a partner would be great. but the right partner. hate to get on his bad side.

I road 40,000 km on my second last trip.

5,000 to get to Richards, and another 10 or more with him?

I mostly rode alone though, well, not really alone. Other people kept befriending me. We would ride for a bit and then split up.

Some of us have stayed in touch.
I met one guy on the way back from Alaska, and another on the way to Richards.

This lead to a riding adventure through upper new york state later the next summer, and a few weeks riding Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, as well as house sitting in eastern Europe.

I put two of them in touch when they both wanted me to join them on separate trips. They got together and had an amusing conversation about where each of them met me. "At a stop sign"

Take a short trip on your own. Plan a hotel but bring a bit of camping or picnic gear.

Find a spot 3 hours away to set up camp for the day, chill, then go to a hotel, or just camp, or just hotels, or one night of each with a backup plan in case you forgot something.

Even Richard did an overnight test run setting up camp near his place for the night before returning home while waiting for me to arrive.

I on the other hand, simply hopped on my bike, fled my past life and had supplies drop shipped along the way until I had everything that I needed :-)

I rode my bike from Fresno, Ca to Park City, Utah. That's been my only experience on a long trip. I had only had the bike for a year and it had 6,000 miles on it (also my total miles of experience for me).

The things I learned:
Expect the trip to take longer than what Google Maps tells you. I was expecting a 9 hour trip over two days but it took 20 hours. This was because I had to stop at almost every gas station in Nevada because I never knew when the next station would come. I also needed to stop and stretch about once an hour (after the first few hours). Another point, certain parts of the trip had so many bugs that I was stopping every 15min to clean my helmet visor.

Keep an eye on the weather. My friends in Utah told me it would be 70 degrees and to wear shorts. Unfortunately, passing thru Truckey I encountered a snow storm. It took me 3 hours to ride the 25 miles from Truckey to Reno due to heavy snow. I did bring liners and heavy gear but I was soaked to the bone when I got to Reno.

I was very sore after the first day, which was only about 400 miles and I could barely move my neck. This caused me to worry about the rest of the trip but to my surprise, the soreness went away within 30 min of the 2nd day - pack some Aleve.

My bike is not a cruiser but also not a sport bike. Kind of in between. It's a naked bike so no farings. With side bags, a large duffle bag for the rear, and a tank bag - I was able to pack everything I needed.


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Great trip Vern!

Your trip thought shorter was more grueling than many of mine!



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I bought and read the book. Mr Bow Tie. I met the girl that road with him at a rest stop in Texas.

Ah, farings and windscreen. It's one thing to look cool and another to be comfortable. If I HAD to ride a bike on a trip, I'd be looking at a Honda Gold Wing. Say what you will.

Vash, with respect you may be getting ahead of yourself. Get your skills freshened up first, then get your skills polished. Then , IMHO you can start with the equipment list. I have ridden overseas, a little bit and it's not like riding here. Some places treat bikers better, others not so much. I will go on record now and say that you need to have medical care ready to go, just in case. My .02 FWIW

oh, i am. i am getting the (some of the) equipment lined up early for one reason only: i assume it will affect the handling of the bike. that's the only reason.

i imagine toting two 70 liter pannier bags will affect what i am used to. may as well see how. same with any in-helmet communication devices. cant wrap my mind around that, since i usually do long rides with earplugs.

I've been riding for 40+ years. Only went on one long trip. 7 days, Smoky Mountains, etc. Was fun, but I was young. I ride for enjoyment now and am reasonably proficient...but find after a certain number of hours, enjoyment fades along with reaction time, focus, attention and desire. As weather deteriorates, all the above do as well, only faster.

Someone above mentioned that your faculties aren't what they once were. Perhaps that's true but the bigger challenge is that your sense of mortality is considerably more acute than it was when you were young...I know mine is. I suspect that's the bigger factor.

I'd suggest two back to back 8 hour days in the saddle. Then decide if it's your bag and if you're doing it with the attention and focus that you find safe. If so, sure, go ahead. The whole "iron-butt" challenges just seem stupid to me. What do they have to prove?

Remember these words: Ride your own ride. Period. If multi-day, rain or shine, hot or cold is your thing...go for it. But be honest with yourself. There's no special place in heaven for guys who ride for the wrong reasons.

What's that saying "The older I get the better I was."

Spain has many great motorcycle roads. Especially the NE up near Andora.

They have their own version of Mulholland on the way from Marbella area to Ronda. On the weekends, boy racers in full leathers racing up the center-line thru heavy traffic; around blind curves......Not for the faint of heart.


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I don't know anything about motorcycle touring, but I do know that when the talk turns to bicycle touring, the smart guys in the room will always tell the newbees to DRAMATICALLY reduce the number of miles that you plan to do per day. For instance, even though you know you can ride a bicycle 100 miles in a day, plan to ride 30 miles per. The reason for this is your chances of being behind schedule and thus feeling hurried and taking on more than you should are greatly reduced.

(After awhile you get better at knowing your day to day limitations and can estimate time on a more granular level)

BTDT.

Got my motorcycle license and started riding late last year after my wife and I decided to do a Patagonia dual sport adventure for our honeymoon in late Feb.

Here's how I got started back in October:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r1100s-r1200s-tech-forum/1009515-old-bike-new-owner.html

The only real long distance I did before Patagonia was from San Jose to Los Angeles in 2 days at a leisurely pace, and then back in 1 day making sure to keep the pace up and stop times low. I was tired at the end of that trip, but never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. I actually just did it again a couple weeks ago.

Patagonia was 2000 miles over 2 weeks. Riding almost every single day. Some days were extremely cold, other days the food was pretty awful in some of the more remote areas. There were 3 days in the middle that were brutal, but overall it was very doable. I think I'm a little younger than you at 34 years old. I'm pretty active, skiing in the winter and mountain biking year-round + gym a few times a week. The hardest part for me was the cold. Even with heated grips and layering up with high quality gear it still gets to you. Also, if you're planning on getting off-road, you should be very comfortable with the dynamics and uncertainty of riding on dirt and how to handle the bikes. Also make sure you learn how to fall, I fell about 10 times on the Patagonia trip, mostly at low speeds. Before the trip I didn't do any off-road riding clinics because I had the mountain biking background, but I think I would've hurt myself if I didn't have that knowledge base and reflexes. So make sure you consider that. I've heard the BMW 2-day clinic is solid, but pricey.

Finally, we didn't have the proper bikes or knowledge base to do the route planning so we found a great mostly-all-inclusive package through rideadv called "The Patagonia Experience." They set everything up except for meals, and we had a great time at almost all the places we stayed at.

https://www.rideadv.com/motorcycle-tours/dual-sport-motorcycle-adventure-tours/fly-and-ride-the-patagonia-experience-motorcycle-tour-chile-argentina

Hey, that’s priced fair. Thanks.

I usually ride with just a tank bag and not much else. For the Alaska trip I had hard bags that came with the bike. One carried mostly spare parts (for my 17 year old 180,000 km bike that now has 230,000 on it)

I don’t wear a communicator

I travelled with a paper map

I guess my point is to not overthink it

Advrider.com. Forums on virtually everything from equipment to travelogues including regional forums for your part of the country. Great resources from experienced and newbie moto travelers on what works and what doesn't.

J8tg
Littleton CO

Being a little green, I'd suggest not putting your wife on the back. It's a different kettle of fish and if something goes wrong, you'll never forgive yourself. A friend of mine- super cautious and with his girlfriend on the back of his Valkyrie got caught in a sudden backup of traffic. She's crippled and getting surgery multiple times because things aren't going well.

I too travel light, but that’s a relative term for my touring HD. Two years ago I did 1,800 miles in 4 days of riding in CO and NM and this summer will do around a 1,500 mile trip in 3 days (CO, WY and MT). Mine will not be off road at all, but like Wayner mentions we use paper maps, plan the routes beforehand and get at it.

It’s not uncommon for me to get up in the summer and take off for the whole day by myself. I love the open road.

I say you do it.

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I've gone a bit more minimalist in my old age.

Cross country on a thumper! If I was younger...would love to do the TAT. Today, not so much.

"Then Came Bronson II" ...starring Vash :)

Go read the Wiki page....head to San Franseeesco...then take a road trip...

I wuz ten then....nobody was cooler ;)

Friendly banter here:)

You brought a spare tire!!:D

My racks are apparently being fabricated. I’ll get them on the 16th I think. I’ll proceed from there.

I agree with everything that you said except for this part :)

plan the routes beforehand

My plan for my alaska/north america three ocean tour was:

Head west and turn right :-)
(once in a while I looked for green spaces on the map, and I took a side trip to south dakota and later on the way back to Colorado just because some people suggested it :-)

But there is no wrong way. Find the way that works for you, your lifestyle, your comfort level, your time constraints and get out there.

Vash, a friend of mine is organizing a group to Vietnam, thailand and Laos (similar to the trip I did with him)
Using an organized tour company owned by another buddy of mine.
All inclusive, fantastic hotels and meals, and most importantly some of the best (and worst) roads in the world depending on what you like and which option you chose. The best all inclusive vacation I could think of

His group is leaving Jan 20th if you want to join with them, otherwise if you want to plan it on your own or get in with another group, here is the link. (PM me if you want in on the tour on January 20th, 2020, or see us at the BMW rally in Tennessee in June 2019)
Motorcycle Tours Thailand and Asia. Official Website - Bike Tour Asia

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Travelling light

Travelling Heavy

Point taken :)

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Light ^
Heavy V
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...and back to the motorcycle riding ability aspect, Vash, going from your sport bike to your current bike poses new challenges, especially two-up with gear and slow speed maneuvering.

I think this aspect is what makes skilled riders feel like novices tiptoeing around parking lots and bad terrain and such.

This is probably THE aspect that is most valuable in regards to initial comfort for rider and passenger.

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Rode dirt bikes. Broke my leg. Decided I should stick to vehicles with at least 4 wheels to keep myself safer.

Good point!

Everyone I know has a story of a hedge, a ditch a fence or a barn. The lucky ones only hit the ground :)

Which reminds me to bring up this video

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I do miss how badass those Jesse bags are, had them on my GS.

Cliff, you might know Chris Streit and I have been going on these international riding trips...we have available slots for a trip to Morocco and Spain in late October! 4 days in Morocco, one day of rest (beer and BBQ) in Spain, then 3 days in the hills of SE Spain.

Mostly dirt riding on KTM 250/300 enduros.

Sign up for the ride, buy a used 250cc dirt bike and go get some dirt riding in the summer....then come have the time of your life!

I rode street bikes (mostly sport bikes) since I was 18 yrs old. At 45 yrs old I took up dirt riding and I'm hooked! The first dirt trip was to Baja! And nobody died.

I've since bought a KTM 400SXC, KTM 690 Enduro and a KTM 250 EXC (2-stroker!). I sold my ZX-10 Ninja a few months ago, and will likely not go back. I'll hang on to my Ducati 900SS, but dirt and adventure riding is where my heart is at.

If you have Amazon Prime, watch "Somewhere Else Tomorrow" "Globe Rider Indochina" "Tough Ride: India" "London to Beijing"

On YouTube David Darcy (MADTV) rode a 690 from London to Sydney.

OnHerBike has a cool channel on YouTube, but there are so many people out doing the same. David Darcy's videos are really good with commentary. Other videos are mostly wind noise and lame music of scenery on a bike.