.
First of all, you need a motorcycle, of course, although one might consider a car instead. There are some disadvantages in traveling by motorcycle instead of a car. Some of them might seem very obvious to you, others not. Some of them might apear unimportant, others not. Anyway, here is what we think of
| Pro motorcycle | Contra motorcycle (This is what your parents will tell you) |
|---|---|
| Easy parking - there is always space for a motorcycle. | You're very weather dependent. |
| You always get with the first ferry - there will always be space for a motorcycle. Sometimes you pay less than half price of what cars pay. | No music (unless you own a Goldwing or something similar) - sometimes, music would be nice to shorten time (e.g. when you drive through a desert for hours and hours). |
| You are your own master - if you want to take another route than your partner or you want to be alone for a couple of days, go ahead, just do it. | You can get away from each other - this happened to us once or twice. No real problem though. Best solution: Have a phonenumber where you both call and agree on a place to meet. |
| In California it's leagal to drive in between the cars - especially in heavy traffic you travel, a lot faster. | Two motorcycles will normally be more expensive than one car. |
| We got told that it is harder for the police to get a radar on a motorcycle than on a car - because of the size. | Whenever you stop for an extended period of time, you have to find a save place for all your luggage. |
| You meet a lot of other motorcyclists (and no, you don't meet a lot of other "automobilists", just because you drive a car). | You and your motorcycles safety - If an accident should happen, you are a lot safer in a car than on a motorcycle. Automobiles are easier to protect against theft. |
It seems like one definitly should choose a car, since the 'cons' weigh a
lot havier than the 'pros'. So why did we choose motorcycles? I guess we didn't
bother to much about the weather conditions, about the extra money it'll cost,
about the luggage-trouble we would run into or the safety risks. In fact the
trip would have been something totally different if we had done it in a car and
not on motorcycles. Who gets more attention? The guy that does 34.000 km on
four wheels or he who does it on two? Let's be honest and admit that we like
getting attention, so that's another plus for the "pro motorcycle" side. Isn't
it a lot more fun to ride the Pacific Coast Highway 1 on a motorcycle
than to drive it in a car? Dumb question right? I guess the bottom line is,
that our feelings were a lot more important than the cool facts. Don't let you
parents talk you into driving a car - take the motorcycle and enjoy .
Price: For most people, this will probably be the most important factor (lucky those where this not is true!). Prices of course vary very much. You can buy a small old used bike for $500 or you can go for a brand new Honda Goldwing with every extra your heart might desire for about $20,000 or maybe a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Special FLSTN for even more astronomical amounts of money. To get an idea of the acctual mc-prices (in California), you might want to take a look at the classifieds directory of "The Gate". It seems to me, that one can get a pretty decent touring bike (like e.g. a Honda CX500) for about $1000. Basically you get a bit more luxury for every dollar you add. Luxury may be better gas milage, less maintenance & repairments, more of a status symbol, a good seat, more space for luggage, stereo, CB, intercom, radar detector, cruise control, better acceleration & higher speed (wich at least to me means more fun), more protection against wind & weather, safety and more.
Age & milage: The older the motorcycle, the cheaper. But remember the money you have to put aside for maintenance and repairment. And don't forget, every time you have to bring your motorcycle to a mecanic, you'll not only loose money - a lot of money by the way, motorcycle mecanics in the US are awefully expensive (BMW in San Francisco charged me $62/hour!) - but also time. It might take days to get the parts you need. The exact same argument can be used for the milage. The lower the better and the more expensive. I'm not much of a mecanic myself, so one of the reasons I bought a not to old, low-milage motorcycle was, that I wanted a vehicle where the probability of breaking down in the middle of the desert, was rather small.
Size: For a change, here size is important. In general one might say: "the bigger the engine, the better is the bike suited for touring". Why? Because you have less vibrations and more power for maneuvering. For everybody who doesn't know what I'm talking about: Try riding 500 kilometers on a small bike (250 - 500 ccm) and afterwards on a big one (750 - 1500 ccm) - believe me, you will feel the difference. The bigger the engine gets, the less will your butt hurt, the less tired will your body be and the less will your ears sing after a long dayride. I have talked with Gold Wing owners that have done 2.500 km (1,600 miles) in two days without feeling tired at all; and I have myself ridden a small 250 for only 120 miles (200 km) and felt like I've just been run over by a truck. On the other side: Do not start with a huge bike if it's your first time. It'll kill you. Litterally! Lot's of people start off with big 1000 cc's just to run into the first available wall. Why? Because they weren't able to handle the power. I would suggest nothing bigger than 500 ccm for a beginner. My brother had never owned a motorcycle before, but he did very well on his Honda VF500F Interceptor (500 cc).
Type of motorcycle: Motorcycles often are seperated into off-roaders, naked bikes (no fairing), sportsbikes (high performance, less comfort), touringbikes (much comfort, build for long distance traveling) and sports-tourer (hybrid). For our purpose the latter two categories are best of course. The most famous tourer is probably the Honda Gold Wing. In the US you'll see a lot of those. The advantage of a Honda Gold Wing is the exceptional amount of luxury you'll get. Most Gold Wing's are equiped with a stereo, cruise control, CB and lot's of other fun stuff. A huge fairing protects you against wind and rain. The seat is one of the kind you want to stay on for the rest of your life. The disadvantage (of course, like always, my own personal views) however is, that Gold Wings are not as easy maneuverable as other, lighter touringbikes. On twisty roads you'll probably have more fun on a Yamaha FJ1100 than on a Gold Wing. Some people say that a Gold Wing is a car with only two wheels. So what is it you want? Interstate cruising with top-comfort or throwing your bike from one side to the other on those narrow twisty roads out west?
Brand: As it comes to the brand, things get even more complicated. Some swear to the japanese bikes, others would never buy anything but a Harley, and I fell in love with a BMW. If you want pure status symbol and prestige, go for Harley's and Ducati's - I guess nobody can argue this. If you want a good price/benefit ratio, the japanese bikes are probably your best bet. For something in between (lot's of prestige, a bit more expensive, high quality) the english and german bikes may be the best choice.
Tankbag: This is a very important item if you are planning a longer trip (and even for short trips it is a very nice thing to have with you). Believe me, after you got lost for the third time and you once again have to pull over to get the map out of your backback so you can memorize how you return to "your path", you'll be willing to trade a kingdom for a tankbag. Not only that you have your map right in front of you, you also get some extra space (you'll need it) for your important stuff like e.g. your camera, extra films, paper & pens, snacks and raingear. Last but not least, the handling of your motorcycle may improve, because the "tyngdepunkt"(?) is moved forward.
Sportsbag & bungycords: On a longer trip, you'll probably not be able to fit everything you want to bring in the tank- and saddlebags, unless you got a Gold Wing or really don't need much for a living. If this is the case, a big sportsbag may be the solution. It's almost always possible to mount a sportsbag on the passengerseat (you'll have to travel alone on your bike) with some bungycords. This increases your luggage-space dramatically.
Helmet: It may be more fun to ride without a helmet, but it is for sure less safe and forbidden in most european countries and many US-states.
Leathers or other riding gear: This is important wearing, mostly because of the gain in safty you accomplish. An extra plus is the protection against wind and cold weather. If you get involved in an accident and your not wearing protective gear, you're a lot more likely to get hurt seriously. I once heard that if you loose 10% of your skin (by sliding on asphalt(?) for example) the doctors can't save you anymore and you will die because of too much lost blod. I don't know if this figure is true, but I know that there is a big safty difference in wearing saftygear and not. To make sure there won't be misunderstandings: I have done lot's of kilometers without leathers (some of them only "iffoert"(?) t-shirt and shorts) and helmet, but I knew that I was riding with an additional risk, and I was willing to take this risk because of the extra excitement and fun I got in return.
Gloves (ligth & heavy pair): Without gloves your fingers will fall of in cold weather. But gloves are also important for safety in the case of an accident.
Boots: Again, important for safety, but also comfortable in cold weather.
Kiddneybelt: As far as I know, the kiddneybelt is there for keeping you kiddneys warm. I have no idea if this is a neccesary item. Well, I bought one but didn't use it too much.
Raingear (jacket, pants, rubberboots & -gloves): Very important. If you get cought in rainy weather and you're not carrying proper raingear with you, you'll soon be ready to commit suicide. Riding a motorcycle in rain is not fun, but riding a motorcycle in rain without raingear is horrible and definitly something you never should try if you can avoid it. Three summers ago (1993) I went to Scotland with a friend. It rained more or less constantly for about 12 days and the only gear we had for protection against the rain was some pretty thin stuff, ment to be used while walking and maybe bicycling, but not while riding a motorcycle. Rain got in everywhere!
Lock: Very important, of course. There is a big variety of locks out there. Disclocks are easy to transport, cheap and pretty efficient - I think.
Earplugs: I had some with me, but I barely used them. I have heard of others that won't ride without earplugs. Seems like this is a very personal subject. Find out yourself if you need them or not.
scarf(?) "halstoerklaede"
Rugs & polish: To keep your bike beautyfull and clean, you don't need very much. The most important thing are rugs. Keep a bunch of those under your seat or whereever there is space for them. "Armor all", "Formula 2001" or something similar is very good for all metal parts like the motor, the exhaustpipe(s) and wheels. Furniture polish is great for shining up the "lakerede" places. "WD-40" is good for lubricating small squeezy "problems", but can also be used to shine up the motorcycles engine. Try to spray some wd-40 on the motor after you've cleaned it. It'll look like new (but will get dirty faster, because the dirt will stick to the oil and get greasy).
Minor repairments: A piece of "schumgummi" can be very usefull if something is loose on your bike and rattles. If you want something more permanent use "seal". Places that get hot and make noise can be "fixed" with steelwool. It is pretty tough to ride at night without light, so I would soggest at least to bring a lightbulb for the head- and the taillight. Some different sized fuses might also be useful.
Working tools & manual: Most motorcycles come with a set of working tools. If you don't have such a set, you should strongly consider buying one. The best place to find out what you need is probably in the repair-manuals by "Haynes" and "Clymer". They are very detailed and explain exactly how every thinkable piece of you bike is repaired/maintained. A absolute "must-have" for everybody that wants to "screw his bike". There is a manual for virtualy every existing bike, but the dealer might not have it in stock (he will always be able to order it).
Maintenance: As I mentioned before, I've got nothing of a mecanic in me. Although I probably could do most of the necessary maintenance work myslef (with a manual), I chose to let professional mecanics do it. An expensive choice, but it has the advantage, that you can be pretty sure that it's done right. If you can and want to do it yourself, do it! A lot of people even think it's fun, maybe you're one of them!?! Otherwise you'll have to pay the price. Unless you want to make a mecanic take a look at your bike everytime you stop for gas, you'll at least have to do some checking yourself though:
Shorts
T-Shirts
Underwear
Socks
Pants (jeans)
shoes, sandals, Walking/Tennisshoes
shirts
sweater
belt
Literature, paper & pens: Let's Go USA; Books;(for journals, letterwriting, ...), dictionary
Off-spray
Camera, lenses & film (link to betty's homepage)
International drivers license
Walkman, batteries & tapes
Alarmclock
Sleepingbag & airmatress
Tent
Flashlight
Binocular
Moneybelt
addressbook
Flag
Sunglases
Towels
Sunblocker
small backpack
washing-utensils: ...
cooling-bag
jogging-suit
maps
Waterbottle
Radio
Gasstowe + ligther, swamps(?), pots, knife, fork & spoon, cup
ekstra glases
"Press here to get a postscript-checklist."