USA

[skill]

Has anyone been out to the States and done touring on the bike ? My personal choice would be the west coast, do i go through a company or do my own thing. Done fly drive in Florida so have a wee idea.

[viper]

i think the west coast has the best to offer, california , arizona and nevada has the most bucket list places to visit, in my opinion , Colarado in the mid west is the best single state to visit, makes the alps look tame .

[Ros]

My sister did all that on a Harley this summer with the Geneva HOGs... Looking at the pics, I'd like to do that too! Not on a Harley though...

Also it was 50°C for a lot of her 5000Km ride... That's bloody hot!

[O.C.]

A pal of mine did this a few years ago, he said it was very expensive and insurance was difficult to find, things may have changed since then though.

He was on a Harley Fat Boy which was kinda appropriate for him 

If you 'Google motorbike tours USA' there's quite a selection available   

[Rusty]

No ... but I plan to ride some of it with my brother in law in a few years  .... looking at a standard Route 66 ... from the Harley factory up in the lakes head south and then west to SF where we will meet the girls about 3 weeks later ... sounds too simple I know but that is the idea ... I think we looked at a web site called "Eagle Riders" or something like that ....
What or where are you dreaming of ? 

[Rusty]

Ps .. just took a look ... yes it is Eagle Riders .. Chicago to LA in fact so I was almost right ... there are many choices on there ...not cheap as they supply everything but for me it would be once in a lifetime trip ... just what you want in retirement !

[shaggs147]

Blimey  I've just had a gander at that site as I was thinking of doing Chicago to San Fran next year on a bike while the rest of the gang do it by car. Would be cheaper to buy a second hand bike and give it away at the end of the adventure 

[viper]

bike hire in the states is massively massively expensive , the only way is to buy a bike through a friend out there or try and get out there a week early to get sorted, if you can store it for a year, return and get another hit on it and then sell.

its the servicing and tyre wear and insurance that bangs up the price. most hire bikes will have at least 1000 to 1500 miles put on them per week, so after 1 year the bike could potentially have 60k miles on it, which is often the end, so the capital on a new bike has to be paid for over that year , unlike cars which will run for 3 years

[Boomer]

If you plan on more than 2 weeks then I would recommend either borrowing a bike or else buying one and selling it at the end.
Either way your best bet would be to get on the COG forum and make some friends over there.

I've been over for 2 COG rallies (Virginia & Oregon) and had bikes lent me by fellow COGers on both occasions.
I've reciprocated a couple of times and have had several of them stay at mine or else get their bikes fixed at mine as well as borrowing my spare bike.

If you really want to rent a large touring bike, then the cheapest (strangely) are normally the HD Road Kings.
Wings are pretty pricey and GTR/Concours are not cheap either.

As for where to go, I'd recommend west coast for the weather (mostly warm) but parts are pretty crowded (for the USA).
If you really want to experience the wilderness then head for the south east (West Virginia down to Georgia and across to the Mississippi. Florida is dull on a bike, southern California is fun in the hills, Northern California and Oregon are huge fun almost everywhere.

Can't comment on Colorado as I've never been there but I hear it's good.

[viper]

If you plan on more than 2 weeks then I would recommend either borrowing a bike or else buying one and selling it at the end.
Either way your best bet would be to get on the COG forum and make some friends over there.

I've been over for 2 COG rallies (Virginia & Oregon) and had bikes lent me by fellow COGers on both occasions.
I've reciprocated a couple of times and have had several of them stay at mine or else get their bikes fixed at mine as well as borrowing my spare bike.

If you really want to rent a large touring bike, then the cheapest (strangely) are normally the HD Road Kings.
Wings are pretty pricey and GTR/Concours are not cheap either.

As for where to go, I'd recommend west coast for the weather (mostly warm) but parts are pretty crowded (for the USA).
If you really want to experience the wilderness then head for the south east (West Virginia down to Georgia and across to the Mississippi. Florida is dull on a bike, southern California is fun in the hills, Northern California and Oregon are huge fun almost everywhere.

Can't comment on Colorado as I've never been there but I hear it's good.

yup,  good advice

[Rusty]

Shaggs ... I think you are right ! 

[shaggs147]

  yeh I think its certainly worth looking into buying your own bike over there, rather than buying a quarter of a hire bike! Don't think I'd want to borrow one though, I'd end up riding round like an old granny as I'd always be worried about binning it  and that's when you usually do end up binning it As I won't have to lug any gear around it would be good to get something different to play on. 

[O.C.]

I also think that buying one out there is the best idea

Check your insurance requirement first though 

[Bryn]

Over on UKGSer  Sgt Bilko organises trips to the USA, and gets your bike shipped over beforehand.....does one every year...so it would be worth checking out the deal     ( I'm sure it wouldn't matter two hoots if you're not on a GS either ) 

[Bryn]

Just looked up the website

www.unchainedtours.com