Organised motorcycle tours and holidays are perfect for those with limited time or anyone who just wants to pay and have everything arranged for them. This can include flights, ferries, bikes, kit, routes, accommodation, back-up and food, leaving you to just...ride. However, some of the more intrepid amongst you may fancy taking off on a motorcycle adventure of your own making. This can involve meticulous planning of an itinerary or just leaving and see where you end up. The world’s a lot smaller than when Ted Simon set out on his Triumph Tiger in the 70’s. It’s also constantly changing so current information is vital. Any trip of this kind requires a good degree of preparation and our pals at Horizons Unlimited have provided some basic tips.
Read all you can about the places you want to visit, and make a list of all the interesting things, places and people you read about. Read Lonely Planet books on the area you want to go to. You can't carry half a dozen LP's, they weigh a ton, so don't be afraid to tear out pages of interest.
Learn map reading, take an orienteering course so you've completely comfortable with maps and compasses. Carry two compasses.
Take a First Aid course. Knowing the basics could be very valuable. St. John's Ambulance does a great course. Put together a good medical kit.
Get a thorough medical checkup.
Get all the right jabs/shots well in advance. Some are done over a period of a couple of months - you don't want to leave it till the last minute.
Take a course in motorcycle maintenance if you're inexperienced. Just knowing the basics could save a lot of trouble and expense. You don't need to know everything, just enough to have an idea how to get it going if it breaks. Visit your dealer and persuade him to let you watch and talk to the mechanic when he services your bike. Offer to pay extra for the privilege - you're a pain in the neck to the mechanic! A six pack for the mechanic helps...
Take a rider training course. Anything from basic "how to ride" beginner courses, refreshers, advanced skills, and off-road courses are all of huge benefit to you, no matter what your skill level. I always recommend at least one refresher course, and if you're not a very experienced off-road rider, strongly recommend an off-road course. Even experienced off-road riders aren't usually used to a fully loaded touring bike on dirt. With a rider and passenger, you can easily be well over 1000 pounds (450kg), and all the off-road skills in the world won't help if you make a mistake and it starts to go over. A good course will help you avoid painful mistakes.
Ok, you’ve read the books, seen the TV series and made up your mind, you’re off!
Planning the trip is a part of the fun, use all the resources that are widely available for your research. We checked out the first DVD from Horizons Unlimited, entertaining and inspiring viewing. We would certainly recommend getting your hands on a copy.
The Achievable Dream - The Motorcycle Adventure Travel Guide is a series of DVD's with all the info you could want - with the help of the website of course, as things DO change! You've got questions:
Is it safe?
What do I need to know?
Where and when should I go?
And what the hell’s a carnet anyway?
Answering these questions - and many more - is the goal of the definitive 'how-to' DVD series, "The Achievable Dream -
The Motorcycle Adventure Travel Guide". This series is produced by Grant and Susan Johnson, RTW travellers and founders of Horizons Unlimited, who have been helping people to achieve their dreams of travelling to faraway places on their bikes for over 10 years.
The Horizons Unlimited website contains all the information and links you are likely to need for any bike adventure. It’s packed full of contributors’ experiences from all over the globe. There are 630 travellers’ communities in 103 countries, holding local and national meetings. Find a local one and go and have a chat, find out what’s really involved
I want to go faster, I want to go faster..
