Here's a vid and pics of my April 2024 tour of the US. I'm no content expert so just a few pics and a few onboard go pro stuff... If anyone has this kind of trip in mind, I'm happy to answer any questions re shipping, insurances, import admin etc.
What a trip - 8,500 miles in the US How long did it take ? How much did it cost to ship the bike there and back ? Was tank fuel range a worry, or not really ? Was the bike OK ? Did you book your accommodation the night before online ? how did that work ? Nice one
Thanks guys... How long did it take ? About 6 weeks. I had planned to stay for 2-3 months and go up to Wyoming, Montana, & the Dakota's but I was a bit early in the season so many of the mountain passes I'd planned to ride would still be closed. I decided to head to LA from Colorado and ride the full 1,700ish miles of the PCH which was well worth it. My Go Pro failed so sadly didn't get any footage. Amazing route though and definitely worth seeing. How much did it cost to ship the bike there and back ? About £2,500 each way. Pre Covid it was around £800 but I doubt we'll see the prices come back down again. The UK shipper was Motofreight at Heathrow (Kathy & Shane)... Amazing service from them. Was tank fuel range a worry, or not really ? No not at all. Gas stations everywhere. In the more remote areas you do need plan fuel stops as you can have stretches of 80+ miles between services. I enjoyed stopping at remote gas stations, grab a coffee and just soak up that old worldy Western feel. All felt part of the charm and adventure of the US. Was the bike OK ? I did get the engine management light pop on around day 4 on a remote section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in a big storm. Arse twitch moment as I'd not seen a car all day, it was going dark, no phone signal, and I was 20+ miles from the closest exit. Luckily the bike ran fine and got me in to Cherokee, NC for my overnight stop. The closest dealer was in Chattanooga, TN around 160 miles away from Cherokee so headed there the next morning. Fault code was something to do with valve timing, ran some diagnostics, all seemed okay so cleared the codes and set off. Bike ran flawlessly after that. Did you book your accommodation the night before online ? how did that work ? Nope, I'd head out each day with a plan to ride till around 4ish, pull into a small town and find a hotel/motel. I did book a few air bnb's too. Nearly every road I took was hand picked and I must have only ridden 100 miles on interstate (motorway) in the whole trip. Did you get bit or shot ? Didn't get pulled over by the cops even once! And I can say with complete honesty, the overall riding experience in the US was amazing - overall drivers were great, courteous, I didn't see any dangerous driving in the whole trip. Lots of open carry (gun on hip/belt) in Texas and most people I met along the way had a gun in the car. Apart from sulky youngsters in motels, diners, and gas stations. Everyone I met was friendly, open, and wanting to help in any way the can. Having the UK plate often garnered interest from people at diners and gas stations offering local advice on the best riding roads in the area. Sadly, didn't see any wildlife of note apart from some pretty big alligators bathing by the side of the road in Louisiana. The odd flattened Rattle Snake in Texas. The sound of Coyotes at night was pretty cool.
+1 for Motofreight here. They organised the shipment of my BMW R1150GS out to Australia (and back) in 2016 when I did a similar trip (circumnavigation) all around the Australian Continent. They provided a great service. A trans USA trip is on my bucket list
Interesting information, thank you. I have been to the US a couple of times and people have been very friendly. I have done Europe a few times on motorbikes - even on a pushbike, so I like the idea of getting to another continent. That looks good !
@istanbulian - You should, it's a great motorcycling country and well worth a big tour. I'm planning to head back again in mid/late April 2025. Same start, New York then head down the east coast to the Carolina's. I'll then push back up to the Smokey Mountains for the BRP and Skyline Drive again before heading West through Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Texas. I should then be late enough into the Spring that I can spend a month riding around Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. To finish, I'll head down to LA and back up the PCH to Seattle. The Mrs isn't aware of these plans yet, but I'll wait until after Christmas to drop that bombshell!
