| Author | Message | ||
     Littleone |
Hey guys and gals. I need some helpful advice for a road trip that i am going to take in May. Now i have 25 days and two other bikes going with me. We are planning to go to Mexico from Vancouver BC. I have a 01' blast ( no Mod's) the other guys do not so they are on there own  I just want some advice for such a long trip maybe things to see along the way what to expect out of the blast or even what to pack   ... anything. Any advice is welcome. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Are you going first class or camping? | ||
| Spiderman |
I'm sure Blake will jump in with a link to his trip he took. I have never seen so much stuff packed on a M2 in my life  | ||
| Eeeeek |
On your way through Cali, stop in and say hi! If you have some definate destination points along the way, mail yourself a box of fresh clothes and leave a return mailing sticker in the box. Pull out the clean stuff and toss in the dirty. This will reduce the amount of stuff you need to bring. Cell Phone Safety wire and pliers Flashlight Water bottle (in case you get stranded somewhere) electrical tape gaffers tape basic tool kit Spare pair of riding gloves (in case one gets rain soaked) I'm sure other people will add to the list. | ||
| Littleone |
I'll be camping along the way. i have a couple of friends in mexico to park the bikes when we get there. | ||
| Bomber |
MikeJ comes close my only advice is NOT to ask this on SACBORG . . . . carry some oil, as you may be hard pressed to find what ya need on the road, depending on how far into the toolies you go | ||
| Littleone |
"my only advice is NOT to ask this on SACBORG . . . ." Sorry bomber ... I'm new and i have no idea what you are talking about | ||
| Nevco1 |
Get Mexican insurance from your agent before leaving home or get some at the border for as many days as you will be there. NO FIREARMS IN MEXICO!!! If you are not camping carry a Thermo-Lite emergency bivy sack available from www.campmor.com. Will last you for the trip with care. That's all I use for a night out in warmer climates besides bug repellent and the magical cotton rope to keep the scorpions and snakes out of my sack. A US Army Canteen with cup, nested stove base and trioxane (solid) fuel along with a few canned goods make for a very compact meal. Don't forget to take some toilet paper for roadside emergencies and vandalized washrooms. My motto is travel light, keep the load low, plan ahead for oil changes and enjoy!!! Translation: if it doesn't fit in a tank and tail bag, it doesn't go. I want to feel the bike and not the load. Get Clem Salvadori's books on California and Baja. You won't need much else other than laundromat money. | ||
| Littleone |
Nevco1, thanks but i really don't have to worry about firearms ... I am canadian.. I have the border thing already worked out so that is good... TP that will always come in handy I kind of forgot about spiders and snakes and Scorpions thing. Those i am not so sure about... yuck.. | ||
| Blake |
![:]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) | ||
| S320002 |
You can get a neat head band to hold a MiniMag flashlight. It takes up almost zero space and frees up your hands for more useful things. You can also get a cute little gadget that uses CO2 cartridges to inflate a flat tire. It takes 3 or more cartridges to inflate a tire but it can be a lifesaver when used along with a tubeless tire repair kit. Greg | ||
| Nevco1 |
Littleone... I checked your profile after posting. If you are anything like my friends in Vancouver, you know more about camping and outdoor life than virtually everyone down here. I swear you folks invented it, at least from a light weight, no frills perspective. Other than following the tips you are getting here, the only suggestion I would have is checking out www.aerostich.com. Andy has a collection of products and words of wisdom that can take you around the world and back. Enjoy the adventure!!! | ||
| Kcbill |
Hey little one. That time of the year you will run into all kinds of weather. Rain suit, you can get rain glove covers. Travel in the day as much as possible. Electric heated gear will help a ton when it is cold. Plus you can pack it with out taking up to much room. Dress up or down pretty easy. I have all the Widdle stuff with the thermostat. Saddle bags that you can throw over the back. Soft bags is what they are called. A tank bag that is expandable. If you can figure out a way to put a little sissy bar or back rest on would be good. It will give you something to attach your bunge straps to. You can attach your bunge net over sleeping bag and tent. See where you can tie off to or in other words hook your bunge's to. The soft bags should come with rain covers. I have Nelson Rigg soft bags that are expandable. They can expand 3" wider. It comes in very handy. Get a Big buell tank bag. Not the small ones. They have one that is expandable also. I think the one they make for your bike are a little to small for a long hall. I can expand mine and fold up my Vanson leather jacket. I have another brand I like. It is an Oxford Sports tank bag also. I us it on my Super Glide when I travel.They make soft bags to. You can go to their web sites and check them out. Get all the gear you think you need and pack it, load the bike and go ride all day and see and think about what you think you may need to add or subtract. A wind shield is very nice for trips. Cuts down on fatigue. Good luck and be safe. | ||
| Ferris |
Heather, the following is not meant to be a complete list of worthy west-coast motorcycle roads/destinations, just some of my personal favorites for you and your friends to ponder: WASHINGTON --North Cascades Highway (Hwy 20) --Mount Rainier Nat'l Park (must!) --Mount St. Helens Nat'l Volcanic Monument (must!) OREGON --Hwys 224, 22, 126, and the "Aufderheide" (which would take you from the metro-Portland area thru Estacada to Detroit, thru McKenzie Bridge to Blue River, then south to Oakridge) --Hwy 138 (the Diamond Lake Hwy) from Roseburg on I-5, to Crater Lake (must!) --Hwy 199 from Grants Pass, OR to Crescent City, CA CALIFORNIA --Hwy 101 from Crescent City to Leggett --Hwy 1 from Leggett south (must!) --Hwy 299 from Eureka to Redding --Hwy 36 from Fortuna to Red Bluff --Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park --Hwy 49 --Lake Tahoe (must!) --Yosemite Nat'l Park --Sequoia/Kings Canyon Nat'l Parks (must!) --Death Valley Nat'l Monument (must!) --Hwy 1 from Monterey to Hearst Castle (double must!) there are, of course, a bazillion other way-cool roads up and down the west coast, but this'll give you guys something to look at on your maps to aid the scheming/dreaming process. altho i was born and raised in Washington, i'm not a big fan of riding Hwy 101 on the Washington coast -- if you look at your map, you'll see that you spend very little time within shouting distance of the ocean, plus you have to deal with an endless array of logging trucks. and i hope the Oregon folks don't hate me for this, but the northern half of their fine state is also to be avoided as far as riding 101 goes -- countless small towns with a maddening barrage of traffic lights, and motor-homes "parades" up the wazzoo. 101 starts to get REALLY good in the southern half of the state, and there are several motorcycle-friendly ways down there to get to/from the coast to/from the I-5 corridor. as for California, the possibilities are endless. pretty much anything along the coast (north of L.A., that is) whether north/south or east/west, will be memorable. same goes for the Sierra Nevadas -- you could spend your entire 25 days riding this spectacular mountain range and STILL not taste every great road. Death Valley is surprisingly moto-friendly, and i highly recommend spending a night out there, perhaps at Furnace Creek. and if you make it out that far, do NOT miss the tour of Scotty's Castle. while you're on this side of the mountains don't miss Mammoth Lakes and the June Lake Loop, and Hwy 395 -- which is the only north-south arterial along here -- is consistently breathtaking. these days i call Lake Isabella home -- you'll find me on your CA map due north of Los Angeles, a little NE of Bakersfield. i'm surrounded by magnificent mountain and desert scenery, all interspersed with some of the greatest motorcycle roads i've ever ridden. that said, if you guys find the time during your adventure, i'd be honored to show you some of my personal playground on your way thru. ride to lean, FB | ||
| S320002 |
Ferris ain't lyin'! Hwy 1 from Leggett to Rockport is a double must! Be prepared for morning fog on the Mendocino coast. Greg | ||
| S320002 |
Ferris, Do you still have the route map of Blue Groove II? I still bless Reg every time I think of that ride. One hundred fifteen miles of pure, twisted heaven and Jack setting the perfect pace. That was also when I first met Erik. What ever happened to Gumby, Tony, Jack, Heidi and the rest of the gang? Greg | ||
| Peter |
A clean pair of socks and jocks, some tools and your swag. Anything else you can pick up as you think you need it. Don't take a cell phone. It kills the adventure. PPiA | ||
| Eeeeek |
SacBORG, the thorn in everyone's side? | ||
| Mikej |
Littleone, All I can really suggest is to take lots of local trips and keep track of what you need and what you don't need. Then when it's time for your big trip get out the log book or list and take what you needed and not what you didn't. I had another comment, but since you say you have friends "in" Mexico then no comment is necessary. For me, I'd be a little cautious taking a bike into Mexico these days. Probably not a problem, but sometimes things don't schedule when they're going to happen. In May you may also find a little frost still in the air as you get down to southern Oregon and northern California. The Siskious (sp?) are nice, but anywhere from near Grants Pass in Oregon all the way to RedBluff in California can at times be sketchy in seasonal weather. But then again in late May you could also at times ride the whole way in light gear and wear shorts in camp. You'll most likely be okay, but if you find yourself in that area between midnight and 8am just watch the temps in the creek/river valleys and in the canyons for iceable conditions. A road trip is good, a road crash is not. Have a good trip, and take lots of notes and pictures. Then send a write-up off to the BRAG/FUELL newsletter/magazine for their "My Longest Trip" section. It sounds like your trip could be an absolute winner. And about SacBORG, just go to SacBORG and decide for yourself. I don't think it's a thorn in anyone's side, just adds another perspective to this thing we call living life. | ||
| Bomber |
eeeek . . .. .naw, not a thorn, but I'd not encourage a person of the female persuasion to go there for help or data . . . . sorta like a women walking into a Jr High School boys locker room and asking for directions . . . . . not that there's anything wrong with locker rooms (smile) | ||
| Mikej |
Bomber, I can send a shovel down your way with Jerry if you want to dig the hole you're diggin' any deeper.  | ||
| Cjmblast |
Littleone, I'm with Bomber on the SacBORG thing, I was curious and logged into it twice, but it's a little too rough for me and I don't go there anymore. Check it out though, some woman do post there and I guess like it okay !! CJM  | ||
| Nevco1 |
MIkeJ... Send the big shovel. Joe Bomber is digging through to Scotland in hopes of locating and tapping into the distillery. | ||
| Mikej |
I can save him some effort then, word on the street is that the Deep Tunnel in Milwaukee is in actuality a covert operation of the former Miller Brewing company (now under new ownership) to tap into Budweiser's main vat and market a brew called BillerBeer. But then those S.Africans came on board and now the Deep Tunnel project is in actuality being burrowed directly to Australia where it will be connected with the Foster's brewery. This is an international cooperative agreement where a side-line will then be run first through or under Iceland and then be linked and plumbed into each and every British Pub in an attempt to get them used to drinking chilled beer at a temperature drop rate of 1°F per 90 days until it reaches 47.2°F. At this point the main line from Fosters will be phased out and the top-secret tunnel into five of the biggest German breweries will be blended with Leinies of Wisconsin and then ported/piped to Pubs and taverns worldwide. The ultimate aim is to completely fill Lake Michigan with this new blended brew in time for the August 2003 Lakefront festivities in Milwaukee where it is calculated that the comsumption rate of beer over that 5-day period will completely drain breweries within a 15,000 mile radius of Milwaukee. A side-benefit of this is as the lake of beer is drained new property will become exposed and new housing will be created for these now drunken hungover H.O.G. members as all roads leading away from Milwaukee will be closed thereby making for a new "captured" workforce for Milwaukee's grand plan to revitalize the industry here. But don't tell anyone about any of this, it's a secret. Scotland fits in here somewhere, but I think I forgot where, must be part of the delayed Scots/Scotch memery erasure modules that they put in 20 yeal old convections of brewing expertise. And just imagine what I would have typed if I still imbibed much more than the very occaisional sip or two. Merry Christmas. | ||
| Bomber |
grin . . . .nah, I'm pretty good at diggin holes . . .. our parents paid for that training a while ago . . . . I find it interesting, though, that, eeeek excepted, the denizen's of the borg, while obviously being capable of dishing it out in buckets-full, are less capable of atking it, if you follow . . . .. ah well . .. .I'll just go back to digging a grenade sump in my fighting position, shall I? | ||
| Mikej |
att over there seems to be doing a duck-n-run at times as well. just no fun when he won't come out and play. I actually think I'm out of here for a few days. play nice and hope everyone gets their heart's desires. | ||
| Cjmblast |
Merry Christmas Mikej !! CJM | ||
| Littleone |
wow!! that is a whole lot of info to take in.. Some i knew and some i didn't. Hey ferris, Thanks Much for the info. I just might take you up on that wonderful places to see. you never know we might stop by. We would give you a good laugh that is for sure. Now for colder frosty rides well i am still ridding up here. It should be okay i'm sure, but yes my heated vest is going with me. Thanks For all the info guys and gals. I should of thought of this before i went on first little road trip with the blast... Oh well no time like the present...keep it coming.... Thanks | ||
| Ken01mp |
if it was me, ild steal a map from your dealership, one of those maps with all the dealerships on it, so you know where to go when you break, should it happen. bring a locking device of some sort, something to clean your visor, and definately a cell phone. if you dont have one and dont want to commit to a contract, buy a tracphone, prepaid, expensive but cheap insurance. and oh yeah, bring porn, its not a roadtrip without porn. make sure and waterproof it somehow. alls i gots Ken | ||
| Littleone |
Hey ken... I'm a chick that is ridding with two other guys i really don't think that i need porn |
