Only in America ..... I hope

[Ixion]

Grant you the weather issues. Though if the weather's THAT bad going by car (especially with a heavy trailer attached) is probably not a good idea either. Send it by train.

But the size/two weeks to get there isn't relevant. If it takes two weeks by bike it'll take (at least) two weeks by car.

The other point about several people sharing a car/trailer is valid. Though I don't think that's the common case.

[Beemer]

Yes, I saw that, made me laugh. But , really, is it any different to trail riders here who trailer their bikes to wherever they are going to ride. Never understood that, either.

You may be confusing trail riding with adventure riding - trail bikes usually don't have indicators, headlights, mirrors, etc and most aren't road legal or registered/warranted, so you'd be in for hefty fines if you were caught riding them on the road. And yes, some of us do trailer bikes to adventure rides because the last thing you want to do after a hard day riding and then a relaxing meal to follow, is to get all that wet muddy gear back on and ride home!

Bit different to the ones who turn up to the Brass Monkey with bikes on trailers, unload them down the road and ride the few hundred metres in and out again!

[Wolf]

Hamilton - Palmerston north = 306 miles one way

I' m talking about ten times that distance each way.

I can guess that after doing the same 6k round trip for the tenth time taking the cheaper easier option might appeal to the non insane.

Or maybe not.

With regard to the distance, if it can be done in a car with the bikes on a trailer it can be done on the bikes - probably for a lot less money considering the fuel economy of most bikes compared with that of an unladen car, let alone a car dragging a loaded trailer.

For me, the ability to share the driving on long hauls is not enough of an advantage to warrant taking a car. I'd rather allow more time for suitable rest periods and breaks from riding than try to rest in the car while someone else drives.

If I were taking a car, I would want just as many rests - both "stretching the legs" and proper sleep periods - as when I'm on the bike so there would be no advantage at all.

I understand that the distances in the States are far greater than anything we have here, but to me that means you either factor in more time to get there or freight the bikes by rail a few days beforehand and fly in the day before the event.

Ideally I'd want to have the time to ride there at a gentle pace - check out the sights on the way and make an adventure of it and arrive saddle-sore with a dusty bike and 2.4 gig of digital pictures from the journey. I'd also want to map an alternative route back.

If that were not possible due to time constraints, a car and trailer would not be the solution to the problem.

[Wolf]

And yes, some of us do trailer bikes to adventure rides because the last thing you want to do after a hard day riding and then a relaxing meal to follow, is to get all that wet muddy gear back on and ride home!

Bit different to the ones who turn up to the Brass Monkey with bikes on trailers, unload them down the road and ride the few hundred metres in and out again!

Those turning up at the BM with their bikes on trailers is more like what the article was referring to - people trailering massive road-legal Harley Davidsons to events.

As to trailering to an adventure ride, I have a road legal bike for a reason - to ride it on the roads to and from interesting places. If I didn't feel I'd be up to riding back home after a ride, I certainly wouldn't feel up to driving a car with a heavy trailer on behind, either. If I had to change out of wet muddy gear to eat a meal, my clean and dry clothes would be suitable attire to get me home again by road. If I had no clean, dry clothes to wear for a meal, I suspect "dinner" would be fish and chips out on the street whilst wearing said wet muddy gear, prior to the ride home.

[Paul in NZ]

With regard to the distance, if it can be done in a car with the bikes on a trailer it can be done on the bikes - probably for a lot less money considering the fuel economy of most bikes compared with that of an unladen car, let alone a car dragging a loaded trailer.

For me, the ability to share the driving on long hauls is not enough of an advantage to warrant taking a car. I'd rather allow more time for suitable rest periods and breaks from riding than try to rest in the car while someone else drives.

If I were taking a car, I would want just as many rests - both "stretching the legs" and proper sleep periods - as when I'm on the bike so there would be no advantage at all.

I understand that the distances in the States are far greater than anything we have here, but to me that means you either factor in more time to get there or freight the bikes by rail a few days beforehand and fly in the day before the event.

Ideally I'd want to have the time to ride there at a gentle pace - check out the sights on the way and make an adventure of it and arrive saddle-sore with a dusty bike and 2.4 gig of digital pictures from the journey. I'd also want to map an alternative route back.

If that were not possible due to time constraints, a car and trailer would not be the solution to the problem.

Yeah - but have you ever driven any distance in the USA? It's a wierd place, most of is flat and scrubby and the roads are wide and straight.

The Interstates are NOT bike friendly - miles and miles of NOTHING.... In NZ I've never used cruise control for more than a few minutes at a time - I had a small 3L V6 locked into cruise control (75 MPH) for 3 hours in the USA.

In the northern states you can drive a vehicle towing a light trailer in snow 'cos they fit studded tyres in the winter and salt the roads. I would not want to expose my bike to that.

Hey, I'm not saying it's good or bad but having driven a few places in the USA I'd drive my car anyday. Miles and miles of Interstates are just plain BORING on a bike and it would be frigging murder on a sports bike or a vintage bike. It makes SH1 look like a mountain road. You are taking a hell of a risk in many areas riding at night 'cos the deer are all over the place.

If you need to make time in a hurry - drive and take shifts.

[Lou Girardin]

The Interstates are NOT bike friendly - miles and miles of NOTHING....

.

That's what Harleys are designed for. Set the cruise control, sit your beer in the cupholder, wind the stereo up to 'bleeding ears', feet on the highway pegs and aim for nirvana.

[Paul in NZ]

That's what Harleys are designed for. Set the cruise control, sit your beer in the cupholder, wind the stereo up to 'bleeding ears', feet on the highway pegs and aim for nirvana.

Yeah I'd aim for those talentless bastards too but i wouldn't need to be drunk to do it...

What people forget about the USA is it's size relative to NZ. I paricipate in the US Guzzi boards (though not much lately) and there is a roaring trade in fuel cells so you don't have to stop every 300km and fill up with gas... erk! I mean 500 to 600km without a break? Egad!

[scumdog]

That's what Harleys are designed for. Set the cruise control, sit your beer in the cupholder, wind the stereo up to 'bleeding ears', feet on the highway pegs and aim for nirvana.

True, true, they do handle that quite well, saw a lot doing it, black tank-top, fingerless gloves and jeans, too hot for anything else (and bug-splats the size of sparrows on their screens).

The thing that you need to appreciate is that you can drive/ride for a whole (and more) through the same scenery.
Imagine riding on long straight roads with scenery like the Twizel area (or for youz up norf the Desert Road) for 10-12 hours and it's STILL the same when you stop.

Gets boring in a car with stereo, nibbles, air-con etc so on a bike in 35 degrees temp. it would drag a little.

[Wolf]

The thing that you need to appreciate is that you can drive/ride for a whole (and more) through the same scenery.
Imagine riding on long straight roads with scenery like the Twizel area (or for youz up norf the Desert Road) for 10-12 hours and it's STILL the same when you stop.

Gets boring in a car with stereo, nibbles, air-con etc so on a bike in 35 degrees temp. it would drag a little.

I'd probably quite enjoy it the first time, especially if I had the leisure to take alternative routes on the return journey, but I can take the point that you wouldn't want to do it every year. Once would be "Adventure Touring" but riding the same route over those distances every year would bore me to tears, but in that case, I would not want to drive it in a car, either, even if I can sleep half the way while my buddy drives.

That, to me, is a clear argument for loading both yourself and the bike onto the same train and heading for the bar in the restaurant car.

[SARGE]

Yes, I saw that, made me laugh. But , really, is it any different to trail riders here who trailer their bikes to wherever they are going to ride. Never understood that, either.

I imagine that riding in the rain would be incomprehensible to them, let alone using a bike to commute to werk.

shit man .. Dad and i once took a pair of Harley's from Upstate NY to Bristol Tennesee in March to go watch the Bristol 500.. a metre of snow going through the mountains.. 5 degrees (F) and full on blizzard conditions. took 27 hours