US tour, got any tips?

**Bike-aholic** · 21st January 2008, 17:22

Originally Posted by Macktheknife

So I am off to the States this March for a bit of a ride, and I know many of you have done similar things, so hearing some of your experiences and advice could be really helpful.

The trip will begin and end in Seattle, a friend and I will be riding south to meet up with another mate in San Francisco, then on to Las Vegas and Death Valley then on to Texas and across the southern states to Miami, then up the coast to New York. From there I hope to carry on to the great lakes and down as far as Colorado and follow the Rockies up to Seattle and fly home again.

If any of you have any relevant points of interest or hints and tips then I would really welcome it.
I am especially interested in insurance info or specific routes to take (or avoid). I will try to post a map of the proposed route for interests sake later.
Cheers all,
Mack

Keep an eye on the weather channel (runs 24/7 at all trucks stops) ice and snow still around until late april and early may in mostly the northern states.
One minute your in t-shirt and shorts in Memphis then full snow gear in Denver
When you see deer warning signs keep eyes wide open.
They have in alot of states electronic warning signals, if the beam is broken you will see flashing lights indicating wildlife on the side or crossing the highway i hit a fn black bear in a truck doin 70mph and shit did it do some damage, if it had on been on a bike he would have a nice lunch of fat arse

.

Yes the Interstates can be boring but the quickest, best maintained roads and best place to break down as you are never to far from the next major or little town.
Just watch out for trucks if they pass you it's like getting smacked in the face with a baseball bat and thats the beauty of interstates virtually no on coming traffic.

Points of interest,
Mt Rushmore pretty cool, in vegas go an see the grand canyon , cross over the hoover dam, gracelands,kennedy space center, keywest is an awesome drive,Colorado on the I 70 the Eisenhower Tunnel, im a tunnel lovin freak (not the anal kind either

)

Great place to travel, not so friendly at night and route 66 isn't as great as you think but worth doing some parts of it.

Truck stops are a great place to eat ones to look out for are the Flying j, TA, Petro, and Pilots. If you see a sign for a Golden Corral or Ryans they are great all you can eat buffett

.

I have driven in just about every state in the US and all weather conditions anything you want to know just pm me. Did approx 200,000 miles in less than 18 months.

Fill your tyres with ride-on (it's better than slime) the stuff is great for sealing flats i have it in my Hayabusa and at ludicrous speed it is stable, if it is really cold takes about 10k's to warm up befor you can give the bike some stick. Also get a tyre pressure guage the ones at the gas stations are shit.

http://www.inovexindustries.com/prod_mot.asp

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HARLE...QQcmdZViewItem

Rand and Mcnally do good maps.

http://www.randmcnally.com

And get one of these my arse swears by it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Airha...6472QQtcZphoto

**Bren** · 21st January 2008, 18:35

If ya gonna go thru Texas ya just Gotta do Austin, and one of the coolest places to drink there has Gotta be "The Pier" on L.Austin click here (after looking at their website have since discovered they have relocated to L.Travis...bummer dude!)
Their Quesidillas Rock!

Another thing ya gotta do is go south the The Alamo....awesome place!

Those are my tips anyway...

**Chickadee** · 21st January 2008, 19:45

Have an awesome time, you deserve it!

Woohoo, sounds like a fab trip - take lots of photo's and enjoy every minute.

Some good advice there (as well as the usual banter), health insurance I think would be a big YES I NEED SOME if going to the USA. Better to not need and have, than to need and be FOOKED.

Happy travels....

**Macktheknife** · 21st January 2008, 20:59

Originally Posted by Bike-aholic

Points of interest,
Mt Rushmore pretty cool, in vegas go an see the grand canyon , cross over the hoover dam, gracelands,kennedy space center, keywest is an awesome drive,Colorado on the I 70 the Eisenhower Tunnel, im a tunnel lovin freak (not the anal kind either

)
Great place to travel, not so friendly at night and route 66 isn't as great as you think but worth doing some parts of it.
Truck stops are a great place to eat ones to look out for are the Flying j, TA, Petro, and Pilots. If you see a sign for a Golden Corral or Ryans they are great all you can eat buffett

.

I have driven in just about every state in the US and all weather conditions anything you want to know just pm me. Did approx 200,000 miles in less than 18 months.
Fill your tyres with ride-on (it's better than slime) the stuff is great for sealing flats i have it in my Hayabusa and at ludicrous speed it is stable, if it is really cold takes about 10k's to warm up befor you can give the bike some stick. Also get a tyre pressure guage the ones at the gas stations are shit.

http://www.inovexindustries.com/prod_mot.asp

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HARLE...QQcmdZViewItem

Rand and Mcnally do good maps.

http://www.randmcnally.com

And get one of these my arse swears by it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Airha...6472QQtcZphoto

Awesome tips, thanks heaps. Great links too, cheers.
I have heard about the aircushion things, but not the ride on stuff, looks good. Have you used any other seat cushions to compare them too?

**Bike-aholic** · 21st January 2008, 23:47

Originally Posted by Macktheknife

Awesome tips, thanks heaps. Great links too, cheers.
I have heard about the aircushion things, but not the ride on stuff, looks good. Have you used any other seat cushions to compare them too?

That ride-on stuff is good stuff have heard slime corrodes your rims.

I was going to get a buttbuster gel cushion but after reading alot of reviews all indicators kept coming back to the airhawke.

While i was driving in the US i took with me a foam magnetic seat cushion while at first it was better than nothing the ole butt and from the knees back get sore and numb ended up gettting a massage seat to put underneath and worked ok wasn't till towards the end of my stay i found out that they made one for truck seats.

Butt (excuse the pun

) can honestly say it is worth the bucks. I used to make it to Taupo befor the burn starts. Did a run from Aucks to Whakatane and back and was feeling the burn on the way back around the bombays so almost doubble the k's.

But getting back to your US ride there is so much to see and do even the desert looks spectacular, you are going to have a ball. Try never to ride at night road conditions change so quickly and the size of their roadkill will knock you off you bike and gators which is their term for blown truck tyres all over the highways and man when they let go it's eatin rubber time we had 16 blow outs in 2 weeks.
As for cops they are just revenue hunters if you get pulled over you are gettin a ticket and they are everywhere and can cross the interstates at will and the buggers can get you from the air. I got pulled over and got a ticket in california where trucks can only do 55 and cars 70 and he told me i got pinged buy the radar plane

.

**howdamnhard** · 22nd January 2008, 00:50

Have a great trip and get travel insurance.

**Bikernereid** · 22nd January 2008, 03:30

Don't ask old people in the Bible belt where you can buy booze they will think you are the sporn of Satan. They don't seem to like booze, bikes/bikers or tattoos so I was royally fucked!

I am not religious but they have the most amazing church in Pittsburg that is awesome and not religious at all. Stain glass windows etc dedicated to people who have contributed to our existence e.g. literary figures etc.

If you are a geek, the Library of Congress is worth it for the books and its architecture. And D.C. is just cool as anyhoo.

As for Philly, be very careful if you go there as there are some areas white people on bikes should not venture into, believe me!! If you do find yourself in this situation KEEP RIDING!!

If you have time go up unto Canada, people tend to be friendlier, the Okanagan is beautiful and the ride up is to die for!

Watch Top Gear for how not to die in Alabama- seriously!!

Originally Posted by Macktheknife

So I am off to the States this March for a bit of a ride, and I know many of you have done similar things, so hearing some of your experiences and advice could be really helpful.

The trip will begin and end in Seattle, a friend and I will be riding south to meet up with another mate in San Francisco, then on to Las Vegas and Death Valley then on to Texas and across the southern states to Miami, then up the coast to New York. From there I hope to carry on to the great lakes and down as far as Colorado and follow the Rockies up to Seattle and fly home again.

If any of you have any relevant points of interest or hints and tips then I would really welcome it.
I am especially interested in insurance info or specific routes to take (or avoid). I will try to post a map of the proposed route for interests sake later.
Cheers all,
Mack

**Dino** · 22nd January 2008, 06:40

That is some serious miles you will be clocking up, I have done a trip starting in California over to New York through the lower states and then back along the Northern States and into Canada, that was in a van but still had a ball.

Hope you have a great time, and as previous guys have stated - make sure you have vehicle insurance (never underestimate what you can be sued for) and health insurance, for obvious reasons.

Any thoughts about keeping us updated on your travels with an odd picture on KB?
.

**Hitcher** · 22nd January 2008, 07:46

Originally Posted by Bikern1mpho

Don't ask old people in the Bible belt where you can buy booze they will think you are the sporn of Satan.

Mwuahahahaha! Spawn. Tee hee hee hee hee...

**Macktheknife** · 22nd January 2008, 10:04

Originally Posted by Bikern1mpho

Watch Top Gear for how not to die in Alabama- seriously!!

Seen that one, bloody funny!

Originally Posted by Dino

T make sure you have vehicle insurance (never underestimate what you can be sued for) and health insurance, for obvious reasons.
Any thoughts about keeping us updated on your travels with an odd picture on KB?
.

Insurance, got it. updates, not to sure yet as to how often I will get online or how, but I will sort something out.

Originally Posted by howdamnhard

Have a great trip and get travel insurance.

insurance, yeah got it, lots.

I am really loving the feedback and idea's guys, keep it coming.

**quackquack** · 22nd January 2008, 12:29

Have to say visit up in the midwest Chicgo, Detroit have some awsome stuff to see (Henry Ford Musuem with things like Edisons lab where he invented Lightbulb and heaps of cool cars and bikes) and then through Cleveland for the Rock n roll hall of Fame. Then Washington DC if you want to hit the Midwest you won't regret it and some better roads in My Opinion.

**sunhuntin** · 22nd January 2008, 12:39

wheels through time at maggie valley. i pmed you a link to another forum which has info for wheels through time and other essentials. btw, if you are considering crossing the border north, the rules have just got tougher so might pay to check it out.

from what i understand, wheels through time is like a bigger version of southwards, and i think the bikes on display can actually be posed on for photos.

**jafar** · 22nd January 2008, 13:07

Originally Posted by Bikern1mpho

I was royally fucked!

Details

**kinger** · 25th January 2008, 05:29

Worth having a look at MTS (motorcycle towing services)
A membership throughout the states who'll help if you're in need of it in their area.
http://www.mtstowing.com/