Who trailers their bike?

[Jim 5]

I will be trailering my bike for the first time ever in about 3 weeks.

A bunch of guys and I have planned a 1 week bike trip in Napa, California which is about 22 hours from my home by car. I only have a week off.

I'm flying down and the guys who have more time on their hands are going to drive down with 5 bikes on the trailer including mine.

I'm not a big believer in trailering, but in this circumstance it saves me 44 hours of driving which is significant on a one-week vacation.

My personal belief is that many people who trailer their bikes just haven't invested in good enough foul weather gear. I have spent a ton of money in the last 5 years testing/changing riding clothing to the point now that with one small tail-bag, I can be 100% comfortable in any weather from freezing, torrential downpour to 90+ degrees. I think having good riding gear is the key to enjoying the ride.

 

[kballowe]

Our problem is that we are sometimes limited on time. We have heated gear and nice foul weather gear and all that so it's not that we don't have the proper gear.

 

[RonH]

I always laugh when people "save time" by flying. I don't fly because I hate it and would rather ride 2000 miles straight through than take 3 hrs fooling around the airport, then a 3 hour flight, but always either cancelled or 6 hr delay, then 3 more hours fighting the second airport, where all your baggage is no doubt lost or delayed another 6 hours from being sent the wrong way, so by the time you get to your destination generally you've got 24 hrs aggravation, plus too sick from that aggonizing bumpy, hot piece of [censored] they call an airplane for 2 or 3 additional days, so all in all 3 entire days are ruined each dirrection. Not my idea of a vacation or happy way to save time.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: RonH
I always laugh when people "save time" by flying. I don't fly because I hate it and would rather ride 2000 miles straight through than take 3 hrs fooling around the airport, then a 3 hour flight, but always either cancelled or 6 hr delay, then 3 more hours fighting the second airport, where all your baggage is no doubt lost or delayed another 6 hours from being sent the wrong way, so by the time you get to your destination generally you've got 24 hrs aggravation, plus too sick from that aggonizing bumpy, hot piece of [censored] they call an airplane for 2 or 3 additional days, so all in all 3 entire days are ruined each dirrection. Not my idea of a vacation or happy way to save time.


Well there's alot going into it. I get about 2500 miles on a back tire which costs around $250 installed. Our planned route will be about 2500 miles, but if I drove there and back I would have to add another 2600 miles on to that. That means I'd have to replace at least one tire mid-trip just to get there and back. Then my bike will be out of commission for half a day mid trip and the group will either have to sit around or leave me behind, not to mention the fact that I'll be exhausted by the time I get to the starting point of the trip. So when you factor in time, tire costs, and gas it still makes more sense from a timing perspective and money perspective to fly. Of course another alternative is riding 22 hours (each way) non-stop with 4 other sweaty guys packed into an extended cab Toyota Tundra that's towing the bike trailer. I like those guys, but that's not appealing either. There's also the fact that we could easily have snow on May 14th for the first 5 or 6 hours of riding out of Calgary. Now that kind of snow usually disappears within a day or two, but if it happens I've lost a day or two of very short vacation.

You might have an iron-butt, but my 40 year old butt and body can only handle at most a 5 or 600 mile day. All in all, the decision doesn't seem that moronic to me.

 

[boraticus]

Droning for hours endlessly on an interstate highway does absolutely nothing for me. It's boring and sometimes a bit disconcerting. The wife and I were on a trip last year and ended up on a four lane (in the same direction) interstate near a very big city. Being on a motorcycle with a tractor trailer on each side of you with one behind you and boxed in by a car in front is not an enjoyable place to be. If something were to go wrong, the results could be catastrophic. If you're not enjoying the ride, why bother?

 

[RonH]

Definately if you don't enjoy it, no reason to ride. Some guys have heros in Nascar or football or basketball, but my heros are guys like John Ryan, Steve Short, Jim Owen, and other Iron butt guys and women. Fran Crane was a hero of mine. Everyone is different. I enjoy nothing more than riding, and I like solitude in the middle of the desert good as any place. I like the interstate good as any place, don't mind riding through Los Angeles or New York city or straight east on I80 with all the semis right with me. One month from today I'm doing my BBG 1500 miles in 24 hours, will be all interstate all night and day for 1500 miles. I can't wait. I'm coming up on 50 and have done many a 1000 mile day over the years and it never gets old for me.

 

[ddrumman2004]

2500 miles on a rear tire????

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Droning for hours endlessly on an interstate highway does absolutely nothing for me. It's boring and sometimes a bit disconcerting. The wife and I were on a trip last year and ended up on a four lane (in the same direction) interstate near a very big city. Being on a motorcycle with a tractor trailer on each side of you with one behind you and boxed in by a car in front is not an enjoyable place to be. If something were to go wrong, the results could be catastrophic. If you're not enjoying the ride, why bother?


Throw in a few rain storms and it really turns into a miserable trip. That's why I trailer my bike for any long distances.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: ddrumman2004
2500 miles on a rear tire????


On race tires like the Pilot Powers with 167HP they don't last long.

I can get 7k miles on Pilot Roads (a sport touring tire). I put the race tires on for my spring trip once a year as the roads are typically chosen for twistiness often using pashnit.com.

I have a no-mar tire changer and the marc parnes balancer so swapping tires back and forth isn't a big deal...unless I'm on the road.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: RonH
Definately if you don't enjoy it, no reason to ride. Some guys have heros in Nascar or football or basketball, but my heros are guys like John Ryan, Steve Short, Jim Owen, and other Iron butt guys and women. Fran Crane was a hero of mine. Everyone is different. I enjoy nothing more than riding, and I like solitude in the middle of the desert good as any place. I like the interstate good as any place, don't mind riding through Los Angeles or New York city or straight east on I80 with all the semis right with me. One month from today I'm doing my BBG 1500 miles in 24 hours, will be all interstate all night and day for 1500 miles. I can't wait. I'm coming up on 50 and have done many a 1000 mile day over the years and it never gets old for me.


What are you riding? Seems like many Iron butt guys are on FJR1300's. I could probably go longer on a bike like that or an ST1300 with a good custom saddle.

 

[RonH]

Originally Posted By: Jim 5


What are you riding? Seems like many Iron butt guys are on FJR1300's. I could probably go longer on a bike like that or an ST1300 with a good custom saddle.


I've got a 2008 Goldwing and just love it. Don't need one add on, it works for me as it came from Honda. Most my 1000 mile days were on a 1979 KZ1000MKII. I'd like a FJR1300 for sure, but out of motorcycle room now. Got all my old Kawasakis still as I never sell, only buy.

 

[rraiderr]

I trailer my bike to the track for track days.

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: Zedhed
The width of NZ couldn't be more than 100 miles so I wouldn't consider it a big island. But in any case, you can probably get to great roads in no time.


Less than 2km from my door - before my bike has warmed up I'm into some of the best riding roads in the world.I can ride all day and not find a straight stretch of road longer than 1/2km.I very seldom ride on main roads,I find them boring...but they are full of corners.

The big news this week is that State Highway 1,which runs the full length of both islands has finally been fully sealed.Wow,seal from one end of the country to the other.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Silk
Originally Posted By: Zedhed
The width of NZ couldn't be more than 100 miles so I wouldn't consider it a big island. But in any case, you can probably get to great roads in no time.


Less than 2km from my door - before my bike has warmed up I'm into some of the best riding roads in the world.I can ride all day and not find a straight stretch of road longer than 1/2km.I very seldom ride on main roads,I find them boring...but they are full of corners.

The big news this week is that State Highway 1,which runs the full length of both islands has finally been fully sealed.Wow,seal from one end of the country to the other.


We have quite a few paved roads around here although, in the north, they are nowhere near the caliber as the roads in the USA. The KLR is a good choice if you want to go everywhere in this neck of the woods. Not a trail bike by any means but excellent for rough roads, gravel and well groomed trails.

What's the wildlife situation down there in NZ? Any big critters (other than sheep and cattle) that you have to worry about? Around here, there are millions of deer, some moose and bear that occasionally wander onto the roads. Deer are the worst. Just about every day, someone is involved in a collision with a deer, usually in a car thankfully.

 

[Silk]

Just wandering stock on the backroads I travel on - sheep and goats can take you out,and cattle can get a bit stroppy and chase you.Turkeys can be a menace too.Never seen a deer on the road,even back in the days before the majority were culled big time,they tended to stay in back country forests.There is the legend of the moose in Fiordland,some were released there early last century....there have been sightings,but no solid proof.

Plenty of loose metal (gravel) roads still here,which is mostly what I ride on.The last 10 years has seen me on adventure bikes - Honda XLV750,Yamaha XT600,Yamaha DT230.But now I have gone back to what I used to ride on these roads long before,and have set up my R65 as a streettracker,perfect for knarly backroads and loose metal.

 

[Jim 5]

We're all set to go. G*d willing, we'll be in Redding, CA by Friday noon and will be following "Destination Highways" book through Ft Bragg, Napa and a number of other places.

My Bike's the black one. I made the bike stand over the last few weeks. Seems bullet proof. We'll find out.

 

[Bub]

I tow when I'm heading to arkansas or to the hill country in south texas, 8 and 4 hours respectivly. Sticky bridgestone can flatspot fast on strait roads

 

[OtisBlkR1]

I have no shame in trailering my 05R1 from Indiana to N.C. i go several times a year and run very expensive soft "hypersport" rubber. not only that but a 8-9 hr drive on a stiff tuned suspended bike on the superslab getting down there is no fun. I will continue to load (the ONE) in the bed of my truck, ride south in comfort, unload the beast and melt the tires off her. Now if owned a touring rig, yeah i can see some shame in trailering it.. but to each there own.

 

[rraiderr]

I just bought a new trailer for this year track day season as I lost my parking place for my other trailer.

I needed a folding trailer and made the mistake of buying the Harbor Freight 1195 Lb. Capacity 48" x 96" Heavy Duty Foldable Utility Trailer with 12" Wheels.

What a turd.

Lesson learned, sometimes you actually do get what you pay for.

 

[mrsilv04]

Trailers a motorcycle?

BWAHAHAHAHAHA..........

Silly you.... trailers are for BOATS.