U.S.A on a chopper

[quote=SoulKiss;1738873]Personally, at the moment I would avoid the USA and head elsewhere.[quote]

Way to lighten up the atmosphere!

Sounds like a good crack and something I may be interested in, in the future.

I have looked at it, quite pricey to hire for any length of time, particularly with pickup up/dropping off in different locations. I am saving up at the moment and quite likely to be buying a Goldwing in America in the next 2 years (3 if it goes wrong/the exchange rate continues to get worse), touring on it for a month+ then shipping it back here. I'll be doing it with my girlfriend as pillion and hopefully meeting up with a couple of friends along the way. I don't think she'd want me to be doing the whole trip "with the lads", but if you can wait that long and wanted a bit of your route to coeincide with ours, it'd be great to have some company for a few days. I'm also hoping to do the Iron Butt challenge at some point during the trip, which the girlfriend almost certainly wouldn't want to be on the back whilst I do it and it'd be cool/safer to do that with someone else.

Edit: I rode there the year before last and loved it. Great roads and bugger all cars.

Please tell me the only reason you want to ship it back here is because you think you'll get a better resale price on it?!

Well Hovie lad , I am up for it , Next year would be a definate , this year would be a tight squeeze . Package tour with backup I reckon will be between 3.5k and 5k . Under your own steam could be anywhere from 2.5k upwards with flights and rental . If it can be done around 3k I will deffo be up for it , more than that and things will have to be planned and budgeted for and done next year , "2010 a Hovis Odyssey"

Originally Posted by hovis

i might get banned for this, but i have always wanted a chopper, or to ride one at least.

I've ridden a Harley before, it wasn't pleasant. You're not missing much.

Originally Posted by cartwrim

Please tell me the only reason you want to ship it back here is because you think you'll get a better resale price on it?!

Because even at the current exchange rate, it's cheaper to buy one, use if for a month or two over there (including all flights and cheapish motels), ship it back, pay import tax on it etc. than it is to buy one here. Never mind factoring in the couple of grand to hire one for over a month in America and collect/drop it off in different locations (which I'd want to do anyway, even if I bought one here).

If you're just saying it's a rubbish bike and what am I thinking buying one, I'm afraid I must disagree: Once you've toured two up on a big tourer you'll never consider doing it on an SV/similar again. It won't be my everyday bike and I'll still have the SV. It'll predominantly be used for long weekends/holidays away with the other half on the back and the panniers full of the paraphenalia that travelling with her entails.

Yes the SV is faster/more fun to ride/cheaper to run, but it's also considerably less comfortable over very large miles and performs much worse with a pillion on the back, whereas a Goldwing can have a pillion and a week's worth of shopping in the boot and you'll only notice it when at walking pace.

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

Well Hovie lad , I am up for it , Next year would be a definate , this year would be a tight squeeze . Package tour with backup I reckon will be between 3.5k and 5k . Under your own steam could be anywhere from 2.5k upwards with flights and rental . If it can be done around 3k I will deffo be up for it , more than that and things will have to be planned and budgeted for and done next year , "2010 a Hovis Odyssey"

woo

I'd love to do that. on a goldwing or something...its illegal to filter in the U.S as far as I am aware, so why not have a big ol' bike

I have done route 66 on a harley, we rented at one end and dropped the bikes off at the other. It was pretty good fun but the bike was absolute rubbish. I made the mistake of getting the cheepest and smallest and it was a good bike to ride, way too much vibration and painfully slow. Also at the end of the first day we got new jackets as leathers were simply too hot to deal with.

Yes its a cool thing to do and i would say do it. There are some nice parts and good views andPeople in small towns are generally very amicable in the states as long as you dont swear/blaspheme/be anti american infront of them. Dont go for a cheep bike as its a waste of time, get a big one as your pretty much limited to harleys.

basicly its worth doing but there are probably better ways to spend your money with relation to biking holidays.