Another North American Trip

TEAM ROBO

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Yet again, another old and familiar story: I’m in the process of trying to plan a North American trip this summer on our 2008 1200gsa . The premise of the plan started after hearing about the “Fly your Bike” scheme that Air Canada had been running previously.
So the idea is to:
• Fly me, my wife and the bike to Toronto in mid-May.
• Travel via Manitoulin Island to Sault Ste Marie and then cross into the USA.
• Then spend the remainder of the 10 weeks meandering due west, through North and South Dakota, Montana, into Washington and Oregon.
• After the allotted time, pass back into Canada and fly back from Calgary.
• I’ve spoken with Air Canada who’ve given a rough price of £750 to fly the bike out as long as we fly with Air Canada. I haven’t as yet got a price for the flight back from Calgary. I’m also considering other shipping companies such as James Cargo but travelling back from LA.
Although I’ve done trips around Spain, to Croatia etc. I’ve never done anything like the above. With this in mind, can anyone:-
• See any glaring problems with the plan- weather, insects/mosquitos etc?
• Give recommendations for motorcycle insurance and health insurance which will of course cover a prolonged motorcycle trip?
• Recommend suitable tyres as I suspect some roads and byroads in the north west of the US may be gravel etc.
I’m sure other topics will come to me.
Thanks in advance for any future advice/recommendations.
Cheers Andy
 
Loads on here including insurance quote service

https://www.motorcycleexpress.com/

http://www.hctravel.com/html/us_m-c_insurance.html

Pretty much all the roads will be properly surfaced, unless you seek out forest trails etc. I'd look at Heidenau k60 but I doubt getting a replacement set will be an issue provided you don't end up with bald tyres in Yukon or Alaska.
I think I'd be spending perhaps 6-7 weeks in the US and the last 3 to 4 weeks from Vancouver towards Calgary....

Get onto Advrider and look at trip reports on there. Hours, nay days of perusing to whet your appetite.

http://advrider.com

Also loads on here.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com
 
I recently watched the US road trip by Richy Vida and his motly crew on Youtube. They flew their VRF's out to Canada as well. I'd say he will give you tonnes of info if you mailed him trough his website or through Youtube.
 
Andy, pm me with any questions you may have as I'm out there every year. As Davey has said there is loads of info on forums but nothing like a bit of advice on here.

I've not done Air Canada but make sure you ask for all the costs as I've heard there are customs costs etc the forget to tell you especially when you get back to Heathrow. As an alternative, contact Roddy or Kathy at Motofreight who will sort you out and are a million times better than the clowns at James Cargo. I use them and they are efficient and professional and do what they say they will do. I've got a container coming back from Santa Rosa California in August if that helps. Just drop your bike off and I'll do the rest.

For tyres I'd be using K60's or Mitas E07's as they are good on all surfaces and will do 8-10k no problem. Your tyre wear out there is less than here as the roads are better and you aren't hammering your bike.

For motorcycle insurance I use www.motorcycleexpress.com as they are excellent and for travel insurance I use Holiday Safe. Whoever you use for travel insurance make sure you have repatriation and your level of cover is high. It's one thing you should not try and skimp on.

Also, don't skimp on bike prep. New fluids throughout new pads and new tyres and you will be good to go. You can get anything stateside but you may have to go a long way out of your way to pick up spares.

Are you camping or using motels? Bear in mind that the US gets very, very hot in the summer and camping can be hell on earth.

Timing looks good but be aware that there may still be snow up in the Rockies and the higher ranges.

Remember you can only stay for 3 months in the USA under the visa waiver rules.

Happy to help with any other questions but just to say that Canada and the USA are fantastic places to ride and the people are amongst the friendliest on the planet (bar border guards). The biggest issue you will have is trying to get away from everyone who wants to talk to you :thumb
 
Sorry to thread hijack (it may be useful for Robo)

Bilcs, how do the folks who do your trips two up manage with luggage ? I know your trips don't involve camping but some ladies do like to take a decent wardrobe!

I've been planning a 'few months' bike trip to the States and Canada for 3 winters now...'she' is concerned with just how little she could take if we also took some camping kit. We'd not wild camp but would obviously carry tent, mats and bags to cut the costs as couldn't afford hotels every night
 
Most couples onmy trips are really well organised and the girls are much better than the guys in my experience. You just have to be sensible and pack light. There are laundramats all overt the place and what do you actually need?

I take enough clothes for 4 days and that is mostly technical type gear so it doesn't need washing too often. Remember you are in your bike gear all day and as the US is very informal, you only need a few items. If you run short of everything, there is always Walmart.

Most people I know who camp a lot out there do 3 days camping and 1 day motel.
 
Sounds like a fun trip Robo! A few comments.... given the areas you plan to ride (good choices BTW) and that you're entering at Sault Ste Marie, I would suggest riding west across Michigan U.P. along Lake Superior. Personally I would avoid camping up there until late July due to mosquitos and black flies. Marquett is a good town to stay overnight and do ride up to Copper Harbor if you can.








Rt 200 is a pretty nice highway to ride west/east on across Minnesota, ND, and Montana because most traffic is on Rt 2, or I-94. Last time I was in northern North Dakota there was a lot of gas and oil drilling activity, as a consequence motel rooms were a little more expensive and filled up early. That was four years ago though.

200 takes you across Montana and maybe just 100 miles in, and a bit north, there is Charles Russel National Wildlife Refuge and a large lake/river (which I forget the name), with nice campgrounds. 200 continues west through the town of Missoula which is nice and into Idaho via Lolo Pass which is a good ride.
 
Thanks to everyone for the info and interest. We will not be camping, just using motels etc. I always fancy the idea of camping, but it would mean carrying so much more gear. We normally travel with just the two panniers( of course I get the smaller nearside one which heats everything up) and a small Overboard waterproof bag for the rear rack. We are fortunate in that me and the wife have done a couple of fortnightly self supported cycling trips which certainly focus your mind on weight saving packing. This normally involves using the kitchen scales to weigh everything and then realizing that cheap Primark T shirt are half the weight and packs down smaller than a quality item.

Sgt Bilko . thanks the offer of more info and the container space, though we were planning to be returning to the UK late July, but you never know, thing change.

I'll keep updating the thread as I think of further questions and as I organise the trip.

Thanks again Andy
 
We've done both cycle tours and fortnight bike trips but not with camping kit. (I know you aren't camping either Robo) May have to ditch that idea and just B and B (I had looked at cabins at places like KOA but I can get B and B cheaper than a self catering log cabin)

Have you thought of 'workaway'? In exchange fore 4 or 5 hours work you get your digs and food. Being there for so long, it may well break up the journey nicely and you get to chill out with some locals.
https://www.workaway.info/
 
Davey B;5025092 Have you thought of 'workaway'? In exchange fore 4 or 5 hours work you get your digs and food. Being there for so long said:
https://www.workaway.info/[/url]

You would have to be careful with that due to visa restrictions. Even though it seems a long time he will be there, there is so much to see that it will fly by. I would suggest you take regular days off to get off the bike and have a wander round the great places to see. Places like Moab, Silverton Mammoth My other tip would be to keep away from the big cities unless you have a realaly good reason to be there. The small towns are so much more interesting and friendly.

Yep, B&B's are getting very popular now but you can find sensibly priced motels in most places
 
Davey B. I had a look at the site and looks very interesting, but I most admit the first thing I thought of was visa issues- I've seen "Cool hand Luke" ,though I don't think it would come to it,I don't fancy dressed in orange, clearing weeds from the road side as part of a road gang.

The plan, as on previous trips( 3 and 4 weeks around Spain etc) we avoided cities, would spend a long day or two riding and then base ourselves in one location and do a couple of days walking/sight seeing in that area.

Thanks everyone for the interest and it is welcome. The plan for this trip isn't set in stone and will change depending on bike shipping factors.

Cheers Andy
 
From Sault Ste Marie I would ride across the Michigan U.P. Rte 41 will take you across the northern part, by the time you get to Ironwood you will be on Rte 2 which will take you all the way to Montana. Michigan is all 2 lane road, When you get to Minnesota a lot of is is more like 4 lane divided highway. Last time I was past there a few years ago North Dakota was mostly 4 lane because of all the "fracking" going on. Crossing the Plaines isn't much fun no matter how you do it but Rte 2 will less busy than most routes.
 
With an eye on how the USA are moving with Visas, I get the feeling a workaway will not be something we end up doing but we want to do a similar length trip to you but had wanted to reduces costs a little. May have to rethink options but the main plan had been 2 or 3 days riding followed by 2 or 3 days based somewhere that interested us
 
Apply for a 10 year Visa, an appointment with the US embassy and you can stay 6 months.
 
Yet again, another old and familiar story: I’m in the process of trying to plan a North American trip this summer on our 2008 1200gsa . The premise of the plan started after hearing about the “Fly your Bike” scheme that Air Canada had been running previously.
So the idea is to:
• Fly me, my wife and the bike to Toronto in mid-May.
• Travel via Manitoulin Island to Sault Ste Marie and then cross into the USA.
• Then spend the remainder of the 10 weeks meandering due west, through North and South Dakota, Montana, into Washington and Oregon.
• After the allotted time, pass back into Canada and fly back from Calgary.
• I’ve spoken with Air Canada who’ve given a rough price of £750 to fly the bike out as long as we fly with Air Canada. I haven’t as yet got a price for the flight back from Calgary. I’m also considering other shipping companies such as James Cargo but travelling back from LA.
Although I’ve done trips around Spain, to Croatia etc. I’ve never done anything like the above. With this in mind, can anyone:-
• See any glaring problems with the plan- weather, insects/mosquitos etc?
• Give recommendations for motorcycle insurance and health insurance which will of course cover a prolonged motorcycle trip?
• Recommend suitable tyres as I suspect some roads and byroads in the north west of the US may be gravel etc.
I’m sure other topics will come to me.
Thanks in advance for any future advice/recommendations.
Cheers Andy

Andy

You mention you are travelling mid-May. FYi the Victoria Holiday long weekend is from May 18th-21st in Ontario. If heading out of Toronto on May 18-19th expect heavy traffic no matter what direction you take. It is the first holiday weekend of spring and many will be hitting the roads to get to resorts, hotels, campgrounds and cottages. This will be especially true for north bound travel on Highway 400. You don't say which route you are taking to Manitoulin Island but you have 2 options.

1. North on Hwy 400 to Hwy 69 and then west on Hwy 17 and south on Hwy 6 onto the island. This is all highway (motorway) driving however it is fairly scenic once north of Barrie.
2. Drive approx 300km to Tobermory (across mainly flat farm country) and take the ferry to the island. Link here re info on fares/schedules:http://www.ontarioferries.com/en/ms-chi-cheemaun-en/

Speeds in Ontario are generally 100km/h on multi-lane highways EXCEPT in construction zones where they will lower. They are well marked and you should not experience any surprises. On two-lane highways the limit is 80 and sometimes 90km/h. There is no photo radar. All enforcement is done by radar or lidar via traffic stop. You are pretty safe on the highway by staying within 20km/h of the posted limit. If you are travelling thru cities/towns/villages stay within 10km/h of the limit. Expect a lot of speed enforcement on the Victoria day weekend. Lastly weather in Ontario that time of year can vary from 10-30C so expect the unexpected.

Safe travels!
 
Hi CdnGS.

Thanks for the info. Though I had look for bank holidays I'd missed the holiday weekend. We had already chosen to go via Tobermory. We land on the 16th,hopefully pick up the bike on the 17th and then head off as soon as possible. Hopefully we'll miss the worst of it. I going to do a fuller update over the weekend.

Thanks again. Cheers Andy
 
Hi. Sorry for not doing an up date sooner. Well we safely arrived with the bike in Toronto mid May. Though I was still concerned right up to picking the bike up from the Air Canada depot ,that I missed some important piece of paper/ cert, everything went to plan with all depot staff and Customs being really helpful. The procedure only took about 30 mins, first calling in at Air Canda, and then a 4 min walk to Customs and back again. Then back to the hotel to pack.
We took Cliftons advice and headed out of Toronto to miss the holiday traffic, and headed for a lovely port on Lake Huron, Tobermorey. After overnighting we took the ferry to Manitoulin Island, then headed for Sault set Marie to cross into the States.
Again the border staff were really helpful , even giving us recommendations for places to visit near Marquette. Again we followed Cliftons advice and travelled around the shore of lake Superior visiting Copper Harbour, Bayfield and further past Duluth to Two Harbours.
Though we planned to then just head west along the 200, the trip has now morphed slightly. We did go along the 200 until just north of Fargo but then went south to Wall, Badlands State park, and now we have just arrived in Keystone, 2 miles from Mount Rushmore. All I can say it's been great so far. I'll do more updates, including the process of shipping your bike with Air Canada. Unfortunately I'm doing the updates on a kindle and post photos.
Cheers Andy
 
I'm envious, Andy. Have fun, looking forward to updates and pics.
 
I’d be very interested in the Air Canada shipping service as they offer it from Manchester :thumby:

Too late for this year though as we fly to LA tomorrow for a 17 day tour of the south west USA in a Corvette Stingray convertible :cool:
 
Hi.
I'll do a fuller update regarding Air Canda later, but they only do the Manchester shipping option from mid June. Due to that fact, I had to drop my bike off at Heathrow. It wasn't that bad,rode it down and then got the tube and train back. Though I had all sorts of reservations about the process, it was straight forward really, with everything being abled to be booked within a minimum of 24 days. In the Black Hills South Dakota at the minute, stunning rides and scenery. I sorry but I can't post pictures as I'm doing the post on my kindle. Cheers Andy
 


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