How to Choose the Best Motorcycle for your
Motorcycle Road Trip Adventure
Ever heard of the old British saying, “horses for courses?” It may date back to the 1890s, but when it comes to choosing the best motorcycle for your motorcycle road trip adventure, it’s as up-to-date as the latest iPhone app.
In other words, some motorbikes are better at certain things than others. For example, you wouldn’t cross the Mongolian desert wastelands on a old Harley-Davidson or tackle the Arctic in winter on a Honda C90 Cub, would you?
Hold that though. Maybe you would if your name is Dave Barr or Ed March because that’s precisely what they did. Let’s rephrase that slightly then, some bikes are better at certain things than others.
(attribution required: Photography by Dean Groover via Motorcycle Cruiser)
A bike that you have personally chosen and are comfortable with, however, will take you cross-country or across the globe.
Making the right choice of motorcycle is therefore vitally important but first let’s run through a few pointers.
Considering the following three categories will allow you to refine your search for the best motorcycle for your road trip adventure. The subjects we’ll expand on are:
- Riding Experience
- One Size Fits All, Right?
- Where, and When?
- Riding Experience
Whether you’re a newbie heading for the hills, or a gnarly adventure junky bound for the horizon, your riding experience plays a huge part in your choice of best motorcycle. And some bikes due to their power characteristics, handling or maybe even their overwhelming array of electronic rider aids, are easier to ride than others.
Be honest in your assessment of your abilities in the saddle, because road trip adventures are just that, adventurous. Anything can happen on the road, and it invariably does. If you’re riding an unfamiliar motorcycle which takes a lot of concentration you may not be focusing on what’s happening around you.
Remember, the type of bike you’re used to riding will generally dictate your riding style. For example, if you’ve clocked-up a number of miles on an adventure bike, jumping on a race-rep, could see you heading for the nearest chiropractor. The same applies when transitioning from rear-set footrests to the forward mounted controls of a cruiser.
Change can be a good thing, but departing too far from your riding comfort zone just before a motorcycle road trip adventure may not be the best decision.
- One Size Fits All, Right?
We all know the answer to this question, and it’s a resounding NO. Saddle heights vary incredibly from the Harley Breakout at 23.8” to vertigo-inducing KTM 1290 Adv R to the BMW R1200 GS, hovering at 35”.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s only large capacity adventure bikes that have you sitting tall in the saddle either. The recently launched Yamaha XSR900 is just a fraction under 33”. Why seat height is so important is exemplified by the difference in weight.
Consider this; the big Beemer weighs in at a colossal 538 pounds compared to the Yamaha XSR’s 430 pounds. That’s a staggering difference of just over 100 pounds, and all the electronic rider aids in the world won’t help you lift a fallen bike.
Picking up any bike can be a tough gig unless you know what you’re doing. It can also happen at any time, resulting from poor road conditions to the ultra embarrassing parking lot, paddle fail.
Deadlift Your Bike
There’s no need to go to the extremes of weight training to deadlift your motorcycle. Being realistic and buying a bike on which you can safely reach the floor and maneuver will prevent potential problems on the road.
As with all motorcycle related subjects though, this isn’t the full story. Seat height is essential, but you should also factor in tank width and frame design too.
The designers at Suzuki are a perfect of example of this as they listened to feedback relating to early SV650’s. In their recent re-modeling, Suzuki slimmed the gas tank at the point where it joins the seat, trimmed down the side panels and narrowed the sub-frame. All of these prevent the rider’s legs from splaying out and makes it easier to reach the floor.
The bottom line is when searching for that all elusive best motorcycle, try before you buy. Let the seat height and weight be a guide towards making a shortlist while remembering that nothing beats throwing a leg over and feeling the heft of a bike off the stand.
Plan on taking a pillion on your road trip and this is yet another factor that will impact your choice of motorcycle for your best motorcycle road trip adventure. Whereas a Honda Rebel, Ducati Monster or Yamaha R1 may turn you into public enemy No1 with your passenger, a Kawasaki Vulcan, Suzuki V-Strom or BMW K1600 will see you elevated from zero to hero!
- Where, and When
Except for Dave Barr and Ed March, the majority of us have to take multiple factors into account when choosing the best motorcycle for our motorcycle road trip adventure.
With consideration to our first two categories, the other things to throw into the mix when devising your road trip planner is where you’re going and at what time of year.
As we’ve already seen, you can pretty much endure the most hostile of terrains on the most unsuitable of bikes. Life, however, needn’t be an episode of Survivor, and for the majority of us, a road trip adventure generally slots in around having to earn a crust.
It, therefore, stands to reason that when choosing a bike for your road trip, it should be able to cope with what you are asking it to do.
Close Encounters
When planning a motorcycle road trip adventure route, you should aim to build up an idea of the kind of terrain you will be likely to encounter. If it’s all paved road, then your options are wide open. Map out a route that encounters some fire roads, scree or green lanes, and it alters the game plan slightly.
Without having to dip into the adventure bike pond, most road bikes should also be up to the job. With a fairly upright stance and a European-style handlebar, the occasional loose stuff shouldn’t present a problem. A race rep with short fork top handlebars, on the other hand, will be more of a handful due to the lack of leverage.
Thanks to maps and data apps, it’s easy to get a feel for what to expect along your route. Once again though, if you’re planning a road trip through the middle of nowhere, it can affect your choice of best motorcycle.
Many mountain or desert routes such as Highway 50 through Nevada could see you riding along huge stretches of road without coming to a gas station any time soon. It makes sense, therefore, to choose a motorcycle with good gas mileage or decent tank size.
Motorcycles such as the Honda CB500X are capable of 70+ mpg, while a BMW R1200RT although heavier on gas, can carry 25 liters, giving both bikes a 300- mile range.
The time of year you intend to embark on your motorcycle road trip adventure can also have a bearing on your choice of best motorcycle.
Head for parts of Montana or Idaho in September, and you can expect snow, a month later and that opens up to include Wyoming, Colorado and the Dakotas.
Consideration like these may lead you to include a model that has weather protection or heated grips as a factory option. So check out what BMW and KTM have to offer.
Alternatively, head south or west during the summer and California, Arizona and New Mexico will see you baking in 100+ degrees of sunshine. A naked bike with a liquid cooled engine will, therefore, be high on the list.
Being open to the elements and experiencing life first hand make two-wheeled road trips an awesome adventure. There’s nothing wrong with knowing your limitations though, and your choice of bike can make or break a trip.
While it is possible to overthink things, knowledge is power and taking in all of the above factors will help you choose the best motorcycle for your motorcycle road trip adventure.
