Customer Reviews

The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Travel: Tips, Technology, Advanced Techniques

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been riding motorcycles since 1995. During that time I've taken several trips, from 1 day jaunts around the Chesapeake Bay to journeys of 2 weeks. During these trips I made some mistakes, and learned some new ways of doing things to make the next trip better. I've also received a lot of advice (mostly good) from people, either in person, or from various internet groups and e-mail lists. A lot of the information that I learned, to make motorcycle travel easier and more fun is in Dale Coyner's book. He starts with the very basics. Where are you going, and how will you be getting there? How should you plan your route? Then goes into how to prepare your motorcycle (no matter what type of motorcycle you ride), and how to prepare yourself, both mentally and physically. Then, before it's actually time to go, what do you need to do, so that when you go, you'll be able to go with no worries.

Reading this book is like sitting down with a group of experienced motorcycle travelers and hearing them talk about their journeys and their secrets. Only with the book, you can pull it out at any time and look for specific information to help you out. The full color pictures, maps, diagrams, and sidebar information add a lot of detail to the subjects and help with understanding. It's a great book for a beginner, and a good resource and review for experienced travelers as well.

Imagine that you are in your late 30s, you've never owned a motorcycle in your life, and you want to begin motorcycle touring. Where would you begin to find out? That is the dilemma that I had when I first got into the sport, eleven years and 100,000 miles ago. Mostly, I got information from word of mouth, members of our local BMW club, and blind experimentation.

Someone starting out today, however, would not have as hard a time getting started because of Dale Conyer's wonderful new book, the Essential Guide to Motorcycle Travel, Tips, Technology, Advanced Techniques. What I found was a veritable encyclopedia of information that is just as valuable to this experienced learner as it would have been to my newbie self a decade ago.

The book is organized into sections entitled:
Planning your trip
Preparing yourself
Outfitting your bike
On the road

The section on planning your trip lays out all of the essential questions that must be answered before you leave home. Yes, I've left home with some basics and expected to "wing it" but the result is usually less than satisfactory. Using Dale's checklist and putting some rudimentary planning into a trip is going to pay dividends when you are in a convenience store, asking the Highway Patrolman getting a slurpee if he would stay in the motel across the road. When he answers, "no way," and you end up riding another 30, groggy miles, you will wish you had planned better.

The section on preparation is valuable as well. It covers what to wear as well as what you should have between your ears in the nature of mental preparation.

Something that I'd never seen approached in a systematic way before was "What's all this gear gonna cost?" I must admit, that acquiring gear a piece at a time from vendors at rallies, used from the internet, or at my local BMW dealer was my preferred approach to assembling a crapload of motorcycling gear. I'm not sure that if I had done the budget, I wouldn't have chosen a cheaper hobby, like sailing. Just kidding, anything for boats is expensive.

The largest portion of the book is devoted to farkles, the mechanical modifications that we all make to our machines in search of better tunes, more comfort, more visibility, more MORE. There are chapters on tunes, lights, cockpit electronic countermeasures and position systems, and cameras. Part of the appeal of this book is that there are really useful illustrations showing wiring and set up for electrical connections with relays and fuses.

Finally, the book concludes with the section "On the Road." This section includes a chapter with tips for putting it all together, which gives handy lists detailing what to do at six to twelve months before the trip, two weeks before, the week before, up to the day before. If you have ever had to pull an all nighter working on your bike so you can be ready to meet your buddies at oh-dark-thirty for a six-hundred mile ride, this might spare you that fate.

The last chapter in this section and in the book deals with Contingencies. It is an essential for anyone who decides that they are going cross county on a bike. That is my picture on p. 161. My wife and I had a broken throttle cable in Socorro, NM, over 800 miles from our home in Kansas and a long way from a BMW dealer. We met some good Samaritans that helped us get to a dealer in Albuquerque and back on the road.

This book will help you prepare and execute any motorcycle tour that is more demanding than your local club bike night or poker run. It's well worth the money.

For anyone seeking information about motorcycle travel, this is THE book to have! Dale does a great job of covering many aspects (dare I say All?) for traveling by motorcycle, and then some. Everything from weatherproof riding gear, GPS, suspension, campers, tents, seat cushions to suggestions for wiring new equipment into your bike can be found in this comprehensive guide. The book is loaded with full color photos. I've been riding a number of years now, and thought I'd kept up on the latest gear and travel info... until I read this book. I've learned a few things and found a few new gadgets to look into. Highly recommended for someone just beginning to travel my motorcycle, or the seasoned rider.

I have been planning on taking long trips in the near future and this book should be every long distance rider's bible. Lots of great info on what, where, how and why you should do things in order to travel long and comfortable. Covers every aspect about traveling on a motorcycle. Why not prepare well for a trip and enjoy? What you don't know do due lack of knowledge may ruin your trip. "Motorcycle Travel" will take care of all the possible problems. Written by those who have already done it, and know what to do and not to do. Ride smart, buy "Motor Travel".

This book covers all asspects of Motorcycle enjoyment. I have been riding motorcycles for more than fourty years and have read many books on the subject of motorcycling. This is the BEST and covers the subject better than any that I have ever read. I highly recomend it to all.

An excellent guide for anyone interested in motorycle touring. Whether you are the weekend rider or the long distance traveller preparing to ride across the state or the country you will find valuable tips in this guide. From planning to contingencies, additional equipment for you and your motorcycle, electronics to trailering this book has something for everyone. I have 20 years of motorcycling experience and after reading this book I have updated my riding attire and how I prepare myself and my m/c for riding. This guide is up to date and informative, but doesn't go overboard with too much information on any one subject. This is worthy read for anyone interested in a saddle sore or iron butt ride or those just interested in talking about them after a short ride to the local meeting place. I recommend this book.

Author reviews many products, but only on his favorite bikes (that are Gold Wings or BMWs). So, the reader is left to imagine how it might apply to their own ride.

Like any book that deals with high technology products (GPS, for example) the info and products depicted gets dated quickly.

If youre looking for a up to date touring book this is a great book. The wiring diagrams of how to add a fuse block for accessories was very clear. Great color picures and well organized. I was very please with this book.

If you are even just thinking about motorcycle touring a must read. I read this book as I was planning a long trip which helped on what to take, how to pack and what to expect on the trip. The information is top notch and I will read it again before my next trip.

A good companion to this book would be:
Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well
by David L. Hough

The book does as it's intended to do in that it provides a substantial amount of information on preparing your motorcycle and yourself for touring. I think that books of this nature need to be updated yearly as the large section on electronics is allready outdated.