BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi every body! planning a trip from the uk to tour the usa east coast down to miami from toronto, across to mexico and up the westcoast then cut across country back to toronto.........by motorcycle! Any body done any motorcycling across the usa?I want to "drive thru" big cities ie avoid them as much as possible! and camp as much as i can,do i have to plan campsites or can i pitch up a tent anywhere for the night? I know the odd motel might have to be an essential neccesity every now and again, but...Also,i have a cunning plan to buy the new bike over there with a credit card do the trip then sell it at the end. Can anyone advise on taxes from dealers when buying new? As in when you see a price advertised what goes on top of this price to actually get it out of the showroom, also do you have to have road tax like here in the uk aswell as insurance requirements? And....does anybody fancy coming with me? or if your over in the US maybe doing a bit of the journey for a week or two? Im thinking of next summer 2009. There loads more stuff i want to find out but ill leave that for the next posting!

Lot of questions...I'll cover what I can...
Tax on the purchase of a motorcycle is going to be based upon the sales tax rate of that state where you purchase. I would assume you will be arriving via the east cost, sales tax tends to be the highest in that region...maybe ~8-10% plus any local taxes. To the best of my knowledge, you can purchase in one state and register in another (paying tax in the cheaper state - for instance Wyoming). As things vary state to state I can't say for sure, but my experience has always been that I haven't paid taxes at the dealer, but rather at the county treasurer's office where I register the vehicle. When you purchase, you will be given temporary registration (I believe you would refer to that as "number plates")...temp ones are good for 30 days in most states. There will probably be a requirement for a stateside mailing address for the title to the bike...and you will need the title in hand when you register it. The equivalent of road taxes should be lumped in with your sales tax fee - it's all part of the registration fee. There are insurance requirements, again they vary state to state - if you are purchasing the bike outright, you will be required to have liability insurance on it (in most states anyhow) - the state you insure it in should match the state you register it in. A policy can be purchased over the phone or internet, but make sure you get proof of insurance and keep it with the bike at all times!

Considering all of this, I would estimate where I would be in say 20ish days after purchase of the bike, and find a local UPS store near there, get the address, and use that as a mailing address for the title...am I making any sense?

As for price advertised vs. what you pay to walk out the door...dealers will generally try to tack on various fees. Refuse to pay them. Pay no more than 10% LESS than the advertised price. When negotiating this, make it clear that that is you "out the door price" and that you aren't paying any additional fees etc. If they don't agree to your price walk away. There are more dealers, more bikes...would be handy to have a cell (mobile) phone at this stage...they'll call you and agree to your price usually.

As for camping...familiarize yourself with U.S. holidays, as campgrounds will be full at this time and advanced planning required. There's really no "one size fits all" answer for camping. Depends on what routes you will be taking. If you're traveling via interstate highway there will be fewer camping opportunities and camping in rest areas is frowned upon in most places. Look for public lands - national forests are the best IMHO, but state and local parks are good also - and then there are private campgrounds which seem to attract - well - I prefer to avoid them for the most part. Fees will vary as will amenities. In some national forests, you can camp for free, possibly some state parks too. In fact, I would highly recommend you purchase a national park pass for this tour. America's national parks really offer a lot in the way of natural wonder and camping opportunities (usually a fee is involved)

probably more than you hoped for...good luck!

Thanks, thats just what i was after! some good, down to earth advice, haggling is easy when you know where you stand!
If i bought the bike in canada and registered it there as i have relatives, would i have to pay any entry fees into the US, like a carnet, or could i just cross the border with all the normal stuff passport visa etc and spend a three months in the US and come back into canada?
See, i could buy the bike through relatives who could then register it etc for my arrival. When hopfully i can just take off!
Sorry alot of that is me thinkin out loud!
but if i can get over all the bulls**t paper work, then i can concentrate on enjoying the trip!
In my experiance its the thing that holds you up and causes problems!
Im sure i can always find something to eat , somewhere to sleep and somewhere to fuel up!In the USA more so than anywhere else on the planet!

If I were going to do what you plan on doing, I would probably just buy a late-model BMW K100 and burn up the miles with that. They are ridiculously under-priced here. All the owners seem to have moved on to the R1100 ("oilheads") which are in disrepair frequently, and nobody wants the old K models. Figure <$4000.

yeh ive toyed with the idea of buying a used machine, but!,ive bought many a used bike before and inevitably had problems with bits falling off etc which all seems to happen within the first few weeks. I suppose buying something a few years old with reasonable miles is a good option...........its just the trawling round looking for one that takes time, i suppose looking at dealers over the internet is a good option. I know BMW,s are reliable, never had one but.....you cant get away from the fact that alot of RTW motorcycle travellers use them........thanks for the tip

There is a great motorcycle website...Adventure Rider...
http://www.advrider.com/forums/index.php that has tons of info on buying, touring etc. A great feature for travel is a system where riders in 48 US States, 18 Canada Provinces and 18 countries offer either room in their homes, places to pitch your tent, help with motorcycle mechanical problems and frequently, a cold beer or perhaps in your case, a warm one if you so desire!

Wishing you a great adventure and keep the painted side up and the greasy side down. Cheers!

Sounds like a nice trip. I think taking a motorcycle will be the best way to see what you want to and enjoy yourself while doing it. Definitely consider looking at used bikes. You can find them on ADVRider and Craigslist all the time. Many of them will have less than 10,000 miles and not pushed any where near their limits. I just bought a 2004 Suzuki Vstrom 650 for $3,500 with 7000 miles. It has been laid down a couple of times, but has only affected the cosmetics.

Looking for used will also allow you to find a bike with panniers, electrical outlets, and so on already set up for you. Another website to look at is http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/intro.php
A similar site to Bootsnall, but with the motorcycle slant added in, lots of info in the forums.

Camping is usually best done in state parks which will be found on all the maps. They pretty much all have fire pits and showers available and average around $10-15/night. Sometimes they will have primitive sites cheaper or free. Look over this link for lots of budget travel ideas.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315322

As said before you will need a US address to register. Either use a UPS store or make a friend in the next year and borrow theirs. I just registered my bike and don't remember having to show my license so that shouldn't be a problem. Proof of insurance in required in almost every state when you register.

As far as buying in Canada, don't think it would be a problem. No carnet is required anywhere in North America.

I recently rode my motorcycle from key west to san diego then up into alaska before heading back across the country to home in florida.I spent two months out there on the road pitching a tent, just like you wish to do. The best advice I have is this....dont worry, just start out with your eyes wide open. You will see great places, and meet nice people along the way. It will all work out for you. I would wait till june or july to get the best weather for your trip as it is still snowing in some places and too cold to ride.
good luck and keep the rubber side down.

Great advise, thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ill check out the websites mentioned, im feeling less apprehensive now, definatly goin to buy a second hand bike,
Off on a bike trip round europe later on this year, it will be the furthest ive been on a bike yet!Hope to learn and get alot out of it to set me up for next year in the states. Ive just bought a 12 year old 900 Triumph sprint which ive stripped down and rebuilt for the journey,and if anyones interested this is an exellent way to get to know your bike inside out for the inevitable breakdowns, you know what tools and spare parts to take and you also have a good sixth sense of what is going to go wrong and if it does needing less time to find and sort it!
cheerio!

Since you sound like you have your plate pretty full and may not have noticed...the free accomadation section on the Aventure Travel site has several Euopean entries.

I'm not a bike person, but I've done plenty of cross country US road trips and if you will be camping I'd definitely recommend 2 things.

1) As stated above, pick up a National Parks Pass (I think they just raised it to $75), it covers all our great National Parks and monuments at a ridiculously low cost.

2) Check your road map/road atlas and find out wherever there is National Forest. This land is public land and typically you are good to just throw down a tent on any side road you like. Can save a lot on camping fees and usually you have space to do what you'd like.