Does anybody have any experience with using a motorcycle to get to the mountains? I've recently lost faith in my vehicle's capabilities on long trips and on demanding mountain roads, so I've been thinking about what to replace it with for these uses. And when thinking about what I desire in a vehicle for this use, a dual purpose motorcycle seems to fit the bill more so than anything else. You get great fuel economy on the highway (it's a haul from the Bay Area to the big mountains), the capability to take rough dirt roads to the trailhead, and unlike with the compact sedans or SUVs that get you only one of those things, you can actually have some fun on the pavement too.

But of course there are drawbacks, and the main motivation for my post is to get a more realistic assessment of them. Most obvious is the lack of space, but virtually all of my trips are solo and I don't pack the whole house with me so that really wouldn't be a problem. And anything involving snow travel would be out, but I don't think that's a big issue for me at this point. There's the safety issue, but I don't think motorcycles are that dangerous is you're responsible. And of course this ties in with my total lack of experience, but I think all that means is that I would have to be patient in developing competence. One big unknown to me is reliability and amount of maintenance, as I will be racking up a lot of miles.

Now realistically I'll end up trading my car in for a Civic, or possibly a Subaru. But I really like the idea of picking up a cheap motorcycle to learn on, and then eventually buying a BMW F800GS and having a heck of a time while saving some money on gas.

I've had 2 bikes, both a cruiser and a sports bike. They were both great for commuting and fun on the road but I never took them to trailheads. Here's why: 1. Most bikes aren't that comfortable for rides greater than 1 hour. 2. I don't want to leave my bike unguarded at a trailhead for 2-3 days and worry if it will still be there when I get back. 3. On many trips, I return to the TH on Sunday at dusk (or after). Riding a bike can really wear you down, starting a long ride after a brutal weekend of climbing would be suicide.

If you have the right bike, your idea could be feasible, but to stay safe you'd have to be willing to pull over and camp if weather goes bad or you feel tired. A better alternative to save gas is to carpool to the trailhead. You can always throw a mountain bike on the roof rack if the road gets rough.

[quote="CameronGround"]There's the safety issue, but I don't think motorcycles are that dangerous is you're responsible. And of course this ties in with my total lack of experience, but I think all that means is that I would have to be patient in developing competence. [quote]

My father rode a motorcycle for as long as I remember. Riding on the back of his bike when I was little was thrilling. When I turned 16 I asked the old man about getting a motorcycle of my own. His advice was "well son, after the first year of riding your chances of survival go up dramatically".

Recently I broached the subject of getting a small motorcycle with my wife. She said I could either climb or ride. Not both. I figured I already had all the climbing gear so I stuck with it.

I'm headed out today for a bike/hike day trip on my big Honda dual sport. The motorcycle is equipped with luggage and has taken me on several week-long trips. I have done numerous day hikes using it as transportation too.

Yes it gets great gas mileage. Yes it is an absolute blast to ride. Yes it can go places no car will ever see. This motorcycle has taken me nearly 17,000 miles so far. I too have looked at the BMW 800 as it's replacement someday.

In the past two years I have spent close to $4,000 on tires, parts and maintenance. That doesn't count my time. Seems like every few weeks during the riding season here (Feb-Nov or more) I'm working on something. Yesterday I add a handlebar riser, last week it was fixing the speedometer mounts. Things get rattled and need constant attention.

It also beats the crap out me. Especially on dirt. It is tiring on pavement as well. My longest day so far was 300 miles of pavement and that was enough. I don't like long freeway rides, or heavy traffic. I don't like riding at night or after drinking a single beer. I would not want a long ride home after a hard weekend's adventure. Riding in the rain has it's own flavor.

A full compliment of riding gear doesn't come cheap either. Boots, helmet padded pants and jacket, warm weather gear, cold weather gear, rain gear, it all adds up. And I don't have any heated gear. Then there was the luggage, tools, upgrades, broken and spare parts, it all adds up.

Some dual sports are better on pavement than other, some are better in the dirt. The big single cylinder bikes are known as thumpers for a good reason. You might find that after riding one for a few hours it's not as glamorous as it first appeared. It takes time to learn the skills (I'm still learning) and get proficient enough to get that confidence you talk about. There are classes available that can help with this learning curve.

The fact is, riding alone has it's own merits and rewards and I have adapted to that. More often than not if I'm going riding I skip the hiking.

Some stuff I've posted here about the bike...

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/3 ... ehebe.html

http://www.summitpost.org/album/582449/Baja-Mexico.html

When finishing a hike in cool weather, I always need to crank up the heat in the car. With the main exception being low elevations in summer, most trailheads are pretty cool in the evening. That 40-to-60F was perfect while being physically active on the hike, but sit still for 10 or 15 minutes afterward, and those same temperatures get really cold. It's much worse when there is a 60 (or 80+)-mph wind on you.

I'm not saying a motorcycle won't work, but keep this issue in mind when planning what clothing to bring for the ride out afterward. You'll probably need to wear more on a 65F ride than you would on a 45F hike.

I ride an F650GS and use it for commuting to climbing areas when I don't have a passenger. In fact I just rode it to Red Rocks for the weekend. You can carry plenty of gear with luggage cases (camping gear, rope, rack included).

Agree with Clydascope's observations. It's both mentally and physically tiring to ride, so you need to take that into consideration. And also with Day Hiker's notes that it's easy to get cold in otherwise pleasant air temps. I use a heated vest when it drops below 65F. It also takes a lot of experience to be able to handle a heavy dual sport on more technical roads, although it helps being taller/heavier. That being said it's a great option to have.

Thanks for the great replies everybody. The comfort/fatigue factor of riding for hours at a time is probably a major issue indeed, especially after a hard weekend as a couple of you mentioned. Also good to know about the potential for maintenance and gear costs. No wife to deal with though, so at least I've got that problem solved. Seems like few people ride to trailheads for a reason, and I would probably be best off sticking with 4 wheels as my main transportation, but I'd still like to give it a shot at some point just to see how it works for me. I may not want ride every weekend, I could still see it being a fun addition to a trip on occasion. And of course it would be pretty cool to learn to ride even if it existed separately from my other hobbies.

FortMental wrote:
I'd love to get a dualie for trips, but the fact is, I don't live in the Alps or the Pyrenees. I live in the middle of nowhere with hundreds of miles of drunks and road-tards between home and good hills.

Now that's a pretty picture.

I've had 6 different bikes, from 55cc scooter to 1400 cc cruiser.
So I know that any kind of motorcycle is fun -- in fact I can say, "Live to ride, ride to live."

But for getting to mountain hikes and climbs, they just aren't practical.

If a bike was your only ride, I'll bet that you'll car-pool with friends who have cars.

As mentioned above, riding is tiring. That's the main drawback. I ride an SV650 to work most days; by Thursday/Friday I'm often tired enough that I trade it for my car. You want to be 100% focused, especially in traffic. So, after a long day, it would be tough.

I once considered taking it to the Sierra but I don't think it would be very much fun with the high winds that often blast along the 14/395.

If you rack up a lot of miles, the maintenance won't be that cheap either.

CameronGround wrote:And of course it would be pretty cool to learn to ride even if it existed separately from my other hobbies.

It sure is! Try to start with a relatively small bike, then sell it after a year and get what you really want. Starting on a big bike might bite you in the butt.

FortMental wrote:I'd like to think of the motorcycle as gas credit for the week: ride it to work everyday and for all the other crap errands and you'll feel better about taking the gas guzzler for a weekend in the mountains.

I ride a Suzuki Katana and I was told you drive through the city but you ride in the city. My bike is my commuter and my Subaru is the weekend vehicle. After riding to and from work all week the last thing I want to do on the weekend is ride the motorcycle.

We've got a small posse in SW CO who are increasingly frequently riding our bikes for days of desert cragging. I'm on a Suzuki V-Strom 650, a dual sport which does great on the roads, real well on gravel and mining roads, and OK on rougher, 4x4 terrain. Mine is living up to their reputation as being maintenance free (Please don't jinx myself!), and it is a blast.

I agree- start small, learn the basics and some advanced riding techniques and then start looking at bigger bikes. Consider where you live. Do you need to ride an hour or more to the crag or trailhead? If so, maybe look at a bike like the V-Strom or one of the BMW GS's. If you're looking to access towers in some undisclosed canyon, maybe a more dirt-bike oriented ride would be better.