Motorcycle Views

10 Motorcycle Myths

By Walter F. Kern

Myth 8. Motorcycles are only good for short trips and commuting.

This seems to be deeply ingrained in the minds of the general public. Whenever I talk to neighbors or strangers while on my bike, they invariably ask, "How far have you been on it?" When I reply that I've ridden cross-country to Yellowstone National Park from New Jersey (see picture), they seem quite surprised.

I got the same reaction last year when I rode to Indiana for the Gold Wing rally, then home to Illinois for a visit, followed by a return trip through Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina to attend our forum rally at Maggie Valley, and a final trip back to New Jersey. That trip was over 3000 miles, took 17 days, and involved a few skirmishes with the hurricanes that ravaged the USA in late 2005.

Motorcycles don't look like they would take you long distances. There isn't much room to take luggage. Many riders go two-up and that further decreases storage space. Traveling long distances on a motorcycle is called touring.

The fact is that anyone can travel almost anywhere on any kind of motorcycle. Bill Stermer in his book, Motorcycle Touring and Travel, states, "The bike on which most people choose to tour tends to be the one they own at the time."

With the increase in reliability of bikes, taking a long tour is nothing special. Bikes have low maintenance engines, shaft drives, adjustable suspensions, fairings, windscreens, and luxury items like stereos, CBs, and cruise control. Most bikes now pull trailers too.

Forget about short trips. Go touring.

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