Dale Borgeson on Motorcycle Touring

Dale Borgeson hasn't answered my email yet. Maybe it's because, as he states on his website -- Motorcycle Touring for Beginners -- he's  busy working to pay for his bikes, and he's busy riding one of said bikes. And maybe he's been real busy since 2003, which is when the code says the last update was made. But oh well, doesn't matter. Good advice is good advice. I thought I'd cull a few passages of wisdom from his site -- teasers for those of  us are thinking about motorcycle touring, for those of us who tour, and for those of us who just need a break -- it's a goodie!

For you list addicts, here's Dale's page on what to pack. I would just add a skirt and scarf and a pair of nice sandals. Oh, and my fuzzy pink mittens.

Here's a few tidbits of Dale's advice:
*** WARNING ***
You may get stuck here for hours.

DOES SIZE MATTER?: Americans are obsessed with large displacement motorcycles and I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say that you can't tour on a bike with less than 750 cc (or 900 or 1000, or 1200 or whatever). I think that this is an extension of the generally silly "Bigger is Better" mentality that seems to dominate the American thinking on most subjects. This thinking is absolute rubbish. Bigger bikes usually have more powerful engines and more power is nice to have but it's not the most important characteristic of a motorcycle. Notice that power isn't even on my list. As long as it meets the criteria I've listed above, any motorcycle can be used for touring.

WHAT'S YOUR STYLE?: My style of touring is to ride the motorcycle, period. I don't much care where I go or what I see as long as I'm riding. Sure, I try to go different places and see different things. I prefer good twisties and nice scenery just like everyone else but I'm there to ride and that takes first priority. I don't generally stop for anything but gas, food, or a cigarette. What's important is that I'm on the bike moving down the road. If I'm not doing that I'm wasting my time. For you newbies, this is not the way most people ride.

ON SLEEPING BAGS: I use a down three-season bag. Down is warmer and compress to a smaller size than most synthetic bag materials. This may not be true with today's modern insulating materials. Check with your camping supply store. IMO, small size is more important than insulation ability. If it's so cold that you need a four-season bag, it's probably too cold to be riding a motorcycle.

DOES MY BUTT LOOK FAT ON THIS BIKE?: For some reason the manufacturers are wildly optimistic about the dry weight of their motorcycles. I've weighed my bikes and have found that they typically weigh about 20lbs (9kg) more than the manufacturers listed weight. If you're doing weight calculations using the manufacturers dry weight and find that you may be near the edge of the GVWR after your bike is loaded you may want to weigh your bike just to make sure that you're not overloading your bike. The amount of additional stuff you can carry is: Weight_of_stuff = (GVWR) - ((Bike_Dry_Weight) + (weight_of_fluids) + (weight_of_people).

Enjoy.