Our motorcycle injury lawyers want your road trip to rip, so check out these tips:

A biker dreaming of a good ol’ fashioned, cross-country road trip on his motorcycle is as natural as a fresh breeze in the springtime, a crisp, late-summer evening in the mountains or those white, fuzzy things that start blowing around everywhere about June. And as New Year’s resolution after New Year’s resolution buzzes our brains to try something new, a road trip might be just what your life needs at this particular point. But to do it right means quite a bit of planning and preparation. Your machine has to be in top condition, as good motorcycle safety would dictate for any type of trip. Your gear has to be sturdy, yet lightweight and packable, and you need to know the rules of the road for each state, territory or province through which your journey will take you.

All of this may seem a bit daunting to the inexperienced – which, by the way, is the only REAL way to learn how to do any of this right; experience, that is.  And if it seems like maybe traveling hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles of open road on a two-wheeled machine may be a little too much for you, there are alternatives to actually riding through your entire trip. For example, you may want to drive your cage and have your bike shipped to the desired destination. Another option gaining popularity all the time is renting a bike once you get there. For example, Eaglerider USA Motorcycle Rentals offers motorcycle rentals in a number of states and even internationally. For brevity’s sake, however, this article will deal solely with trips on which you’re actually planning on riding to and from the target destination. Stay tuned to future editions for more in-depth coverage of those options.

Step One – Motorcycle Safety

Before you start plotting the curviest course to your destination and picking out where to stop for the tastiest ride-side chow, we experienced motorcycle lawyers here at MotorEagles highly recommend you make sure your motorcycle is in the best shape, mechanically, as possible. Sincerely – if your bike has any issues you’re not prepared to resolve before setting out on any long-distance prospect, don’t go. Shelve the trip ‘till you can manage the repair bill or whatever the case may be.

Now, assuming your bike is as up for the challenge as you are, the motorcycle injury lawyers here recommend using the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s “T-CLOCS” protocol each and every time you get ready to ride. It stands for “Tires and Wheels,” “Controls (levers, switches, cables, etc.),” “Lights and Electrics,” “Oil and Other Fluids,” “Chassis” and “Sidestand (or kickstand).” Read further about the MSF’s pre-ride roadworthiness test and other important motorcycle safety advice at the MSF’s Website.

Step Two – Steer Clear of Heavy Gear

Another suggestion our motorcycle injury lawyers have found helpful as all get-out over the years comes from one of the industry’s kings of the cruiser class: Harley-Davidson, which maintains a pretty helpful section on its Website dedicated entirely to road trips.

“Sometimes it’s more about what you leave behind than what you take,” the Harley site’s road-trip landing page reads right at the top.

It’s true, if you pack too much, you run the risk of overloading your bike, which can cause all kinds of trouble, especially if you’ll be pulling through a lot of elevation changes or riding through the desert – both of which really put a machine through its paces as it is. Some suggestions posted on the Harley site include packing lightweight, synthetic clothing as opposed to heavy cotton layers which take longer to dry than synthetics.

Another invaluable tip: “When loading your bike, keep as much weight as possible close to the bike’s center of gravity. That means low and toward the tank, distributed evenly from side to side.” And one tip our experienced motorcycle lawyers have found particularly useful over the years is that, if you can do without it, don’t bring it.

A note on camping: If you’re planning on roughing it beyond your means of conveyance and are incorporating the great outdoors into your adventure, make sure you know your camping gear well. Waterproof any part of a tent that may need it. Set your shelter up many times and in many conditions – in the rain, at night, etc. – so you’ll be prepared to make camp in whatever Mother Nature throws your way on the road. That’s one tip more than one of MotorEagles’ experienced motorcycle lawyers have learned the hard way.

Step Three – Our Motorcycle Injury Lawyers: Know the Law, No Matter Where You Go

Riding around your hometown, to and from work or to the store for a few things is one thing. But taking on another state or a few – or even another country – on your motorcycle is a completely different prospect with lots of different rules to which you may not be accustomed. Once again, as motorcycle safety would dictate for any ride, study up on the applicable motorcycle-riding laws for the route you’ll travel.

Everyone talks about helmet laws, but what about noise ordinances, whether you’re allowed to ride multiple bikes abreast or whether your passenger needs to be a certain age to ride along? These are all dealt with differently by different states, municipalities and countries. For this very reason, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) provides a current list of motorcycle laws, by state, on its website.

If you’re planning on traveling through a neighboring country like Canada or Mexico; or if your voyage will take you overseas, it’s important to understand the laws governing the roads you’ll be riding. In most cases, you’ll need to apply for a tourist’s driving permit of some sort. A Website called Timberwolf’s Motorcycle FAQ touches on a number of these issues, particularly on this piece about riding in a unified Europe.

There is plenty of information out there in cyberspace to get any aspiring traveler abroad a solid start in terms of compliance with whatever country’s laws. A Google search is a great place to begin.

Measure Twice. Cut Once.

So now that you’ve resigned yourself to get out there on the road and give it some gas, it’s time to fire off a couple test shots. Your plan’s simmering nicely. You’ve got a few buds to make the trip with you. Your bike’s in the best shape of its life and you’ve got all your gear stowed neatly around your bike. Assuming you live in a climate where snow and other environmental factors are not a concern, go ahead and get a couple dry runs in. Take a weekend trip closer to home and bring all the gear you’ll carry for the big show. Even on a shorter trip, you may learn something that will save you some comfort, frustration or even injury on down the road.

With any trip, once you have a plan in the works, the time between now and shove-off can turn into a multi-level project you can oversee from your first inkling to take a road trip to when you fire up your bike the day you shove off on the road. When you take the time and plan it right, you’ll enjoy a much fuller, more enjoyable and safer motorcycle-riding road trip.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.