Ride,store,fly..repeat

Been doing R S F R most of this year, and it has worked out just great.

Pay a lot of attention to the storage facility security, I got cleaned out in Salt Lake City, did not pay attention. Take pictures of storage, do your homework on reviews, take out insurance.

Here is a blog of this years travels;

capnfish.blogspot.com

I had been wondering how much of a concern thievery would be. I will have to have a look at your blog.

had hoped this wouldn't happen

was it a "storage unit" fence camera's & all that?

My ongoing RSFR trip has been from Chicago through Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador. Next month I will be departing Cuenca for Cuzco, Peru, or perhaps to Mendoza, Argentina if time permits. The master plan is to get down, in stages, to Santiago for the Dakar finish in January, and then down to Ushuaia and back home by May 2013. Then blast to Alaska and back, and try to ship the bike to Europe so I can do some moto exploration during a planed family trip over the summer.

No drawbacks other than the sometimes high cost of multi-city flights, although I have been able to use miles quite frequently. It does take some careful planning, but so far I have not grossly over- or underestimated travel times on any of my segments. As you know, it's quite expensive to change flight dates at the last minute.

As far as the unpredictability of corporate travel, you might not be able to do a full-on RSFR trip, but I'll bet if time permits you could arrange some pretty nice day or multi-day trips around your travel destinations using rental bikes. You would just have to pack a briefcase AND riding gear.

I live in Moscow and have kept a bike in Europe since 2008; first with Knopf in Heidelberg, then with someone in Southern Spain, now in Milan Italy. I has been great, and I've been able to take some great trips, including a couple weeks in Morocco from southern Spain. The plan is to get to Istanbul at some point but I've been in Milan a couple of years now and might keep it there for a while, as there is so much good riding (and good living) around there. I try to get to Italy between 2-4 times a year for at least a couple days of riding each time.

I keep all of my gear in my panniers and a thin black duffle which gets folded up and stuffed in a pannier while traveling. When I go the bike all I bring on the plane is a smallish backpack with some Tshirts, my iPad, camera, etc.

I don't do anything with fuel, as I generall ride it at least every 4 months or so, and there has been problem with fuel so far (other than the fact that it costs 2 euro per liter in Italy ).

One of the reasons I like storing it in Milan is that the flight schedule is very convenient from Moscow, and even better, the guy I store it with will leave it at the airport parking for me to pick up, and then I can drop it off at the airport lot when I leave--it is super-convenient.

This is my plan someday. Hoping to start sometime in the next 2-3years. Subscribed

Seems like there are probably enough inmates that would offer storage around the country. Around the world is a little more of a stretch.. I know I'd be happy to store someones bike, on a charger, for a period of time....

One key question for people that want to do this is how/if you can keep your rego up to date. For inhabitants of some states, you can simply pay a fee, but in some other states they make you have a physical inspection of the bike to renew, which can be difficult if you keep your bike overseas.

Hi PWRCRZR - Nice meeting you and the others over the weekend. I do something a little similar, but not quite.

2011 I bought a Yam WR250R used and shipped it to Salt Lake City. It sat in a warehouse for a week. I flew in, met a budddy and we rode the CDR from Salt Lake. We split at the south end of the CDR and I rode to Phoenix and left it at a friend's house.

In Feb, I flew back out and scouted some of the GWT within 200 miles radius to see if it was big bike friendly. Some of it wasn't.

Last month I flew back and rode north to pick up the Pony Express Trail and rode it to Ely NV. Then to Reno and south through Vegas to Phoenix.

I have been coast/coast many times so my purpose is to explore the great west. My next trip will be Dinosaur National Park to Salt Lake, via Flaming Gorge. It will be mostly dirt roads I have tracks for.

I like your idea for 10 day rides from place to place, but it seems a lot easier if you can find a home base to store the bike and do 10 day loops from there. Pick a place that is cheap to fly to like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and the like.

I ended up duplicating my gear and leaving everything with the bike. Helmet, boots, luggage, dry bags, tent etc.

Basically I fill a carry-on duffel with clothes and such and get on the plane. I didn't even take a laptop the last time, using only my smart phone.

Maintenance is a bit of an issue. I end up having a local tuner service the bike and do the rest (tires, chainsets, repairs) myself. My bike has the tools to do that stuff, and if not, I buy it there.

From Denver you could cover the whole country west of the Mississippi to the Cali/OR border at 300 miles/day doing 10 day loops. From Salt Lake/Las Vegas you could cover Colorado to the left coast easy.

Lots to see out there. Spectacular riding, even in weather.

Missoula, MT has a small storage area almost exactly 1 mile from the front door of the airport. It's around $50 per month for a small unit. You pull in, drape your wet tent over the bike, pack a small carry on bag with all your dirty laundry, and start hoofing. 20 minutes later, you walk in the front door of the airport.



I would opt for the smaller airports for this kind of operation. If you use the bigger airports, pick a spot further away from the airport and take a cab.

The battery voltage was almost unchanged after 5 weeks on my AGM battery. The bike fired right up, I packed up the now dry tent, and was on the road in 30 minutes.

Starting to get some good input here, just what I was looking for.

Once my wife and I start this trip we figure there may be times that we stay in one area as you describe. I am thinking once the bike is on the west coast it will stay there..but who knows right now this is all just a theory for me.

in the Caribbean and get a couple weeks every 2 months, so my wife and I have been doing RSFR for almost 5 years.

We started with the bike in Florida and then gradually moved west and then had it in Mexico for just over a year, enough for 2 rides.

A few things we have found:

1) Depending where your flying too, it can be pricey.
2) We spent 4 months touring in Europe in 2003 so 2 weeks for a trip flys by. Depending on your expectations it may not be enough time.
3) Lots of planning required, especially where you store it,and what level of safety. We chose dealers and storage lockers in the U.S.A, and a storage locker in Mexico.
4) Depending where and how long you leave it, unless its on a charger your battery may be toast next time you pick it up. Ask me how I know.
5) If you need parts, battery, tires, etc, you may want to arrange for pre-delivery to your locker in order to save time. I did this in Mexico.
6) When flying out, you likely have a pre purchased ticket. In order not to miss a flight, we always arrive in our fly out city a couple days in advance just in case were delayed on the road,and were not rushed putting the bike into storage. That cuts into your riding time a bit.
7) We leave almost everything with the bike, clothes, boots, helmets, camping gear, etc. and just have a small duffel carry on for the plane. They pack down on the bike, I think I bought them at Walmart.
8) Leaving it at a dealer is much easier, drop and go.
9) Never had a problem with stale gas I use stabilizer when I can.
10) I had a problem with my CDN insurance company this Feb, (bike was in Mex at the time) they wouldn't issue a new decal because I had been insuring it out of province for 5 years. They wanted to see it, so I rode it to Tucson, then had it shipped to Wash state and got it there.

We like travelling like this, but 1 thing that I often thought about is security, theft, fire, flood, or hurricane depending where it is; (especially a locker) your a long way from being able to do anything about it. Our bike isn't new, but its our recreation, its taken us a lot of places and it would be a PITA to replace it.

One last consideration; if you believe in Peak Oil, as I do, the reality of flying at a reasonable cost for the average joe "me" in the not too distant future makes this option questionable. Its unlikely I will be able to afford the ticket.

Right now, its working.

MCP said, " I had a problem with my CDN insurance company this Feb, (bike was in Mex at the time) they wouldn't issue a new decal because I had been insuring it out of province for 5 years. They wanted to see it, so I rode it to Tucson, then had it shipped to Wash state and got it there".

That hassle is why I carry inexpensive liability only insurance on the bike I use in Europe for my fly-bike-store it-fly home scheme.

Additionally, CA requires liability insurance for annual registration renewal and this is a cheap way to avoid messing with the authorities back home. I left a bike in Mexico for almost 10 years this way before riding it home legally.

Just posting so I can easily find this thread later. Thank you to all who have been doing this and teaching the rest of us through your experiences. I've already got the bike to do is with, and most of the gear I'll need. Just working on the time bit now.

Glad this thread is still going. Finished up my tour around the States. Rode the bike back home to Canada from New Orleans this August. A grand success! Would have been years before I'd have had the time-money combo to do this in one shot.
- Learned AGM batteries are indeed worth it. Also picked up an anti gravity booster pack.
- Turns out I like the storage units best. Kind of nice to get bike ready with out having to tell any on lookers your story when you're tired from the plane or gasping from sudden heat and humidity. If storage unit is in between motel and airport the motel shuttle van can be cheap and convenient. Making friends with the driver can be valuable for a quick errand or local info.
- If you have the time a full day at your destination to acclimatize makes the first week way easier. Going from minus thirty and eighteen hours darkness a day to a sunny day in Texas is a shocker. No clock ticking is one of the best parts of these kind of rides!
- For me at least, have to get away from thinking like it's an "expedition". Any place I landed had plenty of opportunities to get any parts or supplies. And being from Canada any bike or travel stuff is cheaper at the destination anyways.
- I like a cheap bike for RSFR. I took an old and cheap FJ1100 I bought off a friend just because it was the weapon of choice and brand new when I planned this trip back in high school. (that was a looooong time ago... lol ) I washed it once in Texas and never did change oil in two years and one lap of most of the USA. Every thing was fine.
I would do it it again on any bike so long as it was comfortable for two up. Any motorcycle will go anywhere a car can. Regular gravel roads don't need a high $ Euro bike. Not that it wouldn't be a great way to do it but so many people seem to get caught up what t.v. and interwebs try to sell them. Bike travel is cheap if you want it to be.
- If you aren't going to camp lots and enjoy it don't pack anything but a change of clothes. One leg of our trip we didn't camp at all and the extra gear was a curse. Rest of the time wife and I camped about half the time. Was fantastic. Did some great stealth camping in the desert and mountains. Some of the smaller town municipal campsites were fun in the off season. You only met people that wanted to be exactly where they were. Usually the most interesting. Mid summer was more of a crap shoot.
- We always bought one way tickets because we wanted flow with the trip. If you've no real destination not even the weather can bum you out. Just point towards the sun shine. Read / hear about an interesting car show or concert, ect? Wake up and head that way. What luxury!
All in all if you are into moto travel RSFR is way to have your cake and eat it too. I never quit any jobs or sold any houses. For me it works. I always work away and do enjoy my home life too.
Only brought the bike home because we are planning to build a new house in the summer so bike would just have been in storage for at least another year. That money would be better spent on gas for the next big one!

Pretty good info.

There was some mention of batteries, and "booster packs". So do you just let the battery go, then jump it when you get to the bike? My company keeps some stuff in a storage unit, and there is no electrical power inside. I'm assuming that would be the case in a lot of storage facilities. Having to buy a new battery at the start of each journey wouldn't break the bank, but would be a pain if you had to use a taxi to get to the shop.

Only had one storage unit that had an old style light bulb in the ceiling. One could have put one of those adaptors in and plugged in a trickle charger. Because we never knew where we'd end up it would have been one more thing to carry around and never use.
First return trip the battery was dead but we knew the people ( it was their vacation home but they were not there.)and managed a jump start from a car in the same garage. Second time at a storage unit battery was dead , they had a tiny charger to lend but it did not work in time before they were closing the office and had no jumper cables. We "relied on the kindness of strangers". Nice young couple. They had interesting stories about traveling Africa but were missionaries so we had to listen to Jesus stories as well. Not a terrible thing and was part of the trip experience.
First stop after that I bought an AGM battery. No more problems after that. I do like the small jump start packs. Also useful when camping for charging phones ect. Tried to have it delivered to storage unit a few weeks before our arrival just in case of dead battery but it didn't show up in time. Would have made life easy but I have it now for next time.
If one isn't on a schedule it's no big deal really. One thing I would suggest would be getting to a destination earlier in the day. With a few business hours left for when something does crop up. Getting dropped off at a storage place 10 at night and being stranded , no fun! Like real estate it's location , location. On our last leg the bike had trouble starting. Bad gas maybe? Can't remember if that time we had any stabilizer in. We had chosen a place next to a small truck stop. Pushed the bike over for fresh gas and sat in air conditioning and ate lunch while charging up the booster just in case. It kept a small problem small. :)

I thought about this last winter- did a test trip PA to ME. Luckily my parents live in MA, so it was always easy to get storage and a ride to the airport. Getting married next May, but I forsee us doing a cross country trip this way eventually.

There should be a thread "garage space" to accommodate people who want to rsfr

I'm actually doing this type of trip right now. Bike is currently at an inmate's garage in Vegas; although I do have to fly out there in a few weeks to move it to a storage facility, for he's moving to Phoenix. I like being 'forced' to go out and ride like that, same thing happened with a shop in San Francisco.

I live in Jersey, and my goal is somehow get the bike home, but in multiple trips. It was going to be a whole 'long way home' type of adventure, but we ended up really loving the South West. As such, i did a detour from Northern California to it's current location in Vegas. Next Spring, we're going to whole southern Utah area for 2 weeks, then probably back to California.

Haven't been too worried about the bike, despite being a $17,000 investment. Don't know why; i just trust folks a bit more when traveling, and its all worked out great.

If i had this whole traveling thing limited to leaving/arriving form my home, I would never make it past Ohio. Having it far away, and in great adventure areas not only makes me look forward to traveling, but it reducing the long, boring places that i don't care to waste time with.

Once i do get the bike home (probably early 2016), I'm shipping it off to Europe and doing the same thing . That's going require a bit of savings, and some more FF miles!

Ask a few people in the Camping thread; I found two people without really trying that hard. Neither one would accept money, although i do plan to bring a lot of beer when I get out there

There's some great people on this forum; I hope to return the good karma to someone traveling through this area as well.