Hello Everyone,

I´m new to the Forum - will therefore start with a short intro

Born 1982 - German (born, raised, still live here) - started with motorcycles in 2007 touring Europe during holidays, added a WR250R in 2021 to get away from the tarmac - worked out very well - toured parts of Europe on the TET and read tons of books on motorcycle RTW travels over time

So here I am - in the early stages of planning my own first overseas motorcycle travel

Good thing - I already know what it want to see - NA (the US, Canada, Alaska) and OZ (been there 3 times already so i know the place a bit, but only the coastline from Adelaide to cairns)

and which bike to take - the WR of course - i spend some time to do the overland mods and now it´s the perfect bike for me as the 250cc slow me down a bit (in the past I struggled in keeping the pace down during travels, the touring with the WR has been so much more relaxing so far because speeding is just not possible) - and i gives me the freedom to explore the off roads (i attended several offroad trainings by the time and did TET in Poland and Hungary ... will keep working on that but i get along very well already)

So now I´m trying to figure out the 1st Draft of the route to take a bit more in detail

For the NA part I like to follow a route similar to the one described by Frank Stelges (https://www.stelges.de/X-USA_07.html) which he did in 2007 - starting in the Northeast - going down to the Keys - crossing up north towards Canada, then Alaska and back to the US to finish at the Westcoast (he went back to New York)

As every traveler I try to pick good seasons for the respective region - because I just want to have a good time on the road - no need to produce click bait YouTube stuff while touring in extreme winter or summer - just a relaxed journey

so, my current idea is starting in New York 1st of April - take a month down to the Keys, make it into approx. the middle of the states during May, into Canada end of June - arrive in Alaska by end of July, spend august there and then head south towards LA - approx. be there in October

that's approx. 7 Month for this part - there is room in my planning to extend this if needed - I plan to spend 18 month on the road in total - but October is already late for the west coast ? .... this is the first point I came across were I struggle in my planning - and where I need advice - should I start the whole trip earlier (in march? - but then weather on the east coast is a gamble) - should I speed up in the middle of the US ? .... or is the rough plan ok and I´m overthinking ?

From there the plan is to fly the bike and myself to Sydney (I plan to do every transportation during the trip by plane - also from Germany to the US and also back from OZ as I just can´t get along with the disadvantages shipping causes - and I can afford the plane)

So I will be in OZ lets say from somewhere in November on ... maybe end of November

In OZ I got friends in the Barossa where I like to spend Christmas and new year - so I will skip Victoria as I already know it and head on from Sydney to Adelaide Beginning of December and basically spend December around Adelaide.

Then I like to follow the foot steps of Rainer rawer (Rainer's Australien Abenteuer Outback-Guide: Routenliste) - head west in January, then north in February - explore the famous outback tracks (canning stock, French line etc.) in march, head north in April and carry on via cape York in may - strolling down the east coast approx. June/July

I would be very happy if I can get advice regarding this Drafted route in order to avoid mistakes already been made in the past - I´m full aware that there will be several things which will not work as planned an I´m fine with that - but it would be good at least to exclude the well known stuff I´m not aware of by today

Thank you very much for you attention and maybe advice

Cheers, Jonas

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Hard to make out what you’re trying to see or do on the North American portion of your trip, and therefore hard to critique or offer suggestions. I’ll offer just two observations: you’re spending a month or two touring the least interesting parts of the US (least scenic as well as least interesting riding) while skipping quite a lot of what’s special, even unique. I’d try to add in some of New England while making a point of short-shifting the mid-Atlantic, Mid-West and south, and I’d certainly not miss the Four Corners region while angling up toward the Canadian Rockies. All IMHO, of course.

Hope that’s helpful.

Mark

Hi Mark,

thank you very much for your feedback - i should have mentioned that the google maps stuff is just for me getting an rough idea of the route - i just entered some turning points and dragged the route into place somehow - so nothing accurate - only visualization

I did this because by today my focus is to align the basic route with the good riding seasons for the respective region - after that i will go into detail and include the places i want to visit - like national parks etc.

But you´re right - maybe i have to bring these two things togehter and have to be more accurate on the route itself by now already ... I´ll check out on new england and the four corners region

Thx a lot !

Cheers

Definitely second Mark's recommendation to add in some New England. The coastlines there are gorgeous, with lighthouses, lobster shacks, and beautiful scenery. Even just a week exploring places like Acadia National Park or Cape Cod would be memorable.

Also agree on shortening up the middle stretches. Have you thought about going directly from the Keys up to Tennessee/Kentucky? The folks are friendly there and you can hit places like Great Smoky Mountains NP. Then swing up to the Rockies through Missouri and Colorado - really stunning rides there.

Hey There,

Thx a lot for the recommendations - i´ll check out new england for sure ! ..... problem is there is so much to see in NA - I´m afraid seasons will get in my way if I extend my stay further than November or start it way earlier than march .... its really hard to figure out a good compromise to see the US, parts of Canada and Alaska in 9 Month - AND - combine all that in a doable route ...

thx to you all for the recommandations, really helps a lot

cheers

Yes. Just as with any other continent, in 9 months you’ll miss all sorts of great places and activities. I’ve spent a total of 18 months or so in Africa and have barely scratched the surface; about the same in Latin America and have barely begun. I’ve lived in the US and Canada my whole life and have spent more than 5 full time years wandering around by various means here. It’s not as easy to find new places as it used to be, but there’s still a lot that is fresh and interesting.

My suggestion would be to look for the places that are unique to North America, i.e., not found elsewhere. Lots of room for differing opinions about what qualifies—and for different interests—but that does tend to reduce possibilities and make planning easier. In the end, 9 months will never be enough—nor will two years, or four, so you’ll either return for more at some point or spend the rest of your life listening to people tell you about all the stuff you should have done instead.

word ...... i really belive that sums it up best....

thing is I´m not the person focused only on the typical bucket list sights ... my main intention is to have just a good time over there with my bike strolling around and get in contact with the locals and the land

so maybe i just define start/end time and place and go from there... that beeing said I still think that the rough plan - start in NewYork in march, be in prudhoe bay by august and finish in Frisco in november will be my frame for this visit....

Mark can you recommend some of those places which come to your mind when you think about places that are unique to North America, i.e., not found elsewhere ?

thx a lot

cheers
Jonas

So not riding, not scenery, not high culture, not history? “Ordinary” people? “Ordinary” sights and landscape?

I don’t really know how to answer that. You must have SOME specific interests, otherwise almost anyplace is as good as anyplace else, as long as the locals are friendly—for which I’d just try to stay where the sun is out, steer clear of high tourist seasons, and these days never ever talk politics.

But if I was answering on my own behalf—as a searcher for what is extra-ordinary, not mundanities— I’d say Yellowstone and Yosemite are unique (or very nearly so), as are the Canadian Rockies parks/Icefield Highway, along with the Coast Redwoods and Four Corners region. Alaska, too, of course, although much of it really requires getting off your bike—Denali as far west as the buses will take you, Kennicott, parts of the Kenai, the mining roads past the Stuart/Hyder and the Salmon Glacier the Haul Road. On the latter, for example, stop just past Atigun Pass, ford the river and head up the obvious valley until you run out of steam. Bears, caribou, dall sheep, moose, bears, fields full of shed antlers, eternal daylight in high summer plus fantastic fall colors for a brief moment or two before it starts snowing. Although it might do that in August, so pay attention.

Note that for the above I’d make a point of early or late season in every case except Alaska/Yukon/NW Territories/Northern BC—and that’s only because you’d probably prefer to miss any significant winter weather.

Hope that’s helpful, and hope your planning serves you well!

Mark

A couple of reactions:

1) why not zigzag through western USA and end up in Alaska and then ship from there to Australia? If you start a little earlier you can be in Alaska in September, which is still pleasant.

2) In Australia you have left out Karajini and the Gibb River Road, which are highlights in my view.

thank you very much again mark ! - I found lots of inspiration for my route following your suggesstions - and also travel reports - that was very helpful

I think I will concentrate on the west - mid-west US, canada and alaska - create like a loop tour and leave east coast and south US for next time...

greetings from germany

Cheers Alan,

thx for your reply !

.... I also came to the conclusion to limit the scope of the journey to be more flexible and to make it a more relaxed experience...

I will have to decide wether I Fly in and out to canada or the US - i´ve read its more relaxed entering Canada with a vehicle via plane - will have to check on that - I´d like to create a loop and fly in and out at the same location - makes the whole organisation easier and I can reuse my crate for the bike....

For OZ the same as for NA - the google thing was more like an experiment to get a rough picture



thx again - If you have suggestions for OZ route let me know

cheers Jonas

Rather than get into a lot of detail I thought I'd share a link to our long trip in Australia - have a browse and it may give you some ideas. There's a map in the last post.

Suggestion - fly into Calgary or Vancouver, loop up to Alaska and back down through Yukon and BC, then follow the Rockies south into Arizona, Utah etc, and fly out of Los Angeles to Australia - OR Vancouver, as out of USA can be a hassle. Canada is easier.
In other words a big tall loop of the western half of the continent, and save the east for another trip.

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Grant Johnson
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Hello Jonas:

Apropos of shipping your moto by air from North America to Australia, here are some things to think about:

1) Anchorage, Alaska is a major air freight hub - one of the largest air freight hubs in the world - but there are no direct flights from Anchorage to Australia. This means your moto would have to be transferred from one aircraft to another somewhere in Asia. That increases the risk of screw-ups, and also will increase the cost of shipping. You will need to crate the moto if you ship it out from Anchorage.

2) Air Canada flies direct from Vancouver to several cities in Australia. Air Canada is also experienced shipping uncrated motorcycles, they have a program specific to shipping motos, although I don't know if they include Australia in that program. Might make sense to investigate shipping out of Vancouver. If your trip ends in Alaska, there are lots of ferries you (and your moto) can take from Alaska to ports nearby Vancouver (e.g. Seattle, or Ketchikan, or Prince George). The ferry trip down the west coast from Alaska to southern ports can be spectacular depending on what route the ferry takes.

3) Importing a foreign moto into Australia, even for temporary tourist purposes, is going to be a major PITA. You will need a carnet (expensive) and you will also encounter very strict agricultural inspection regulations that will probably require you to have the moto steam-cleaned or otherwise sterilized either prior to or upon arrival. There will also be the challenge of getting the moto insured in Oz. Do your homework carefully on this topic, I think you will probably discover that it will be cheaper to just buy a moto in Australia & sell it (or discard it) when you are finished, rather than paying two air freight trips (inwards & outwards) and paying for the carnet, the agricultural protection measures, etc.

Michael

Only going to add that Ketchikan is landlocked (although you can ship there if you want), and nowhere near Vancouver. Prince George is far inland, but Prince Rupert is on the Alaska ferry route. However, last I checked stops here were infrequent at best, and it's 1500 km by road to Vancouver (as it happens, via Prince George). And the terminus of the Alaska ferry system is Bellingham, not Seattle.

Taking ferries in one direction is fine, but it's expensive and requires some advance planning, especially if you want a cabin or plan to get off and back on again at various ports.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark