When I started following the comunity more than two decades ago (joining HU more than 15 years ago), there was a lack of easily accessible information (of sound quality) about adventure motorcycling - especially in relation to very remote destinations.

Although adventure motorcycling was nothing new in itself at the time, it was still fairly young on the Internet. Particularily loud voices, coming from a few, but not so candid self pronounced experts, took up a lot of space. Their voices were amplified and echoed through the sofa-travelers who who joined the quire - sofa travelers who hid the fact that they had little first hand experience - passing on hearsay as both fact and first hand information.

Some of the loudest had set out on adventures to satisfy a need to both feel and be perceived as special and extraordinary. To solidify this, they created a false narrative which imposed a false image upon the world - one of themselves as heroic adventurers dealing with dangers and struggles - all blown way out of proportion (Truth: adventure motorcycling, however special the experience is to the avdenturer, it doens't make the traveler into anyone special, just one of many tousands of members of a very special comunity).

Many noobs were led astray - having been led to believe that going on a motorcycle adventure required far more skills, knowledge, tools, funds, bravery, time, etc, etc, etc - than really was the case. To some the whole notion of undertaking an adventure lost its luster, to others expectations were increased and not met. Others still, went over kill on their preparations - spending too much time and money getting prepared. Some decided to shelve their dreams until such a time when things were better aligned - only to experience that the real window of opportunity closed on them..

The self pronounced heroes led some opposers and truth seekers to follow the anti heros of the past - to set out to prove to the world that one can go RTW with; no funds, no plan, no skills, no prior experience - on motorized bikes barely suitable to take you arround your own neigborhood. The tales on the internet of people who have done exactly that are now so many that there should be no doubt - motorcycle adventuring is accessible to everyone!

The anti heros, however effective they were at killing off heroic myths, they created their own damming myths - that anything goes for anyone and everyone - that there are no real "needs", only "nice to haves"..... "Don't listen to the fanatics that try to impose a monster insurance on you. Just take your wallet, your passport, and whatever vehicle you have - and just go, go go!. It will be the most enjoyable and enriching experience of your life!". There is more than one breed of fanatics in this community I guess.

The Adventure Motorcycling Community has come a long ways the last 20 years. But, even though both the heros and anti heros of the past have become older and more mature, taking a more moderate and balanced stance on matters - the remnants of the old still echo ever so softly - leading to continued distortion of myths and truths. It is very easy for a noob, with little information to go on, to stumble upon these echoes - sometimes even in newer threads.

In particular it seems that there is still some confusion between; "capable" vs "suitable", "possible" vs "reasonable", "nice to have" vs "need to have", "tangible benefits" vs "intangible benefits", "functional attributes" vs "emotional attributes", and so forth. The informational approach often fail to see that there is a gliding scale between these opposites, and not a one or the other.

We owe it to ourselves and others to provide context when we both ask for the opinion of others, or give our own - keeping in mind that everything is relative and that choices are personal.

For example: Where one bike might deliver in full in the emotional department, it may deliver short in the practical department. Does that mean it is a poor choice for someone with a particular emotional perversion - an itch that can't be scrathed enough? What if it is just a kinky fetish that one needs to get out of one's system before being able to pursue the more practical choice - maybe on the follow up trip? Hardly so! Still, usually the functional attributes carries more relevance to more people than emotional attributes, far more often than not. Whereas discussions about feelings cannot be won with reasoning, there is always such a thing as a "most pragmatic option" for any given situation. In the end, choices are personal and usually subject to compromise. The best we can do is provide context and explanation to the advice we deal - so that the other can make a personal, yet informed decision.


What I would like for this thread is that people discuss myths and truths pertaining to motorcycle adventuring. I think it would be especially useful if it is directed towards novices and beginners.

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