Myths and Truths about Adventure Motorcycling
 

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.

I am not sure I understood most of that and the parts I did understand were for a large part contradictory to my experience.

There is no such thing as "Adventure Motorcycling" outside the BMW colouring in department and their quest to shift dakar styled touring bikes.

There is travel, touring, whatever you want to call it. You know where you might want to go, what you might need and plan accordingly. Brighton or Bolivia, same process, different result.

The Internet and a lot of Boomers finally realising they were never going to win TT or GP created the whole bubble of b******s and selling stuff. Just like Rebel accounts and dentists on their cruisers on sunny Sundays. I'm not sure its over, still see plenty of half ton Behemoths with silver plastic square boxes.

Andy

You haven't got yourself stuck in the Facebook HU group again have you Wheelie? :rofl:

Found yourself being seduced by the siren song of over Photoshopped pictures, come hither posts about KTM's being better than, well, anything really and Rohypnol laced stories by bigger, faster and more attractive adventurers than you? Get out of there, leave, and don't go back. Ignore all the doomsters, gloomsters, (!), hucksters and snake oil salesmen. All they want to do is drag you back to their writhing cesspit of commerce and envy. Wander out into the cold dawn of financial penury that the rest of us inhabit and give your existing bike a big hug. That's the one to use, the one that's stood by you through thick and thin. Just get on, look towards the rising sun, see how it colours your dreams as you ride towards it. It's time to make penance for your previous life.

And if you're a novice or a beginner, watch as Wheelie shrugs off the ties that bound and rediscovers the simple pleasures of riding a motorcycle in an unfamiliar land. You'll spot him easily; he'll be the one wearing sackcloth and ashes and looking at the scenery rather than someone else's panniers.

TL;DR

Listen to the experience of others but make your own decisions. It's your trip and nobody else's.

Adventyre
 

Adventure motorcycling is when you go out of your comfort zon.
When you expose yourself.
And make yourself vulnerable.


It has nothing to do with type of bike you ride or what is the surface of the road.
How many miles you ride. Or if you reach that end destination or not.

so we are back to........... What is an Adventure ? and what is an Adventure bike ? Certainly not one of those big heavy 1200+ things............. something more like a t7 or cb500 x , both much better for a real adventure !:scooter::scooter::

Well let me give you somebody else's definition:

"Adventure is the unexpected experience of discovery, of course"

That seems like a reasonable way to put it, and the sort of thing you'd get straight out of a dictionary, but there's a second half to it:

"but it is also a kind of death, an end of innocence"

Now that's a lot darker. That aspect of adventure doesn't get discussed that often but it is there and you don't have to look that hard to find it.

So whose definition is it? I'm sure there's someone out there who'll recognise it. The only clue I'll give is that it was made in connection with travel.

As for trying to define an adventure bike, good luck. Wrestling with that conundrum is a puzzle of Nietzschian proportions and probably deserves its own chapter in the annals of western philosophy. :rofl:

Is this an adventure then ?.......... just go for a ride ( anywhere ) without a map
or a gps and just go where you fancy !
You never know where you will end up. That is an adventure !
When i travel seldom take a map dont have a GPS . see so many people with a guide book and a gps in both hands !

Well,,,my oh my! Not being as eloquent as you guys, ( I've read this 4 times and I don't understand most of what you guys wrote doh) I'll just try and put in my 2 cents.

First rule, adventure is the result of poor planning and impulsive decisions. My life is an example of this :rofl:
I ride big bikes. I like big bikes. Ride what YOU like.
I've been riding for 50 years and travelled to 20 plus countries on bikes,,,,and hardly took a photo or blogged or written about it,,,so I wasn't influenced by much of anything. I didn't know I was doing it wrong, so I just kept doing it.So I guess what I mean is just go ahead and do it.:scooter:
Mileage setters are missing the best part. Stop often, talk to everyone you meet, smile a lot, buy a stranger a beer. bier
Read all the advice, but walk your own path.
I don't know if this is what you were asking for, but that's what I think.
Cheers!

'Myths & Truths'....???? Not sure how long the OP took to write all that but I too didn't really understand what exactly he was getting at. There are endless threads on here debating similar content one being 'Are you a biker or Traveller' which for me is more relevant.
If you are comfortable in life and uninfluenced by others in general then you yourself know why you go travelling and what constitutes an adventure. BMW however won't like you for having an independent mindset be warned...!!!!
Its pretty sad and obvious that there is quite a few out there that would love to consider themselves AS the 'Myth' but the 'Truth' is the most interesting travellers to get a conversation going with are the more conservative ones, the ones who don't need to be heard, the ones who aren't draped in sponsored related gear and more importantly the ones who have a life, a family and a job that finances there travel lust. They go travelling or 'Adventuring' for there own specific needs and wants...

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The myths and tips idea isn't so bad, but I fear the new riders who need the tips are the ones more likely to fall for the myths?

Newbie: What bike?
"Correct Answer" : Blue 2019 KTM 790 with Aezolli Wheels, Lever Brothers luggage, green 10W63 oil and the rest of the shopping list on my blog.
Sensible answer: The one you like and can apply a few years experience to match to your needs.

Newbie: How do I get Sponsorship
"Correct Answer" : Send me your address, I'll post you free stuff and a brown envelope of 20's to pay for your holiday.
Sensible answer: Become very good at a popular sport or be more successful in your acting career.

The ones looking for the sensible answers probably know it already.

Andy

Hello

Yes, and we should nerver forget that the roads, dirt tracks etc., where we find our adventure, are the infastructure of the locals who live there.
Our "end of the world" is their "center of the world".

Heros or antiheros, don't know who you mean at the time back then.
I got inspired by books and one or two slide-shows, long before Youtube.
Never saw them as heros, just "I wanna do that too".
On Youtube I see and enjoy a lot of reports of trips, some are great, while at others I have to turn off the audio and just enjoy the film.
Everybody who has done his first ride will figure out that it's not that big a deal and will be able to differentiate for themself what others report .

What's an adventure bike?
Quite simple, if "adventure" is written on it, it's one. :D

cheers
sushi

As an anthropologist, I am not sure I would agree with what you are trying to imply. It sounds more like an attempt to describe the duality relationship between perceived perception and reality. However, the reality is a perceived notion of social constructs based on your own internal bias and perceptions.

The notions of myths and truths is an abstract one as they are equal the same and relative to the ethnocentric and idiosyncratic view of the observer. I have travelled the world three times tied to a backpack, and I have ridden or drove in three continents. If I step away from the bike, I’m still the same person has on it, the debates between biker and traveller irrelevant.

The questions asked and the solutions offered from experience are sought by others to allow them to frame the experience and develop their schema to the situation or experience.

In the 1650s, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal asked one of the most counterintuitive aphorisms of all time: “The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he cannot stay quietly in his room.” the point is here that whatever your external activity is; it is only a projection of your internal self.

A quantitative question will be sought to a qualitative problem; this is an attempt to frame the interaction to the internal socio reference perception of the one seeking the advice.
The only real solution or answer to anything will always be it is your own choice to your singular experience, or whatever one decides is the solution to them is the right answer.

The old adage of there is no dumb question, and there are no right answers; all debate is subjective and therefore meaningless. What is right for you is Right!

somebody is overthinking it...