Hi all, I've just been turned on to HU by the folks over at ADVrider. I'm told this is a more international community with better advice regarding the logistics of global travel.

An introduction:

After years collecting dust, my childhood dream of learning to ride a motorcycle came true in my late 20's during Fall 2020. I did some highway touring on a Honda CBR250R and a Husqvarna TR650 Terra. It was mostly short trips from Sacramento, California (USA) to nearby spots like Yosemite National Park but I once did a long haul to Detroit, Michigan via I-80 with back roads on the return. It was fun but the plan was always to get into more dirt stuff.

Just as I was getting started with weekend trips to Mendocino National Forest and the Sierra Nevada mountains to hone my off-road skills, the Husky motor crapped out (Nikasil bore stripped due to Pod Mod too late; if you know, you know...). I spent a couple months fixing it but life as married man who works full time and then some to make ends meet took over. Just after I got back in the saddle, a bad highway accident totaled the Husky and put me in the hospital with seven broken bones and damage to my lungs and spleen.

Fast forward a little over a year and I'm adventurizing a low-mileage 2002 DR-Z. I've moved into the San Francisco Bay Area (California, USA) where riding is riskier and less rewarding than the northern California Sierra Nevada and wine country that I learned in but the dream is to one day move back to a place with deserted twisties and dirt roads enough for a retirement's worth of riding.

I finally decided to become active on forums like ADVrider and HU as I'm planning a tour in Southeast Asia to reunite with the guy who taught me how to ride. It'll be my first time operating a motor vehicle for any distance outside the US and if we can swing it, my first time ever crossing land borders that require visas. I'm hoping to get some travel tips from the experienced folks here on the forum.

Cheers!

-D.T. Leitner

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Hello and welcome to the forum,

Plenty of people here with experience of SE Asia, I think one or two actually live there so someone should be able to answer your questions.

I have to say the roads of California are some of my favourites, I have ridden hwy1 a few times and the Sierra Nevadas have some great roads and I have also found that crossing The Golden Gate and Bay Bridges on a foreign registered bike avoids the tolls.

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for suggesting HU, Mark.

I guess that's a reason to bring the WR155R back with me from VN then!

permanent_transient, welcome to HU from me as well. Be sure to spend some time browsing the menu at the top - there's a ton of info linked to from there.
Also check out he Achievable Dream video series we created a few years ago - that will keep you busy for quite a while!
https://www.vimeo.com/horizonsunlimited
cheers!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Thanks, Grant. It looks like there's a wealth of information on this site. I hope to put as much of it to use as possible!