Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi all
I have a five year plan.
Within the next five years I want to learn to ride , get experience, then ride from my house near Toronto Canada, down to California and back. What would be the best ride for that Month long vacation?
Would a cruiser be better, or an adventure bike?
Given that I am 5'6" 200lbs+ with a 29" inseam, please feel free to give me your input.

Thank you all in advance

Only a month? Sounds like you are planning a turn and burn trip, that is to say burn down there quickly in two weeks and immediately turn around and burn back.

As for the type of bike to get, well that depends on a number of important factors.

1) What type of roads will you be traveling and exploring?
If you plan to stay on pavement, then a cruiser will do nicely, however if you are thinking of exploring some back gravel roads, then I would not recommend a cruiser and instead would recommend a dual sport. BMW makes a few nice dual sport models that are said to be excellent for long distance touring.

2) What type of rider you become.
Again, a persons choice of bike is really dictated in no small part by the type of rider they are. There are those who love to go hell bent for leather and get their knee down at any given opportunity. For them, nothing less then a 600RR sport bike will do. Others love to take it easy and ride in a more laid back manner and for them there are the cruiser style bikes. However, some people say that cruiser style bikes like 600RR's are not really all that comfortable on long trips with long hours in the saddle. I can't say myself, as I don't ride a geezer glide.

One thing odd thing about entry into the sport. Many have an idea of what they want to ride and the style of bike they want only to find as they learn and ride more, their style and tastes change as they mature. So it would be best that during the early stages of your riding career, you experiment and try out as many different style and types of bike you can and discover what is the best fit for you.

3) How much kit are you planning on hauling?
Compared to a sub-compact car, bikes generally have a very limited amount of storage and stowage space. If you are planning on bringing a small tent, sleeping bags and other things need to rough it outdoor along with changes of clothing, food and toiletries, then you might want to consider a bike that comes with fairly large hard cases, a top box and places to hook down bungie cords and cargo nets. There are full on touring machines such as the Honda Goldwing which possibly has the storage capacity of a small lock up/shed. There is also the ST or sport-touring class such as the Honda ST, Kawasaki Concours and Triumph Sprint GT, which are nice fast sporty ride with really comfortable seating positions. I have an '87 Concours and it is the most comfortable bike I have ever owned, plus it can still give some of those 600RR racer boys a good run for their money.

And since you are not planning on taking this trip anytime soon, you have plenty of time to try out a number of bike styles and find which is best suited for you own taste and riding style. After which, you should be able to answer your own question. But till then, have fun learning and riding.

People can go cross country on anything from 50cc scooters to big ol goldwings. And (almost) any bike you get can be retrofit with items to make your trip safer and more enjoyable. So, without really answering your question, I think the biggest determining factor here is COMFORT. On a long distance trip, any small discomfort will turn into a big discomfort REALLY QUICKLY (because we tend to focus on these things when we're riding long miles.) And something that's preccupying your mind (discomfort) can cause you to pay less attention to the road = BIG PROBLEM! Sooo. No matter what you get, make sure you ride it for a good long time (do some 200 mile day runs or multiple day runs in the lead up to your trip) and fix/replace whatever is causing you discomfort (I don't care what bike you get, there will probably be something.)

The second limiting factor is probably going to be inseam. 29" is probably too short for something like an r1200gs (for xample) without some suspension mods. Cruisers are more low down, but often the feet-forward riding position can be very uncomfortable (especially on a stock seat) for long distances.

COMFORT COMFORT COMFORT!!!!!!

+1 on the COMFORT COMFORT COMFORT....

also.....enough power to handle the mountain roads....
for example...a Yamaha 650 V-Star would be ok...unless of course you want a really big bike....