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TriRacer27
8/31/2017 9:00am
8/31/2017 9:00am
Hey guys, I need some advice.
I just came back from vacation in Montana and Idaho, and my dad and I both decided we have to go back and do a motorcycle trip of some kind there next summer. I saw so many people on adventure bikes or with dirt bikes in the back of their trucks, and probably had the saddest face of jealousy you've ever seen just thinking about riding through those hills.
Anyway, we are open to either a more dual-sport oriented ride on adventure bikes, or a more enduro based ride with some country roads on some EXCs, XRs, or similar. We want to do about a 5-6 day trip so storage would be an issue on enduro bikes unless we have a support vehicle or keep it to a minimum on stuff.
So, from those who have experience doing this:
- What type of trip would you recommend?
- Do you know of any outfits that offer good guided trips or that rent appropriate bikes in that area? (I've only found one in SLC but it didn't have any off-road adventure bikes or enduro bikes)
- Have you ever bought bikes in the area and re-sold them after a ride (this may end up a better option if we can't find good bikes to rent)
- Would we be better off just shipping our bikes from Texas and back?
Open to any and all suggestions. Thanks.
I just came back from vacation in Montana and Idaho, and my dad and I both decided we have to go back and do a motorcycle trip of some kind there next summer. I saw so many people on adventure bikes or with dirt bikes in the back of their trucks, and probably had the saddest face of jealousy you've ever seen just thinking about riding through those hills.
Anyway, we are open to either a more dual-sport oriented ride on adventure bikes, or a more enduro based ride with some country roads on some EXCs, XRs, or similar. We want to do about a 5-6 day trip so storage would be an issue on enduro bikes unless we have a support vehicle or keep it to a minimum on stuff.
So, from those who have experience doing this:
- What type of trip would you recommend?
- Do you know of any outfits that offer good guided trips or that rent appropriate bikes in that area? (I've only found one in SLC but it didn't have any off-road adventure bikes or enduro bikes)
- Have you ever bought bikes in the area and re-sold them after a ride (this may end up a better option if we can't find good bikes to rent)
- Would we be better off just shipping our bikes from Texas and back?
Open to any and all suggestions. Thanks.
ADVRider.com. Those guys live for it.
If you want to ADV ride then Glacier/Flathead is hard to beat. North Cascades hwy would be another good option.
Also, check out the old Lolo motorway. If you want to trail ride then the Eastern edge of the WA Cascades and Idaho panhandle will not disappoint.
http://www.klim.com/news/index.ssp?postID=450
The Shop
Maybe you could team up with a couple people in your area and offer to pay for the fuel if they haul your bikes? Then you fly in and ride.
I use a couple of apps, one called "Scenic", one called "Greatest Roads" and also a website, plotaroute.com to plan out some dual sport rides. The Scenic app even has navigation and you can download offline maps as well but the issue I've found with it is the map itself gets a little sketchy at times. It occasionally has some spots where it doesn't seem to have roads mapped where I know for a fact a road is or it has the opposite problem and says a road is there that hasn't existed for a long time (the others, as well as Google do that as well though). So it's good to have alternates in places that look sketchy on the map. Of course, it's a lot different out there than it is here, so you might not have any issues getting through.
I first want to figure out what options are available and what locals recommend. As for EXC vs ADV bikes, I lean much more towards EXCs, but my dad, though he comes from a moto background, is getting up there in age and feels more comfortable on milder dirt roads more suitable for an ADV bike. So I'll have to find a balance. Then if other friends end up coming as well, that might tip it one way or the other depending on who is coming. I have some friends interested who don't ride any dirt, and some who have never ridden on the street. Gonna be interesting either way.
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