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The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Travel: Tips, Technology, Advanced Techniques
This book is written to help motorcyclists prepare themselves and their motorcycles for traveling long distances over extended periods. Whether you are getting ready for a weekend trip beyond your home turf or for a transcontinental odyssey lasting several years, Coyner's book details the fundamentals for riding in comfort, safety, and convenience. In three major sections, the book covers trip planning, rider preparation, and outfitting the motorcycle. An appropriate level of planning for a long motorcycle trip can help maximize enjoyment and minimize irritating annoyances on the road. Coyner lays out the steps for planning a worry-free, fun trip. Over 250 full-color photographs illustrate riding gear, accessories, and modifications that will make any motorcycle adventure the trip of a lifetime.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
23 people want to read
About the author
Dale Coyner
6 books3 followersDale Coyner is the owner of Open Road Outfitters, a motorcycle accessory shop in Sterling, Virginia. He is a member of the Governor's Motorcycle Advisory Council for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the author/photographer of Motorcycle Journeys Through the Appalachians, a popular guide for enthusiasts planning trips through the region.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 18, 2011
I first bought "The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Travel" by Dale Coyne shortly after getting my second motorcycle, a bit over 2 years ago. I was looking forward to doing some camping - for me, that's the whole idea of a motorcycle: throwing on some gear and hitting the road, freeways to gravel or dirt, going places you wouldn't normally go in a car or on a mountain bike. I just couldn't get into this book - it seemed too general for someone who had a lot of travel & camping experience under her belt. After I did my 2,500 mi trip up the coast to Portland from Oakland and back down Central Oregon - the book sat. I started planning a trip for Summer 2010 - but was waylaid by an injury. This year, I did a 3,500 mi trip from Cleveland back to Oakland -- and still hadn't read the book.
This weekend, I finally sat down and read through - just so I could decide what it was about the book that people loved, and to try to find one useful tidbit of information that would make it worth the $25 I had paid.
Are you ready? My main take-away is that I could have found some throttle levers to alleviate my right hand/wrist on the trip (but I toughed up after the first week on the road). That's pretty much it.
This book is so general - it's almost as though it was written this way to extend its shelf-life. It's also very prose-heavy -- too much talk, not enough action-able items in this book -- as if to extend the number of pages, thus increasing length of the book to make it seem like it is really worth $25. The author might have done well to take a page from the "Dummies" series & Michelin Guide - more bulleted/numbered lists, charts & examples, appendixes that are useful, glossary of acronyms & more resources - perhaps linked to a website where more updates might be found between editions. Why aren't there any checklists or worksheets? Show us how YOU did it or do it or how other people do it - make it real, not just an intellectual exercise. Even better - make this guide more timely & actionable, publish updates every two years or so - and save us the pain of bad jokes that have to be explained and repetitive prose. The "Summary" sections in each chapter were painfully dense - why not just list some bulleted points instead of having multiple paragraphs that are harder to read and pull out take-aways?
The target audience appears to be someone who has never traveled, doesn't camp much, doesn't know much about technology - maybe a baby boomer just getting into motorcycle travel as he approaches his first AARP card.
Since this was published in 2007 - there's a lot of technology that needs to be updated. LED lights are very popular now, for example. People also use solar devices to charge up smartphones and other items - and you can use your smartphone for MP3, GPS & a tracking. Referring to GPS as "the dark side" dates this book and makes it seem painfully out of date - I don't know anyone who would eschew GPS for finding his or her way around - GPS is used along with paper maps (which are indispensable because you can see attractions such as national or state parks & forests).
There are a few other things that don't get adequate attention - for example: ear protection. That gets just a couple paragraphs with no charts showing decibel levels of wind/motorcycles/other cars and threshholds for hearing loss - no pictures of different types of ear protection. MOst people don't even know what custom ear protection looks like (or the fact that it might be covered by insurance), where to get it and how much better it might be than stupid little foam earplugs (which are better than nothing). This is in comparison to several pages on ear plugs and blue tooth - like you need to blast more sounds into your head while you're wearing a helmet on the road?
Despite a whole section about "monkey butt" and how non wicking fabrics cause diaper rash (oops, we aren't calling it that?) - and a bit of info on hydration - there is precious little information on managing one's health on an extended road trip. It's not just about sore butts, legs and wrists. What if you get food poisoning? What if you catch a cold or a virus? What do you do if you go through an area that has a lot of environmental contamination (such as the forest fire smoke I had to inhale for 4 hours that drifted over my only road option from a hundred miles away)? There's not a lot to be said about first aid on the bike - just "you can get tiny first aid kits." Seriously?
If the target audience is such a neophyte that you have to spend a whole chapter on "your first digital camera" - why not include better information about health, nutrition & first aid?
So much of the material is repetitive - in addition to a clothing chapter that talks about sore butts, we have a "comfort" chapter that addresses this. That's just one example.
The author also keeps referring to a passenger as a "co-rider" - seriously? That sounds lame. I mean - it's bad enough that motorcyclists insist on using the utterly passive "rider" when they mean "operator" to begin with - but "co-rider"? That just sounds dumb.
The section on "tip over guards" also had me laughing - perhaps the author should write up an introduction to the book that specifically describes the target audience. IMO, if you can't pick up your bike - it's too big for you.
The "final chapter on putting it all together was so general as to be useless - some of the advice such as arranging a house sitter to watch pets & water plants, mail & paying bills on time - it is astonishing that we're talking to people who can't think for themselves and yet we don't have a description on how to apply antibiotic ointment and a bandage to a blister!
The tool kit list and the wind chill charts were interesting - so why not include a timeline chart and checklists for the final chapter so that people can see what someone else's list looks like and build their own?
Finally - the tips from other rides page had some funny items. A roll of toilet paper? Seriously? That must be the people towing trailers talking. How about a packet of tissue in plastic or a small travel packet of wet wipes? That works better when I travel on my DR650.
If you're an armchair motorcyclist/traveler - this book is for you. Have fun. If you're actually planning a trip - check out some motorcycle forums, starting with ADVRider.com (start with the thread called "let's see a picture of your camping setup and how it all fits on your bike" and then read some trip reports but try not to get too distracted if you are at work!). There are also lots of local forums such as bayarearidersforum.com -- or brand specific forums (I like thumpertalk.com). It's not like there aren't other travelers out there - or other motorcyclists - or people who do both. I'm just not sure how many neophytes are out there who would find this outdated, overly verbose, general book useful - but if you're out there - I've listed my copy on Amazon, so please buy it!
This weekend, I finally sat down and read through - just so I could decide what it was about the book that people loved, and to try to find one useful tidbit of information that would make it worth the $25 I had paid.
Are you ready? My main take-away is that I could have found some throttle levers to alleviate my right hand/wrist on the trip (but I toughed up after the first week on the road). That's pretty much it.
This book is so general - it's almost as though it was written this way to extend its shelf-life. It's also very prose-heavy -- too much talk, not enough action-able items in this book -- as if to extend the number of pages, thus increasing length of the book to make it seem like it is really worth $25. The author might have done well to take a page from the "Dummies" series & Michelin Guide - more bulleted/numbered lists, charts & examples, appendixes that are useful, glossary of acronyms & more resources - perhaps linked to a website where more updates might be found between editions. Why aren't there any checklists or worksheets? Show us how YOU did it or do it or how other people do it - make it real, not just an intellectual exercise. Even better - make this guide more timely & actionable, publish updates every two years or so - and save us the pain of bad jokes that have to be explained and repetitive prose. The "Summary" sections in each chapter were painfully dense - why not just list some bulleted points instead of having multiple paragraphs that are harder to read and pull out take-aways?
The target audience appears to be someone who has never traveled, doesn't camp much, doesn't know much about technology - maybe a baby boomer just getting into motorcycle travel as he approaches his first AARP card.
Since this was published in 2007 - there's a lot of technology that needs to be updated. LED lights are very popular now, for example. People also use solar devices to charge up smartphones and other items - and you can use your smartphone for MP3, GPS & a tracking. Referring to GPS as "the dark side" dates this book and makes it seem painfully out of date - I don't know anyone who would eschew GPS for finding his or her way around - GPS is used along with paper maps (which are indispensable because you can see attractions such as national or state parks & forests).
There are a few other things that don't get adequate attention - for example: ear protection. That gets just a couple paragraphs with no charts showing decibel levels of wind/motorcycles/other cars and threshholds for hearing loss - no pictures of different types of ear protection. MOst people don't even know what custom ear protection looks like (or the fact that it might be covered by insurance), where to get it and how much better it might be than stupid little foam earplugs (which are better than nothing). This is in comparison to several pages on ear plugs and blue tooth - like you need to blast more sounds into your head while you're wearing a helmet on the road?
Despite a whole section about "monkey butt" and how non wicking fabrics cause diaper rash (oops, we aren't calling it that?) - and a bit of info on hydration - there is precious little information on managing one's health on an extended road trip. It's not just about sore butts, legs and wrists. What if you get food poisoning? What if you catch a cold or a virus? What do you do if you go through an area that has a lot of environmental contamination (such as the forest fire smoke I had to inhale for 4 hours that drifted over my only road option from a hundred miles away)? There's not a lot to be said about first aid on the bike - just "you can get tiny first aid kits." Seriously?
If the target audience is such a neophyte that you have to spend a whole chapter on "your first digital camera" - why not include better information about health, nutrition & first aid?
So much of the material is repetitive - in addition to a clothing chapter that talks about sore butts, we have a "comfort" chapter that addresses this. That's just one example.
The author also keeps referring to a passenger as a "co-rider" - seriously? That sounds lame. I mean - it's bad enough that motorcyclists insist on using the utterly passive "rider" when they mean "operator" to begin with - but "co-rider"? That just sounds dumb.
The section on "tip over guards" also had me laughing - perhaps the author should write up an introduction to the book that specifically describes the target audience. IMO, if you can't pick up your bike - it's too big for you.
The "final chapter on putting it all together was so general as to be useless - some of the advice such as arranging a house sitter to watch pets & water plants, mail & paying bills on time - it is astonishing that we're talking to people who can't think for themselves and yet we don't have a description on how to apply antibiotic ointment and a bandage to a blister!
The tool kit list and the wind chill charts were interesting - so why not include a timeline chart and checklists for the final chapter so that people can see what someone else's list looks like and build their own?
Finally - the tips from other rides page had some funny items. A roll of toilet paper? Seriously? That must be the people towing trailers talking. How about a packet of tissue in plastic or a small travel packet of wet wipes? That works better when I travel on my DR650.
If you're an armchair motorcyclist/traveler - this book is for you. Have fun. If you're actually planning a trip - check out some motorcycle forums, starting with ADVRider.com (start with the thread called "let's see a picture of your camping setup and how it all fits on your bike" and then read some trip reports but try not to get too distracted if you are at work!). There are also lots of local forums such as bayarearidersforum.com -- or brand specific forums (I like thumpertalk.com). It's not like there aren't other travelers out there - or other motorcyclists - or people who do both. I'm just not sure how many neophytes are out there who would find this outdated, overly verbose, general book useful - but if you're out there - I've listed my copy on Amazon, so please buy it!
Displaying 1 of 1 review