Ground Transportation Decisions

Ever since we started thinking about taking this trip, we realized that before we could think about building something we really liked, we had to decide what we wanted to do.  Basically this means thinking about where we want to go and what level of comfort we want, but we realized that those general desires entail a lot of specific requirements.  For example, “where we want to go” doesn’t just mean deciding which National Parks we want to visit, but also whether we want to stay in the main stream easily accessible RV campgrounds, or look for more out of the way rugged isolated camping spots.  Anyone who knows us knows it didn’t take much thinking on our part to decide we’d rather stay in the more out of the way places, but that decision leads to other decisions we need to make, and those decisions lead to thoughts about design features for the camper, and then we have to think about how fancy we want to be, and on and on and on.

The current example of this type of thinking, which has been consuming vast amounts of time and bandwidth as we have waited for the underside of the bed to be completed so we can start on the top, is what we are going to do for local transportation if we park the camper in some out of the way place.  We don’t really want to have to break camp every time we decide we need to run into the nearest town for a few groceries, and we recognize that we may sometimes be farther out than would be convenient for walking or taking a bicycle.  So, we decided that we would include a motorcycle garage as part of the camper and take at least one motorcycle with us.

This may seem a simple decision to most people, but if you know us, you know that there are all sorts of complications.  The most common sense solution would be to build the garage for one motorcycle that would be big enough to carry the two of us, but small enough to be easily loaded without adding excessive cargo weight.  But, I (Marge), don’t really want to usually be the passenger, and if we had one bike and both wanted to go somewhere, two passengers would limit how much stuff we could carry.  This lead to the decision that we each wanted our own bike.

We already had an idea of general requirements for motorcycles.  Since we will be traveling through the US, we want bikes that can be legally ridden on the roads there, and can be insured.  We also want bikes that allow us to get parts and maintain them in the US.  We also know that weight matters both for keeping our cargo load down, and for ease of loading and unloading.  Here in Belize, we each had a Lifan 250, which is a low cost (and fairly low quality) Chinese bike.  We realized early on that they wouldn’t be ideal for taking to the US because of both the insurance and maintenance issues, but they did give us a good idea of size and weight parameters, since we knew that a bike that size weighed about 350 pounds, and was 85’’ long and 36” wide at the handlebars. 

Our Lifan 250s

With this in our heads, we started more extensive discussions about what requirements each of us had for a motorbike as ground transportation.  I simply want something to run fairly short errands, maybe pack a lunch and ride to a trailhead for a hike, possibly explore ahead if we are heading down a road where we think we may have trouble either passing or turning around, and, in an emergency if the camper rig breaks down, be able to unload the bike and go for help.  I don’t need to go off road, I don’t need to go too fast, and I want a bike that I’m comfortable loading and unloading on my own.

Tom wants basically the same things, although he also wants a bike that he can take to cruise around with a group of friends for a day without holding them back.  He also has more interest in going off road.  And, we both think it would be a good idea if we had at least one bike that could be safely ridden on a limited access highway at higher speeds, just in case we have to get somewhere.  While I don’t like to admit it, Tom is also stronger than I am, so loading and unloading a bigger bike on his own isn’t quite so scary for him as it is for me.

We used the weight and size of the two Lifans as working parameters to figure out the necessary size of the bike garage.  We want to make it as small as possible so there is more room in the living space, but we don’t want to make it impossible to load the bikes.  After going around and around on this, we finally decided that it would be a good idea to get the bikes before starting the build, so if we have to make minor adjustments to what is currently planned, we can do it on paper and not have to move actual walls.

We made a few decisions.  We decided that we will get Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, or Yamaha bikes since those manufacturers are popular in the US.  We also decided that I would get a small scooter-type bike, while Tom will get something with a little more umph. Because the scooters are about 150 pounds lighter than the Lifans, this gives Tom a little extra weight allowance based on our original plan if he wants a bigger bike.  And we decided that getting the bikes right now in Belize is a good idea not only for the camper planning issue, but also because it will prevent us from having to worry about importing anything when we return to Belize.

Marge on her new Honda Wave.  

So, last week, we went out and bought a Honda Wave 110S for me.  It’s light enough that I can handle it, and peppy enough to keep me happy without letting me get in too much trouble.  It’s road legal everywhere we want to go, and from all the reviews we’ve read, it will be dependable like a typical Honda.  And, its light weight gives Tom a little wiggle-room for his decision, which is still in process.  He’s narrowed it down to a Honda 250 or a Honda 400, or, possibly, some sort of Kawasaki, although advice he’s getting from knowledgeable friends has him leaning away from this because of the weight.  He’s also considering just keeping the Lifan 250 if he can’t find anything he wants here, and maybe a smaller bike would be okay, but...round and round we go.  

We are still waiting for a few more parts for the camper build, so Tom has a few more weeks to make his decision...so stay tuned!