Regional drive/ride planning

[Garandman]

Trying to put together a trip with the Sprinter van and a motorcycle. My idea is to drive to a desirable area, put up at a campsite or leave the van with friends, ride in the area 2-5 days, and move on. This means I’ll be riding a loop in most instances.

Thus far I’m planning trips to NC/SC, the Southern Rockies, and N California. But I don’t know what else I’m missing. What else am I missing? Thinking Spring for the South and the month of September for the western portions.

Also contemplating what bike to take. The a Tiger 1050 ABS is well set up and only 13,000 miles, but wondering if I should dump it (their resale value is minimal) and get something else. Can’t really fit two bikes though I’d also like to do some track days.

[Falko]

A friend of mine did a nice trip in Wyoming a number of years back. The pics looked awesome. What's that other road, in CO I think it is, Million dollar highway or something?

[e30addict]

You should add West Virginia, Tennesee and parts of Kentucky to your southern loop. Nova Scotia, Quebec and Newfoundland as well if you haven't ventured up there.

The Tiger is a perfect bike for what you describe. I take my 800 on 5k mile trips and we just camp off the bikes, so your 1050 should be good to go for using a van.

That said, an adventure bike where you dont even have to slow down when the pavement ends would vastly increase your options on where you could go.

[e30addict]

A friend of mine did a nice trip in Wyoming a number of years back. The pics looked awesome. What's that other road, in CO I think it is, Million dollar highway or something?

Going to the Sun road in MT is supposed to be epic.

[nhbubba]

Honestly in those areas there is so much to see by paved road that I would not be hunting for dirt "adventures". A Tiger 1050 would be a fine, fine choice.

In my experience the south is an excellent place to do the day-ride out of a base-camp thing. But out west I would want to string together days connected by hotels and cover more distance.

That sort of speaks to bike choice too. Down south I'd ride anything from a naked SV to my harley or an ADV'er. Out west I'd want something capable of covering more miles. A sport tourer is the ticket there, IMO. Larger, sportier ADV'ers that blur the line to sport-tourer would do nicely too. The Tiger 800 I rented was excellent, if not on the small/light side for that trip.

I have GPS or google-map tracks and ride reports for my trips to SoCal and the 10-dayer we did from New England to NC and back if you are interested. The NC trip has some markbvt gems. That dude can find some epic roads. The Cali trip had a bunch of quality input from cats on adv-rider.

I don't have tracks from the first gap-trip we did. But can point out highlights if needed.

[02redhawk]

Going to the Sun road in MT is supposed to be epic.

It is an amazing road. Be sure to come in from the Lake McDonald end and head toward Logan Pass. Watch out for blind turns and boulders!

[Paul_E_D]

Van supported moto touring is awesome. We have done Nova Scotia and NC so far. Getting to the west coast is next. Finding the time is what stops us. Have fun and keep us posted! I would think out west you might tend towards multiple days away from the van as everything is bigger/farther out there.

[RandyO]

Ozarks

several years ago, I had a 4 day weekend, I took advantage by starting with an IBA Bunburner Gold, from Newington, NH, to Joplin,MO, the next day, I spenf exploring Ozarks, mosly along the MO/OK/AR border, ended up 600 miles later crossing into KS & TX just so I could say I was there, ending in Vivian, LA, the 2 days to get back to NH,

I wanna get back, I only got a sampling, Southwestern, MO, western AR is as good as it gets, nice roads (none of this new england frost heave shit), great eateries,

[Paul_E_D]

Ozarks

several years ago, I had a 4 day weekend, I took advantage by starting with an IBA Bunburner Gold, from Newington, NH, to Joplin,MO, the next day, I spenf exploring Ozarks, mosly along the MO/OK/AR border, ended up 600 miles later crossing into KS & TX just so I could say I was there, ending in Vivian, LA, the 2 days to get back to NH,

I wanna get back, I only got a sampling, Southwestern, MO, western AR is as good as it gets, nice roads (none of this new england frost heave shit), great eateries,

Yeah, Eureka Springs would be a good place to post up the van.

[RandyO]

Yeah, Eureka Springs would be a good place to post up the van.

https://www.cruisetheozarks.com/cabins-resorts.shtml

[oVTo]

Another vote for Montana, Glacier National Park is beautiful. Just outside the park in St. Mary is the Park Cafe, famous for their pies. Our favorite was huckleberry with a scoop of huckleberry ice cream. There's a nice campground just a couple miles north that would make a great place to park the Sprinter. Alberta is just north and definitely worth a visit.

We spent a couple weeks in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland a few years ago, and it's worth another visit.

The roads in the southeast (Tennessee, NC, Georgia, etc.) were great riding, definitely worth the visit.

We're planning on doing the same thing - drive, park, and ride for a few days or weeks to explore the area, then move on. I was originally thinking I'd bring the Multistrada, but it might be too big/heavy, so I'm thinking about taking the Bonneville instead. I'm looking forward to hearing what bike you pick and how it works out.

Sprinters seem to be the vehicle of choice. We have been looking at them and at Class C RVs, with the bike on a carrier on back. For those who have the Sprinters, do you mind saying why you chose them?

[loudbeard]

Sprinters seem to be the vehicle of choice. We have been looking at them and at Class C RVs, with the bike on a carrier on back. For those who have the Sprinters, do you mind saying why you chose them?

Easy, man. It's the chicks. Sweet van plus a piece of candy or two and you're in there like swimwear. If this vans-a-rockin' don't come a-knockin' amirite?

[SRTie4k]

Honestly in those areas there is so much to see by paved road that I would not be hunting for dirt "adventures".

I don't think you specifically need to "hunt" for dirt roads, but being able to take them really opens up the possibilities when riding out west. Not all of them require an ADV bike (I think a Tiger 1050 is perfectly fine for most of these roads), but having "ADVish" tires certainly helps if the weather doesn't cooperate.

All the BDR's, the Gravelly Range, Monument Valley, all the winding dirt roads in and out of the Bighorn Mountains, all those mountain passes in Colorado. Hell North Carolina has a myriad of backcountry roads that are phenomenal. I definitely wouldn't pass up the opportunity to expand my range just because the road turned to dirt.

[Garandman]

//Sprinters seem to be the vehicle of choice. We have been looking at them and at Class C RVs, with the bike on a carrier on back. For those who have the Sprinters, do you mind saying why you chose them?

Easy, man. It's the chicks. Sweet van plus a piece of candy or two and you're in there like swimwear. If this vans-a-rockin' don't come a-knockin' amirite?

Who am I to disagree with that?

1. Sprinters were the first Eurovan [stand-up headroom] offered in the US market. The Ram Promaster weren’t available until the 2010’s. The Sprinter was offered from 2001 (I think) and many were sold to Fedex and other services. The T1N (through 2006) models have a supremely durable turbo diesel drivetrain. So supply of under $10,000 vans.

2. Second-gen and later Sprinter diesels have had problems with diesel emissions control systems. Repairs are reported to be $3,000+ for DPF systems. Mercedes is now offering gas models.

3. Mexico and other countries do not have low-sulphur fuel available, required by the next-gen diesels.

Transit outsold Sprinter by 3-6X almost from their release, so they’ll eventually take over the used market.