Perimeter Ride of USA

[w4swk]

Well, we've lost our minds.....my wife and I have ridden 2 wheels since we were pre-teen. One of our "bucket list" items is a perimeter ride of the United States (not the 4 corner ride). Not wishing to follow the regular crowd, we have decided to do it on scooters. After much research, we feel the Burgman 650 is the optimal choice. Our son works at the local cycle center and has provided great feedback on this machine.

If all goes on schedule, we will be leaving during the second week of May. We feel that with regular riding, the trip will take as long as is necessary. We plan to leave Texas and head West toward San Diego then up the coast to Washington. Mom lives in Fresno, so we will jog over for a little visit. Then it will be back to the coast (gotta keep this a proper perimeter ride!) and off to the North. From there, we will travel East while keeping as far North as possible, then down south to the Keys. After a little rest in the Keys, we will head 'round the West coast of Florida then back to Texas.

We have no idea how long this ride will take but we have the rest of our lives to do it!

Ken and Sharlene

[MacDoc]

My only serious suggestion is to continue north and do the coast as much as possible up to Alaska and then back down the Rockies to the US border and THEN head east. Will add 4-6 weeks and perhaps be the best part of the ride.
Burgman 650 will be fine for it.
There is much of the Inside Passage along the west coast that can be done by car ferry. Suggest June for that segment.

[w4swk]

Hi Mac

Great suggestion but that would most likely involve Canada. I love Canada but since we take our "security" with us at all times that could prove a bit tricky! Our friends in Canada are not quite as understanding as folks here in the Lone Star State!

[cav86sv01burg?]

Sounds like a great trip. I've done a Mini perimeter , east to the maime coast ,south to fl, , west to the mississippi . North to the border and then back east along the great lakes to Ny,
Ken, If you are bringing your own security,Texas style, be very aware if discovered in many of the unenlighten areas of the country, you could be spending more time as their guest than you are planning.

[Steve D UK]

Blimey. How many miles (roughly) would that trip entail?

[JustPassinThru]

Hi Mac

Great suggestion but that would most likely involve Canada. I love Canada but since we take our "security" with us at all times that could prove a bit tricky! Our friends in Canada are not quite as understanding as folks here in the Lone Star State!

Having gone cross-country many times, many different routes...unless the OP wants to see Banff, I'd go Stateside. More to see, literally; gas much cheaper (when you factor in the exchange rate now) and accommodations cheaper and more common.

Canada is a splendid country; but their West is more of a wasteland than is ours, with less aimed to the tourist. Just miles and miles of flatland, with very, very unappealing stopping points. Banff is worth the trip, but getting there is like Purgatory.

Also...if the OP is going to ride one-up with his S.O., two scooters...I'd recommend Burgman 400s. Better on gas; roomy for luggage; less complexity in the drivetrain. And cheaper to buy in...

[JustPassinThru]

Blimey. How many miles (roughly) would that trip entail?

At least 8000, if they went all the way around, including the "arm" into New England. Just one leg cross-country, Maine to Washington, is 3200 miles.

It's a lot of riding.

[Buffalo]

Hi Mac

Great suggestion but that would most likely involve Canada. I love Canada but since we take our "security" with us at all times that could prove a bit tricky! Our friends in Canada are not quite as understanding as folks here in the Lone Star State!

There could be a way to include part of Alaska in your trip without having to ride in Canada. You could use the Alaska Marine Highway System to ferry from Washington state to Alaska. http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/map.shtml. Would cost a little though. About $1,500 one way for two people and two bikes to get to the Juneau area. Another $350 if you want a 2 berth cabin instead of sleeping in one of the open lounge areas. About twice that if you want to get up to Homer so you could connect to the highways that on go up into the interior of Alaska.

[w4swk]

Well, the excitement is building! Tomorrow we go over and pick up scooter #1. We have a line on the second one (a really clean machine) but it is a trike conversion (useless to us). No matter, we have a few others to look at. I will post pics...

Ken

[Scootereno]

Sounds like a great trip and the 650 will handle it. Someday I might find the time to do such a trip myself. Might want to plan on a rear tire change in Florida probably after the Keys. Just to be on the safe side. The Florida roads can be tough on tires not to mention the ~6000 miles to get there......oil change at that time might not hurt either.
Good Luck and enjoy the short coast line here in Georgia!

[w4swk]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the great advice! I have a brother in Jax. and was hoping to make a stop at his place. While there, I should be able to do "advanced" routine maintenance!We are pretty excited about this trip. Tomorrow, we go down and pick up scooter #2! When we get 'round your way, maybe you could join up and ride a few miles. posting.php?mode=reply&f=14&t=56977#

[w4swk]

Well, we brought scooter #2 home today...in pouring rain! We left early this morning under cloudy skies. Weather was calling for light showers to move out of the area. As is usual here, the weather forecasters were wrong. The 2 hour ride turned into 3.5 hours with most of it in heavy rain. On the return trip, the rain stopped but gave way to high winds...the price we pay to live in Texas!!!

Ken

[SilverDollar]

You are a lucky man! Wish I could get my wife to ride, either 2 up or on her own. I would love to take the perimeter ride, I think it would be a great adventure. Keep us posted.

[w4swk]

Yes SD, you are correct. I am a lucky man! My wife is adventurous, fun, and loves to ride motorcycles and scooters. All this and beauty as well....yes, I am lucky!

[RidgeRider]

New York is one of those states who treat your "security" as a felony. And they don't have reciprocal agreements with other states.

Have a safe and wonderful ride, and keep us posted.

[w4swk]

Probably why New York has such a low crime rate. Nonetheless, as a U.S. citizen I have the right of passage in America. This concept has been addressed at the Federal level to cover such situations:

Federal protections

"New York State is of particular concern to interstate motorists who travel with firearms, because New York separates all of New England from the bulk of the United States. This means that under the Firearm Owners Protection Act, all people traveling through New York City and New York state with firearms are protected by federal law, however they must have their firearms unloaded and locked in a hard case where they are not readily accessible (e.g. in the trunk of a vehicle).[18] They can never be in possession of a high capacity feeding device made post-ban."

More than likely, we will route our trip to include the LEAST amount of New York as is possible.

[Daboo]

Let's drop any further discussion of "security" and any other euphemisms for "firearms" in accordance with the forum rules that are on each forum page.

The following items are now no longer discussion topics allowed anywhere on the BurgmanUSA forums, except in the "Back Alley" forum:

Firearms
Religion
Politics

These, and any other controversial topics, must be restricted to the Back Alley forum.

Sorry, but let's keep this thread just to the OP's original subject.

Chris

[w4swk]

"Sorry, but let's keep this thread just to the OP's original subject."

Great idea!
Now can someone help me figure out just where the heck we will be staying the night in Key West!!! LOL

[Daboo]

Dave_J and I can offer to show you around once you get close to the Seattle area. Maybe even put you up. And Garnet can show you around the Olympic peninsula. Jenkins can show you around Coupeville. And there are more of us in the local area who will be glad to ride with you. But...could you get a little closer first???

Chris

[w4swk]

The day is finally here. We leave for day 1 of the perimeter ride tomorrow! We are busy packing and adjusting our gear. We have decided to replace the rear tire on one of the scooters as we go through Dallas. Starting out from Wetumka, OK to Denton, TX on to Livingston,TX day 2. The actual touch off of the perimeter ride will be I-10 Houston day 3, of our ride. Feel free to follow our progress at :

http://kenshar.blogspot.com
If anyone would like to join us on any leg(s) of this history making event, we will be updating our location daily on the blogspot.

[trkcpa]

Ken and Sharlene, may God bless and keep you on your perimeter trip. We will be following along.

Tom and Peggy

[notdeadman]

Both of the Burgman 400 riders in this household have your link bookmarked.
Life has been a bit mild here since the Scooter Cannonball 2012 ended
over on Modern Vespa. We are hoping for a NEW daily scooter fix for a
while.
May your trip be safe and happy.
Thank you for the entertainment.

[w4swk]

Ken and Sharlene, may God bless and keep you on your perimeter trip. We will be following along.

Tom and Peggy

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the kind words...can't ever have too many blessings! We are very excited about the ride. We have stored the RV (our home) at Aunt and Uncle in Ok. and are heading out tomorrow (if I can get to sleep)! We will be stopping by the Cycle Center in Denton for a photo op (they were VERY helpful in getting us set up for the trip). Just FYI...the scooter is running great! I changed all the fluids on both machines so we should be good until around the northern crossing. Sharlene gets a new rear tire tomorrow and I will probably need one somewhere between Maine and Washington.

We will update the blog daily (depending on WI-FI) so ride along with us!

[joe 90]

you need to see the sunset and sunrise at the keys so dont go to sleep

[NormanB]

I will follow your blog with both interest and envy. Hope you both fulfill your dreams and have a superb time.