This is something I am beginning to ponder and I am likely 2-3 years out on this plan...

My fiance is coming over from a different country, she has never been to the USA. There are at least 10+ years of 3-4 week vacations just in the USA, probably more. She is into motorcycles so touring via motorcycle MAY be in the cards. I currently have a 17 Heritage Classic. My fiance is about 110lbs of Filipina so im not concerned with being over weight on the Heritage.

Thats the back story.

Now with that in mind I am embarking on two thought processes.

1. Tour a bit on my current bike locally, say within 5-6 hours of where I live(Dallas, TX) just to see how she likes it before spending 27-30k on a touring bike. If she likes it then my thought is to buy an Electra Glide Ultra Limited and kit it up for long distance touring and plan to travel the USA on it. I would likely keep my current bike also for daily riding as I cant see myself wanting to horse around an Ultra Limited going for ice cream or whatever locally.

2. Buy a nice toy hauler RV. There are a few REALLY nice ones out there. 5th wheel form. 75k-100k new, obviously less used. This would also require me to buy a diesel truck(likely F250) which I have already been contemplating anyway so I am not really counting that cost into this equation. I would keep my current Heritage and likely also be able to bring my sport bike as all the toy haulers I am seeing can fit 2 bikes. This is obviously the more expensive path.


I am torn on which way I would like to go honestly. I REALLY want to tour the country on a bike. HOWEVER I feel that we would get more use out of a toy hauler RV. I understand the RV life style and all that goes along with it as my family has had RV's for a long time.

Anybody got any thoughts on each avenue? Anybody done both?

I am guessing the common consensus on here will be "get a touring bike and tour", but I also see a lot of threads of people who trailer bikes to their destination and then tour around.

 

I'm still stuck on your first choice. When you say kit it up for long distance touring, what does that mean. You should not have to do anything to do long distance touring on a touring bike.

 

I guess I mean buying 2 helmets like Schuberth C3 Pro's with the communications system at 800-1000 a piece, possibly extra piece of luggage for the top of the tour pack(I have a large sissy bar bag now from Dowco, but wouldnt work on a touring bike), possibly different windshield like an LRS, etc... Dont think I would change out the suspension, but the Ohlins stuff gets rave reviews over the factory suspension.

 

I think this is a decision only you can make. Do you want to make a base camp with the rv and ride in luxury getting to point A? Or do you want to always be mobile moving to new locations every day? I don’t think anyone can really help make that decision for you.

 

Some would claim a Heritage is not a full up touring bike. I would agree that it would need some upgrades from stock to do so comfortably.

 

My heritage is setup as much as possible for touring now...

I would NOT be doing any long range 2 up touring on it.

I would buy an Ultra Limited if that is the path we choose.

 

Sounds about right to me.

 

I would start with short 3-4 day trips with the heritage to see how she handles it, maybe rent an ultra for a week. As you already stated RVs are a substantial investment compared to the ultra.

Personally I would opt for the ultra as I enjoy the freedom that is motorcycling rather than haul a house around the country much more. YMMV.

Good luck with your decision and many happy miles!

 

there's another option.

get a trailer to tow your bike, then when you get to your destination, get a hotel room. you can do several day rides and then move on to the next destination.

i wanted a toy hauler. but after looking at the expense of the hauler, the extra gas it would take, and the cost of decent campgrounds, it really seemed like it would be an awful lot of money for something that didn't get used that often. so we compromised. we bought a kendon dual trailer. we'll tow our bikes to destination, and stay at a hotel. paid cash for the trailer so we aren't paying every month for something that only gets used a couple of times a year.

and don't listen to the naysayers who will tell you not to get a trailer and ride everywhere you go. you do what's right for you. not everyone has unlimited time to ride somewhere. sometimes if you want to explore someplace new, getting in the truck and blasting down the interstate, switching drivers, and getting someplace quickly, gives you more time to explore your final destination without killing yourself to get there.

 

Thats part of the quandry.

I have "areas" in mind that would make great base camps to tour within say 150-200-250 miles on day trips. And honestly any of them could be worked into either scenario.

These are "broad" areas:
LA Basin more specifically the eastern side of it
Seattle
South Florida/Keys
Rapid City, SD
Salt Lake City
South Texas/Hill Country(currently accessible from my house)
Gulf Coast
etc....


I guess one of my thoughts is being able to invite my parents or friends to come with us on a trip in a toy hauler vs. a much smaller contingent who could tour for 3-4 weeks via motorcycle.

My job also gives me the opportunity to be wherever I want, fly in to work, work for 3-4 days, and fly back to wherever I happened to have been before. Thats another thing that makes the RV a little more appealing. Somewhere for the wife to stay while I go away to work for a few days. My job will afford me 2-3 weeks off per week of vacation due to how our union contract is laid out. Perfect for long distance motorcycle trips. I can even stack 2 weeks of vacation and get 4-5 weeks off in a row. However we could be more full time in the RV just on my normal schedule of 3-4 days of work per week and then 3-4 days off. I wouldnt feel comfortable living off a motorcycle full time like that.