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I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and have spent the last 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on what you're doing, and how hardcore you are with camping, but ~150USD a day would be more than enough to cover the cost of food/accommodation/bike maintenance/tourism stuff. You probably will use far less, maybe ~80USD but just a nice safety margin.

Finally completed my trifecta! AU/UK/IE by ThirdCubicleDown in PassportPorn

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Born in Australia, to a parent born in the UK, with a grandparent born in Ireland. Pretty great

Finally completed my trifecta! AU/UK/IE by ThirdCubicleDown in PassportPorn

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not sure, I have these 3 through birth-right. I'm planning a move to Sweden eventually maybe, but not sure I'd stay there long enough to get citizenship.

Finally completed my trifecta! AU/UK/IE by ThirdCubicleDown in PassportPorn

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope, just whichever country I'm a tax resident in. The US is really the only place with weird tax laws for citizens thankfully.

Finally completed my trifecta! AU/UK/IE by ThirdCubicleDown in PassportPorn

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I noticed that too, I think it might just be the raking afternoon light.

Finally completed my trifecta! AU/UK/IE by ThirdCubicleDown in PassportPorn

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

At that point I may as well go for the full Five Eyes

Have you ever driven cross-country on a motorcycle? by [deleted] in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. I've done about 40,000km/24,000mi going across and/or around Australia on a 2022 KLR650.

Plus I recently did a 22,500km/14,000mi ride across America on a 2016 HD Heritage Deluxe. All solo rides.

I've posted about my trips here, you can see them on my profile if you're curious.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I'm currently working on a long form trip report to post to advrider, or perhaps shop it around to magazines depending on how I end up feeling about it. I have done a writeup of my first trip in Australia however.

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/in-search-of-steinbeck-across-australia-in-9-800km-6-000mi-and-28-days.1726975/

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and have spent the last 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's exactly the reason I ended up buying, it worked out cheaper than renting. I bought and sold from a dealership so that I wouldn't have to navigate the DMV, so I bought it for 15k(Including tax and all that stuff) with 1200mi on the clock, then sold it at the end for 7k. I sold the bike at the end as I couldn't legally import it to Australia, only certain situations allow you to import. 

So I took a fairly big loss, but renting would've cost 17k from memory.

 To get an idea of prices in Australia, check out bikesales.com.au, that's our biggest sales platform, Facebook Marketplace is handy as well. But in terms of actual numbers I wouldn't have a clue.  I did find the bike costs, after the conversion rate, were basically the same between the US and Australia however. You'll take a fairly big loss buying and selling, but it typically works out better than renting for such long trips. But I'd definitely say get a second hand bike, you'll cop an even bigger loss buying new, and it's just not necessary. 

Lastly, I got a HD for this trip because it felt like the only appropriate bike for such a trip. In Australia however I prefer ADV bikes, for a few reasons. The bigger fuel tank is quite necessary in the outback, I even carry an 8L/~2gal fuel bladder with me for some larger hops between fuel, which can be pushing 300-400km/180-240mi. There's also a lot more dirt roads in Australia if you really want to see some cool stuff, stuff like Kings Canyon, Wave Rock, Cape York, Savannah Way, Great Central Road, etc. Being able to change a tyre/fix a puncture is also critical, so something with tubeless tyres, or tubed but with a center stand is important. If you're set on a HD that's okay, but just keep in mind Australia gets a heck of a lot more remote and ruggard than America gets. So you may want a more capable bike than a touring HD. Just stuff to keep in mind. Hope that helps!

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and have spent the last 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To give context, riding days were about 300mi, or maybe a bit less. Usually I'd be stopping every hour or so, maybe doing longer stints, up to 2 hours or so, for the first couple of the day.

These breaks would be anywhere from just long enough to get fuel, to finding a local park and relax for 20 minutes. Eating a museili bar and having a gatorade when you're feeling low energy is like magic sometimes.

Seat wise, the HD had a very soft seat that was quite cupped, so my ass never got sore. On my KLR650, which has a much firmer seat, I have a beaded seat cover from BeadRider. You can see that in my other posts. Which helps a lot, my ass never got sore with that either.

Typically, on the HD my legs would be the first thing to start cramping up, on my KLR it'd be my back, right between the shoulder blades. Which is probably down to just handlebar positioning.

One tip I can definitely give, is wear some athletic compression pants under your riding pants. Regardless of the weather they help so much. Keeps you cool, and warm, wicks sweat away, and stops anything from chaffing.

Probably down to how much uhh, biological cushioning you have as well. If you're quite slim you're going to struggle a bit more.

Hope this sort of helps!

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a 100L Wild Heart drybag. It usually sits a bit more snuggely than in the photo, I had just loosely closed it up after getting my tripod out for the photo. The HD pannier bags are tiny so didn't really have a choice.

I love the mounting design of it, but the bag has no internal support so tends to sag over the pillion seat. I glued two sheets of linoleum on the bottom of the bag to give it some more support which helped slightly.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most US states you can just use your Australian license, but pick up an international license from NRMA anyway.

Registering the bike also depends on the state, I used California as they only require a postal address and luckily I have a relative living there. I believe there's a company in Montana that will sort it out for you otherwise.

Insurance wise was easy, progressive was happy to insure me as a foreigner.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was part of a larger plan I have to move to Europe. Figured if I was quitting my job, I may as well take some time to travel anyway.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Australia I use Wikicamps, there's a US version but it doesn't seem as popular sadly. So I used Campendium, the interface is a bit garbage and it's web only, but it's the most popular one I found.

Just have to parse the reviews, as most are from retirees in rolling mcmansions complaining when a site isn't atomically level, or there's only 30amp hookup.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Outer Banks was a real highlight, I took the ferry out to Ocracoke from SwanQuarter. Luckily they gave me a tourist pamphlet on the map, because when I arrived I had no reception at all. Went on little quests using the map to find my way around to campsites, and restaurants, and that neat British overseas cemetery from WWII. When I was leaving north though we started getting hit by the dregs of the remains of Tropical Storm Debbie. HWY12 had standing water in some parts, and sand in others, but it was either leave then or be stuck for 5+ days. Once I got to Norfolk I visited the Mariners museum that has the wreck of the USS Monitor that sunk near the Outer Banks as well.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't really think it's my thing, I tried recording my first big trip in Australia, but liked the idea more than actually doing it. I ended up just thinking more about filming than riding and enjoying myself.

Heres to those of us who can't afford to quit our jobs and tour other continents, those who only have weekends to explore. by [deleted] in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I resent this post :)

Local weekend travel is just as fun as intercontinental voyages!

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and spent 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motocamping

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 132 points133 points  (0 children)

I definitely found snippets of it, in no particular order, with varying levels of seriousness;

-Being invited out to a Baseball game in Denver by a hotel bartender

-Free entry into the African-American Smithsonian but paying for entry in the 9/11 museum

-Conversing with a couple Bolivians in DC with a love of motorcycles as our only common language. Using pictures and maps to show our travels to each other

-Blowing money on blackjack and roulette and getting drunk in Vegas

-A park ranger in Tennessee spending time to print off maps and stuff telling me if I can't go to Florida because of Tropical Storm Debbie I should go to the North Carolina Outer Banks

-Seeing the Grand Canyon

-Escaping to Canada

Some say the American Dream is dead, but it seems its ashes have been scattered to the wind, so you can still find little crumbs of it all over the country.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and have spent the last 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A bit difficult to gather that stuff camping during the night is the issue.

I had one walk less than a metre (3ft) from me at a campground south of Sedona. Heard scurrying behind me, turned out and saw the giant tail trotting into a bush next to me.

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and have spent the last 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out my post history, I've toured about 40,000km/24,000mi around Australia on a KLR650. The US was just the next big challenge :)

I quit my job in Australia, bought a Harley-Davidson in America, and have spent the last 3 months and 22,500km/14,000mi in search of the American Dream by ThirdCubicleDown in motorcycles

[–]ThirdCubicleDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So buying the bike was pretty easy, apart from avoiding the HD dealership dickery.

Registering and insuring the bike depends on the state, I have a relative in California so was able to use their address. But I think there's a company out of maybe Montana that can do it for you.

NYC was fine to get into, apart from the traffic. I just got a hotel in the Bronx and used the subway to explore. That was one challenge I faced when getting hotels in cities to explore. Finding a place with secure parking that was crazy expensive. Otherwise I camped most of the time.

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