Motorcycle Travel Tips

Preparing for a motorcycle adventure is very subjective. Some people pack it all in and leave within a week, some spend years preparing. It completely depends on your own personal circumstances and how ‘prepared’ you want to be.

Firstly, you’ve got your finances to consider and how long you need in advance to accumulate your budget. That’s of course completely down to you.

Preparing your bike, luggage and gear is the easy bit. Once you’ve decided on what you want, it’s just a case of finding time to put it all together.

What really soaks up time though is the research into where you’re going and how long for. If you’re going to be travelling through multiple countries and continents then you need to account for so much more, including: shipping, visa and entry requirements, timeframes in each country and visa/ import extensions, where to get spares for servicing, tyres etc. This can take a lot longer to plan than say a European tour.

So, there’s not really a definitive answer into how long it takes to prepare for a motorcycle trip. It’s down to what you’re doing, where you’re going, how long for, your personal finances and how prepared you want to be. But if you are thinking about going on a trip, then start planning yesterday and go!

The hardest part of preparing for a round-the-world motorcycle journey is, without a doubt, paperwork. It takes so much time figuring out what visas you need, where to get them, how long they last, specific entry requirements, insurance and where to get it from for each country, how to stay longer in a country, does this country require a Carnet or Temporary Import.

It’s a headache, especially when you first start out. Although, it does get easier. And the longer you go for the more used to it you’ll get and the more second nature it’ll become.

To make it easier, check out our comprehensive paperwork guide: Motorcycle Travel Paperwork Explained

We actually have a detailed guide called How to Travel on the Cheap and in that guide is a dedicated section to how we budget with tips and advice for the long-term motorcycle traveller. Budgeting is actually quite easy and fun once you get into it.

Check out the guide: How to Motorcycle Travel on the Cheap

The most expensive aspect of a big motorcycle trip is shipping. If you’re travelling round the world on a motorcycle then this is impossible to avoid. With careful planning and good research, you can keep your shipping costs down to a minimum. For example, carefully calculating the differences between sea and air freight from and to certain countries. 

Aside from shipping, your next biggest expenses are accommodation because it’s a constant. This can be overcome if you’re up for camping most nights! And cooking your own food regularly keeps those costs down too. 

Next up is visa and paperwork requirements when entering new countries.

Here’s our Ultimate Motorcycle Shipping Guide

And, check out our recommended shipping companies. Visit the page and click a country on the map or use the drop down menu to find top companies in that country. You’ll find their info and contact details there. Recommended Motorcycle Shipping Countries Finder

No. Certainly not. But of course, if you’re thinking of heading out the front door for a round-the-world ride and you’ve never travelled on a bike before, then it might be worth going on a few smaller trips first. This’ll just help you get settled into it. You’ll quickly figure out how what you do and don’t need or if you’ve missed any important items of your pack list, you’ll be able to iron out any snags on the bike like an uncomfortable seat or handlebar height etc.

But, you do not need to be a mechanical genius, expert off-roader or travel extraordinaire. Many, many accomplished and seasoned motorcycle travellers just decided to go for it one day with no experience at all. Anyone can do it.  

If you’re after a little more inspiration, check out our Stories page for awesome tales of adventure from people travelling the world on two wheels. And you can also check out Our Adventures too. 

And finally, the How to Go on a Motorcycle Adventure Guide should help put your mind at ease on experience needed as it covers what you need to know about bike travelling. 

We have a bunch of great guides on packing for bike trips that answer this question in loads of detail. The first one below lists everything you need. Of course, you can easily remove the obvious bits you don’t need if you’re not planning a RTW world.  

• Here’s what you need to pack for a RTW motorcycle trip: The Complete Motorcycle Trip Packing List
• Here’s what you need to pack for a motorcycle camping trip: The Ultimate Motorcycle Camping Gear Checklist
• Here’s How to Pack for a Motorcycle Adventure
• Here’s Our RTW Motorcycle Trip Packing List