Dreaming of a motorcycle trip to distant climes? This section will help you to plan your trip, whether it's to the next state, country or all the way around the world! Start here!
The Achievable Dream 5-part series - the definitive video guide for planning your motorcycle adventure. Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
You could just get on a plane with your credit card and passport and buy or rent everything you need when you get there. That includes the bike, riding gear, etc. etc.
Gear Up! is a 2-DVD set, 6 hours! Which bike is right for me? How do I prepare the bike? What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers! "will save you a fortune!"See the trailer here!
So you've done it - got inspired, planned your trip, packed your stuff and you're on the road! This section is about staying healthy, happy and secure on your motorcycle adventure. And crossing borders, war zones or oceans!
On the Road! is 5.5 hours of the tips and advice you need to cross borders, break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Tire Changing!Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
With an HU blog, you'll get a lot more readers than in some obscure corner of the web, it's all set to go, no setup required, and it's free! Start your Travel Story Blog right now!
800+ HU Communities in over 115 countries! People who want to meet travellers - yes that's YOU - and can provide local assistance, and may be your new best friends!
Make a DifferenceTips on fundraising or donating time and energy to a cause.
After the big trip - Was the trip the best - or worst - thing you ever did?
Resources and Links
Horizons Unlimited Presents!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
"It has me all fired up to go out on my own adventure!" See the trailer here!
Meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or across Asia! They will encourage you, share their experiences and advice on how to do it!
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Videos - Watch and Learn!
Horizons Unlimited presents!
Achievable Dream The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
"The series is 'free' because the tips and advice will save much more than you spend on buying the DVD's."
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Ducati Scrambler - only 600 miles - on Sale in France with US title and plate
I bought a Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle in USA in March 2019 and registered and used in USA till September 2019 while leaving there. For work reason I moved to France few months ago and I shipped the bike with me since it’s practically new (600 miles) and still in warranty. Unfortunately Ducati France is telling me that I cannot register it in France because of different ‘homologation’ (US standards quite different than European standards), so I’ll be selling it to the best offer. It’s now in a private parking, still with US plate (I attached also the title with the VIN number). Please feel free to write me back for more details or questions (as well as if you have any suggestions for registering the bike in any EU countries, since I tried to register it in Belgium or Italy as well and it did not work out).
I see that you have DC plates. While I lived in Moscow I kept a bike with DC plates in the EU for several years that I would use for vacations, never had a problem. But I also kept my DC drivers license, etc.
Assuming that you have a work permit in France, presumably you'll need to get a French drivers license, and so register the bike in France?
I have a couple of suggestions for you to at least think about, maybe they won't work, but selling a brand new bike is...sad:
1) When I moved from Moscow to Berlin, I brought a DC-plated, US-spec bike with me. The local BMW dealer also told me that it would be impossible to register the bike in Germany. But it turns out that I knew a guy, who knew a guy, who said it would be no problem. And in fact he did it rather easily, I don't know how. and I got German plates. So you might want to ask around the local biker community, maybe ask on forums, etc.
2) I'm not sure if this would help, but perhaps you could just keep the bike outside of France with DC plates and use it for trips around Europe (outside of France)--not sure if other EU countries would enforce French registration requirements. I kept my bike in Italy and had absolutely no problems, although I was living outside of the EU at the time, being an EU resident might make that more complicated or impossible.
Not sure if any of these options would work, but if you are willing to be a little creative you might find that you can keep the bike.
Also, I would not sell the bike without removing the DC plates, for several reasons. First, as long as you keep the DC plates, you will need to keep DC insurance on the bike, or you will be fined several hundred dollars (DAMHIK) by the DC DMV. You might also have some liability issues if someone has an accident while the bike is registered in your name in DC, although I'm not sure.
Thanks, indeed I tried to register it in other countries, like Belgium or Italy, and in both cases they required a 'certificate of conformity' for European Standards. So I contact 'Panigale', Ducati HQ, to ask their support and details what I should eventually change in my US-standardized bike to make it 'European-standardized'. So far I did not get a straight answer, but rather a generic answer like ‘the Ducati France will help you on that’. Of course this is not happening since a couple of months now.
Thanks for tips, I’ll check the options of other EU countries to see I manage to register there. I also looked for other options for having this certificate of conformity, so far I could not manage to make it.
So I guess that easiest although less economically interesting is to sell it to someone that will eventually use it in USA, perhaps after a trip in Europe. The bike is basically new and I was not at all planning to sell it, so it’s in a great condition.
You're permitted to ride it on foreign plates for 6 months in EU countries. (Maybe more depending on individual country regulations.)
Some consolation to make use of it while you can!
I would say your first stop should be a local motorcycle store that sells used Harley-Davidsons. They probably import them from the USA, and have an established procedure to give them an EU type approval certificate. They should be able to process your bike (for a fee, of course).
There are workshops in Germany, Finland, probably other countries that have the right to issue single-vehicle EU type approvals. It's done relatively frequently around here in the Baltics and in Finland (there is a big Harley/hotrod culture, so lots of demand for imports).
A quick google shows me at least one Estonian vehicle importer that actually advertises a full service for EU type approval for your vehicle. 600€ for a motorcycle, apparently. CARS.EE (use Google Translate).
Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's thelist of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now, and add your information if we didn't find you.
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
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Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.