Oregon Info
 

Hi guys, I'd like to know a few things about Oregon that are not clear for me (I'm italian).

I want to spend a month there and riding all around to explore the State.

What is not clear for me:
- License. I'm 22 years old, does the normal international licence (both for cars and motorcycles) works fine for me? I read online about a special endorsment or permit for motorcycles but I haven't figured out if it is for minor age riders or for all...
- Roads. I'd like to travel with a little dual sport 125cc, are there any kind of roads where little motorbikes mustn't go?

Thanks in advance!

I have no answers for you as I live in Canada about 300 miles north of Oregon.

However you have chosen a very nice place to ride - I've been many many times as it's so close to home always road stuff however never dirt...

The only word of advise I can give is depending on the time of year you are going, high elevation roads can see snow well into May.

Good Luck !!

Check your international license, it should be marked if you are licensed to ride motorcycles in Italy. As a general rule, if you are properly licensed for a particular vehicle in your home country you are good to go.

As far as off road there are many opportunities but I need to let someone that does more of that in Oregon answer the question for you.

You did not mention your time frame, its cold and wet now for a few months.

Ride north to Washington and I can be of more help, have a place to stay and a shop if you should need in South West Washington.

Bob:scooter:

Thanks for your answers!

About my time frame, it'll be from late May until early July.

My international license says it provides me the right to do the same I can do in Italy - following this, I shouldn't have problems for motorcycles but, when I read about the special permit in Oregon, doubts occurred.
Logic is that the international license is enough, but you never know...

Thank you Bob for your support! Unfortunatelly I'm planning to focus on OR but of course I'll let you know if plans will change and I'll come north!

Oregon is a good choice
 

You picked a great state to explore. Not as nice as my home state of Arizona but for that time of year, I too, would rather be riding where it is a bit cooler.

A 125 cc DS is a bit small compared to what a lot of us ride but it will do fine on all but Interstate 5 and there is no need to be on I-5 anyway. The two lane secondary roads are much more scenic and you will get the chance to meet more of the locals by using them. Some suggestions would of course include the coast from Brookings in the south all the way to Astoria. Lots of very nice campgrounds on highway 101 (the coast highway) and lots of motorcycles too.

Portland is one of my favorite large cities and worth spending some time in. Check out some of the fine breweries and good eats. Note - Portland is a good city to take advantage of the mass transit. That or a bicycle, even a motorbike can be a pain in the downtown area. Take a day or two and see the Mount Hood area and by all means, do take the old highway out west. It is a beautiful ride with lots to see.

Eugene and Corvallis are both neat towns as well. Further east you get to travel over the Cascade mountains. Many different routes and all of them are fun to ride though I like the older highways the best. There is one that goes from Sisters west but I can't remember the highway #.

Bend is another great town to see and you will want to check out Mt Bachelor (sp?). Also, the road from Redmond to John Day is a very nice ride. Just south of John Day is Seneca and there is a small Bed and Breakfast that caters to DS riders and can give you lots of great suggestions for riding some of the forest roads in that area.

On that note, I am going to shut up before I convince myself to move back up there. As I said above though, it is a great place to explore on a bike. My wife and I spent two weeks riding there last summer and loved all of it. A lot of the state is National Forest and allows dispersed camping.
Best of luck
Mikey:scooter:

By all means see Crater Lake park. Also bagby hot springs.
Mt. Hood National Forest - Recreation
Crater Lake National Park (U.S. National Park Service)