I admit I have not read it, although I intend to. The point of my post was linking a ride which showed several taboos and myths being debunked/dis-proved in the oft-asked Horizons questions of what bike someone 'NEEDS' in order to ride coast to coast in the US.

Personally, I am a big fan of Simon Gandolfo's threads where he rides 125cc bikes EVERYWHERE.

It all (i think) boils down to:
1) what do 'feel' comfortable with? (some are intimidated by giant, highway burners like gold wings, road kings, etc...)
2) whats your 'travel style': do you like to 'poke around' and stop at every road-side attraction (the 'world biggest ball of twine' stuff) or do you choose you destination and come hell and high water your going to reach it as quickly as possible or something in between?
3) cost (have you seen the prices of BMW, GW's and harleys lately? )
4) the challenge alone...it's different, going small...EVERYONE is doing it on big bikes these days..

__________________
kicka,kicka,cough, sputter, kicka,kicka, cough, sputter, bwbwbwbwbw....she running fiine today

I followed Simon's ride here, met him once at a HUBB travelers meeting. Funny old guy. Haven't heard anything from him in quite a few years? I followed his S.America ride. His best response when folks asked him why an old man would do this ride?
"What should I do then? Sit home and watch TV"?
Brilliant!

There are several disadvantages to small bikes/scooters sometimes ... remember Simon's accident in Patagonia? I think he was run over by ... or run off the road by a truck trying to overtake? ... broke his leg IIRC, and he rode round with his Cane for a while.

I started on Honda 50's and a Vespa 150 around 1963. Never went round the world ... but did get around L.A.. Both did dirt bike duty!

Smallest bike I've done serious distance on is rented 125cc Honda two strokes in Thailand. Several trips there.
Great fun. I'm glad I did not have a heavier bike when ploughing through
deep mud. The 125cc was great on twisty mountain roads and fantastic in congested cities ... but a bit scary on fast Thai motorways. It topped out at 70 MPH ... and I kept it pinned there to stay out of harms way.

But crossing the USA is a different story. In some regions its just long boring
roads all day long. Even remote two lanes are boring through the plains states. Canada is even worse ... with only one real road.

For me, I need to be able to cruise comfortably at least 70 mph. A 50cc to 90cc scooter or moped would be novel for about 2 days ... after that ... I'm done with it. Superfluous in my view.

Old 350 to 650cc bikes are super cheap and plentiful in the USA ... cheapest in the world. For a novice rider, IMO, they'd be much better off with something in that range ... unless they're doing a project about scooters/mopeds for business reasons, charity or promotional reasons.

Riding a bike Cross USA is not rocket science. Anyone can (and HAVE) done it on any manner of contraption. Basic common sense and basic defensive driving skills are all you really need. The rest you'll pick up after you get out of the hospital!

Sounds like thought 1...
using what you feel comfortable with, having had experiences in different sizes, across different locations you've found what your comfortable with.

I bet you have some kick-ass stories.

BTW, I've seen 500cc cheaper than mopeds on places like craigslist!

__________________
kicka,kicka,cough, sputter, kicka,kicka, cough, sputter, bwbwbwbwbw....she running fiine today