It has always been a dream of mine to own an adventure motorcycle and take it across the country on my very own adventures. In February of 2020 that dream became a reality. I came across an ad on craigslist that I couldn’t pass on and by the end of the week I was strapping the bike down to the bed of a pickup and bringing her home.
The Beginning
It all began after a long ride on my 1998 Harley Davidson Sportster 883. I love that bike and will most likely keep it for the rest of my life, but three and a half hours of constant vibrations and New Jersey potholes sending jolts of pain through that 20 year old suspension and into my spine had me thinking there must be something better.
Years of riding cruisers had caused me to all but forget my childhood dream of owning an adventure bike, but enough was enough. I started my search but pickings were slim. I was hesitant to take cash out of my savings to buy a used motorcycle, especially with the impending pandemic, so I was trapped looking at dealerships where I could partially finance my new toy.
That all changed after an absolutely horrendous encounter with a local used motorcycle dealer, and I decided that I would no longer go this route. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would need to just pay cash and began looking at listings on Craigslist and Cycle Trader.
The Tiger
After a week or so of searching, I came across a post on Craigslist that caught my attention. It was a white 2013 Tiger 800 XC. Relatively low mileage and a well written ad with lots of pictures. And to top it all off, the price was right in my range. After a few text messages back and forth with the seller, I agreed to drive up to Poughkeepsie the next morning.
I was at work when I agreed to view the bike so I didn’t have much time to prepare. I haven’t purchased a lot of used vehicles, but there’s one thing that I know for certain: you need to bring a means of transport. Nothing sways a negotiation for a seller like the prospect of being done with the sale all in one day with cash in their hand!
Now the best way to get this bike home would have been a small trailer. Luckily U-Haul has very cheap motorcycle trailers for rent. Unfortunately for me, my Golf doesn’t have a hitch installed yet. I began calling Enterprise Rent-A-Car centers in my area and finally found the only pickup truck available with such short notice. I couldn’t rest yet, though! This bike weighs nearly 500 pounds and there was no way I’d be able to drag it into the bed on a couple of 2×6’s like I did when I was younger with my dirt bikes. I needed some proper ramps.
Thankfully Home Depot rents some fantastic aluminum ramps! Definitely keep them in mind if you’re planning on moving a motorcycle in the future! I called up and reserved a set for the following morning. The end of the business day was fast approaching so I called it a day and would finish the preparations the next morning.
The Preparation
I woke up excited and ready for a nice relaxing day, but oh was I wrong. Enterprise opened at 8 AM and I was meeting the seller at 11. Plenty of time to spare. Except at quarter to 8 I received a call telling me that the truck I had reserved had already been rented! Now what?! I began frantically calling Enterprises in the area again but was having no luck at all and was just about ready to resort to a Home Depot pickup truck rental, but that was way over my planned transportation budget.
Just as I was getting ready to reserve one of those trucks my luck took a turn and Enterprise called me back. They found a small Nissan Frontier for me. The bed was short but hey, I couldn’t complain at this point! I rushed over to pick up the truck and they even gave me a fantastic discount for the inconvenience. Everything was falling into place, or so I thought…
STRAPS!! I had forgotten to check for my straps. Well that was stupid but hopefully not the end of the world. I went out to the garage to grab a few but lo and behold, my past self brought them all to my camper in Pennsylvania; the fool! The day was already off to a rocky start but I wasn’t going to let that stop me! I ran over to Harbor Freight (okay, the day was starting to brighten; who doesn’t love a mini shopping spree at HF!?) and picked up an assortment of straps, and of course, a bunch of other tools and junk that I didn’t need! Yeah, I have a bit of a Harbor Freight addiction…
Hitting the Road
Anyway, back to the story! I had a bit of time before I was scheduled to pick up my ramps at Home Depot so I decided to press my luck and try to hook a trailer up to the truck to make transporting the bike easier. The closest U-Haul had a few in stock, but I still needed a ball mount. After speaking to U-Haul to set up the reservation, I inquired about renting a ball mount. They assured me they’d set me up for an additional $15. Perfect, let’s do this!
I get to the U-Haul ready to go and start filling out paperwork. I mention the ball mount and the associate has no idea what I’m talking about. Ugh… another hiccup in an already difficult day! After speaking to a manager, they inform me that they do not rent ball mounts, only sell them. Okay, it is was it is, I go look at their selection and they wanted nearly $40 for the setup I’d need. Forget that! This trip had already cost me enough money and hassle. I canceled my reservation and quickly sped to Home Depot. Luckily for me, the rental process couldn’t have been smoother!
Now that I had everything I needed, I started the drive to Poughkeepsie! While I was a little bit shaken and annoyed by the terrible morning, but I wasn’t going to let that ruin my day!
The Bike
I pulled up to the seller’s home, albeit slightly late, and couldn’t be more excited to see it sitting in the driveway! I discussed the bike and its service history with the seller and he seemed honest and upfront about everything. After some chatting, I convinced him to let me take it around the block. The bike started up easily and sounded beautiful! I geared up and went for a short ride. The road surrounding his house was covered in gravel so I took it a bit easy; don’t want to crash the bike before I buy it, right?!
Everything checked out! I didn’t get it up past 35 mph or so, but what could go wrong right? (Yep, you guessed it, there will be issues down the road.) I pulled back up and we discussed the price. He didn’t want to budge at first, but eventually the negotiation swung in my favor! I won’t go into all the details of the negotiation here, but keep and eye out for another post where I share my experiences and advice! I was able to talk him down several hundred dollars and began loading the bike.
Now I know what you’re thinking. After the day that I had, there was no way I was going to get the bike packed up without a problem. But by some miracle, I had her loaded and strapped down in minutes! I guess all those years of transporting dirt bikes finally paid off! Let me say though, this truck bed was BARELY big enough! I had the bike sitting at a diagonal and the rear wheel was still on the edge of the open tailgate! Couldn’t turn back now though, so I said my goodbyes and began driving home!
The Drive Home
There’s nothing better than an uneventful drive while transporting a new bike! Luckily for me, my luck had turned around and things were going smoothly. I was nervous as I could be and frequently stopped to check the tension on the straps. Now some of you may laugh, but I decided to avoid any major highways on the trip back. This turned a two hour drive into a three and a half hour one. Yeah, the bike probably would have survived just fine at highway speed, but with the rear wheel precariously perched on the open tailgate I wasn’t taking ANY risks. Plus, do you remember where you are?! You’re here to read about all my travels by car and bike; it’s obvious I don’t mind driving and taking long detours!!
After a few hours of driving I finally made it home and I was mentally exhausted from all the stress earlier in the day! I took my time unloading the bike and it felt amazing to have it safe and sound in my driveway. The only thing left to do of course was take pictures!
The Issues
Yeah, you knew it was coming… I mean how could you not have, I all but spelled it out for you earlier! I continued to ride the bike for about a week and slowly but surely, I began discovering a few problems. I’ll hold off on the details for now as I have an entire post planned for that! It was definitely a few rocky months with the bike to start off with , but hey, what fun is owning vehicles if you’re not willing to get a bit dirty and work on them from time to time? At least to me, that’s half the fun!
The Verdict
I love it! What did you think, I was going to let a few mishaps and issues stop me from enjoying my new motorcycle? Even with the issues getting it home and riding it, I couldn’t be happier! I needed to spend a bit of money on the repairs and still have to deal with a few quirks here and there but the bike was still a great deal and I couldn’t be more in love with it!
Follow along with me as I repair the issues with my new adventure motorcycle and as I continue prepping for future travels! READ MORE!