small motorcycle on a liveaboard ???

[1Raven1]

Hello,this is my first post . Thanks for having me. I`ve looked through some of your forums but I`ve yet to see this question addressed.(Maybe I just couldn`t find it.) My question is ,Do any of you know how to store a small motorcycle on a live aboard,without the salty air and water desroying it ?? Maybe like a big hinged plastic case with rubber seals ? I know, just leave it on land,but I have a dinghy for when there is no dock to tie up to & I would like to have land transportation with me for those occasions I do tie up to a dock. I really appreciate your help & advice. Thank you. P.S. It is a fairly small motorcycle (maybe a couple hundred pounds.)

[David_Old_Jersey]

Short answer is no.

But something I have thought about - but for me that is for the distant future........

Just curious, what bike is it?

[Kai Nui]

You can not keep it away from the sea environment. Aside from that, where you keep it, and how you get it from the boat to the road are issues you can get imaginative about. You say live aboard, but do not give any details. Is this on a mooring? At a dock? Cruising, or staying in a single marina all the time? More info will help. Is this a mono, or multi hull? what size boat? Describe the motorcyle. Is this a moped, or a motorcycle? Is it something designed to fold up like the old Honda 70's and 90's? Or is it a small street bike like a honda 175, or 250?

[imagine2frolic]

When I bought Imagine she had 2 folding Diblasi scooters. Deathtraps in my opinion. Traded one for 2 folding bikes, and didn't like them either. We walk, or take local buses, and taxis. If you are cruising, then I would drop the idea from my personal experience. It's going to be rare you will ever really need one. Just not worth the hassles......i2f

[nonam]

Years ago cruising in mexico I met a guy called Nick who had a 500cc honda inside his coronado 27.He loved the bike and couldnt bare to leave it behind.But it was a bad idea and he was eventually forced to sell it.

[rigamarole]

Try this link
Motorcycle for transportation
a lot of good suggestions.

[1Raven1]

The bike is just a small 250 enduro. The boat is a gemini 105mc. Surely I Can`t be the only sailor needing land transpo at new ports , can I ? I was thinking maybe a hard plastic case with rubber seals, sturdily affixed topside to the left of the cockpit.That`s really the only place I can see where it might fit. It`s very light, i can lift it myself ,so maybe the crane for my dinghy can in some way help me get it on & off of docks when I am tied up for the weekend. Again, I really appreciate the sharing of your wisdom. Thanks.

[1Raven1]

Thanks rigamarole for the link ,full of info ,I will check into that international drivers license. Any one else got any input ?? There has got to be a way . I`m really interested in exploring some of these ports . Guess I will have to invent and install this" protective case ", myself.Well, okay, maybe just a bit more research is in order first. Seriously though, thanks for your opinions & wisdom.

[Pblais]

I was thinking maybe a hard plastic case with rubber seals, sturdily affixed topside to the left of the cockpit.

You could try. The odds are not with you on this one. Sometimes you need to be a biker or a sailor but you can't do both at the same time. This would be true all the time. Trying is fine but it may be a choice to make later. You can be of the sea or of the land. Later can be good enough for now. Salt and combustion engines just do not get along for long. At least the engine in the boat is designed for the experience.

[Kai Nui]

Anything is possible. I know people who cruise with a Honda trail 90 strapped on deck. Wouldn't be my first choice, but the bike is as close as you can get to all purpose, and indestructible. As for the 250, true it is light, but it was not designed for the marine environment. You can expect a very short life for the bike on board. The most practical solution to offer some protection is a cover made of sunbrella fabric.
Unless you intend to stay exclusively in marinas, a couple times of getting the bike off the boat, to shore, and back on the boat, may break you of the desire to have it.
International drivers license can be had, but that is yet more paperwork that is required everywhere you go. Licensing for the bike itself will be another paperwork logistic you will have to address everywhere. Insurance for the bike, is yet another expense, and paperwork logistic you will need to address. Most auto insurance companies charge a premium to operate your vehicle outside you home country, and often require advanced notice, as well as having time, and or mileage limitations.
Since you are in the US, you may be pleasantly surprised at the transportation options in other countries. Most countries are not as attached to their cars as the US, and this provides less need for personal transportation beyond a bicycle to do some backwoods exploring.

[Pblais]

You also need to understand that it might not be legal to drive it where you go. In the US any state plate will be fine and maybe fine unless you have a problem in another country. It's not 100% legal to assume you can drive it everyplace in the world.

[Chuck Baier]

Try getting one from the deck of the boat into the dinghy, cross the harbor in a chop, get it off the dinghy from the beach or the dinghy dock then reverse the process. One time will answer your question and make the decision for you. If you really need that kind of transportation maybe a motorhome would work better.

[ronniesimpson]

i have had a small motorcycle on my boat for a few months now. i carry a 2007 Honda CRF 50 with me. a bigger shifter and bigger handlebars make it suitable for an adult to ride, and some pimped out graphics make the island girls scream. I plan to take it with me around the world, as I could not find any information on any previous motorcycles to circumnavigate the globe on a sail boat, so i think it would be a record of some sort. At only 104 lbs before gas and stuff, it is fairly easy to remove from the cabin, into the cockpit, into a dinghy, row ashore, ride around, and then re-stow. I simply tied it down in the position that the picture shows, and it hasn't moved an inch, and i've sailed quite a bit with it like that.

My little 50 will be embarking on its first ocean crossing, beginning in approximately 6 days on October 1, 2008. San Diego to Hawaii.

get a 50, we'll start a sailboat biker gang or something.



I had two of them, but some tweaker stole one, and that's when I started storing this one inside the boat, instead of in the parking lot.

edit: 1Raven1, let me guess, you ride an R1? More of a ZX-10 man myself. My brother always rode R1's though.

I just sold a 400cc Suzuki Enduro a few weeks ago, but I seriously contemplated taking it with me. It would have been pretty feasible with just a couple hours of dis/ re-assembly. The simple answer to your original question is that you can do whatever you want, and take whatever you want with you. You just have to figure out how big of a priority it is to you, and then decide how you will go about accomplishing this.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Raven,
Welcome aboard! Good to have you here and asking questions such as the one you posed. My idea of sailing and cruising is to get away from all the things that are land based. Having said that I still do like bicycles and probably will take one once I start cruising again. A motorcycle requires gasoline onboard, but of course, so does an outboard. I think I'll try to do without and do more rowing and walking but I'm not there yet.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[john540]

My friend takes his folding bicycle with a 4-stroke engine that drives a chain going to the rear sprocket everywhere, including his airplane and RV.