I rarely write reviews for Amazon, but felt compelled to do so here. I recently bought a BMW F800ST (sport-tourer), and got the bug to read up on possibly doing a cross-country trip next spring or fall. Dale covers absolutely everything you need to know. From preparing your bike, to buying what you need to take a trip on it (from weekend jaunts to several months), to preparing yourself (both mental and physical), to proper clothing (get a one-piece riding suit--or some other type of armor-reinforced jacket and pants--after all, how much is your life worth?!?), to how to pack and what to do six months, three months, one week and one day before you begin your trip. It's so comprehensive I can't even begin to note all the things he covers. He even gives web addresses for many of the products he recommends. And this is NOT a product-pushing book; he recommends what works for him, and for others he has traveled with or otherwise knows.

Hey, Dale's done all the work for you here. Spend the 14[..] on the book and benefit from his advice. Or, you could spend months on the web researching and basically come to the same conclusions. Your choice!

Safe riding and happy trails to all.
Jim in NC

This comprehensive overview gives lots of great information for the new touring rider. If you've been touring for a while, this will probably not help you as much, but that goes without saying. The book pages are thick (think photographic paper) with loads of color pictures and diagrams explaining things like how moisture wicking material works to keep you dry. The author includes checklists for things you'll need to remember and wise advice on practical things we'd all prefer to not learn the hard way, like how to prevent monkeybutt. I highly recommend this to the new rider and consider it a good piece of information for those of us who have ridden for years but are still open to suggestions on improving our ride. (note: I have not had any problems with the binding; construction appears high-quality).

I initially got this for trailer towing information and found out that every section of this book had something I could use. If you're just starting out and need advice or a seasoned rider looking for refreshers or new ideas I bet it is in here. Big thumbs up on this one. It will go on trips with me just in case.

I purchased this book to help me prepare for a long ride from Texas to Oregon and back. It had so much useful information that I have put to use. I would recommend anyone considering a long trip to pick this book up and read.

If you only read one, read this one. I have been out of motorcycling for 26 years, owned four in my earlier day. I wanted to tour then but never did. This time I am doing it. I wanted to start out right so this was the first book I read. Extremely informative. It covered just about everything I needed and more. If there is any negative maybe I could ask for more guidance on which motorcycle. However, as I found in researching motorcycles, there are just too many factors. You must know what kind of travel you'll do, set your requirements of the bike, do the research on the bikes, sit on all of them, ride if allowed, settle on the one for you, take a motorcycle saftey course, buy and have fun. Don't go too small or too big, it must fit you. Dr. Fraizer's book is good too.