Motorcycling in Yellowstone?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Shonrt1

Shonrt1

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Posts
52
Location
Mount Carmel, IL
If everything works out, we will be heading to Yellowstone after Labor Day weekend.  Motocross season is over and my son is back in college, so the Toy Hauler is available for my wife and I to take our trip.  We are hauling our motorcycle and plan to tour around on it once we reach the area.

I've been to Yellowstone twice, but never ridden a motorcycle through there.  Just wondering if there are any local laws or rules of the park I need to be concerned about in regards to motorcycling through the park?  We always wear helmets when riding, but are there helmet laws in Wyoming?

We are really looking forward to the trip.  I just read a book on Custer, so we are going to go through Little Bighorn too.  We haven't made any reservations yet because we like to let our trips play out as we go along.  Hopefully, after Labor Day, this is not going to be a problem.
 
Shonrt1,

It's always advisable to wear a helmet. :)  We brought our bike to Yellowstone this summer. Haven't ridden it as much as I thought I would. Mostly because I always carry my camera equipment and there's no place to stow it on the bike.

You will have to stay alert more than in other places. With all the scenery and wildlife around here many drivers are paying more attention to that than the road. There are a lot of bikes in the area. You could come upon an animal jam almost anywhere in the park. People seem to find it's necessary to stop the car in the middle of the road to view a solitary bison feeding alongside. Just be prepared for many stops. Yesterday we went to West Yellowstone to visit forum friends that are staying at Grizzly. A herd of Elk had traffic stopped in both directions. Fortunately, there will be less traffic here once the kids go back to school.

Fuel is available at many of the visitor's centers in the park. You shouldn't have any problems with running out as long as you plan ahead. I know it's available at Old Faithful, Grant Village, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, and Mammoth Hot Springs.
 
Motorcycles in the park are all over.  There is occasionally loose sand on the roads, so beware.  I had mine with me last year but left it home this year. 

Camera gear on the bike, last year carried it, used a back pack, but the tripod is the issue.  I made it work, but easier to be ready for something when in the car.
 
Jim Dick said:
Don, I have a backpack just for the camera gear. With my wife on the back there's no way that will work.
Click to expand...
Give her a choice. She either drives the bike or wears the backpack! ;D

-Don-​
 
I vaguely recall that Bill, when we saw him at QZ, had a "front pack", or was wearing his backpack the other way around  ???
 
My front pack is for Koda.  I came up with a way to use an extra camera mount to snap the tripod onto the rack, then a strap to support.

 
Ah, thanks for the clarification. Wouldn't the same idea work for someone without a dog who wanted to carry their photo gear? Not sure about the tripod though.
 
Tom,

They do make a photo backpack with a single shoulder strap that can be carried either way. I would not like a pack hanging in front. Too many things to do with hands and I want all the movement I can get. :) They are a bit larger than Koda's pack. He's kind of small. :)
 
While possible to motorcycle and carry photo gear, including tripod, the packing and unpacking is cumbersome.  With a vehicle, the camera and tripod can rest on the back seat.  With wildlife shots you have to be ready.  Stop car (OFF the road), get out, grab setup and shoot.  On the bike, stop bike, OFF road,)  helmet and gloves off , unstrap tripod, uncase camera, mount etc. 

I speak from experience.  For landscap stuff, not that  big a deal, but for offroad elk, bear etc, you don't always have that kinf of time available.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,111 (members: 19, guests: 1,092)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,934
Posts
1,387,761
Members
137,684
Latest member
kstoybox
Back
Top Bottom