The third way

If you’re really experienced and confident, and feeling a bit adventurous, then you could just book your own flights, hire the bikes when you get there and book your own hotels. You’ll get a whole lot more flexibility, but you won’t actually save much, if any, money.

For example, to hire a Harley Electra Glide on your own for eight days, including insurance from Eagle Rider (probably the biggest independent rental outfit) costs £1283. An eight-day self-guided tour through California and Nevada with Orange & Black motorcycle tours (the only officially authorised Harley tour partner in the UK) including all accommodation, route assistance and emergency recovery facilities costs £1245. That’s £38 less for a professional company to organise your tour, rather than having to do it yourself.

Fuel station etiquette

Credit card is definitely easiest. Most pumps have a card reader but UK cards rarely work. Go inside, ask for more than you think you’ll need and the attendant will authorise your card. Fill up and the card machine automatically credits any change back to you.

Two other essentials; the black pump is unleaded – this is important. Green is for diesel in the US. And the pumps have a safety catch– usually a spring on the nozzle – designed for car fillers that you have to pull back manually to make the pump work.

Packing for self-guided

Two weeks’ luggage for two people into a Harley Ultra Glide and saddlebag equipped Sportster should be simple. Our kit went in canvas ‘bags-for-life’ which then went into panniers. A 30-litre rucksack bungeed to the Ultra’s pillion seat meant we could use the top box as a daily carrier for drinks, cool-vests, bike locks, food and whatever else needs to be in and out in a hurry.

Navigation

America is easy to navigate. Most places are laid out in grids and the main roads are imaginatively named; 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. with smaller roads labelled as ‘just off 3rd’ making it logical and easy to work out where you are. Motorways (freeways) and major roads (interstates) are also easy, although when going through a major city there can be 10 or more exits so it’s wise to make sure you know which one you need.

Keeping cool

California and Nevada are roughly twice as hot as a typical British summer. Leathers will have you risking heatstroke, most textiles ditto. But t-shirt and jeans is scary and risks sunburn and dehydration. The best kit we’ve found is a mesh, textile suit. Thick Cordura panels offer abrasion resistance, plus armour for impact. But they also have huge mesh panels that let air flow through the suit and keep you cool. We used Held’s mesh suits, which were very impressive. Well built, a good fit and armour where you need it. Good value too at a little less than £300. We also had some additional REV’IT cooling vests for riding in the desert and Death Valley. These use ‘Hyperkewl’ technology (whatever that is) and work brilliantly. You simply soak them in cold water, wring out the excess and put them on. The air passing over them instigates some fantastical magic and keeps you cool. Don’t question it, just be amazed.

Communication

Bluetooth intercoms are brilliant. Not only to share the experience, but also for navigation. We used the Interphone Sport, which has a claimed range of half a kilometre. Battery life is 14 hours talk-time and there are all manner of radio and phone modes that might be interesting if that’s your idea of fun. Pairing the two units together is simple and reception in town, at lower speeds, is excellent. Being able to talk makes a huge difference when only one person has a sat nav. At higher speeds (50mph-plus) it is harder to work out what’s being said. Different helmets have different effects on performance, as does the position of the microphone.