Whether your preferred acronym is TEOTWAWKI (The End Of World As We Know It), SHTF (Shit Hits The Fan) or GOOD (Get Out Of Dodge), a common argument among survivalists revolves around the preferred mode of transportation.
Among those choices, a motorcycle may not be best for your particular situation, especially if your family extends beyond two people. A motorcycle would also be a poor option for protection when plowing through god-knows-what in a post-apocalyptic world and cannot carry much supplies when the situation arises.
But a two-wheeler also has many benefits in survival situations. Here are just a few:
1. Motorcycles Have Incredible Fuel Economy
When Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New York-New Jersey area in October of 2012, residents had to travel upwards of 60 miles and wait for hours in line just to get a few gallons of gasoline for their cars and generators. It even created a black market with gas being sold for more than $20 per gallon. It’s situations like these that justify a motorcycle as the perfect survivalist conveyance.
The 2013 Honda NC700x will easily get you over 60 miles on one gallon of gas, while the Kawasaki Ninja 250R and Suzuki TU250X push the 80 mpg threshold. The key is to buy and store several gallons of gasoline before disaster strikes. The American Petroleum Institute recommends storage in a cool, dry place separate from your main dwelling, like in a garage or shed. You’ll need to add a stabilizing agent to keep the gas from breaking down into a useless liquid. Sta-Bil is one of the most popular fuel preservers, and will keep gas fresh for up to 12 months.
The best practice is to refresh the gas every six months or so while civilization is still intact.
2. Highly Maneuverable on Narrow Pathways
Anybody who has driven through Los Angeles during rush hour knows the frustration of spending upwards of 30 minutes to travel a mere five miles. Those same people are envious (or worried) about all the motorcycle riders weaving their way through traffic and getting to their destinations in minimal time.
A motorcycle is perfect not only for maneuvering through evacuation traffic, but also for getting around fallen trees, wreckage, and other debris that may be blocking your path. You can also use it as an exploration vehicle to scout potential camp sites and refuges in the mountains and woods.
A two-wheeler, however, does not provide heat and shelter from the elements. A motorcycle jacket with both waterproof lining and quilting for warmth is essential for anyone who wants to explore and travel in comfort in a post-apocalyptic world. Or you can use a pickup truck with a loading ramp attached to it to drive a truck with an option of a motorcycle. You should also attach a rear cargo trunk or saddlebags to your bike for storage, as opposed to a cargo trailer that takes away maneuverability.
3. Motorcycles Double As Generator
The longer you’re able to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, the more you’ll have to utilize things for purposes not originally intended. A motorcycle can provide you power for lights and other necessities in a pinch. Simply remove the wheels from your bike, put it on some type of stand, and mount a generator head to it. The tension pulley for the belt will then need to be replaced with a sprocket.
These are the two primary steps, but keep in mind this is a project best suited for someone with a background in electricity. But if you understand the basic concepts of alternating and direct current, along with having a little mechanical inclination, a motorcycle engine can serve as a fuel-efficient generator. Pick up a good automotive electronics book and read a few pages everyday until you have a basic understanding of electricity.
A motorcycle can prolong and even save your life in a survival situation. Just make certain to practice riding before everything goes to hell so you can reap all the benefits.
Note on Safety: Riding motorcycles involve certain risk aspects which regular vehicles do not. With that said it is always recommended to wear a helmet designed for motorcycle use. You just never know.
We enjoy our motorcycle…and it would be our LAST choice as a BOV :-( We don’t even consider it a prep, other than perhaps having some gasoline in the tank that we might need. We have rain suits etc., but on a motocycle leaves a person much to exposed to anybody who might want to take a shot at you, throw something into your wheels or ??? We’ll spend our dollars someplace else :-)
Nice article, and, I would say, mostly valid; but who is it written for? This article must be aimed at seasoned citizens and/or others who know little or nothing about motorcycles, because people who ride already know and/or have opinions about this stuff. So, if indeed this article is aimed at people who don’t already ride…
…I have to agree with “WE2” above. As a seasoned citizen and lifelong motorcycle enthusiast who has owned and ridden bikes for the last 40+ years, with countless miles and “time in the saddle” on all types of bikes, I, too, see one’s bike as a “bug-out-vehicle of last resort” – with one exception: the dual-sport or dirt bike meant to carry one to one’s predetermined bug-out-location, which would be virtually inaccessible by other modes of transportation.
That said, I couldn’t agree more with the author that saddle bags or other luggage containers on a motorcycle allow the rider to keep his/her EDC and/or even GHB with him/her on the bike, which is both handy and reassuring when out on the trail or on the road.
Re: my “mostly valid” remark…when the author writes, “(t)hose same people are envious (or worried) about all the motorcycle riders weaving their way through traffic”, I would suggest further that in a SHTF situation, “those same people” wouldn’t hesitate to open their doors into the path of an oncoming lane-splitter out of little more than frustration or spite. Lane-splitting is a very risky move under the best of circumstances, and should not be recommended to the uninitiated, who, again, I presume to be the target audience of this article.
Finally, there’s nothing “simple” about converting a motorcycle to a generator. So rather than acquiring a motorcycle and trying to convert it into a generator, why not just acquire a portable generator and be done with it…?
I invite and welcome other perspectives. Thanks for all you do.
Wow,…… It’s just an article. This site and many others are just for ideas and such, not the gospel of do this and you will live!
Stormfront: thank you for your input. But, “wow”…I honestly think you’re missing the point of prepping websites such as this.
To what, specifically, are you objecting? Is there something in either comment that you perceive to be incorrect? Or do you just generally object to my – or “WE2’s” – taking issue with information presented in articles such as this one?
As for myself, I am inclined to take issue with what I perceive to be faulty information which, if followed, would surely be counterproductive to my efforts – and/or the efforts of others – in preparing for survival. IMHO, this article, in part, demands comment and differing viewpoints, not only from myself, but also from other readers. That’s what the “comments” section is for.
With respect, Stormfront, I have a few other questions for you:
-Are you implying that accuracy and credibility are NOT important to authors of this and other articles? I think that they probably are very important, and one would be mistaken to demean the motives of the authors of this and other websites in that way. By the way, I, for one, came to this article via a link published by a different website, rather than by directly accessing this website; my point is that such authors of other websites often include articles from different sources that they believe and expect to be accurate – credibility is at stake.
-Are you suggesting that we readers are NOT seeking truth, good advice, and accurate information from articles posted on websites such as this, and that we aren’t concerned with veracity, just as if we had come to this website expecting to read something other than non-fiction? I vehemently reject that scenario.
-Do you think people should just sit silently by when they know inaccurate or otherwise incorrect information is being presented as accurate? I would argue that “silence implies consent”, and that people should NOT sit silently by, with their heads in the sand (or elsewhere), either out of laziness, or out of fear, or just so they can spare somebody’s feelings, when they really do NOT mean to imply assent by their silence. After all, the overarching topic of the article is “survival”, and getting things right in articles such as this could be more than just important, it could be critical to someone’s survival – even yours.
-Finally, please include in your response a list of other “sites…just for ideas and such” that don’t necessarily strive for accuracy, so I and others can avoid wasting our time with them, or at least be suspicious of anything in them.
I wholeheartedly invite comments and differing perspectives, and I sincerely welcome corrections…getting it right is really important to me – my credibility is at stake. But at the same time, I reserve the right to take issue with what I perceive to be faulty information or rebuttal; so should we all; and, again with respect, so should you. This really IS serious.