Member Contributer OutlawsJustice Posted August 28, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 28, 2014 Do we have any riders in Hawaii (Any of the Islands) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted August 28, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 28, 2014 I know the big Island has the most roads/miles. For years I've been wondering how good the twisties are, and how many miles you could do in a day. Possible retirement spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted August 28, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 28, 2014 I know there are/were a few over at VFRW, not sure about here though. As far as riding goes, I've been to 4 of the islands Hawaii, Kuaui, Maui and Oahu and there are some really nice roads (mostly scenery) there, but you'd probably get Island fever after a while. The big island (Hawaii), being the biggest island does have the longest roads for obvious reasons but ultimately you're still limited on how far and where you can go. That being said, when the wife and I were on vacation there, with all the sight seeing and trips to and from one side of the island to the other we put over 700 miles on the rental car in just under a week.Retire there? If your goal is to relax and enjoy the beaches/ocean and laid back atmosphere, it would be a great place to retire, just make sure you account for the higher cost of living. The wife and I have often discussed the possibility, but neither of us has a trust fund waiting for us! Still, the islands are one of our favorite vacation spots, our goal is to eventually hit all of the visitable islands before we kick the bucket. There is a new island that is forming right now but I'm afraid that it won't be habitable for quite some time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer OutlawsJustice Posted September 30, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted September 30, 2014 Well I am looking to go over for vacation and maybe teach a Total Control Class while I am there to help cover some of my costs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum CEO HispanicSlammer Posted September 30, 2014 Forum CEO Share Posted September 30, 2014 We had a few members from the Islands who were active a few years back, have not heard from them in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted September 30, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted September 30, 2014 Well I am looking to go over for vacation and maybe teach a Total Control Class while I am there to help cover some of my costs! Oahu has the densest population I've seen on any of the Island and has quite a bit of tourist too, it kind of reminds me of a So Cal beach city in a way. It maybe the best for getting riders to show, but someone from the islands would know better than me. Maybe look into the Navy and seeing if they would be willing to host the class, Pearl Harbor would be a great place to have your class. Let me get a hold of a few of my friends over in Oahu and see if they have any insight. If you're serious about doing the class there I'd be glad to volunteer to help you out, if that's not being too intrusive or presumptuous, the wife and I need a vacation and the Islands were high on our list again. Then again, I'm not sure she would be too happy to go to Hawaii just to have me "playing" with bikes again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wera803 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 There used to be a guy named Andy on here from Maui. I went over there on vacation about 9 years ago and he let me take his VFR for the day. Andy and his wife met me and my wife at the time for dinner one night and the next day he let me take the bike. It was nice and scenic, although made me realize I would get island fever on a bike if I lived there. Shortly after that, I think he sold it and bought a Harley. Here is a pic of me and his bike on Maui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ggathagan Posted September 30, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted September 30, 2014 There are a number of us here, but I haven't seen much board activity from the few that I've met personally.A lot of riders are military, which lends to a lot of short-term residencies.With regard to riding, Duc24 and luvtoleanit it have the right of it.Big Island is the only one that might take more than a partial day to cover.You're mostly riding around the edge of all the islands, but Maui, Oahu and Big Island do have roads that take you inland and traverse the island.It's been a while since I've been to Molokai, Maui or Big Island, but the roads were fairly decent when I was there.I've been to Kauai in the last year and roads were decent there.Oahu has far more roadway than the other islands, but also far more traffic. We are consistently in the top 5 on lists of US cities with the worst traffic.That said, in all cases, the roads are a mixed bag.We have consistent temperatures, but rain, traffic and the nature of a volcanic island constantly wear down the roadways.On Oahu, there used to be a time when you could avoid the traffic somewhat if you rode in mid-morning or early afternoon, but no more. Traffic in and out of Honolulu starts around 4-5 am and doesn't let up until 8-9 pm.Away from Honolulu, the tourist traffic is equally thick.If I want to take a cruise around the island, I go at about 1am on full moon mornings.That, of course, limits the sight-seeing value of the ride.With regard to running a class:That will be difficult logistically speaking.We don't have any race tracks, so not only do you need to find an organization to work with, you need to find a location.The MSF course is handled through one of our community colleges and they shut down the class until mid-november.If you have any military contacts, that might be your best option. I know that some military bases host their own training. Not being in the military, though, I don't know if that's the case in Hawaii. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted October 1, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2014 ggathagan, can you get some intel on the big island? I've always wanted to know how many miles of twisties there are and how good they are. If there are 150 miles of solid twisties, then I'm designating that as my retirement spot and will pursue further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtfriedrich Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Last time I was in Honolulu, I rented a little moped thing and did this. riding a tiny bike on narrow roads was a blast, and the views were nice. very cheap to do as well. https://sites.google.com/site/kurt2011stuff/various-activities-2011/hawaii---april-2---round-top-drive (The video clip was just me riding with one hand and holding my phone up, not to good, and maybe not so smart) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sckego Posted October 22, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 22, 2014 ggathagan, can you get some intel on the big island? I've always wanted to know how many miles of twisties there are and how good they are. If there are 150 miles of solid twisties, then I'm designating that as my retirement spot and will pursue further. Born and raised on Hilo side... good luck finding even 30 miles of good twisties across the entire island. The best section is probably heading up Saddle Road from Hilo (https://goo.gl/maps/s4nGd), you get a few miles of nice, steady twists and turns as the road climbs. It used to be kinda goaty and fun the whole way across, but a few years ago they started repaving it, and now it's wide open fast and straight most of the way across. The highway from kawaihae up to Waimea can be pretty fun if you manage to hit it with no traffic (unlikely), and Hwy 11 south of Captain Cook has some nice little twisties as well... Mango Road from Pahoa to Pohoiki isn't really "twisty" but it is tight as hell with some little kinks around giant mango trees here and there. More of a supermoto road, as are some other little byways out that way. And don't forget, no matter where you go, you're dealing with slow-moving tourist (and local) traffic, and cops that loooove to hand out speeding tickets. It's a great place, but not really made for riding... unless you get a dual-sport and start exploring the off-road options, of which there are many... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted October 23, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 23, 2014 The member map shows 5 total - 4 on Oahu and 1 on Molokai. One shows recent activity (above) and another keeps that private - the rest have not been on line for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted October 23, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 23, 2014 ggathagan, can you get some intel on the big island? I've always wanted to know how many miles of twisties there are and how good they are. If there are 150 miles of solid twisties, then I'm designating that as my retirement spot and will pursue further. Born and raised on Hilo side... good luck finding even 30 miles of good twisties across the entire island. The best section is probably heading up Saddle Road from Hilo (https://goo.gl/maps/s4nGd), you get a few miles of nice, steady twists and turns as the road climbs. It used to be kinda goaty and fun the whole way across, but a few years ago they started repaving it, and now it's wide open fast and straight most of the way across. The highway from kawaihae up to Waimea can be pretty fun if you manage to hit it with no traffic (unlikely), and Hwy 11 south of Captain Cook has some nice little twisties as well... Mango Road from Pahoa to Pohoiki isn't really "twisty" but it is tight as hell with some little kinks around giant mango trees here and there. More of a supermoto road, as are some other little byways out that way. And don't forget, no matter where you go, you're dealing with slow-moving tourist (and local) traffic, and cops that loooove to hand out speeding tickets. It's a great place, but not really made for riding... unless you get a dual-sport and start exploring the off-road options, of which there are many... Wow, that means giving up riding then. I don't think I'll have the means to keep a bike somewhere on the mainland just to do twisty rides every other weekend during riding season. The flights alone would be too big of an obstacle. I do very much appreciate the intel as I've looked for many years to get what you typed up in a simple paragraph. I was under the naive assumption that there would be a 100-150 mile ride possible of twisties on the big island. Oh well :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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