While a homesteader might not necessarily need a chore motorcycle, you’ll be able to get more done in a day than you could without it. When you get to where you need to be and figure out that your irrigation needs a 5/8-inch socket, and you brought a 1/2-inch, it’s a lot less frustrating (not to mention more fun) if you get to buzz back to the shop on a motorbike than if you have to hoof it. You have a tractor for muscle; you have a chore bike for speed.
So, why two wheels and not four? Size, for one. All-terrain vehicles (ATVs)can take up about as much space as cars. Motorcycles are also easier to move if you need to take them somewhere in a truck. Cost is another consideration, and not just the initial purchase: When four tires need to be replaced, they’ll cost more than two. Old three-wheeled ATVs are generally reliable despite their geriatric condition, but they didn’t just suddenly fall out of popularity; they were banned for their tendency to make you dead if you tried any shenanigans on them.
An ATV can definitely carry more gear than a motorcycle, but good luck getting it through a man gate. All the oomph, cargo capacity, and stability of an ATV also comes at a fuel cost; an economical ATV might be knocking on the door of 30 mpg, while some fuel-sipping farm bikes are sidling up to 100 mpg, and their electric counterparts are running at fractions of pennies per mile.
The primary reason I choose two wheels is to preserve my pasture. Two skinny wheels in a line just don’t smoosh down as much grass, even if the soil compaction is a little worse. I can also put a license plate on a motorcycle and head into town for parts on a few pennies’ worth of gas. Here are some other items to consider when picking out a chore bike.
Engine
Motorcycle names seem to be aimed at confusing the general public with mystery acronyms, but generally they consist of a number with a prefix, a suffix, or both. The number is typically the engine displacement in cubic centimeters (cc). While noisy two-stroke engines can have a higher power density, they aren’t great for the slow, torquey jobs on the farm. Shy away from chore bikes that sound like a swarm of angry bees made a nest in a megaphone. Large-displacement motorcycles and their commensurate curb weights are too much bike for the farm. When it’s over about 350 cc, a chore bike starts to become its own chore.
Price
Something with an engine and wheels is always expensive. The types of motorcycles that tend to do well on a farm also tend to hold their asking price in the same way other value-adding tools (such as tractors and good chainsaws) do. You can cut your budget with a used machine, but in 1970, a Honda Trail 90 (CT90) cost about $350 off the showroom floor. Today, one in passable condition will cost you more than $1,000 and will be 54 years old. Even the arguably most “farmy” of modern dirt bikes available in the U.S., the Yamaha TW200, which sells for about $6,000 new, can still fetch in the mid-$3,000s for a model that’s 25 years old.
Luggage Capacity
I call that Yamaha “farmy” because it isn’t so powerful as to be unapproachable and it has a relatively low seat height and a wide range of aftermarket luggage options. When you’re getting on and off every few minutes, the convenience of the seat height becomes important. It also becomes important when the bike is top-heavy with cargo. A milk crate with a fold-up army shovel, a crescent wrench, and a cordless drill makes a great time-saving passenger on a bike, and it doesn’t stretch the balance of a bike to the tipping point. For the times when you’ll want to carry more, look at how the bike sits on the kickstand and the size of the kickstand’s footprint, especially if you’ll mostly be on soft or uneven ground.
Clutch and Suspension
That Honda I mentioned has been a staple of acreage-owning chore-doers for a generation. It’s so small that it feels more like a heavy bicycle than a motorcycle, but that’s a big plus to a lot of users. Like the TW200, it was built with cargo in mind. It also has a gearbox that doesn’t require a clutch, meaning you can technically ride it with one hand. I’ve found this particularly useful, as I can use one hand to open a gate without dismounting, and I don’t have to search around for neutral to do it. The age of the available population of these motorcycles (they discontinued the CT90 in the U.S. in 1984 but reintroduced it as the CT125 a few years ago) means that, in general, the suspension is a little loosey-goosey. If you live somewhere like I do, where the Cascade Volcanoes vomited lava all over what would become your pasture 10,000 years later, you’ll appreciate front suspension with more than 4 inches of travel, so you don’t get catapulted out of your seat every time you hit a rock. A real “dual sport” motorcycle, such as the Kawasaki KLX series, will have significant suspension travel and the convenience of a headlight, but it’ll be shorter on stock luggage capacity.
Budget Entries
A thrifty way to test out if a chore bike is a good fit for you is with a widely available “minibike.” This typically has a rudimentary tube frame, balloon tires, a one-speed centrifugal clutch, and a 3-to-6.5-horsepower gas motor with a pull starter, no headlight, no suspension, and a rear brake. A 5-gallon bucket for cargo can be mounted conveniently between the handlebars, and the layout is simple enough that handy people can sort out most repairs or upgrade a 3-horsepower motor (way too little) to a 6.5-horsepower motor (way too much) from Harbor Freight. While you might be able to find a used one for $100, typically they’ll range from $300 to $500. The balloon tires help a little with the lack of suspension, but they don’t add any clearance if you’re going over rough ground, so be ready for a bumpy ride, and do some stretches beforehand if you’re going to be yanking on that pull-starter a lot.
A dirt bike is a good way to try out a chore bike without breaking the bank. Sometimes, a small, used dirt bike can be found for a deal. These typically lack headlights and cargo capacity, but they have a healthy suspension for covering rough ground. These are often in forlorn shape as well, and not to be undertaken without some mechanical aptitude.
Alternative Rides
Rokon 2×2. If you have timberland where you’ll need a two wheel-drive motorcycle to skid logs, or you’ll need to swim across a river and float a motorcycle to the other side on its huge wheels so you can tow a 1-ton trailer there, the Rokon 2×2 might be for you. It’s more than most people need but amazingly capable, although it’ll set you back as much as a semester’s tuition at the state college.
Volcon Grunt. Similarly capable, the newest-generation electric Volcon Grunt is heavy at almost 300 pounds, to the point where it’s almost a regular motorcycle. While the wide tires might not be nice to plants, they won’t compact the earth because their weight is so spread out, and they also provide a tremendous amount of area for gripping on difficult terrain. It doesn’t come with much stock cargo space and isn’t license plateable, but aftermarket tail racks are available, and it has enough muscle to tow a Jet Ski with the right attachments.
Ubco 2×2. With its low seat height, the electric Ubco 2×2 might feel small for riders with larger frames, but it’s a big plus for a farm bike where you’re dismounting a lot. The main benefit of this bugger is its two-wheel drive, which really shines if you get into a situation where a traditional bike might become unstable. The 155-pound weight makes it a pleasure to handle, and the motors provide plenty of torque and power to get you where you’ll need to go, even if you’re starting pointed uphill on a sandy slope. It has a 30-mpg speed limiter, but rarely will you need to go faster than that on a small ranch. With no foot brake, you’ve always got one hand tied up to keep you from rolling.
Safety and Maintenance
Motorcycles already carry a cavalier connotation, but you should keep some subtle and not-so-subtle things in mind. First, it’s tempting not to wear gloves, a helmet, and smart footwear, but not wearing gear is dangerous, and if your kids see you doing it, they’re going to do it too. Second, you don’t want to start a fire. Most bikes have an exhaust that snakes around the front or bottom, and it gets hot. If there isn’t a skid plate or an exhaust guard between it and the tall, dry grass, or if you don’t have a spark arrester, it can cost you the farm. If you upgrade your battery to a lightweight lithium battery, consider its source and your confidence before you park it inside. Same goes for electric bikes. A lithium fire is terrifying to witness, and it doesn’t respond to traditional extinguishing methods like a wood fire does.
Speaking of traditional, when I was on an electric motorcycle test ride, my bike just stopped going. Under normal circumstances, there’d be clues and time-tested fixes: Check the air filter, check the spark plug, check for gas. It turned out it was just a loose plug, but this power-down gave me pause to realize I have little background in how to diagnose electric motorcycle systems, nor how to do it without turning into an organic light bulb.
If you take the plunge, keep an eye on your odometer and imagine how much time it would’ve taken to walk all those miles. Happy trails!
Josh Lau is an engineer, inventor, Eagle Scout, and centimarathoner. He raises chickens and steers on a small ranch in central Oregon with his patient wife and awesome kids.
