One of my tour guests is inviting others. He sent me a copy of the email. He sums it up better than me.
I'd say try to plan for this sooner rather than later since there's not a ton of spots.
Cost of Tour
Cost of the tour is $1513. $213 of that is paid as a deposit to reserve a spot and the rest is paid in cash in Taiwan. The tour is all-inclusive, so no need to pay for gas/hotel/food/rental/tour guide/activities. If we go out drinking at night we might be on our own for alcohol, but it's dirt cheap there.
Cost of Airfare
Cost of Airfare is going to go up the longer we wait. DT found flights for $800 round trip LAX -> TPE. I found $886 LAX->TPE.
Bravo: PHX->TPE looks like $1086 on Korean Air (Think hot stewardesses)
Darrell: I found PHL->TPE for $1245, JFK->TPE for $995 on Air China (Cheaper than Bravo coming from Phoenix)
Total Cost To Budget For:
I'd budget around $3000/per person for the entire trip. That's Airfare + Tour Costs + In-country expenses.
Bikes Available
Mostly going to be scooters available, although I think Mordeth has two 250cc dual sports if you're rather ride an actual motorcycle. I'm going to be opting for a scooter though, since it has more storage space underneath, although some of the roads do get a bit wild and it might be nice to have the extra oomph.
Healthcare / Injuries
It is a motorcycle tour, so there is definitely a chance of danger. You can get travellers health insurance for about $50. If you get in an accident and are injured, Taiwan's healthcare system can sometimes be free but I wouldn't count on it. My dad had to use the hospital there and they didn't charge him anything. It's also got some pretty good doctors and you should get pretty decent care. Although some of the rural hospitals could be a bit sketchy.
Cell Phones
Cell reception will likely be spotty in the more rural areas. We can grab SIM cards at the airport on the way in, there's a 10 day plan with unlimited data for $26 from Taiwan Mobile. You'll need to show a passport and a driver's license.
About The Tour
The tour's all around Taiwan, and its planned to stay out of the larger cities and up on rural mountain and coast roads. I rode a lot of the scenic roads up in northern Taiwan when I was living there, and I cannot overstate how beautiful the views are. His videos don't really do it justice.
It's going to be a lot of riding, because it's a real motorcycle trip around Southeast Asia. Plan for 8-10 hours of riding a day. It's going to be a lot, but it's going to be absolutely majestic. The first couple days will be rough unless you're in shape and have been practicing riding, so I'd highly suggest training for it. It's not one of those sissy bus tours, and the stops and sights we see are going to be less of the touristy bullshit and more of the actual countryside and life. So be prepared to be a badass.
About M13
He's a friend of mine that I visited last time I was in Taiwan. He was the first motorcycle vlogger on the internet and has been doing it since before YouTube. He's got over 1000 videos posted and something like 140k subscribers and 93 million views. He's a bit of an asshole, got a personality like both of you have, so we'll all get along fine. He's a good dude and will make sure we're taken care of. He's been running the tours since 2011, and 30% of people who take his tour come back for another, so it's definitely going to be a good time.
Video Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcHTHAt1Nkc - promo video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U65Fjx19d9M - tour video from 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R40JWjdUhUU - march 2013 tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBqk_do33_s - march 2014 tour - shows one of the bikes having an issue with spark plugs and how Mordeth handles repairs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxLK-1IyeR8 - tour 2010 - mostly photo slideshow
http://hobbicide.com/M13Taiwan/contact-2/ - photos
http://hobbicide.com/M13Taiwan/faq/ - FAQ
Booking Link
So, as soon as you've thought about it, go ahead and pay the deposit and book the Nov tour.
http://hobbicide.com/M13Taiwan/events-booking/?regevent_action=register&event_id=14&name_of_event=Nov+2014
Love you all, hope you'll be able to make it.
