One of the biggest inspirations for taking my trip cross country via motorcycle was the miniseries, "Long Way Round" with actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.
It's a fantastic adventure between two guys who seem to genuinely love and respect one another.
Outside of the wonderful tour itself, what shines most is their obvious man love, and I mean that in a very positive and hetero sorta way ,))

"Long Way Round" follows the pair from London thru Europe, Russia, and Mongolia, and on thru the U.S. via Alaska, and ends in New York City.  The last episode will really pull at your heartstrings as Ewan's dad surprises him on the last day of riding.

"Long Way Down" finds the two going thru the whole of Africa, traveling thru 18 some odd countries in just a couple of 3 months.  It's not quite as much fun to watch as the first show but still damn cool - particularly after they hit the midway point and cross into Rwanda.  This time Ewan's lovely wife shows up for a few days of riding.

Unbeknownst to me, Charley has been doing a travel series of his own for the last few years and it looks to be worth watching and I fully intend to do just that.

"By Any Means" follows Charley across the globe as attempts to reach his various destinations however he can - cars, trucks, bikes, boats, even elephants keep him moving at different parts of his journey.

He's also doing a sponsored sort of ride along with Eagle Rider Motorcycle this November that will take a large group from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas.
Check it out here:
http://www.eaglerider.com/motorcycle-tours/guided-motorcycle-tour/baja-with-charley-boorman-experience.aspx

If you can come up with the roughly $5,000 you can grab one Eagle Rider's bikes and join him for a weeklong adventure down the coast of California and on into Mexico.

Charley's website is here:  http://www.charleyboorman.com/