Long Distance Tour

[pyoungbl]

Just a thought.  I have a couple friends with whom I have done some long distance trips.  We tend to settle into a routine of getting  up between 0600 and 0700, riding an hour before breakfast (maybe up to 100miles), stopping for lunch at about 1300, and quitting around 1900.  We try to stop in a small town.  We'll find an older motel downtown, within walking distance of a bar/restaurant.  That way we can get off the bikes and not ride anywhere until the next day.  This gives us lots of time to take side trips, smell the roses, and still make decent progress.  Some days we will ride 800 miles, most days it's in the 4-500 range.  It all depends on how much fun we are having.  The limiting factors seem to be (1) seat comfort, (2) weather protection. 

I'm the past president of 'making the most miles in a day'.  Now I'd rather enjoy the scenery.  Heck, I might just start to trailer my bike out to a neat spot and forgo all that slab time.  In this case I suspect it's more important to focus on the couple bonding vs making the most miles.  If you get to the most scenic point on the globe but hate the sight of your riding partner...what's the use?

Peter Y.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Has anyone else noticed the original poster has never given any feedback
He seems to be on-line though.

Steelby, how are your plans going?

Just do it, you will forever regret if you don't

[Texas Turnip]

IMO you are getting some good info and a lot of junk from the professional KERA members.

My girlfriend has ridden her V-7 from Texas to the National in Canada and also to NH on the stock seat. We put on many 5-600 mile days on secondary roads. For me, riding on the slab wears me out with all the traffic and noise. Take 50 to St. Louis, jog up to 36 and ride across MO and KS. Get to see what I call what is left of the real America. See weird stuff like kids riding their bikes and kids mowing lawns with a push mower!

Unless it is going to a rally, I don't have a destination for the day or night. In my 50 plus years of riding the US I say ride your game. That means if you have a routine stay with it. I can't stress enough about getting up and being on the road at daylight and stopping an hour before dark.

Don't worry about your bike. A million things COULD happen, but you also could have a memorable ride.

Now did I just waste my time on this post?

Tex

[kingoffleece]

Seats and screens.  Two things that are highly personal.  As Paul Simon said, "One man's ceiling is another man's floor."

If she rode to the National in NH (I had to cancel at the last minute due to illness-dang!) good on her.  You may have met Jim Hamlin there. I get my bikes from him.  Great guy.  Anyway, I rode my V7 home 425 miles from his shop and said as I returned to my shop there HAS to be better for that bike.  Spent the next year working on a few ideas for that bike seat.

[Lcarlson]

If she rode to the National in NH (I had to cancel at the last minute due to illness-dang!) good on her.  You may have met Jim Hamlin there. I get my bikes from him.  Great guy.  Anyway, I rode my V7 home 425 miles from his shop and said as I returned to my shop there HAS to be better for that
[/quote]

I bought my Cali from Jim last summer. Of course, it's a little more convenient for me -- his shop is seven miles from my house.

[chuck peterson]

Be careful of changing gear right before the trip. Test it all out with several rides and different weather...that new pair of pants might have a seam that is perfectly in the wrong place

Bring spare spark plug and caps...Guzzis snap those easily in a tip over

Riding shorts/underwear that is breathable with some spandex helps keep blood from pooling in your butt

Earplugs that do not expand so much they hurt your ear canal

Establish a daily pattern that includes bike maintenance, tire pressure checks, as well as caring for yourself with extra water and food before you get hungry and thirsty

Have someone that knows your approximate plans and would respond for you if you didn't check in with them (more for a solo rider)

Make it a visiting trip and hit up everyone along the way that belongs to this board, while offering a place to stay if they came your way

Make it the goal of this big trip to collect stickers, or postcards, or something silly....when you get home you'll have a collection of stuff to remind you of the trip...the littlest memento can make you recall all the fun and adventure

toward the end, be very cautious of running to the barn...instead stop more often, even if you don't want to

Check in with your partner more often than the bike

Go slower...see more...stress less

Practice getting lost, and getting found....some of my best memories have happened after riding off the map

[Sheepdog]

There is a great deal of discussion about flats. Nobody wants to have to deal with a flat tire in the middle of nowhere...natch. I went through a time when it seemed I was having more than my share of punctures, so I really put a great deal of time into prevention. The advice to start with new tires is gold; thick tread turns away hazards much better than thin tread. Also, bringing along a 12v compressor is cheap insurance. My Viair 70P will seat a tire easily...something that is near impossible with Co2 or a hand pump (at least on tubeless tires).  Lastly, I took some advice from an article written by a London motorcycle messenger and have not had a flat since: put a mudflap on your front fender. Most flats are on the rear wheel for a reason: the front wheel causes hazards to bounce around and occasionally a pointy end finds the rear tire and punctures it. The front mudflap will keep the detritus low or knock it out of the way, entirely. I know that it seems Harley-esque, but it is an old school solution to an age-old problem. See the photo of my Vintage below:

[kingoffleece]

Great advise.  I'll add: test ALL waterproofs in shower, tub, bucket, what have you.  Quality control is not what we'd like-even for the big brands.  Being in that business I can tell you that plenty of stuff had failed those tests right out of the box.  Checking will reinforce that your gear is good-or present the opportunity for exchange.  Make sure your DWR has been renewed.  NixWax makes this really easy.

Jim's a great guy-as you know.

[Lcarlson]

  Lastly, I took some advice from an article written by a London motorcycle messenger and have not had a flat since: put a mudflap on your front fender. Most flats are on the rear wheel for a reason: the front wheel causes hazards to bounce around and occasionally a pointy end finds the rear tire and punctures it. The front mudflap will keep the detritus low or knock it out of the way, entirely. I know that it seems Harley-esque, but it is an old school solution to an age-old problem. See the photo of my Vintage below:

Hmmm, my Cali Custom came with such a mudflap -- guess that's a good thing!

[steelby]

I'm new to this board, and can't figure out how to respond to feedback I've received--all good stuff.  I tried "reply" a few times, but it's clearly a user problem (me).  Sorry, I'll get it figured out...  In particular, I can't figure out how you highlight a portion of somebody's posting, then respond to it on the board, so it becomes a part of the conversation. 

Anyway, I've taken notes for all the many great suggestions I've received.  I thank you all for this valuable input.  I would have never thought of all the ideas mentioned.  Using contact info from this board, also from the Moto Guzzi owners club as suggested brings a sense of calm over taking a long trip. 

Also, all the many suggestions regarding what to take, how to prepare for such a trip, and general words of great wisdom have been very helpful.  I have also been particularly impressed with all the many participants who have offered personal assistance if we happen to break down in their neck of the woods.  Keeping notes on that, too.

Some people suggested trucking the bikes out instead of riding them, then trucking them back so as to beat all the boring miles out of the trip.  Or flying out and renting bikes.  Or some combination.  In my mind, I go big or go home.  My wife and I take on all the miles, good and bad, or we take on none of them.  Sweet with the sour.  After 34 years of marriage, this is the story of our life.

I did this kind of trip when I was younger, but it was not on a Norge, or a Stone.  I love this bike of mine, and my wife loves her V7 Stone, but they are relatively new to our lives.  Input you provided on that was encouraging.

Though we are not retired, we can find a way to free up about a month, and go for it, and it's really the only way to get a true idea how big this land is, and how beautiful even the bad parts can be.  If you have been born and raised in Akron, Ohio as I was, and now living in Pittsburgh for 20 years, you come to appreciate the small "boring" stuff, not just the big stuff...

Sometimes you win a Super Bowl which makes up for most of the time, when you don't...

For those of you that run off the big miles every now and then, coast to coast, North to South---you know it's also about the accomplishment.  It's long and tiring both mentally and physically, and it can also cost a bit of money but it's about going anywhere you want for as long as you want to be there, then moving on.  That to me is what it is to be alive in America in 2016. 

So thanks for the advice.  We will be planning this trip in the Fall, after Labor day to beat the crowds around Yellowstone and the Parks in Utah.  I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meanwhile, I'll be participating in the conversation, and possibly even making timely responses once I figure out how to do it...

"Instead of getting married again, I'm just going to find a woman I don't like, and buy her a house." -Rod Stewart

[rocker59]

I went ahead and merged this

[charlie b]

Just a caution.  We went to Yellowstone in mid Sep (they close the campgrounds and some of the hotels/restaurants around the 21st).  That week the lows were in the 20's and two days before we got there they had snow.  Daytime temps were in the 40's.

The month of Sep is still high tourist season out here.  Tons of tour busses.  Yellowstone wasn't bumper to bumper but it was crowded.  Same thing in a previous year at the Grand Canyon and Zion.  Bryce the hotels were all full.  The highways not around the tourist traps are fine so at least you have that.

[PJPR01]

No doubt on the Yellowstone advice...I recall coming back down into the North Entrance from Livingston on Labor Day and the traffic was bumper to bumper...so I decided to wait another day and rode back up and around for a day and came back the next day early morning....it was a bit mystical with some light fog and absolutely quiet....

A total of 2 cars and 1 gigantic bison were my company for the first 30 or 40 miles going thru the park until I hit the continental divide and basically a couple more cars until I hit Old Faithful...it was a night and day difference..so that 1 day can make the difference between chugging along at 2 mph or having the whole damn park to yourself practically!

Now that VW bus must be worth a fortune these days...they seem to have all turned into collectors items!

Enjoy!

[Huzo]

Just a thought, Gliderjohn you might want to comment or maybe cloud base. How about heading out on your task (sorry, trip) and do a easy distance say 150 miles, then change direction about 120 degrees and travel the same sort of diastance then change again about 120 degrees and another 150 miles or so. The point being of course that at any time you can pack it in, or quit, or give it the arse, whatever the terminology is in your part of the world. You'll effectively be doing a triangle with your home base in the middle and if conditions don't allow you to go on for whatever reason, you've not got a massive slog to get home. You don't want your wife to have bad memories of distance touring, but bear in mind she may surprise you, women have been shown to be able to concentrate better and can have high levels of tenacity. Another thing is I once did a dual ride with my partner of about 600 km, I thought I was looking after her by only sitting on 100 kph, I was on a GSXR1100 and she had a Honda CB250 at the time and I had no idea it was as arduous as it was for her to maintain 100 kph due to headwinds I couldn't feel and up hills I didn't know existed. Large/ish performance differences coupled with differences in experiences, I've found can rear their heads in a ugly way and spoil a good thing.

[kingoffleece]

Yep.  I often have my bride lead.  Makes the ride more enjoyable for her as the pace is more comfortable.  The things we do for love!