| Author | Message | ||
     Skypilot |
Since I got my Firebolt all I can think about is riding. I have found myself in the fortunate situation of having all of June and half of July off... I plan on riding from Boston to LA and back again (well at least back to Ohio). I am asking for advice from the collective wisdom of the Bad Weather Bikers forum, about what to take with me, types of bags, tools, roads to rides, sights to see, etc. Thanks. | ||
| Court |
Start getting in shape now. I've done this several times and will be pleased to give you some tips. | ||
| Court |
Get a feel for how long you are comfy riding in a day. Know and understand your "ride profile". Is your goal to cover miles (i.e get from here to there pronto and wander there) or sightseeing and exploring in which case you'd more likely be doing 200-300 mile "winding" days. Learn highway discipline. Americans tend to be aggressive drivers. Learn to "make a bubble". I work to make the biggest buffer around my motorcycle I can no matter what is required . . slowing down, speeding up or changing lanes. Learn respect. The mini-van with the bicycles strapped to the rack on the back and the couple arguing in the front is your enemy. Do not allow yourself to get engaged and try to teach them a lesson. Your craft weighs 600#, theirs 4,000# . . they win. Something stinks - learn to use your nose. I've never followed a semi that exploded a trailer tire that didn't permeate the air with plenty of olfactory notice. I know, when I smell a cigarette or cigar that a drive in front of me is managing more things with their hands than driving. Don't drive in the middle - always minimize your exposure by keeping a railing, wall or stationary object on one side. Always drive in the middle - The maximizes your response time to threats from the side, dear, cars running into the lane, etc. Learn to resolve the prior two conflicting metrics. Pull your zipper up. I've lost 3 cameras, an iPod and tons of stuff . . all funny tales but telling in their testimony to my lack of attention. If you have to, develop a fueling protocol. Take care of the bike, fuel, oil, air and yourself, water, protein, pee but have an orderly way of doing it. When I am "mileing" I can turn a fuel stop in under 5 minutes but it requires either a system or a big camera budget. I have Courtshiemers and forget zippers. . .ask Blake. Ride with your eyes wide open . . .learn to scan and avoid fixation. We use a "t-scan" in an airplane. I have a habit of, every 10 minutes, asking "what could go wrong right now". Ride with your eyes closed. Spend a bit of time before you go, place the owners manual on the tank with the bike sitting in your garage. Now get on the bike, read a procedure, close your eyes and doing it 25 times. This is critical if, for example, you will have to make a normal to reserve change in a fuel petcock. When I used to fly a lot I'd spend an hour a month in the cockpit performing emergency procedures with my eyes closed. You never know when you'll suddenly be blinded as I was following Chauly off Deal's Gap in a thick fog wearing dark glasses and a dark visor when I coughed and "blacked" my shield. I want you to be able to do things like that normal-reserve tank change without taking your eyes off the road. Trust me, it will occur in Memphis at 11:00pm as the guy who's been drinking suddenly sees he's about to miss the off ramp. For me, on an S2, it's "hit knee, slide 4" and in" . . know it. Know your bike. When I am "mileing" I know EXACTLY when I'll hit reserve, I know my "bingo point" and within 30 seconds of fuel exhausting can make the fuel ahead or turn calculation. Learn the truth about speed. You can do this with simple math but take my word for it, the way you cover big miles is not stopping . . speed is a tough substitute. When I ride above 80 the bike gets terrible mileage, I loose time in added fuel stops and the stress from hitting the brakes at the sight of everything that remotely resembles a Crown Vic will exhaust you. Learn to exercise on your bike, stretching, flexing and so forth. There's lots more but you get the idea. I've got tons of test miles under my belt in about every state in the country. Most of my good fortune has been pure luck, some isn't. Don't gamble on luck, be a professional motorcycle rider. Test riders are paid to bring the bike back and say what's wrong not roll around in the ditch uttering "holy cow". Most of all . . have fun . . The most I've been out at one time is 31 days and it is a total thrill. Ride safe, lean much and smile more, Court | ||
| Flxmanlethal |
WOW!!!Court that's some good advise as for david good luck and stay safe......some day i would love to ride across this beautiful country of ours. | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Skypilot I'm glad you posted, I can't help much, but I learned some things reading tips from the guy who's undoubtedly "been there". Lots of knowledge and great tips there. One important one being: DON'T RIDE BEHIND COURT!! Now if I could just figure out how to get a month and a half off!! There are some tool list tips in the Knowledge Vault:http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/88158.html Enjoy that ride, we'll expect a full report! Rotzaruck! | ||
| Skypilot |
Court, Thanks for the tips... Do you have any favorite roads? | ||
| Court |
I do. Short of time preparing for a test this evening. Don't let me forget, I'd love to share more. | ||
| Jlnance |
I did this last year, you can read about it here if you like. One of the surprising things I learned was how much interest a trip like this generates. Take a laptop with you and post about it along your way. Take people up when they offer to meet you. You'll meet a lot of good people. I had to rush, you'll have a bit more time, so you can sight see if you want. You'll still probably end up doing some long days. They get easier with practice, so make it a point to make some 200/300/400/500 mile day trips before you start out. I had to deal with the cold. You're going to have to deal with the heat. Even if you come across the top of the US, and then head down from Seattle, it's going to be HOT. If you come across diagonally, it's going to be blistering. You'll have to figure out how to manage that. Hydration and sunburn will be issues. I regret not taking more pictures. Find someone on badweb to be your contact person for problems. If you need to locate a belt while you're in the middle of nowhere, it's nice to know you have someone back in civilization to do the legwork for you. This is hard work, not always "fun", but you're gonna have a great time. | ||
| Madduck |
Mountain riding is very different from flatland riding. The storms come on you suddenly and are over just as fast. A thnderstorm will follow you along aways as they tend to travel along the valleys. The wildlife is much bigger and more dangerous, do not travel unfamiliar areas after dark. Get a good GPS and a road atlas, study the next days choices in the motel while you are sorting thru the digital pictures you took that day. I would say to learn to shoot from a moving motorcycle but that is ground for arrest and I don't do it much anymore. Most of the best scenery does not have a convenient photo overlook. The most dangerous situation is a large motorhome going slowly, the damn things tend to do the stupidist things when you least expect it. Far more stupid than the animals you will encounter. If you see a couple of vans loaded with canoes etc. heading somewhere, follow them they are always going somewhere interesting. | ||
| Mingomudd840 |
You might want to check out a book that I got for Christmas. "The Old Man and the Harley". It is about an 18 yr.old young man who takes a 1929 Big Twin across country in 1941 in order to visit World Fairs on both coast. One reason I mention the book is the route he takes. It is U.S. 30 and goes most of the way across the U.S. It isn't a major interstate and is mostly still intact. His son wrote the book and rode the route in reverse [west to east]sometime in the late 90's with his Dad. Awsome book. It has put a real bug up my butt to go cross country this summer. Have been gathering some new camping stuff. ONe man tent,sleping matt and bag.The plan is to go to Sturgis see George Thorogood, Aerosmith then ride to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and ride for a few. Would really like to camp here but have this thing about other things big enough to eat my dumb ass{bears}. Any way that's the plan. Check out the book good read and lots of good ideas on route and stuff to see. } | ||
| Ulywife |
Sky - drop me a PM with the states you'll be riding through and I'll send you a personalized BRAN. Better to have and not need, than need and not have! | ||
| Sleez |
Skypilot; first of all, you are doing this all wrong!!! getting way too much info, and way too much preparation!!! here's what i did when i took my first long ride on my fairly "new to me" S3; preface: bought a used S3 in indy, where i lived at the time. then i moved to southern CA, leaving the bike behind, with the intent of flying back to pick it up to ride back to CA. i had my wife, who i was separated from get it to a dealer for a quick service. i flew in on a thursday night and picked the bike up, all good. trip: i left friday around noon, took only a small duffle with a few changes of underwear and t-shirts, no tools, no tape, no oil, etc.!!! no map, no plan, just some credit cards and a desire to live through the experience and get to SoCal by sunday night, to be at work monday morning! mind you, i was unfamiliar with badweb at the time, unfamiliar with buells for sure, and really unfamiliar with any HD powered device! i made it to oklahoma city the first night, was really uncomfortable, it was june, hot, sunny, and didn't have very good riding gear. just a leather bomber jacket and jeans, t-shirt, work gloves and combat boots. needless to say the jacket sucked!! it was tucked on top of the duffle bag within 2 hours of indy! i got the sunburn of a lifetime on my arms, still have scars! i stopped at a truck stop near oklahoma city and bought a small pillow (think airline) to place on the seat to give me some extra support in the crotchal area!!! oh yeah, i did have a tank bag. long story not so long...i arrived in lomita, CA around 10pm after the last leg from gallup, NM where i got a few hours sleep. 2280 miles, around 60 hrs on the road, no major problems. had i known of the potential kickstand switch gremlin, or the propensity for rear shocks and swingarms to suddenly disintegrate, i may have rethought the whole trip. of course this trip was never meant to be any fun, pure transportation, and orientation with a new bike. hindsight; be in shape, have enough tools/materials to help you through the minor potential disasters (can't be prepared for everything.), have a well planned route with alternates, have a list of friend's phone numbers along the way in case a major problem arises, have the location of ANY motorcycle shop on the route in case you might need something, check the oil once in awhile, i never did on the whole trip, it was down about 1 quart by the time i got to CA! ENJOY!!! summary; even though it wasn't a recreational trip, and i was alone, i will never forget it!!! side story; i stopped for gas somewhere in arizona, and a couple of truck drivers came over and chatted for a few minutes, admiring the bike and the freedom of just motoring down the freeway. a year or two later i was talking to my mom, who managed a hotel in CA at the time, and she says she was talking to a couple of her regulars, who were truck drivers, they asked her about the picture behind the counter with her on my S3, she explained it was her son etc, and they told her the story of running into a guy with a bike just like that in arizona previously...it was ME!! small world huh??? of course all my early statements were sarcastic at best... prepare, prepare, prepare... then enjoy!! | ||
| Slipknot |
Drink lot's of water. You will loose an amazing amount, especially in summer and that will make you drowsy, lower your concentration, etc. Having to piss really bad will keep you awake. If you are crossing the country when daily temps are 80+, consider riding at night and into daylight hours and then getting a hotel room to sleep. You can trail large trucks at night from about 1/3 mile and they will plow through any obstacle for you. Eat only fruits for your mid day meal. You don't need sugar,fat or protein. Citric acid will fuel you faster than any food with less digestion needed and the fluid intake is critical. Remember the sun screen. Pace along behind a group of bikes, especially bikes that are routinely used for long distance. They usually have a lot of experience and riding with them is better than riding alone. They are less likely to do something that would endanger you than the cagers. | ||
| Sleez |
Slipknot; very good advice! i also had a water pack! forgot to add that! thanks. | ||
| Gunslinger |
My advice is take a more southernly route that ends in San Diego rather than LA. It's nicer here. Better roads, less traffic. Swing by my place so you can give your bike a once-over before heading back. In fact, if I were to give you one other piece of advice it would be, give the bike a good going-over every day of the trip. Also, if you do have a break-down, just view it as part of the adventure and take it in stride. Try to remember names and other details, because you will be telling that story more than any other from the trip. Whatever happens it is going to be awesome. Every rider should go on a trip like that at least once in their life. | ||
| Geforce |
All these tips sound great! The only thing I can suggest is that again, your body much like the fine tuned machine you are riding also need regular maintenance and fuel. There are thousands of protein bars and supplements out there but anything is better than nothing. Here's what I love. Being a paratrooper I love MREs. I break one or two down and keep them with me on a long haul JUST IN CASE. You can always stop and eat but if you get stranded, that Mystery is there to save the day with tons of calories and nutrients. Invest in a camel back. They don't take up much room and you can store plenty of water in them. The ones we are issued are very durable and the bladders hold up to a tremendous amount of torture. Go to Walmart, buy some Cliff Bars... These little guys are pricey but OMG they taste great and are good for you! Easy to eat on the road as well and it can really give you a much needed boost. Stretch! Your body has to warm up just like your tires do in order to hang on! Learn some basic lower, torso and upper body stretches. Trust me, your body will thank you. Try and stretch before you ride for at least 5-10 minutes if you can. Then during your trip as suggested before learn how to stretch a little on your bike to keep your blood pumping and circulating properly. Overall, have a great time and whatever you end up doing be safe and tell us all about it! |
