Long road ahead

My father and I are on a long road trip together at the end of the summer on our bikes. About 500 miles one way. I'm concerned about a few things. #1 is 500 miles to much for my xj. The bike will be in good mechanical order before we leave. #2 will crossing over the blue ridge mountains cause my carbs to struggle at that altitude.

 

I hope 500 miles isn't too much for an xj. as for yours, when was the last valve adjustment? how old are the brakes? tires? (tread remaining is not the issue, age is. check the date code on the sidewall.). when was the last brake fluid flush? all good things to consider before a long ride. not too sure there will be any altitude/fuel mixture issues. but you might want to have tuning tools on hand for making adjustments as needed.

FU

 

I just did the valve adjustment two weeks ago. Tires are going to be new and i am doing the brakes in the next couple of weeks. So is 500 miles to much for an xj?

 

If you're bike is tuned up properly than there's no trip distance that's too long. I guess perhaps riding an entire oil change cycle in one trip could complicate things. I have put hundreds of kms on my Xj in one day multiple times. Should be no issue

 

The blue rige mountians will not be a problem if your bike has had all the maintenance done (crossing the Rockies won't be a problem either). I take my Seca on 1,000+ mile trips every summer. As with any machine, keeping it properly maintained is the key.

 

I'll bet the xj takes the 500 miles better than your back side will.

 

500mi is nothing. Keep taking care of your bike and it'll give you 50,000 and keep going.

DO make sure to ride 100 mi or so carefully so that you can scrub the mold release agent off your tires well before hitting the twisties..... That stuff can really scare you if it's not all off yet

 

500 mile one way is maybe 10 tanks of gas round trip. If you start out good, check the oil when you get there and wash it before you start back, no problem.

 

where you going? i always have a extra quart of oil

 

1000 miles takes 10 tanks of gas ??? LOL More like 4-5 at normal speeds !!!!

 

A pal of mine has upwards of 500,000 miles on his trusty old FJ1200 and still going strong !!! Similar engine but comes with an oil cooler. Biggest thing is to change the oil regularly, not forgetting the filter of course. I use a good quality Semi Syn and have no clutch issues. Its quite a bit better than good olde fashioned mineral oil, and that's fine too, as long as you change oil and filter about every 3000 miles. The mineral oil I am talking about. Should be no trouble with 5000 mile changes with Semi Syn, espc if you are doing mostly highway riding. These hot running air cooled engines really don't do great in city riding in summertime.

 

No need to wait 100 miles on a new tyre to scrub it off, but no harm either. On a warm day, over an abrasive roadway, 50 miles or even less will do it/ Obviously the tricky bit is on the less used edges and those you have to be careful with. The centre portion is mostly a non issue and a normal ride along the highway for 20-30 miles will sort that, with some gentle braking initially. What I normally do is to go down to a local traffic circle, as you guys call it, this after a 30 mile ride down the highway to properly warm the tyre, and then I take 10-15 circles around the roundabout at slowish speeds, and gradually increasing the lean angle. Nothing drastic mind. No Valentino impressions !!!! LOL

 

I do 300 miles a week approx. for 8 months a year on my Seca and zero issues. A 500 mile run is nothing. That could be done in a day with little trouble. I bought an FJ1200 in Richmond VA a few years back and rode it straight back to Boston as soon as I got off the overnight Greyhound bus. !!! Its was a 601 miles trip, and it was a bit much to be honest. Blasted by heat and heavy rain along the way, I was in way worse shape on getting back to Beantown than the FJ was !! LOL I never did get any sleep on that damn bus either !!!

 

you get 200-250 miles on a tank ? how old are you?..... LOL

 

4400 mile trip was nothing for my 750 maxim last fall. I had idle issue over 7000 feet in Colorado. It was so low that it wanted to cut out. At 13000 feet I just revved it alittle until we drop to lower altitude. Your butt will feel the pain on a stock seat. I had memory foam put in my. What a difference, it is worth it! Mileage was different. Mostly 50 mpg. We crossed Kansas in head and cross wind. I was using my odometer to judge the next gas stop. Big mistake! We past 5 gas stations at an exit on I70. 10 miles past my friend is pointing at his tank. I held up 4 fingers, meaning 40 more miles. 10 more miles out I hit reserve, OH HELL! I hit reserve at 120 miles! We crested a hill and NOTHING as far as your could see! NO barns, road signs, exits, just windmills. 20 more miles I was waiting for the sick feeling of running out of gas in this 100 degree heat. 5 more miles and little sign said next exit gas. Looked in the tank, had about a cup left! After that episode I filled up every 125 miles. The wind cut my mileage almost in half.

 

My parent own a lakehouse in a little town outside of knoxville tenn called rockwood. So we are going to ride from northern va to rockwood tenn. We will probably stop every couple hours and stretch and take a break. My wife and mother will follow us in my truck and trailer incase it becomes to much we can just load the bikes up and ride with them. Honestly my dad is turning 60 this year and i think he just wants to see if he still has it in him if you guys know what i mean. I'm pretty excited to do it with him

 

I'd still do the 100 scrubbing.... When I put new tires on my bike, I can feel the "new" slippery tire for the first 2-3 days and its a 75mi round trip. So I ride very carefully at least 150 mi, and usually a less cautious 150 after that. It's only 4 days, big deal. The last day I usually ride through Ilion Gorge to widen the scrubbed area on the tires. Now when I say cautious, I don't mean 20mph, I mean easy at the speed limits, stay vertical in curves, slow down for them more, etc....

Ymmv

 

UH.... 500,000---? Riiiiight.


I DO have 304,500 mi on my PT Cruiser, though, and can prove it,too....

 

It seems like there MUST be an extra zero in there somewhere! I have 50,000 km on mine, which is around 30,000 miles (I think), and she's pretty beat up! I think the two years spent in a barn were about as rough as the miles, though!

 

There was a guy with a Volvo over here in Europe who has over 600k miles on his car, and he is not alone. I remember one car had more than 1,000,000 miles !!!!

 

Sure I have 49,000 miles on my Kawa ZRX and its like brand new in every way. I know lots of guys, and I mean lots, with 60-100,000 miles on their bikes, all running perfectly with just regular servicing. There are a few guys in the Classic Japanese owners club over here that have more than 100k miles on their bikes, and its not considered any kind of a big deal. One guy had 212k miles on his bike when I met him about a year ago.

 

Uh, the quote was regarding a bike......I understand cars and truck getting that kind of mileage. but, um, 500,000 mi on a bike-----

 

Why ever not ??? An FJ1200 for example , with its car like engine ( Low revving, understressed, simple design ) can easily do 200k miles for example, without any trouble at all. Its all down to the owner and servicing. I admit that 500k is exceptional, especially for a air cooled motor, but it had one good owner from new, and was never ridden hard and had its oil changed regularly. I know at least five guys personally here in Ireland with more than 100k miles on their bikes, and they think nothing of it al all. One guy well over 200k miles and not missing a beat. Highest I have heard over here was around 300k, so 500k , though amazing , is entirely possible. If an ancient car can go over one million miles, then a well designed bike engine can do 500k. Saw it with my own eyes, so I know its correct.

 

"Honestly my dad is turning 60 this year and i think he just wants to see if he still has it in him if you guys know what i mean."

Tell me. What do you mean?!! Oh, turning "60" eh? Over the hill and coasting?

I'm kidding, but only a little.
Watch those ageist comments. I'm sure that I'm not the oldest rooster in this coop, anyway. Pretty sure that we have more miles, more beers, more.. well, let's not go there, but I'm sure that we've had more and are still going strong.

 

I dunno about more beers... I am Canadian, and have been drinking the stuff since I was five. No kidding, it's one of my earliest memories. I also got Segram's Five Star whiskey with sugar as a cough medicine. Not sure if it helped the cough, but I slept like the dead! Try getting away with that kind of parenting nowadays!

 

I rode the Blue Ridge multiple times with the Seca. No issues with carbs at higher elevations. 500 miles is cake, I had multiple 1500 mile trips. Enjoy time with Dad, mine is almost 70 and it's not as easy to get him to go riding as it used to be.