Long distance ride

Anyone here take their machines long distances (over 1000 miles)? I have never owned a motorcycle before and bought my '81 XJ650 hoping to get it running good. It seems to be running pretty good now, but now I'm thinking, "Wow, this could actually break down 500 miles away from home."

 

I wanna try to do an iron man run sometime on my bike, but the most I have done is about 200 miles or so, sorry.

 

Most I've ever done is 120 in one day.

Suggestion: Harden your backside before starting

 

I've done just under 500 kms in a day. And MiCarl is right - my ass was killing me when I finished!

 

The XJ, no. Back when I had a Hondamatic, though, I would make a 350-400 mile run (one way) to visit a friend of mine in Phoenix. I'd leave on a Friday, and return Sunday evening. Figure 700+ for the weekend.

 

I've done 500 miles or so round trip up to Salem in a day............and the backside hardening comment by MiCarl is VERY accurate! Get a hemroid doughnut first!! :lol:

These bikes, if maintained well, will run forever..........I'm about to roll over 46,000 miles and the bike runs strong......enough for me to trust riding it great distances without hesitation! 8)

 

I've driven from Chesapeake, Va to Louisville, Ky (approx 730 mi) took me 15 hours on the xj650. Did it on a 85 Venture (much more confortable) and only took about 11 hours. I have done an iron man from New Orleans to Chesapeake (1035 miles) on the Venture, took 23 hours.

 

I have ridden my XJ550 375 miles in one day once. I did not have any problems with my backside, however I was noticeably fatigued. It was a long day down into WV and OH and then back to pittsburgh.

 

Did the run from Folsom to San Diego a lot back in the 80s (550 miles). It was fun for the first 3 hours, then it started to get uncomfortable. It'd take me a day or so to recover from the soreness.

 

The first year I had my bike, 1981, I left Saskatchewan and headed west. Through Alberta and British Columbia and down into Washington. Passed through Oregon and went to the coast in Northern California. Drove East through Nevada, up through Idaho and over to Yellowstone Park. Crossed Montana, back int0 Alberta and back home to Swift Current.
I was gone from Sept. 10th to 27th. Probably put on over 3000 miles. Never had a stitch of trouble. One warning for speeding in Yellowstone!
I'd probably not hesitate to take the same bike, on the same trip today. I made one round trip of 1200km and one of 900km last year. I usually limit my travels to about 6 hours saddle time per day now. I have a 2100 KM(1300 miles)trip planned for mid August.

 

Wendall79
take a look here http://www.ibmwr.org/non_anon/non_anon.shtml
it's by BMW riders but i doubt they'll hang up on ya

 

well i'm about to undertake a ride of a lifetime and pray the xj makes the longhaul. just about 2,000 miles on an 82 xj 550. the bike has about 3300 miles on but i need to tune up.

 

Just go for it and hope for the best. I'm also planning a 2k trip for this fall on my 85 xj700... I don't expect any trouble, but you never know. I've given myself plenty of time just in case! My friends think I'm a fool but I can't think of a better way to spend my time off. Be safe!

 

I just did around a 400 mile trip(about 200 each way) last week. The backside was fine. I used a camo seat pad that I use for hunting. The thick round ones you can buy at Wal-Mart. It was comfortable.

 

5,400km's in 6 days last year pretty much with out issue. I've figured out every way to sit on an xj and still make it down the road

 

Last year I spent almost 3 weeks on the XJ and put 5,300ish miles on it. Central NY to Boston then west to Seattle and the Oregon coast. I ran into 2 problems, first is that my bike that already runs a little rich hats the high thin air in the Rocky Mountains. The CV carbs. made it very hard to keep the bike going, I would have to keep the engine revved over 3k RPM in order to keep the engine going otherwise it would drop to an idle and not rev up. These led to the second problem of snapping the clutch cable. I had to ride the clutch for a 7 mile construction zone in Yellowstone because first gear was too fast at 3k RPM.

Snapping the clutch cable in the middle of Montana wasn't much fun but luckily I was able to get 3 shifts out of it between the time I saw it about to break and when it did. Those shifts got me to an Ace Hardware so I rigged up the cable with a lawnmower throttle end piece. Then I only had 1,500 miles of only using the clutch to start out and I was fine.

 

A few weeks ago. Note the one day mileage, it was the first day. (The GPS will store up to four days, that is why the trip miles are higher than the one day mileage.)


7 days later, note the total miles.

Jim

 

Was this on the Turbo or the BMW?

 

BMW, the turbo is still acting up.

Jim

 

I got back yesterday from a 1557 mile(2506 KM) trip. The XJ ran perfectly! I think someone should invent or tell me where to buy a gel seat pad. The butt got a little sore! Cold liquids applied internally at the end of the day helped. :wink:

 

"I got back yesterday from a 1557 mile(2506 KM) trip. The XJ ran perfectly! "

Oh yes. That's how it should be. Easy riding! Hopefully I will reach that point some time next year!

 

On the 81 Maxim I did several trips - NY in 2002 ~2000 miles in 4 days, NY in 2005? similar milage - Kingston in 2003 for 2 - 1000 mile days.

The trick? lots... I think I've posted them all in my previous posts but:

- stay hydrated
- don't speed it will only make you tired faster and cost you money eventually
- move around and don't wait to get sore. Once you are sore you are sore for the rest of the trip. Find every possible seating position, and take advantage of the passenger pegs. I didn't have highway pegs but that'd be a nice 3rd option for the legs.

- Wear good gear, pack different gear. You don't need 4 t-shirts, but a couple t-shirts, a sweater, and a spare pair of gloves instead.

- Staying dry will make it much more comfortable. If you gear isn't waterproof consider getting new gear, or finding a compatable water proofer.

- Ear plugs.

- Keep the stops short and equally spaced. Doing 300 miles without a stop and then stopping every 50 miles after will take longer than just stopping every 150 miles, getting gas, an energy rich food bar (granola perhaps), and a quick stretch.

- By managing rest stops and maintaining a sustainable speed you can get a good average speed and that is what matters NOT TOP SPEED.

- Find your luggage... I started with duffle bags and rubbermaid boxes. I just brought cortech sportbags. Worth the money IMHO if you are going to tour - nice pockets and easy mounting. No worrying about staps failing.

- Pack your gear sensibly - balance the weight, store like things together, pack using ziplock bags and clear garbage bags. (Clear so when you cross the border or get stopped by the police that they don't force you to dump it all on the curb to see what you have).

- Bring spare bungies, zipties, basic tool kit, spare plug or two... tire repair kit, flashlight (the minor lamps are fantastic for working with), PHONE...

- tell a friend your route. Check in when you can so that they know where you are...

- 1000 mile days take practice - start doing 250 miles from home, coming back, going 250 miles the other way and coming back... that way you are always close to home and can bail out when you are tired.

- IF you get tired on the road - stop and stay at a motel. The night is cheaper than the bike, and much cheaper than your health/life. Your boss will understand if it means anther day off work.

That's off the top of my head...

The big one? Have fun, bring a camera, and a note book.

 

This year I did a 600 mile 2 day twisty ride on my CBR F4. I had a blast. I did a 600 mile single day twisty ride and was quite tired at the end (physically not mentally). The single day I did get a bit of a sore backside, but that was from a very hard suspension setup hitting a very bumpy road a bit too aggressively. I slowed down but not before the first bruises... :-/

 

That's correct. The bag came back to Canada in the spring of '03. I had just gotten my bike back on the road after sitting in the shed for 10 years. (raising kids took all my money- kept the bike because I told my wife it wasn't worth anything ) Myself and another rider from here got in on the relay. The relay was one of the best ideas I've ever seen anyone come up with and I'd love to be involved in another one. I've got photos of the relay and bag in my gallery.

 

Done a couple of 1000 plus mile day rides so far on my seca turbo. Went from Southern Ca. to Denver Co. in one day. Turned around three day's later and did another 1000 plus miles in a day. It was kind of scary going east on the I70 when I came upon a stretch that was 100 miles without gas or help. I went about 70 mph thru that stretch and wound up using 2.2 gallons of gas for 112 miles . Actually going there was probably one of the best rides I ever went on. However coming back by the time I finally got to the 15 my rear was sore. Worst part was that I still had 500 miles to go. But probably the scariest area was coming thru the Eisenhower Tunnel, I read the sign above me which say's in big red letters.. "WARNING ICE AHEAD" . Remember there are no streetable ice tires for a motorcycle

Sean

 

The Eisenhower Tunnel. I've always wanted to try that on a bike, looks like a blast.
The ice kinda sounds like fun, too.

 

I went on a trip on my 83 XJ650 Maxim 4 years ago from here in Sault Ste Marie, canada to go visit a friend in Owensville MO. Approx 850 miles each way. Left here on a Sat night at 10pm, drove to the MI/WI border, arrived there at about 4am (brrrrr it was cold that night, glad i brought insulated gloves), got a motel room and slept til about 11am, and was back on the road again by noon. I arrived in Owensville almost exactly 24 hours later. Stops every 200k or so for fuel, got a little antsy the last night of riding and found I could squeeze better than 250km out of a talk of gas, as there were no gas statioons open. Next long trip, I'll be bringing a small gcan of gas on the bike with me for such contingencies (sp?). Bike ran like a top, but she was about 20 yrs old at the time, so i kept her at or under the speed limit for the duration of the trip. Other than my second helmet i keep on the bike for passengers getting stolen, and getting caught in a torrential downpour about 1/2 hour outside of St Louis (I brought a rainsuit, but no extra footwear...DOH!), the trip was without incident. WEven got to take a short drive down the legendary Route 66 and eat at a genuine 50's diner!

 

I can't help but brag a bit here. This June (6/8/07 - 6/24/07), I rode a little more than 12,700 miles in 17 days. That averages to about 750 a day. I had two unofficial 1,000 mile days. I started in Southern California, went up to Blaine, WA, across to Madawaska, ME, south to Key Largo, FL, and out to San Ysidro, CA. I touched all the 48 lower states and even drove through Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada. I was pretty tired, but it was a great ride. The bike is an '82 Maxim 650. The bike started the trip with almost 39,500 miles.

 

A few weeks ago I went from my current home in Charles Town, WV to Morristown, TN and back. It was about 800 miles round trip. I'm glad I had my GPS with me. I didn't know my speedo reads about 5mph under! I'm moving to Morristown in the next few weeks. If anybody is down in that area and knows good rides, let me know. There are plenty of mountains and twisties there just like WV though, so I don't think good rides will be hard to find.