"Man Journey" Cleveland, OH to San Francisco, CA

mestnii... i just read the six pages in one sitting and while i too think it was an excellent read, the one thing i kept asking myself is omg how did his ass not revolt?

the stock seat on the 85 xj700n wasn't exactly built for the long haul!

 

I just encountered and read this journal. Absolutely fascinating. I want to do something similar and am actually thinking about a round trip from Ohio to Texas.

Mestnii: you mention taking a lot of tools but not needing that many: Can you please list which tools were invaluable and which you found you didn't need? The other parts, packing the right things and such, are known to me as a sometime camper and bicyclist, but the motorcycle specific things ... those would be very helpful to know.

 

I just read the thing in its entirety as well and Mestnii, you have a talent for writing. Even though we are motorcyclists, I think your style of writing fits in very well with what I used to read in Road & Track.

It really motivates me to get my bike on the road.

Thanks!

 

I also just read this. With each sentence wrote and each picture posted, it felt like I was on this trip. Here I am planning a trip across 2/3 of Oklahoma and you travel 2/3 of the way across the United States!
I emailed this article link to my brother in northern Oklahoma hoping to put a fire under him to pin down a date of departure. This was such a inspirational write up and I hope you get your parking pass SOON!!!
QUESTION: Did you ever figure out the mileage issue. Some guys on here are reporting 40-50 mpg. Im not doing as well either.

 

FYI: The OP was just a bit under two years ago, so I expect that the parking pass issue is resolved as he is clearly a resident now and has been paying California taxes in two tax years now. ;-)

 

Insanely inspirational but I probably couldn't make it as of now. I hope to ride on the "iron butt" this summer but I will be doing some work to my bike which includes new (or at least cut) seat. I read this whole thing in one sitting as well. Im in Columbus OH and i've NEVER seen sights like the pictures you took. I get the issue with harley guys around here. There just jealous they have to add new oil every week. Very good story.

 

Wow, I'm glad that people are still finding this so long after it was written. All of the responses from here have actually inspired me to start my own travel/moto blog which will be up soon.

In the mean time, I'll tackle all your questions in order -

Charlie3 - It revolted, plenty of times Before I left I made my own "bead rider" by stringing a bunch of beads together in to rows, and then stringing those rows together in to a cover for the seat. After awhile this actually hurt more than the stock seat, but switching it on and off provided different sensations so it was somewhat bearable. Except when we were pulling in to Las Vegas... that sucked.

tumbleweed_biff - I took some larger tools like a torque wrench, axe (mainly for firewood...), and some duplicates of pliers and wrenches that I never used. This was partly because I was moving instead of just travelling so I wanted to bring as many of my tool as I could with me. If I were to do it again I would bring a socket wrench and sockets for each size of nut on the bike, a small philips/flathead, a large philips/flathead, simple voltmeter, adjustable pliers (ULTIMATE TOOL!! These have saved me countless times, but they do strip bolt heads or anything they grip so it is a trade off) and a tire pump (not necessary, but I did have to pump up a few times during the trip..). Anything more than that and I feel the repair would require a garage and significantly more time.

marshallnoise - Thanks!! As you read, I found a job but the call of adventure beckons. I'd love to be able to write about my moto travels (and other two wheeled travel) as a means of providing income. My travel blog will hopefully be the first step towards that.

BillB - Ever since I got the bike I never did better than 40 mpg. It seems to have been pegged at around 33-37mpg for me anytime I filled the tank up.

Oh and no parking pass. You can't register a Non-California bike in CA unless you jump through millions of hoops. By the time I found out about all of the hoop jumping I had removed so many "necessary" parts that it wouldn't pass inspection. Had to sell it. It pains me every day, but I do have my license plate and the story as a reminder.

headhunter1213 - Thanks! Ohio does have some great roads, especially if you get to explore East out of Cleveland. Heck, even if you get 20 miles out of Columbus the scenery becomes lush and the roads much more welcoming.

Thanks for all the positive support 2 years on! It really means a lot to me that others have been able to use my adventure to light some fire under their own seats!!!

 

tumbleweed_biff - Oh and I'd add basic lube (one qt. of oil + can of WD40) as essential "tools" to have.

 

Thank you for that.
There are these great pliers I would recommend getting. They are similar to the traditional channel lock pliers except that instead of relatively large increments, these slide up to make a great fit for whatever you are working on. They are made by Vise-Grip. You open them wide and then slide them up to the desired size. They have a great shape for the opening as well. They don't slip or strip unless you don't hold them tight. Also, for lubricant, some PB over WD40. Superb at penetrating and as a lubricant, I believe it is magnetic and really stays in place. WD40 doesn't hang around as long.

 

I'm sorry but I find that difficult to accept. My '81 650 Max is a New York bike and it's been registered here for over 20 years. My XT is Federal and not a problem either. The inspections I had to have required a VIN verification and a brake check... I wonder if you were going to the right places or the laws have changed drastically over the last year (the XT was a pain for other reasons). I'm sorry to hear of your loss but still enjoy the HECK out of your journey. Makes me wish I'd had the nuts to do similar things when I was younger.

 

I would have thought that an early 80's bike would be old enough to pass regardless. I seem to recall there being a point when vehicles became old enough that the standards were lowered? I remember those stupid smog checks and the PITA they were. And despite that, you constantly saw all these vehicles, particularly trucks, going around spewing black smoke. But they were, oh, so worried about my little Ford Escort that I had to pay to have someone give it a rectal exam every couple of years ... ludicrous.

 

Robert - I may have been misinformed, it has sort of been a tough adjustment for me to follow CA rules (much simpler to get stuff registered or licensed in OH) so I could have definitely misunderstood. I wish I had the foresight to contact you and find out a bit more of the details, but as they say hindsight is 20/20.

On another note, I'm also quite fed up with being bored at my job, so my off time will no be dedicated to starting my own blog/travel site. I've put up this story in it's entirety, plus a few extra images I found after the fact, as a placeholder for that at zhenya.gr

Feel free to check it out if you want to read through it all without any breaks or comments in the way.

 

Awesome journey. Wish I would have done something like that 10 years ago....

 

Wow that was a great adventure I felt like I was there, I look forward to your website, great reading.