Cross Country Motorcycle Trip

[GTBrandon]

So with nothing else to do, I figure I'll hop on the bike with a friend, and hit the road. We laid out a very basic roadmap to start estimating times, distances, and landmarks.

Curious if any of you have done trips like this before, have suggestions, or any input on places to see or what to do to prepare.

The idea is to do an iron butt the first day (1,000 miles in less than 24hrs), and then continue at an estimated 400 miles per day afterward. Guessing we'll do about 100 miles, then stop for gas, stretch etc, then continue on. Factoring 60mph and 20min breaks each stop, that puts us at 2hrs per every 100 miles, or 8 hours of riding per day to cover 400 miles. That 60mph might be conservative, but with no windscreens currently, not sure if we'll be wanting to bomb the highways for this long (If you have one, please see my WTB post in the other section of the forums for the gear I'm looking to acquire before the trip).

Planning on camping out for most places, and packing food with maybe a grocery store visit every week or so. I'm expecting a lot of places that might still be closed during this, so I won't plan on stopping at famous restaurants or attractions like I normally would. We will probably focus on nice twisty/scenic roads, as well as national parks to visit.

[Tyler.M]

Sounds awesome dude. I've been wanting to do this for years.

What's your tool/roadside assistance kit look like? Taking chain wax/lube with you? What's your luggage situation like?

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[Apoc]

60 mph is probably aggressive, not conservative. You're going to want to stop and see shit, relax for a bit longer, etc. Most one way trips I've seen are in the 4-5 day range, even if people aren't really sightseeing, so doing coast to coast in that time seems unrealistic.

Glad you aren't coming to WA and bringing cross-country-covid with you. 

[Senor_Taylor]

Can't say I'm not jealous. Assuming you're going with Sahm? He's done something like this before right? Talk to Castro or some of the wild boys if you want advice from first hand experience.

The roads are going to be so clear for you. Be safe and plan a lot of extra time in there.

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[BLINGMW]

please link the WTB thread here I couldn't find it
Sounds awesome. Except the 1000 miles in 24hrs part.

[Cody]

That’s rad. Good luck. I’ve done a couple cross country trips on 4 wheels. Haven’t done the northern route yet, it’s definitely on the to do list.

I have nightmares about Kansas, it’s like someone took a 5 minute video and put it on replay for 8hrs. If you have the time, cruising south through Texas and Louisiana back up through ATL is nice but might not be the best time to do it if all the good food spots are closed. Might also get some surprise snow in higher elevations in CO this time of year.


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[Sijray21]

I have nightmares about Kansas, it’s like someone took a 5 minute video and put it on replay for 8hrs. If you have the time, cruising south through Texas and Louisiana back up through ATL is nice but might not be the best time to do it if all the good food spots are closed. Might also get some surprise snow in higher elevations in CO this time of year.

i would definitely recommend skipping Kansas if you can. I have the same sentiment... 9 hours of nothingness, headwind (heading west) and we had good weather.

I only made one round trip in '05 post graduation. it was tough in a car, but i can only imagine it will be tougher on 2 wheels.

Are you doing this on the R6? If so you may need to find some place in Cali for a tire replacement. Get AAA for the trip or some kind of insurance plan and road-side assistance. Prepare for all sorts of weather b/c you'll hit it. Since you're on 2 wheels i'd leave the route flexible since you'll likely want to skip big storms or find a way around them. Plan for more than 4-5 days one way for sure. You'll want to spend more time in the rockies/west coast just riding around and seeing sites, but it's going to take a while to get there. Took me 2 days of 16 hours each in the car to get to Denver from the DC area. First stop was St. Louis (don't stay in areas NW of the city there...); also avoid North Little Rock, AR. I was so paranoid that someone would break into my car or just flat out steal it with all my stuff in there overnight at hotels.

Also watch out for places in the Southwest US where gas stations are sparce (200+ miles between them)

[Ryan T]

A guy I used to hang out with at JMU and two friends did The Full Ride and hit all 49 accessible states. Might glean some insight from their website. If nothing else, the trailer is a good watch. Avery (the guy from JMU) started a mini-food-fight in DHall once, that was awesome.

http://www.fullrideadventure.com/

[Kaan]

I've done 600ish miles on my '00 R6 in one day... it was brutal. I only stopped for gas...

a couple of things to think about... you are going to need to stay slightly dehydrated for a long time. you will need to take in fluids but you want to push potty breaks.

you will want to figure out backpack and saddle bags (or something)… gear, clothes, etc. will add up.

for this trip id make sure you tires are "good" or new. make sure you check your pressures daily to make sure you minimize issues. IMHO you can destroy an aluminum sprocket set if your chain isn't set right... and probably reset before heading east again. when i was riding daily, i was doing airpressure every day and chain tension every weekend.

buy a comfy seat if you have the funds...

retro fit the bike with a USB setup to keep things charged. day one... i'd be playing music a lot.

if you haven't done a tuneup (i don't know how many miles you have on your bike)… it might be worth it.

[JPolen01]

1000 miles a day sounds hellish. How are you going to have time to see anything with that schedule? Just riding across the country to ride there and back doesn’t sound like much fun.

I would love to road trip across the country one day. However I would make plans to spend a few hours a day in certain places.

[GTBrandon]

I was confused where you all were getting the 4 days from haha. No that’s just what the map estimates, we’d probably take 7-10 days to go each way across the country.

The 1,000 miles is only the first day. It’s just a challenge that I want to do, a bucket list thing, then the sight seeing will begin. That will be the main time we’re on highways, then after that it will be into more scenic routes if we can find them.

Not on the R6, this is on my new bike. It’s a 04 Yamaha Warrior, so no chain maintenance needed. Might bring along a spare belt though. Sahm is the one coming along on his Triumph, and he managed to find travel sized chain cleaner and lube.

Good tip on the southwest gas stations. I ordered a 1.5L fuel bottle but still need to plan out the gas stops roughly so we don’t get stranded. Also good heads up on Kansas lol, that sounds terrible.

Got a new front tire, saddle bags, and a sissy bar to use with the camping backpack BJ gave me. Also bought a USB set up that I need to wire up, along with some solar panels for charging at night after they sit out during the day. Have a tire patch and fill up kit, some tools, extra oil, first aid, and other small things to keep in the bags.

Right now I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle food. This trip is trying to stay off grid as much as possible, so going and eating at restaurants or stopping at a grocery store every night defeats the purpose in a way. I found some articles on home made dehydration things, but any tips for making or getting good food that will last? I don’t want to starve myself, that would making rising miserable and I also just love food.

[Kaan]

https://www.greenbelly.co/

order the bars not the meals. they are our go-to back country lunch (we don't have to stop)… and depending on the planned day, they are all 3 meals.

[GTBrandon]

https://www.greenbelly.co/

order the bars not the meals. they are our go-to back country lunch (we don't have to stop)… and depending on the planned day, they are all 3 meals.

Good stuff! Just ordered a 30 day supply for the trip. Now I just need to plan out the rest of my calories and I’ll be golden.