Tips/Tricks/Advise for first long road trip

[93Bandit]

Hey guys.

I'm hoping to take my first long road trip next year on my 850L over Memorial day weekend. I'd rather take my 850G since it has a fairing, saddle bags and a trunk, but there's no way I could get it fixed and running by then. I've had my 850L running for a few years and have a few things to work out yet, but that shouldn't be too hard.

So I've never ridden more than 120 miles in a day on my bike, so I'm a little bit concerned I'll be able to stand being on the bike for 500+ miles in one day. I don't want break it up into multiple days though since I'll be meeting a friend and will only have about 5 days to make the trip, hangout and return home.

I'm looking for any advice or tips for a newb who's about to embark on an adventure. Anything GS related is welcome, but I believe I've got the mechanics figured out. I'm more concerned about luggage, clothing, how often I should stop (to stretch and for fuel) and any specific tools I should bring along.

As for the bike, I've got a windshield on it that I intend to use. It has a small wrack on the back so I'm wondering if I should get some soft saddle bags to go along with the wrack. I'll be riding from SE Michigan to Harrisburg PA area during end of May, so weather should be warm, not cold. Definitely could rain so I'd like to get some waterproof gear. My jacket is water resistant, so with the windshield my top half should stay dry. Any suggestions for waterproof pants and boots, that aren't too warm?

I plan on wiring up a 12V plug to keep my GPS/phone charged while riding.

Also, any suggestions for a tank bag?

[storm 64]

(I love these threads)... I'll throw in my .02. 500 miles in a day is definitely doable. However, it is a long day in the saddle. I would suggest leaving early in the morning, like around 5:00am. That way you'll be able to see the sunrise and by noon your destination is in sight. Also you'll be able to take breaks, and not have to worry about time. If you feel fatigued alone the way, pull into a gas station or convenient store, vigorously run around the building three times, get back on the motorcycle. You'll be good for another 100 miles! That's what I do... 👍

[RichDesmond]

First rule, start early in the day!!! Especially in the summer, get going just as the sky is getting light in the east. Gives you schedule slack if there's an issue, and gets you off the road early to minimize riding in the heat of the day.
500 miles isn't that hard to do in a day, particularly if a chunk of it is interstate. 7-8 hours in the saddle. Stop every 2 hours or so and get gas, a drink, stretch, walk around a bit. 20 minutes or so off the bike. Rinse and repeat. 9-10 hours total time.
Make sure you have a tire plug kit and small 12-volt pump. For rain gear I like the First Gear 2-piece suits, but there are lots of good options. Soft saddlebags are great for short trips, I really like to have a tank bag too.

This site is a good place to buy stuff that your local dealer doesn't stock: https://www.motorcyclegear.com/

Enjoy!!

[davegs850]

Like my Frogg Togg rain gear. I always forget ear plugs then wish I had them! Lots of difference between 120 and 500,I hope you are much younger than me. Good luck and enjoy! I like being a member of AMA as it includes roadside towing for bikes and trailers.

[Redman]

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So I've never ridden more than 120 miles in a day on my bike, .
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That is the first thing to work on.

Try 150 miles out and 150 miles back on one day. I suspect you will find that takes a large portion of a day, and all your capacity to ride. Unless you do some training - - shorter rides to build up to it.

Start on some nice days in March, try 75 miles out and 75 miles back. THen in April try longer distance. THen early May try the 300 miles, even if the chosen day the weather is not great.

Memorial Day week can be great weather or not so good or terrible, so on your training days dont back out just because isnt the best.

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. . . . . . . . . . be able to stand being on the bike for 500+ miles in one day.
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400 miles is a very long day.

The biggest thing I have learnt from repeat trips to southern Indiania (350miles one way) is to stop about every hour, stop before get too tired. Even if dont need gas, start looking for interesting place to stop when it gets to be about an hour, if it gets to be about hour and 15 and havent found an interesting place, just stop anywhere, even if to just get off and walk around for 4 minutes, take a drink of water. Basic thought is dont go until get too tired, if get too tired then will not recover even if take an hour break. Take a drink (carry water, gateraid, something) before do get too dehydrated, if do get dehydrated then you dont recover even if guzzle an entire quart.

And those ideas did work well on my Ride-It-Home-From-SanDiego trip.
And I found that 400 miles, even on highway, even on well faired bike was a vwery long day for this old guy.

That, and get some exerecize. Mostly abdominal muscles. Like start in January.

THink fo some of your recent rides. What mucsel were sore. Or think oif some of your first rides in spring, what mucles were sore, porobably abdominal, so that is what need to work on.
About 5 months Before my Ride-It-Home trip I wanted to start some exercise program (haphazard, of my own making) and I knew abdominals needed to be the main focus. But geepers, could not do situps and could not do pushups. I had to work on just being in position to do a push up (I later learnt that similar to that is called Plank in Yoga). Just doing the Plank, and then some mild exercises realy made the difference for my Ride-It-Home trip of 8 days of 300 to 400 mile days. I survided each of those days better than I did the 350 mile trips to southern Indiana.

>>> gee, three other responses while i was clicky-clacking away.

[LAB3]

You're going to have quite a bit of riding time to do a "Practice run" before you leave. I'd consider planning a couple of rides longer than 120 miles to get yourself accustomed to being on the road that long, jump on I-75 and head up to West Branch or Grayling and back. If you do it on a Saturday the traffic shouldn't be a big issue going through Flint or Saginaw and if you find it to be too much then you can easily grab a room and finish your trip back on Sunday. As to rain gear I used military surplus last year, I'm going to switch to lighter weight stuff for next year in order to save space. Cold shouldn't be an issue in late May but if you do an earlier run such as I suggested use the old dress-in-layers method, it works for a reason! It doesn't take long to put on or remove a layer at a rest area or gas station.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

One possible route would take you I80 E to Rt. 15 S at Williamsport. If you’re going to take that route, look me up.

[Burque73]

Don't count on a windscreen to keep you dry. Even while riding, you'll get plenty wet. The screen helps block the direct hit from the drops, but it'll get you. Even so, it's not going to ruin your ride. I rather enjoy riding in a light rain. The water droplets travel up the windscreen and down my visor which is fairly entertaining to see.

I have hodge podge rain gear from wal mart, but my riding jacket is very efficient at keeping me dry. That and a helmet is usually good for my upper body. My $25 steel toe combat type boots from the thrift store keep my feet dry and fairly warm. If I see a real gully-washer up ahead, I'll put the rain pants on and wrap a bit of duct tape around my ankles, otherwise a light rain doesn't warrant even stopping. It doesn't rain much here. Oh, carry a zip lock bag for your wallet and phone.

[Steve]

I pretty much agree with everything already suggested.

Regarding "leaving early": I agree in principle, but you are going to be heading east first thing, so think about riding into the sun. Might adjust your schedule a bit to get the sun away from the horizon as you leave.

Regarding "practice riding": the best way I have found is to do circles. Starting in Detroit (downtown) makes it a bit harder, hopefully you are away from downtown a bit. I just pulled up my routing software (Garmin) and plotted a couple of 'circles'. From downtown, take I-96 west to US 23, then south on 23 to I-94, then back east to downtown. That is about 110 miles. Do that a couple of times to see how tired you get. Next time out, do a third loop. Keep adding to build your stamina. The beauty of this is that if you get tired anywhere on the loop, you are only about an hour or less from home.

If you want to do a longer loop, take I-75 north toward Flint, then cut across on Grand Blanc Road to US 23, then head south to I-94, like in the other loop. This loop is about 155 miles, which would be about one tank of fuel. Three loops on that will approximate your trip to Harrisburg, which my map shows at 488 miles, downtown to downtown.

Probably the BEST thing to take with you is a clear head and a sense of adventure. There WILL be minor setbacks during the ride. Your attitude will determine how they are handled. If you can think calmly to deal with the situation and not get all stressed about it, things will go a LOT better. We have had trips go a bit different than we had planned, but adapted and made the rest of the trip work. It's not the way we had planned it, but it certainly made for some memories and stories to tell around the campfire.

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[Grimly]

I used to clock up lots of miles on the 850s, endlessly up and down the UK's motorway network, Monday to Friday.
I would sit in the passing lane most of the time, doing a steady 80~85mph, which is just below the point where the cops start to take an interest, and it balanced out journey time with an acceptable fuel economy (of course, sitting at 60mph would have been much, much cheaper).
What I found on all of these journeys was that my average never deviated from 55mph, by the time I'd taken into account petrol stops, grabbing a coffee and a wizz break, etc.
One other thing; the GS850 was regarded as one of the comfiest tourers of its day - and on first acquaintance, it is. However, ff you don't break your ass in, it becomes a torture device after a few hours, comfy seat an all notwithstanding. Whenever I had a break from regular riding it would take at least a week on the road before I was back to not being in pain after several hours. Even so, long days in the saddle would have me shifting around and grimly pressing on because home was just around the bend, just another 50 miles of sheer hell to go.
If I'd had a gel saddle back then it might have been better.
Relatedly, the BMW R80RT was a bike I did a couple of 1000mile+ days on, and I don't recall any pain on those trips.

[RichDesmond]

...Regarding "leaving early": I agree in principle, but you are going to be heading east first thing, so think about riding into the sun. Might adjust your schedule a bit to get the sun away from the horizon as you leave...

A strip of black electrical tape across the top of the helmet shield helps a lot with this. That plus decent sunglasses and a tinted shield and I never have much problem going right into the sun. Once the sun gets a little higher I switch to regular glasses.

One other thing to be aware of schedule-wise is big city rush hour. Make sure your timing is such that you miss it.

[RichDesmond]

...What I found on all of these journeys was that my average never deviated from 55mph, by the time I'd taken into account petrol stops, grabbing a coffee and a wizz break, etc...

Very true. As your running speed increases you need to stop for gas more often, and the wind blast at higher speeds tires you out more so your breaks are longer. Net result, overall average is largely the same regardless of how fast you ride.

One other thing; the GS850 was regarded as one of the comfiest tourers of its day - and on first acquaintance, it is. However, ff you don't break your ass in, it becomes a torture device after a few hours, comfy seat an all notwithstanding. Whenever I had a break from regular riding it would take at least a week on the road before I was back to not being in pain after several hours. Even so, long days in the saddle would have me shifting around and grimly pressing on because home was just around the bend, just another 50 miles of sheer hell to go.
If I'd had a gel saddle back then it might have been better.
Relatedly, the BMW R80RT was a bike I did a couple of 1000mile+ days on, and I don't recall any pain on those trips.

Also true. Stock seats are generally too soft. They feel great for 100 miles or so, and then are miserable.

[Fireball]

I pretty much agree with everything already suggested.

Regarding "leaving early":I no longer like to leave before the sun is up. I hit a ladder on I-85 predawn on a trip up to Atlantic City. Trust me the worst part is sliding to a stop on the interstate just to look up INTO headlights and hope they don’t run you over! Hi-viz, proper gear saved me that time.

Probably the BEST thing to take with you is a clear head and a sense of adventure. There WILL be minor setbacks during the ride. Your attitude will determine how they are handled. If you can think calmly to deal with the situation and not get all stressed about it, things will go a LOT better. We have had trips go a bit different than we had planned, but adapted and made the rest of the trip work. It's not the way we had planned it, but it certainly made for some memories and stories to tell around the campfire.

.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This right here!!!!! I’ve logged thousands and thousands of miles on some truly epic road trips. (Going to the sun road, Beartooth, Chief Joseph, San Antonio, Devils Peak, Needles, Yellowstone, Aspen, and all points between GA and Montana!)Mental attitude makes or breaks you. If you look for the positive you’ll always have an enjoyable time. If you focus on negative things it’ll suck the joy out the experience. If you’re around Atlanta at any time HMU, I have wrenches and some good roads!

P.S., I tried to just highlight my comments about leaving early but it applied the italics to the entire quote!!! Grrr at technology!

[93Bandit]

Wow, thanks for all the advice, Guys! I appreciate it. Lots of good info in here. I'll be sure to implement a lot of your guys' suggestions.

Also, it's definitely a good reminded to keep positive and have a sense of adventure if I'm able to tackle this road trip. I understand that things won't go as planned, so I'm going to do my best to keep an open mind.

Besides a tire plug kit and 12v pump, are there any other tools you guys recommend bringing along? I do have the original tool kit that came with the bike which I will be bringing along.

Do the tire plug kits work on tubed tires?

[Baatfam]

Do the tire plug kits work on tubed tires?

Nope........