Ducati Monster Forum

I'm in the process of planning a road trip for September. I'm going to do about 500-700 miles through MA, VT, NY, CT, RI,  over the course of four days. So far I'm planning on packing extra spark plugs and an extra headlight bulb in my toolkit. Anything else I should pack? This is going to be the longest ride I've done so far, my previous long ride was 230 miles in a day. Any tips would be appreciated.

Do a little search.  Someone had a near identical question a couple months back. 

Zip Ties
Flashlight
Tool kit (more than just the factory one)
Gold card

unless you ride a carbed bike, spark plugs are a waste of space and unless ur bulb is about to go out, its pointless.

ducttape, multi tool, and allen key set. done.

I do ride a carbed bike.

You should plan on going the weekend of the 12th and 13th...

and stop by DIMBY.

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=17676.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=17676.0)

I'm going out on the week after that, leaving on the 21st. I wish I could go but I have weddings every Saturday until the end of Sept(I'm a wedding photographer). What are the details on it? I didn't go too far into the thread and didn't see where it was or what it is.

Just a bunch of people stopping by my place for a weekend of partying and riding. Ducatis In My Back Yard

I'm in central NH...not far from Plymouth.

You should stop by when you do get up this way.

Maybe I can show you a couple of roads.

pack a water bottle that's easily accessible, unless you have a camelpack sort of setup. A digital camera is also a good idea. I don't take a lot of parts/tools because I have a cell phone and AAA, but a set of allen wrenches and a few metric box wrenches don't take much room in the pack.

I'd love to, what's your address?

you should be resourceful enough to figure it out. :P

Does AAA cover bikes? I didn't think they did.

I recently took HWY 1 in Calif. all the way down the coast  [moto] and put about 600 miles in 2 days and what I found to be the most important thing was TIME and take plenty of BREAKS in between. Enjoy!(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3498/3806942962_935e9c4d9d.jpg)(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/3806980042_0252469c24.jpg)

get a tail bag or soft saddle bags. a backpack on the whole time just makes your back hurt.

my toolkit has
duct tape
leatherman
crescent wrench
zip ties
allen keys
repair link for the chain
spare brake bulb (the vibrations kill them)
tiny tire patch kit that prob won't really do anything for me should i need it
a beer - if all else fails, at least i have a beer.

have fun man, try not to keep yourself on too much of a schedule. it'll keep you from stopping to take in the view or smell the roses or something else that you will wish you had done later.

My toolkit has a Ducati-no-questions-asked service card  [cheeky]

They do - but it's not part of the basic plan.  You need the RV+ plan

^^^ what he said.

It's insane that AAA treats motorcycles and giant RVs as the same thing. One can be towed w/ a pickup, the other can tow a pickup. But even if you run out of gas once and they bring you some fuel, you've paid for your annual membership.

I just called to see about getting on that plan and they said they dont cover motorcycles at all. They said that other parts of the country might have that option, but not here.

Does anyone have the AMA Roadside assistance plan? Opinions on it?

I have it but haven't had to use it yet (knock on wood).

Pricewise it's a much better deal than AAA, covers bikes, cars, trucks, RVs, trailers for you and your spouse.

I'm going to sign up for it. Doesn't seem like a bad deal for the $40.

Tire patch kit and a small compressor.  Worked for us in Sturgis this past week.  I'd suggest getting a 100 oz. camelback for water as you can drink while you ride and not only when you stop.  I'd suggest some tools as others have suggested.  Check over your bike at least two weeks prior to your trip just in case something big is wrong and it won't delay your trip. 

I also take along these energy gels (GU) and they work well. 

What do you recommend checking over on the bike? Like bring it into the shop?

Unless there's some issue you can't handle, no need to go to a shop.

Just give it a better than normal going over - dot all your i's and cross all the Ts.  Check your various fasteners, inspect the drive line, brakes (perhaps bleed them) etc.  Doing it two weeks out leaves plenty of time to resolve small issues like needing more brake fluid if you good bleeding for example.

Idk about you guys, but where I ride (and obviously, it's rare anyone would notice or check this), but up in the middle of nowhere where an awful lot of us ride, there is little to no cell phone reception. This can only be descibed as possibly being epically bad.

I think I'm going to be going through some areas where my cell isn't going to work. Extra tools are gonna be packed.
I started mapping it out today and tentatively, I'm going to be going from Boston to Burlington VT on the first day. Then on the ferry over to Port Kent NY and to Kingston NY on the second day, on the third day I'm going to go from Kingston NY over to Foxwoods casino in CT, and the next day ride around that area in CT and back to Boston on the 5th day. It comes out to just about 700 miles in 5 days.

(http://mb-imaging.net/trip.jpg)
 

IMHO, stay off the interstates.  Slabbing is fine if you need to get somewhere but it is no way to see the country.  700 miles in 5 days is very do-able on backroads.  A buddy and I took all backroads from Indy to Atlanta last fall (to include the Tail of the Dragon) and were never rushed.  Good ride!

Above all be safe and enjoy yourself!

Avoid interstates!  Back roads are the way to go.  If you're going on a ride just for the sake of a ride and don't have to get anywhere fast, avoid interstates.

I plan on taking mostly back roads. I just did a quick map today on google. I'm going to use my road atlas to map out the actual route that I'm going.

Idk about you, but I always liked the 110 along the merrimac. If you get off the slab in Lawrence you can hop on it there, which will take you to 3A north.

Good call!  You won't be sorry.

That was me, I think.  I got a lot of excellent advice and my trip (2400 miles in about 10 days) was great!

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=26817.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=26817.0)

If you're going to do this regularly, I recommend Motorcycle Towing Service: http://www.mtstowing.com/ (http://www.mtstowing.com/)

I was just looking at the maps. Is anyone familiar with US-9? It looks like it follows 87 from Port Kent to Kingston. Would that be better than 87?

Not bad, I qualify for the $30 "COLD COUNTRY PLAN".

Okay I know this is your first trip but 600 miles is no big deal, so do not overly stress about it. Your on a Ducati so oad side repairs are limited with the technology we have on these bikes today. You could also drive yourself nuts trying to fugure out what to take, it'll always be something you didn;t think about, spare levers, spare bulbs, spare this that and the other thing and you have no room for clothes, camera, shaving kit .... Bring the basics, wire ties is the new duct tape and does not take up a lot of room, good tool kit, small collection of bolts, nuts, washers in a small ziploc bag, chain lube(small 4oz), Plexus, Have fun - Gene

Why on earth are you taking so much slab?!  If you're giving yourself 4 days, it should be plenty of time to find all the great twisties!  AfroS4RS and I just took a similar trip to you... 3 days, day 1 boston to burlington, day 2 burlington to lake george, NY, day 3 back to boston

If you want, I'll send you our routes... PM me.  There were some EPIC roads

...Most notably, Rt 17 in VT, some back roads near Whiteface Mountain in NY state, and the access roads (especially the south-side) for Mt Greylock in MA.

Takster, anyway you can PM me those roads? it would be great to go on a northeast roadtrip.




dont forget to not have a massive oil leak.

Here are my monster adventures... sort of what CAN go wrong.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237171 (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237171)

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345323 (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345323)

I've been down sections of rt9, Plattsburgh to Lake George pretty nice, it follows the slab so it's light on traffic (87 thru there is light anyway). Nice surface, curves but wide and plenty places to pass iirc.

Perhaps veer into northern NH on your way to Burlington - Kangamangus or 302 are great routes, just stay the hell away from North Conway. I did something like rt107-rt3, 135, 18 into vt (ST Johnsbury), rt2 etc for a western NH route.

Have a safe ride, I had cell coverage most places I checked (ATT).

I just started reading the first one, great stuff! Gotta go to work now, hopefully I can finish reading them there. I'm at the part where you're sitting outside the hotel wondering if your friends will ever show up.

The way the weather has been around here this year... raingear.  If you don't have rain gloves, XL dish gloves work great for an emergency.   Riding cold/wet sucks.   Aerostich sells them for about $3 (at least they are blue)

 And take at least one layer for some warmth under the jacket. It doesn't have to be much, I found even a LS hiking shirt helped alot since it would block wind and trap warm air under my jacket. We had days w/ highs in the 60s in July; our normal would be more like 95.

These were our planned routes.  We ended up veering off in some places... but here are the basics:


http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=2936 (http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=2936)
http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=2937 (http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=2937)
http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=2938 (http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=2938)

Dude,

Let me give you my two cents as I lived in northern Vermont and rode every back road in the state for 4 years. 

Go north from Boston on 93 and get over to Nashua, take 101A west to 101, stay on it until you hit Keene, NH, then pick up the 9, stay on it through Brattleboro and the keep on until you hit VT 100.  Turn north and enoy 200 miles of motorcycle nirvana..  Go to Newport, then take VT 14 South down to VT 15, turn west and enjoy another stertch of beauty for 120 miles.  There is a good small dealership in Essex Junction that knows how to take care of Ducatis if you run into any bigger problems.   
There are so many beautiful backroads throughout Vermont with nearly zero traffic - you will go back over and over if you are based in Boston....

Enjoy - no matter what you end up doing, you're going to love it-
 post some pictures...

I think I might actually do some of this before my planned trip. Thanks for the tips!PIcs are a definite, I wont be bringing my DSLR, just my little point and shot. I'm trying to pack as light as possible with just my tailbag.

I didn't see any mention of it but your mapped path looks like you'll be close to the Kancamagus highway (112) in New Hampshire.  Its a gorgeous scenic by way filled with bikes (albeit mostly cruisers). 

I rode it this weekend and would recommend it.

i did a long ride. 3,000 mi total in about a week. pack rain gear, regardless of what the weatherman says.

Don't head out on a long ride with pilot powers. that's just a huge waste of money (flat spot galore).