916 or monster 1000 from San Fran to Vegas?

[bwebbster]

Planning to head to Vegas next week on my Ducati...just not sure which one.  Both are in reasonably good condition.  I have a 95 916 with 10k miles and a 2003 monster 1000 with 22k miles.  Which one would you take?  I've been to san Diego and back on the 916 and really dont find the bike too torturous for 4-6 hours of riding per day.

My plan is to head from SF to Bakersfield (spend the night), bakersfield to death valley (spend the night), and death valley to Vegas (spend 3 nights) and ride back.  Any thoughts/sugeestions/warnings?  Better place to stop then Bakersfield?  (i'd like to head 120 due east through yosemite but its still closed).  Ive done the west coast HWY 1 and tahoe route so Im to find a new way to get down there in 3 days.

Thanks, Bill


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[Grampa]

what day are you passing through Bako?

[El Matador]

that depends. Do you have clipons on the monster?

[silentbob]

916 with earplugs.  The wind buffeting for that many miles on the Monster will really start to fatigue you.

[bwebbster]

Im passing through Bako on weds afternoon.  The monster does have clip-ons so comfort is not really any better then 916.  Thanks, Bill

[Grampa]

crapola..... we are doing EBN on Monday the 13th

[ODrides]

+1 on the wind buffeting on the Monster.  The Monster has a more comfortable seating position, but the fairing on the 916 will make for a more pleasant long highway ride.  Then again, the hot 916 exhaust could be a negative factor if the weather is hot.  Tough having choices, isn't it?

[Spidey]

I was having a hell of a time choosing between the lobster and the steak at lunch today.   



I hate you.

[Duc Fever]

Well sounds like you already did a trip on the 916 so maybe it is the Monsters turn    At least in the future the decision will be much easier after you have made long trips on both bikes.  [moto]

[bwebbster]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the 916 overheated in LongBeach and sprayed coolant all over the place...not possible with the monster ;-)

[El Matador]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the 916 overheated in LongBeach and sprayed coolant all over the place...not possible with the monster ;-)

My 996 LOVES to do that. Seriously, it is the worst bike in traffic ever.

[fastwin]

Slap some Heli Bars and a Zero Gravity Double Bubble screen on the 916. Voila... touring bike!! Add a Corbin seat if you want to turn it into a Barcalounger!

Seriously, as said in other posts, sounds like you have made long trips on the Tamburini before and I agree about the wind buffeting on the Monster. Unless you put a tank bag on it and lean on it out of the main wind flow... actually the same would help on the 916.

[hydra]

i made the same trip but one way from vegas to SF. i did it on a bmw rockster (R1150R) a couple of years ago with only one overnight stop in bakersfield. i didn't have a windscreen on the bike at the time so half the time i was leaned over on the tank. there was a lot of straight roads that went on for miles with no speed limits so there were times where i was averaging +100 mph for more than 20 mins!

i thought i could do it in one day but in the end i didn;t have the energy to finish in the evening and i wasn't prepared for the cold at night. i made the trip in early october about 2 years ago. if i had to do it on my Foggy i probably would have set aside 2 days from the get go. i think either bike would be fine if you spread it out over 2 days.

i had a GPS at the time which was great for letting me know where to get gas. i'll try and find the route i took but not sure if i have it anywhere and my GPS was stolen 
i know there is a stretch when you're in death valley where you'll have no gas for like 100mi so i would gas up every chance you get. death valley was a blast. most likely you'll pass an area where it's 200ft below sea level!

good luck...

[bwebbster]

Thanks Hydra...good advice, especially about the gas, I'm def worried about that.  Do you happen to know what sort of gas mileage/range a 916 (cruising at 80-90) has?  150-200 miles?  IF you have any info about where the gas stops are from your route, let me know...would really appreciate it!, Thanks, Bill

[El Matador]

Thanks Hydra...good advice, especially about the gas, I'm def worried about that.  Do you happen to know what sort of gas mileage/range a 916 (cruising at 80-90) has?  150-200 miles?  IF you have any info about where the gas stops are from your route, let me know...would really appreciate it!, Thanks, Bill

The Best I've Gotten out of the 996 is about 120-140 @ 89-90mph