Cross Country Trip 2012: Need advice and suggestions

[DesmoTillDeath]

LA to NY

I have a crew of 4-7 guys, 4-5 bikes and one car going from Diamond Bar in SoCal to Upstate NY in mid June. I haven't looked extensively yet or started a list of the stops mentioned in other threads here yet. But I'm posting this to get the ball rollin'.

Any stops that are good?
Any roads that are good?
Gear?
Time-frame advice?
Maintenance suggestions?
Bike mod suggestions?
Riding technique suggestions?

My M900 will be ready to go mechanically by then and I plan on a routine of stopping every 1.5-2 hours to let her cool down.
I'm fabricating a stainless steel pannier rack which will carry two Pelican 1550 cases as panniers. 

I was also looking at the Kriega US-20 Drypack and the US tank bra as my tank bag setup/backpack/tail pack but the price is putting me off on the idea. That can be easily replaced with a 20L standard dry back and some tubular webbing for less than $100 total. Suggestions?

I will post anything I come up with on here.
The max time-frame is 14 days. Possible?
Denver is a necessary stop and so is Columbus Indiana.

Thanks for any replies.

[herm]

i assume 14 days is your one way time frame?

there really isn't an interesting way to get from Denver to Columbus. spend extra time before Denver, and then slab it out to columbus.

i've heard there are some great rides in the upstate NY area, but no first hand experience.

[KnightofNi]

14 days to get to NY would be more than enough.

upstate does have some good riding. esp around the finger lakes region.
I loved the canyons around denver.

if you are planning a stop in IN then I can only say look into the northern part of west virginia unless you want to come WAY back south out of the way.
Central PA has a few decent secondary roads. through the mountains.
It gets "pretty" and "scenic" when you get close to the eastern part of PA towards the south (lancaster county)
Northeastern PA has good roads and that will take you right up into NY. I think we took 6 out to DIMBY

[lethe]

Taking 6 across the top of PA wouldn't add a whole lot of time as it's fairly traffic light free and is a whole lot more scenic than any highway alternative.
Where's the upstate NY destination? If it's above PA, just hang a left and head north wherever convenient. If it's more like Albany, keep on 6 until 191 then head north and take Rt 30 out of Hancock, NY for as much as you can. Look it up on a map, you won't be disappointed by what you see. 
Hell, even if you're not going as far east as Albany, do Rt 30 anyway and then back track. 

[DoWorkSon]

Have you done distance rides before?

Ive done a few 1000+ miles trips, and that was on my BMW....

-Wear comfy riding gear. Nothing worse than being too cold/too hot. The heat will drain you, and cold will torture you.. Invest in some comfy ear plugs, or some earbuds to drown out engine/wind noise. If you are going in june, its gonna be HOT. Get a nice hot weather jacket, and maybe some under armour briefs because swamp ass will kill you.... Also look at wearing a camel back for hydration

-If time is not an issue, take frequent breaks to stretch your legs, eat/drink, and go see the sights.... This will break up the monotony and make the trip enjoyable instead of a burden.. Looks like your will be riding approx. 200-300 miles a day if you use the full 14 days.... This is good as it will allow you to ride more on some days and relax and take in the sites on others...

-It might not seem like a lot, but even 400 miles in one day on the road is exhausting.... It usually takes a bit longer than a car because of frequent fill ups and breaks, but also feels a lot longer because of the concentration and physical/mental drain riding can have..

-Think about a throttle tamer or something similar for long stretches of freeway riding

-I found that if I stack my luggage or whatever Im bringing on the back of my seat, close to where I am sitting, I could almost lean back to give my lower back a break and take some stress off of it.... Not sure if this will work on a ducati where you will be leaning more forward

-Try to have a more upright comfy riding position.. and a wind screen... Comfort comfort comfort on long rides

-Maybe invest in an intercom system with your friends.... You definitely get lost in your own thoughts riding on longer trips and having someone to talk to would really make the time go by faster and make the ride more enjoyable

-Get a good nights sleep every night... Nothing worse than an 8 hours day of riding when your exhausted.

[Rowdy]

Have you done distance rides before?

Ive done a few 1000+ miles trips, and that was on my BMW....

-Wear comfy riding gear. Nothing worse than being too cold/too hot. The heat will drain you, and cold will torture you.. Invest in some comfy ear plugs, or some earbuds to drown out engine/wind noise. If you are going in june, its gonna be HOT. Get a nice hot weather jacket, and maybe some under armour briefs because swamp ass will kill you.... Also look at wearing a camel back for hydration

-If time is not an issue, take frequent breaks to stretch your legs, eat/drink, and go see the sights.... This will break up the monotony and make the trip enjoyable instead of a burden.. Looks like your will be riding approx. 200-300 miles a day if you use the full 14 days.... This is good as it will allow you to ride more on some days and relax and take in the sites on others...

-It might not seem like a lot, but even 400 miles in one day on the road is exhausting.... It usually takes a bit longer than a car because of frequent fill ups and breaks, but also feels a lot longer because of the concentration and physical/mental drain riding can have..

-Think about a throttle tamer or something similar for long stretches of freeway riding

-I found that if I stack my luggage or whatever Im bringing on the back of my seat, close to where I am sitting, I could almost lean back to give my lower back a break and take some stress off of it.... Not sure if this will work on a ducati where you will be leaning more forward

-Try to have a more upright comfy riding position.. and a wind screen... Comfort comfort comfort on long rides

-Maybe invest in an intercom system with your friends.... You definitely get lost in your own thoughts riding on longer trips and having someone to talk to would really make the time go by faster and make the ride more enjoyable

-Get a good nights sleep every night... Nothing worse than an 8 hours day of riding when your exhausted.

Great suggestions. I don't like intercoms but that is just a personal thing.

Keep luggage to a minimum. Every trip I go on I take less and less gear.

Keep friends and family updated on your progress and check in daily if you can. You are going with a group so this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Know basic maintance about your bike and keep it in tip top shape all the time. It pays off when you want to get away for a trip. Might sound silly but when traveling with a few people, make sure everybody knows where your going and what assistance is available along the way, in case you get seperated. You don't just have to follow the leader.

Take lots of photo's with people and bike in them, and have a great time.

[The Bacon Junkie]

I did a few two day trips in the past...

I had a tankbag, a mountaineering backpack, and a big old-skool sleeping bag on the tail.

It was actually a lot more comfortable than you would think...

The pack rested on the sleeping bag most of the time, so i didn't have it's full weight on me the whole time.  I could rest my chest and chin on the tankbag, so I was able to keep most of my weight off of my wrists, so my fatigue level was nearly zero in those respects...

Also, DanTheMan here on the board pretty much circumnavigated the entire country on a KTM motard last summer...

I'm sure he could give you some tips if you pm him...

[DesmoTillDeath]

14 days to get there yes. Here is a ROUGH and general idea of the route as a result of some questioning and research:



The San Juan skyway is a good ride I read about and one of the guys wants to go to Deadwood for the history aspect.
I'm from the Albany area of NY.

I'll be purchasing a throttle tamer for sure.

Here is the bike so far (no long distance mods yet):

I would "PM" DanTheMan, but I'm new to forum-ing and thus not sure what the abbreviated lingo means haha. Thanks though

[DesmoTillDeath]

PM = Personal Message.....got it

[bevel]

Here is a ROUGH and general idea of the route as a result of some questioning and research:

If you can swing it, I would strongly recommend checking out 92 in CO. Take the 550 into Montrose, turn right onto 50, then left onto 92 at Blue Mesa. Then you can grab 133 in Hotchkiss and take it out to Carbondale, and a short stretch on 82 to get back onto 70.

Another option, which would skip 92, is to just take 50 out of Montrose all the way to Poncha Springs, pick up 285 into Buena Vista and follow it to 9 which would bring you through Breckenridge before connecting back to 70.

I'm not a CO native, but after two trips from Denver to Ouray last year, there's certainly better choices than slabbing it on 70. Don't get me wrong, there's some amazing views on 70, but on 50 you can keep about the same pace as you would on the slab, 92 has some amazing views, and there's a damn good burger/shake place in Buena Vista (K's Dairy Delite).

[DoWorkSon]

That stretch through South Dakota into Minnesota is going to be hell.... Thats like 700 miles in a straight line...

[DesmoTillDeath]

bevel; The next time I have a few spare moments I'll edit up my route to include your suggestion.

DoWorkSon; I completely agree and as I write this I am going over the schedule with one of the crew and to make this trip in 14 days we are going to have to put in a few LONG days of riding. So that stretch will be one of them.

Thank you everyone for the input.
Keep me posted on anything you think of or remember.

[bevel]

No worries, you did get one great section, and that's the Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Ouray.

My only regret is only hitting that stretch once during my last trip out there, and that was at the end of a 400 mi loop. You definitely want to be fresh for that section.

[gadgetguy1288]

While I can't comment on doing a cross country trip on bikes, I have done it in a car, and your time frame is more than adequate for a leisurely pace.

When I got transferred from AK to NC, we took a ferry from Sitka, AK down to Bellingham, WA and made the trip by car from Bellingham, WA to Cape Canaveral FL(Home for a few days of leave) in about 63 hours.

Then again we only stopped for gas and food, and switched out drivers every 6-8hours as we got tired. lol

[tilt]

Looks like fun but from siox falls to indy will be one long boring ride, after indy the roads do get a little nicer and you will have blue ridge parkway to look forward to