long distance rides-------------Pros and Cons

First topic message reminder :

What's the further distance any of my fellow members have ridden in a single day and how was it?

I'm actually wanting to see/visit the Grand Canyon on my 02 Swing and would like to get a feel ( other opinions ) for the ride and mechanical risk involved.

thanks in advance

Jinglebob wrote:

Nice...great photos and great times...

Thank you for your kind words.

Yes, nice photos I am ready for my next trip!!!

lalee, great post and pictures. Looks like you had a great time, making memories.......

Respect u long distance fellas....I'm too tall/fat/ A.D.H.D.-ish.....100 miles about my limit.Of course pubs enroute discourage my will..... 

bigtrain wrote:

Respect u long distance fellas....I'm too tall/fat/ A.D.H.D.-ish.....100 miles about my limit.Of course pubs enroute discourage my will..... 

So why do you need for a backrest if you're only in the seat for a couple of hours?

Mildew,  Because I can...... 

bigtrain wrote:

Mildew,  Because I can...... 

I'm certain that Meldrew, probably, (even with a smiley emoticon) would prefer to have his name spelled correctly.

jdeereanton wrote:

bigtrain wrote:

Mildew,  Because I can...... 

I'm certain that Meldrew, probably, (even with a smiley emoticon) would prefer to have his name spelled correctly.

I've been called Mildew by about half a dozen different members on here and like big train they all thought they were saying something original and funny.   

bigtrain is a busy lad though, there's his backrest mod, that crate for the golf clubs, and now he's dreaming up witty comebacks for me, no wonder he can't find the time for his Intro post.  

God save the Queen......

I have done quite a few 500+ mile days - and 3 over 600, all followed by another day of riding (but not so far the second day). My riding has usually been a combination of secondary roads and Interstate highways, trying to make time, but not be monotonous. I live in SE Virginia, and have ridden as far north as Lake Erie, as far south as Georgia/ Alabama and have been in most of the eastern states except for New England.

My strategy is to get going early - before 5 AM, and go till the first fill-up, which I then combine with breakfast and/or coffee. I pack snacks, and try to only stop when I need at least 3 things (like fuel, adding or subtracting layers, bathroom, a drink, etc). When I stop, I try to do as much as I can to limit the stops during the day.

I do have a tendency to talk to people at stops- it is one of my favorite things about riding. Yet it does cost me some time. Still, I treat riding like a marathon, not a sprint. I just keep plugging along. I eat healthy snacks for a quick lunch, and try to hold off on dinner till I stop for the night (sometimes after dark, but usually more around dusk). I eat a good meal then, and wind down from the day. I do prefer to have a room reserved for that night, so I know I have an end in sight.

I have a sheepskin seat pad, a RAM cup holder, and a plastic crampbuster, and put some cheap grip puppies on my grips years ago. I wear an Aerostich suit, and layer up and down inside it as needed to stay comfortable as the temps change throughout the day, as elevation changes, or a weather front moves in. I'm good for rain, anything from cold to fairly hot, and the suit can be zipped off for a ground cloth for a nice picnic lunch along the way.

My main limitation is the fuel tank and cruising range of the scooter - but then stopping every 150 miles or so is probably safer anyway. I seem to have an iron butt, and the ability to just hum and think about stuff for hour after hour while tooling along. On easy roads, I do have an mp3 with tunes I listen to for parts of the ride. All my long rides have been done solo. I am usually visiting someone, so have someone waiting for me at trip's end going both ways. In between, I savor the time to just enjoy the scenery and think about life.

I think the SWing is at its best during a long day of cruising along. and it allows me to move and flex my knees often, which is my weak spot. Except for a tendency for the Vmatic light to come on accelerating up freeway ramps, I have never had one bit of trouble from the SWing on any ride, and this has included some long days at fairly high speeds (around Atlanta, DC, Baltimore, etc), as well as mountain riding. Part of having the RAM cup holder is that I can position it so I don't have to stare at the idiot light on the dash until the next stop, when I can reset it. I have had the belt check repeatedly, and even replaced it early at 14,000 miles, so I know it's okay.

It's my retirement goal to do a trip across the US, starting at the Brooklyn Bridge, ending at the Golden Gate in SF, and seeing as many national parks as possible while crossing the US. I'd aim to do some 500+ mile days, but not too many, and not in a row. I want to really see and enjoy things along the way! I had a friend go across on his SWing, but his travel habits are not compatible with mine, and I couldn't take enough time off work to really do the trip right, anyway. The cost may end up keeping me from doing it in the end - but maybe not! I wouldn't hesitate to get on my scooter and set off cross country tomorrow. It's the most dependable thing I know of, and I am confident I could do 400-500 miles a day for many, many days in a row. Maybe not 10 years from now, but I hope to do this ride within 5 years.

R. Redhead, Forgive my ignorance...what is a RAM cup holder? BT

RAM is an overall system - it comes with a universal "ball" connector that can be attached to things in several ways - to the handlebar with a U bolt, with connector plates, etc. Mine is bolted to the top of my brake fluid reservoir. Then you can attach "arms" to the ball connector, and they can hold all kinds of things. In my case, it's a cup holder, the kind that swings on curves, to supposedly keep your beverages from sloshing about too much. It's great for a cup of coffee, a soda, or a water bottle for long days of riding. I also have a separate RAM ball bolted to the top of my dash with a bent metal plate my brother made for me, and that is what my Garmin attaches to, and then plugs into a Marine-grade power plug he installed in my glove box (there was actually a tab inside the box for it). The cup holder is also handy for tooling around town, or stuffing my gloves into while I'm doing my pre-ride check, getting the helmet on, etc.

You can google RAM mount and find suppliers for all the various parts and pieces. It's not a cheap system, but I have felt it was worth every penny. Others here have devised their own creative cup holders and GPS mounts, but I am not so handy. If it weren't for my brothers metallurgical skills and electrical wizardry, I would still be riding with my Garmin shoved in the chest pocket of my riding suit!

BTW......die-hard Barcelona fan here. I think Lionel Messi is the greatest ever...or some day will be recognized as such. Personally, I like Xavi best, but then I pretty much love the entire team. They really aren't individual players so much as one greater entity!

I LOVE soccer - discovered it way too late in life, trying to make up for a lot of lost time! Sorry so off topic - I do like Beckham, a total class act. But I've seen Messi play in NY - he scored a hat trick against a very strong Brazilian team. He defies the laws of physics.

The RAM mount system is solid and VERY versatile!  A lot of us use this, DennisB on this forum makes a custom mount for the Silver Wing to attach the ball.  Then with an arm and a cradle your GPS or iPhone or whatever is mounted securely.  On my Gold Wing I have a Ram Mount attached to the clutch reservoir and can move the GPS from one bike to the other in a snap.

gpscity.com has lots of gear (including RAM mount) at very good prices.

re: RAM- Thanx men, Sorta like the boat type.

My longest so far was 1,700 miles going from home near Chicago via Indianapolis to Richmond IN, bactrack to Rensaleer, IN, retrack to Richmond, Columbus, OH, then Akron, OH, then back to Chicago. The backtrack was because my Harbor Freight Tag-Along trailer opened while heading down the road at night and I lost stuff to the highway. Richmond PD was nice enough to let me drop my trailer in their parking lot so I didn't have to pull it all the way back while looking for my lost items. It popped open again between Richmond and Columbus and I lost more stuff. When I got to Iron Pony in Columbus, the service dept. there was kind enough to drill a hole in the lips of the top and bottom shells and gave me some wire ties I could use till I got a padlock. While I was there, I bought a new RAM mount system but couldn't use it till they shipped the backordered part to me. I also had them ship me my new Givi top box. When I got to Akron, I mounted the velcro drink holder to my left handlebar then went inside. Little did I know, in doing that, I knocked the brake switch connector loose so when I came back out, it wouldn't start. I called to have it looked at and they sent someone who had just a battery box. Jumping it didn't fix the problem. Next day I had it towed to a shop that didn't normally do Honda bikes so the guy took hours to figure it out. Hindsight being what it is, I wouldn't have bought or attached the cup holder and would have traced back my steps to it to realize that I had disconnected the brake sensor. My throttle friction lock came in very handy to help me reduce the strain on my wrist.

Pulling my HF trailer did decrease my mileage by about 30% vs not pulling it. Other than having it pop open twice on the highway, it travelled well. I got wet on days 2 and 3 despite my rain gear due to nearly constant rain both days. I kinda expected that because travelling that long in rain is going to soak through even the best rain gear. Days 1 and 4 of the trip were a joy of beautiful weather.

If I would have had my Givi top box, I could have packed everything without the trailer at the time, and would have been able to cut the trip down a day saving the backtracking and extending my range. I probably wouldn't have gotten soaked as badly either because of the way I expected the weather to behave along the route, but I definetely would not have missed a day of work.

Pulling the trailer long-distance has both a benefit and a curse. The trailer adds lots of capacity but it also leeches mpg and can become somewhat hazardous when carrying a load and needing to make a quick stop. Be prepared for it to push you if that need to stop quickly happens. The use of well-placed netting and/or velcro attachments inside the trailer can help prevent weight shifts that could overload the hitch especially during a quick stop.

I made sure I had my annual tune-up right before my ride so that helped me make sure the bike was LD-ready.

I will do more LD trips like this one but next time, I will have lessons learned behind me.

KB

KB, thanks for that long distance trailer pulling report. Every trip brings different adventures and it sounds like you handled yours very well. My wife and I have bunch's of two up trailer pulling miles behind us, but all with previously owned Goldwings. Your experience with the lighter Silverwing was interesting and a good read.

Whilst distances covered in a single days riding depend on so many factors, weather, traffic, route etc., I do regularly do some 1200 miles (2,000 km) on a round trip to my other home located the Highlands of Scotland.

I usually complete the journey within the sameday, starting after breakfast, with regular refuelling and rest stops, I am usually able to complete the one way ditsance (600 miles) around 13 to 14 hours, providing the weather and traffic conditions are kind !
I do have a 250 Sym Voyager, which is great to ride and is reliable, but to be honest, nothing comes close to my enjoyment of my beloved Silverwing.
I had my first Honda, way back in 1963... and cost just £69 Sterling ! Ah Memories !

Would be interested in meeting other Silverwing riders loacted in the East Anglia region of the United kingdom to explore our mutual interests in the Honda marque !

That's interesting Stuart lad, I'm a few years older than you but if you're 56 and were born in 1957, you'd have been a small boy of 5 or 6 years old back in 1963 when you say you got your first Honda.

My memories of 1963 are there weren't that many Hondas on our roads back then, maybe the odd Cub or Benly or Dream and certainly none a boy going to Infants school could physically handle, ride, or own. You probably couldn't ride a push bike without training wheels at that age.

You must have also been a very good boy saving up all your pennies in your piggy bank to get £69 as you were far too young to buy it on  Hire Purchase as most young riders would have done.

In contrast to you I was on 2 bob a week pocket money back then, and spending my pennies buying old copies of the Blue 'un and the Green 'un.  

Hello and well spotted for the typograhical error young Meldrew which I have now today corrected on my profile details !

I did sadly crash my Red pedal Trike whilst on a race with my mates (aged 6)    total write off for insurance purposes and my pocket money was stopped to cover the insurance excess !
They were behind me, whilst I was going so fast and in the lead, I failed to notice the fast approaching brick wall at the T junction that was just ahead !  Ouch !!   

I have now sadly aged to even fuller levels of maturity, but do recall saving for and buying my first Honda way back in 1963 for hard cash  (with negotiated discount) and also in passing my driving test in the same year.
The new local Honda dealership was able to supply the full range in various colours and with excellent specs and all for immediate delivery !

Memories are made of this !   

This year Texas to Florida in one shot.
I try to think of all worst scenarios.

Be prepared for long stretches of road with no service. Day plan, night plan.  

1. I WILL NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT ON UNDERPOPULATED/ NO SERVICE AREAS...ALONE.
Not because you I may be chased around by bad guys. Is for when the bike breaks down or get hurt or sick. Cell phone will probably not work. If I get in trouble at night there is less chance somebody will stop to help at night.

After driving around with a thermal imaging system at night for two years and seen how many crazy animals roaming around at night along the roads. I will be afraid to drive through the desert. It's not always the big animals. Its the freaking rabbits and prairie dogs...by the hundreds. I did meet a cow a 3am sitting sideways in the middle of the road... I am sure cousin of the one who killed an officer in Oklahoma years back.  

Ride at night in the middle of nowhere, get a bicycle strobe and use it in the front. Mammals cant tell if a light is approaching at night...they will be troubled by a strobe (careful, deer stop in the middle of the road .... which is better than running at you?)

Get an SOS device. Go to your local camping place (Cabela's) and get one of those SPOT SOS device. It's not a phone, it's a pager. Works with satellite. Has lots of settings and presets. You want to ride in style ...RENT a satellite phone. Yes it cost $100 per month $5 per minute but you don't have to use it unless you are in big trouble.

2. Longest area without fuel station. Drive during the day only. Most places there is a fuel pump within 50 miles.

- have two large fuel bottles from camping place both hold about half gallon each.

Grand Canyon North Rim coming from Texas, I will take extras. The most beautiful desert as far as you can see with your eyes - drive to Grand Canyon. The South Rim doesn't even come close to the beauty.    

Call ahead for cabin 200-300 per night, less for camping place... best scenery.  

3. Tires.
Texas to Louisiana, 2AM dark side tire. Rear blow up, left lane, raining like crazy.

I had RideON on both tires. Two kits with rubber strings, glue, two cans of fix a flat, compressor, even all the sockets needed to take the tire off. Oh, yeah I had also two new bike tires, front and back. Well none of those help s*&t for the thumb size hole I had on the side of the tire.

It got worst.

You see, when it rains, water and glue doesn't get along pretty well, so you may not be able to properly plug your tire. 2AM on the left side of the highway (never ride in the middle lane in bad weather - need escape route). The only bad thing about the DS tire is when you get a flat tire, it happens quick and once flat, you will NOT be able to lift the bike on the stand  unless you can lift 500lbs while sitting with one leg on the stand and pulling up.

It took me 30 minutes to cross the road (why did the chicken). Oh s*&^, now what. I couldn't lift the bike to see the damage, I couldn't put it down cause I was a the top of a hill, the only grass was down the hill. So I was sitting there with the bike against me flapping my arms with the flash light like a mad man....until the cops showed up.

Did I say it was raining cats and alligators (Louisiana) ?

They helped me lift the bike. I fitted a bunch  of those strings with glue. I confess, I am crazy but not stupid. So I am not going to drive on that anywhere. Long story short, got a tow and next day the bike shop blows up my only rear tire. At least I tried.

4. Rain gear.
- Oh it will rain! Put your rain gear on. Now get in the shower! Stay there for 10 minutes.
Did you get wet? Good cause it gets cold to. And there is nowhere to pull over. You will be sitting in the middle of nowhere like a goat, raining on you, while you wait for daylight or help.

5. Wear bright color clothing. If you like that black gear and helmet, you will become invisible if you take a spill and get hurt in the wrong place at night (it always happen at night). Your bike may stay on for a while but you will be unseen. Your family will be happy that you at least tried to make sure your body will be found by dressing in bright color gear.  

6. Tent, sleeping bag, tazer, gun (with license)
7. Food (military or camping dry food) Water. Fire. Toilet paper and WIPES. Yes WIPES because you are going to get back on that bike with s&^% in your a** and a couple of hours later you will be wondering whey does your a&s hurts.

8. Extra phone batteries or hand charger. Depends on how much stuff you have on your bike, you may not be able recharge your stuff.
9. Best / worst scenario, you take a spill, there middle of nowhere. You are hurt but. You can't take your gear off. You are bleeding and there's something broken. Have a utility knife in your pocket and one of those camping string bracelet on your hand. They look pretty. Now you have an excellent chance to stop the bleeding and call for help... or the other way around.  

PS> I, I NEVER, EVER go on a long drive without a ROHO seat and custom ear molds for both ear plugs and headset. Any other ear plugs will constantly push on your ear canal and can only wear them for a couple of hours. You will not be able to wear them after that cause it will hurt more and more. Best $100 you will ever spend. Noises will go away and you will be enjoying the ride more.

I do most of this when I go in vacation with my car. I put my camping gear in a 4x6 enclosed trailer. I prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I managed most my accidents and emergency situations. Whatever I can't...well at least I did everything I could.

It's not the destination is the drive there that you should be mostly enjoy.
Take your time. Stop or go... just because. Just roll with it.

The best night I have ever had in my life was while driving on the Cascade Loop WA between mountains. I got to this cowboy looking town. Hotels all booked except for the $300 rooms. My income bracket doesn't allow me to indulge myself on certain things. So I found the next best thing. A Safeway store parking lot. I got some food. Than I found a bench right next to the door underneath the security camera. The store closed at 10PM. I had a full body winter suit, put my helmet on and went to sleep on the bench. NO PILLOW NEEDED. I have never been so excited about going to sleep in my life. BEST NIGHT EVER! I woke up at 6AM right when the sun was getting ready to come up. I eat some more and continued my amazing drive. I love morning when it;s all foggy and the sun comes up and there is nobody on the road....oh man, I need to do that again!

See what you did to me? Where is that calendar... what month is this?

EXCELLENT !!!!

I could swear John Grinsel wrote that.

You made me google John Grinsel. Should I click on this "Advanced Background Checks" link before I say anything?

Let me answer with a question. Why are asking ?

I am calling my mom right now !

I love the north cascades loop too! I do it several times a year. Next time you are riding in my area or planning on riding in my area, send me an email or a PM and I will ride some with ya.

Thanks for sharing all of that information with us. We would appreciate some accompanying photographs as well. It helps tell the story.

I did not write that. I ride not drive.....and this year have 61 years and lots of miles doing this.

My tips---be in shape, professional quality riding gear, foam ear plugs...thrown away at least twice a riding day....little Vaseline in ear channels helps plug go in and out.

Most people who have ridden many long trips pick up a few tips each time they go.....I learn on each.


Bottom line: Long trips on properly set up and serviced SilverWing=no big deal. And oh, if you ride everyday, long rides/trips do not tear you up, your body is used to it.

Advise from experience worth its owner's weight in.... beer ? Yeap , that sounds more appropriate.

Nice meeting you Mr. John

L

LN.... are you sure you are not "rambling man?"

You guys made me google again. First I had to find out who "john grinsel" is. Now I had to search for what a "rambling man" is. My brain is not working right. I think I took to much nightquil liquid thing for my flu.

I am going places for a reason. Or at least that's what I think I do. I am gona change my name to "Rambling Man". Lalee, you are now my officially my Godfather for giving me a new name.

After the WA experience I made myself a new bucket list. I really like the idea of just going. If I feel like stopping, I will just stop. If it feels like for a day, I will stay a day. If it feels like a week, I'll stay a week. If I want to eat a whole chicken with my bare hands in the parking lot at Costco - I did that. The best chicken ever. And I had mashed potatoes. It reminded me when I eat my first watermelon with my bare hands. Braking it up on the side of the table, ripping chunks and stuffing my face like an animal. It was so liberating. Fork my a**.

This going, no due date for anything. No bills, no place to be. If I run out of money make enough to fill up the silvering and go to the next adventure.

Oh God I want to leave right now.
I am going to regret tomorrow writing this **** all day. I hope I didn't offend anybody.
Somebody block my account. Oh no, I will create another one with the name "Rambling Man". This medicine has to run off soon.

L