Long Distance Riding Equipment

[Farther]

I am planning a trip back to the Dakotas ( 3600 miles round trip) for my 40th high school reunion in July of 2010 (Ya, I am an old fucker). I am no stranger to long distance backpacking so I know how to pack light. My lovely wife says there is no way she is comming even if I tie her to the bike. So I am looking for equipment for myself and for the bike that people have had good experience with and can recommend. Any advise is welcome. To start off I am looking at getting saddlebags from US Saddlebags one of the sponsers of this forum. Anybody have any comments on their products? Since the trip will be in July, I may leave the leathers at home. What say you all?

[morpheus]

i would def. take the leathers -those fuckin morning can be a bit chilly in the mountains.might also want to stick a rain suit in the pack.def. dress in layers;can always take it off.guess my motto is better to have it and NOT need it vs. need it and NOT have it.back to the leathers-you get run off by some cager on those roads,just might save your ass from some serious road rash
also take some breakes and keep hydrated
calm winds for your trip brother:thumbsup:

[craigv318]

US Saddlebags are nice, but DAMN expensive....

If you still have the stock seat, I would highly recommend a AirHalk Motorcycle seat cushion.
I purchase one last week. Fantastic.... Made the long trips on the bike a lot more confortable..
Just follow the link http://www.airhawkguy.com.au/order.htm (http://www.airhawkguy.com.au/order.htm)
(For orders outside Australia please click here (http://www.airhawkguy.com.au/contact.htm#orders) and submit your details)
There are a few companies who sell theses seats in the US.

Have a good & safe tri:thumbsup: p

Regards

[morpheus]

US Saddlebags are nice, but DAMN expensive....

If you still have the stock seat, I would highly recommend a AirHalk Motorcycle seat cushion.
I purchase one last week. Fantastic.... Made the long trips on the bike a lot more confortable..
Just follow the link http://www.airhawkguy.com.au/order.htm (http://www.airhawkguy.com.au/order.htm)
(For orders outside Australia please click here (http://www.airhawkguy.com.au/contact.htm#orders) and submit your details)
There are a few companies who sell theses seats in the US.

Have a good & safe tri:thumbsup: p

Regards



man them son-of-a-bitches are expensive:stunned:

[Farther]

A Mustang seat is on my list of things to get for the bike and leathers are back on the list too. In addition would installing Vance & Hines Straight Shot pipes and Kuryakyn Skull Intake be worthwhile performance upgrade for this trip? My thinking is that at sustained higher RPMs that the pipes and intake would actually increase fuel milage. Anybody have any experience with this?

[usbpphillips]

Hey Farther,
I'm not sure if you have already done it or not, but the 38 tooth sprocket would definitely be a fuel saver. It would reduce the RPMs at highway speed and save some wear and tear on the bike as well.

[hrd2bhumble76]

Might wanna pack 1 of those rubber donut things.:moon:

[bigarmzz]

$59 saddlebags...i mean if ya gotta have em, why pay a lot for em?:bucktooth

http://www.leatherup.com/c/Motorcycle-Saddlebags/2/151.html

[Descending Spirit]

thats a damn nice and cheap site for baggage there bigarmzz , thanx

[craigv318]

So true,

All there stuff are dirt cheap... Great find....

[craigv318]

A Mustang seat is on my list of things to get for the bike and leathers are back on the list too. In addition would installing Vance & Hines Straight Shot pipes and Kuryakyn Skull Intake be worthwhile performance upgrade for this trip? My thinking is that at sustained higher RPMs that the pipes and intake would actually increase fuel milage. Anybody have any experience with this?

I can say after installing pipes (v&h straight shots)
My long ride are now a little bit of a pain in the ears...
I wear ear plugs on long rides now.

[Farther]

Hey Farther,
I'm not sure if you have already done it or not, but the 38 tooth sprocket would definitely be a fuel saver. It would reduce the RPMs at highway speed and save some wear and tear on the bike as well.

Good thought but my SS 750 is shaft drive. The only way to reduce RPM is to ride slower or put on a taller rear tire. Maybe that is the excuse I need for the 200 rear. That would reduce RPMs by about 6% I think.

[firefighter212]

I would also suggest a mp3 player or something in the ears to keep the monotony away from there.a long way to go to listen to the wind blowin.

[mcvierh]

You didn't say anything about your plans for night...on our 4000 mile bike trip.,some nights my wife and I would camp out some (allways at a KOA campsite, cost about 16 for a tent pad) sometimes we'd rent a room, when no KOA was near.....We'd ride about 450-500 miles a day and have a KOA destination in mide that we'd shoot for for the night, they have cabins that are around 35 a night, you furnish all the bedding, Koa's are secure, you meet decent folks, and it's a good place to be in bad weather....for our road trip we had little steel framed folding chairs, decent sized dome tent, sleeping bags, coffer maker(Campfire style), 3 changes of clothes, an air mattress (grounds real hard after a day in the saddle)....we wore Camelback water hydrators (A must).....anyway if you plan it out and buy decent modern equiptment you'll be surprised at just what you can fit into saddlebags and wrap around yout sissybar.....

[Farther]

Good advise mcvierh. I have a lot of very light long distance backpacking equipment including down bag, solo tent, titanium cooking stuff etc, my youngest daughter and I hike 2000 miles on the Appalachian Trail back in '98. Some of that will be going along. The thought of strapping my 5000 cubic inch backpack on the bike has also been considered instead of saddlebags. But the though of saddlebags is more appealing than the backpack. I plan on doing the back roads and find spots to camp or a cheap motel. I tried posting my first draft equipment list but got an error message that it was too long. I will try again and type it in rather than cut and past.

[bigarmzz]

thats a damn nice and cheap site for baggage there bigarmzz , thanx

thats what were here for brotha:thumbsup:

[Farther]

Here is a site with some interesting stuff for the long haul, although mostly for dualsport and sport touring bikes. https://www.aerostich.com/login.php