Supporting Member betoney Posted May 5, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted May 5, 2017 Cricket1 has good advice. I did the US cross country thing in 2006 - 10 days, 4000 miles, < 500 miles of interstate west to east. We stopped and saw different things, but (1) we finished riding after dark every day and (2) especially toward the end of the ride we were both a little rushed and tired and skipped things we had otherwise planned to see. When I headed home, I had to do almost the opposite, 3000 miles, < 1000 miles off the interstate to make up the time I spent traveling east.Also consider that when you plan a route it is under perfect conditions, no traffic or road construction. I am guilty of this myself, so eager to get out on the road, I tell myself "It will be no problem to maintain 450 miles a day...we'll be fine". We got caught in road construction delays or stuck behind summer vacation tourist traffic, campers and motorhomes at least once everyday. Not one day went exactly as planned. There is nothing worse than getting to the point of skipping things on the trip or just slabbing it home because you are behind schedule and have to back at work on Monday morning. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo1000 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Hey Vinnie sounds like a great trip ! I'm leaving for a trip out west on July 10. We are leaving from NY, 3 riders meeting another one in CO. We are going the north route west bound but we are going to head south once we hit Montana. I don't know what date you are planning to leave, but who knows maybe you want company part of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anubi Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 It's hard to tell from the map if you picked these up or not, but here's a few recommendations. Looks like you are hitting Glacier National Park be sure to ride over the Going To The Sun Highway (obviously). Also take note if you are going east on the east side once you leave the one Hotel / gas station just outside the park it's a whole lot of nothing. Easily 60-70 miles to the next town which has 1 hotel then another 60-70 miles to the next tiny town, etc. Something to keep in mind if you just happen to get caught in a massive thunder / hail storm and the first town (60-70 miles from the park) just happens to be having Indian Days (their once yearly big event) and all the hotels within 100 miles are booked making you have to ride about 150 miles in the dark with rain, lightning, and hail bouncing off your tank and hitting you in the neck/chin. Not like that would happen or that I know from experience... I also see it looks like your going through Yellow Stone / northern Wyoming, I highly, highly recommend Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph highway. They are incredible, and I've heard well traveled people making statements like some of the best motorcycling in the world. I can't tell your roads through Nebraska / Iowa, if you are doing interstate I much prefer I90/I94 versus I80. On the east coast, it seems a shame to get slow close to, but not hit up Deal's Gap. If you're from Philly maybe you have been there before, but it's another one of those destination highways, definitely worth going out of your way to ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 Well thanks for all the information and support, guys! I got back on Saturday. I rode 9142 miles in 22 days (172 hours of engine time), but two of those days were lost because I bottomed out and cracked open my oil pan on the asphalt in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Thanks to the guys on the forum who posted about it a while ago happening to them because I knew exactly what was going on, when it happened. I have a TON of pictures. I'd really like to get some posted on here, once I get them off my camera and processed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo1000 Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I'm jealous, I wanted to do a adventure like this. Post those pictures Vinnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsimple Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I did a similar ride in 2009 I went north through International Bridge, Sault Ste Marie and on the way back went through Portal, N. Dakota on my way to Jasper. Phenomenal ride. Went back there last year on a 3k ride with a couple friends. Check out the hot springs at MIette if your not already passed that. whoops just saw you are done. Gifford Pichot is one my local faves. Hope other than the oil pan you enjoyed it. 2015 Red FJ 09 2013 WR250R - little boy blue - sold 2012 DL650 V Strom - sold 2007 FZ6 - sold 1986 FJ600 - sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 27, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted July 27, 2017 I bottomed out and cracked open my oil pan on the asphalt in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.Were you near Windy Ridge outside of Randle on NF-25 when this happened? That section of road is notoriously bad with buckled pavement and frost heaves. I dont ride it anymore which is shame as it is a fantastic twisty road that will take you all the way to the state border on the Columbia River. Late afternoon is actually dangerous, with the long shadows you cant see the broken pavement until you have hit it, often mid corner. I have watched riders get bounced up off their seat and get thrown off their line into the oncoming lane. Would love to hear the story behind the incident and how you made it out and got it fixed. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbeau Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I am so.. freaking.. jealous! What a trip that must've been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmie Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Look forward to reading about your adventure and pics of course. Kimmie......the lady who likes to take little detours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 I bottomed out and cracked open my oil pan on the asphalt in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.Were you near Windy Ridge outside of Randle on NF-25 when this happened? That section of road is notoriously bad with buckled pavement and frost heaves. I dont ride it anymore which is shame as it is a fantastic twisty road that will take you all the way to the state border on the Columbia River. Late afternoon is actually dangerous, with the long shadows you cant see the broken pavement until you have hit it, often mid corner. I have watched riders get bounced up off their seat and get thrown off their line into the oncoming lane. Would love to hear the story behind the incident and how you made it out and got it fixed. I am really surprised you just named that road! That's exactly where I came from and where it happened! It was just past the Mt. St Hellens view point, which was closed. I bottomed out several times on the road prior and was riding slower than the speed limit, but I couldn't see the dangerous conditions of the road with the mid-late afternoon shadows from the trees. I had checked my oil pan for damage right before it happened because I stopped at the closed viewpoint and checked- no leak or damage. I hit this one, seemingly invisible, dip in the road and heard a different scrape noise than the few times prior. I pulled off again and looked, but could see smoke from oil hitting my case and exhaust. Some random family from the Netherlands in a rental RV asked me if I needed help, since I was on my back underneath my FJ looking at the damage and cursing. I asked them first for a phone with reception, which nobody had, and then a bar of soap. I used this small travel sized soap bar to try and seal/slow the the leak. It kinda worked, but not really. Then some random guy stopped and said he saw me bottom out and also so the PA plate and decided to stop, since he was also from PA. Turns out he used to live in the same town as me like 20 years ago! He ended up saying a town called Couger was 15 miles away and we could probably find a gas station or land line to call for a tow, so I topped off the oil level, with a slow dripping leak and rode. I was lucky to have some unused, leftover oil with me from my recent oil change. So this guy followed me, as I limped my bike 15 miles towards Couger...unfortunately, Couger was closer to 40 miles away. None of us had reception for the whole way. When I got to a gas station, I used their phone to call for a tow through Progressive trip interruption. They ended up getting a tow truck within 3 hours and the tow took about 1.5-2 hours between loading the bike and driving to Vancouver, WA to Pro Caliper Motorsports. Those guys were really terrible at first. Horrible customer service. They had 2 FJ09s on the floor with the parts I needed and refused to help me with anything. They literally told me the part will come in around July 25th (around 1.5-2 weeks later), when I was supposed to be back at work in PA. So I went and got high heat JB weld and turned the bike on it's side in front of their front door...started to clean off the now empty oil pan. They wouldn't even give me a catch pan to catch the oil that was leaking on their driveway. I would say about 10 employees saw me with my bike turned on its side and did nothing. Even another FZ09 rider saw it and just walked right by me. Luckily, some guy in the bathroom was talking me up and I politely said I needed to go fix my bike outside and would have to hear the end of his story later. That guy followed me out and watched me prepping the surface of my oil pan and flipped out on the service manager. Then that guy came out and said he would take parts off one of the floor units for me. He was the ONLY helpful person I spoke to at that dealership at all and I appreciated his help because nobody else was. $500 and 2-3 hours later, I got my FJ back ready to run and with a new, updated oil pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 But here are a few pics that I have got off the camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Sounds like quite the adventure! '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfart Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Congratulations on your awesome adventure! I had a friend who sailed the world on his own sailboat and later started a sailing magazine called Latitudes and Attitudes. Their motto was "The Difference Between Ordeal and Adventure is Attitude!" So true whether boating or motorcycling or anything else we attempt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 Congratulations on your awesome adventure! I had a friend who sailed the world on his own sailboat and later started a sailing magazine called Latitudes and Attitudes. Their motto was "The Difference Between Ordeal and Adventure is Attitude!" So true whether boating or motorcycling or anything else we attempt! That quote is awesome! So true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thruster8999 Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 I am truely sorry to hear about your deal with Pro caliber. I live about 2 miles from them and I would never ever give them my business. I drive about 2 hours away to buy my bikes and try to sevice them on my own. If I need to have anything done that I cant do I take it to EDR in beaverton Oregon which cost alittle more but they are real nice to me go out of there way to make me happy. If I ever find my why over there I will rip them a new one on how they treated you. If anyone else is in a bind and I and not out on a trip hit me up and I will do my best to help you out. I am located in Vancouver Washington but I will travel within the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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