Any epic road trips planned for 2020?

[redfjniner]

2 hours ago, angusmcoz said:

I have a tentative route laid out but if history holds true I can be easily  SQUIRREL! distracted. Most of my bike rides start with a direction. Coming from an FJR to the Tracer GT I find I miss the 6.6 gallon gas tank. With that in mind, I built a new case mount for the back with a mount inside for a 1 gallon Rotopax. As with most of the other mods I've made this is an untested prototype. Rode 5,300 miles last summer across Route 2 to Glacier Park, up to Waterton Park, then down to Lolo, MT for Route 93 to Challis, ID and back home VIA Route 2. On that ride I wished for a larger tank more than once.

 

 

 

 

I also come off a FJR and miss the 280-300 mile range, especially in the higher elevations.  I love your idea of using the Rotopax in the pelican case.  I have thought of doing this, but have always come to the conclusion that if I had to stop and unpack the fuel cell to add gas to the tank, that I might as well stop at a gas station some where along the way as it would probably take less time.  Since I rarely do the 500-700 miles anymore, usually 320-400 as these will get me to my daily destination by 4pm.  Time to have a couple beers, shower, go to dinner and in bed by 9pm.  If I keep the miles under 320-400, I can plan on 160-200 mile fuel stops.  One at half day and one at that days destination.  Another thing is that I have been riding with others that have different bikes and may require more stops, and if I'm the one with the small tank, they don't mind stopping at 200 miles anyway.  If you run it to the max multiple times, please let us know how far you got on a full tank of gas.

[daboo]

I generally plan my routes out using two map programs.  First, I use Google maps.  I can add the terrain view to see which route might be more interesting.  Then I can confirm it by using Street View.

Once I get the route down, I switch over to Bing maps.  There's a way to show gas stations along your route.  Since my biggest limiter is range, I'll fix my route in the GPS by setting up the gas station stops as way points.  

That's actually saved my bacon a couple times.  I was heading west and my route was going to take me across Lolo Pass.  There's no gas for 100 miles.  If you leave from somewhere like Missoula and head west, you may be tempted to skip the gas stations about an hour down the road.  You don't "need" gas yet.  But if you haven't planned your next stop, you could find that you run out somewhere in the middle of the Lolo Pass road.

But with some planning, I've found I haven't needed any of the spare gas I've carried along with me.

Chris

[hlmiskelly]

Nothing epic, just a few overnight trips, the first to the Georgia Guidestones near Elberton, Georgia, and the second to Robert Johnson's supposed grave in Greenville, Mississippi (with stops at Elvis Presley's birthplace and William Faulkner's home).  These are two sites that have long been on my things to see.

[angusmcoz]

1 hour ago, redfjniner said:

I also come off a FJR and miss the 280-300 mile range, especially in the higher elevations.  I love your idea of using the Rotopax in the pelican case.  I have thought of doing this, but have always come to the conclusion that if I had to stop and unpack the fuel cell to add gas to the tank, that I might as well stop at a gas station some where along the way as it would probably take less time.  Since I rarely do the 500-700 miles anymore, usually 320-400 as these will get me to my daily destination by 4pm.  Time to have a couple beers, shower, go to dinner and in bed by 9pm.  If I keep the miles under 320-400, I can plan on 160-200 mile fuel stops.  One at half day and one at that days destination.  Another thing is that I have been riding with others that have different bikes and may require more stops, and if I'm the one with the small tank, they don't mind stopping at 200 miles anyway.  If you run it to the max multiple times, please let us know how far you got on a full tank of gas.

I'm hoping I don't need to use the Rotopax too often, more of a just in case. The farthest I've gone is 214 miles on 4.2 US gallons. The GPS I have does show has stations but have found a few closed or no longer in business. Update the GPS each  spring but still not infallible. If I hit empty I'll post the numbers.

[betoney]

42 minutes ago, daboo said:

I was heading west and my route was going to take me across Lolo Pass.  There's no gas for 100 miles.  If you leave from somewhere like Missoula and head west, you may be tempted to skip the gas stations about an hour down the road.  You don't "need" gas yet.  But if you haven't planned your next stop, you could find that you run out somewhere in the middle of the Lolo Pass road.

But with some planning, I've found I haven't needed any of the spare gas I've carried along with me.

Chris

I have done the same thing several times, - gas up and then gas up again 60-80 miles later because I know there are some very remote stretches out there.  Your example of Lolo Pass is a perfect example, once you pass Kooskia, you had better be prepared because Lolo is over 130 miles away.

I recently started using Bing Maps, there are a few features I really like.  While I don't like the map graphic as much as Google (too high contrast for my eyes and some of the small towns don't show up unless you zoom in further), I like the gas station feature and the biggest selling point for me was the ability to plan routes in the off season through roads with "seasonal closures". Priceless👍

[Manxkiwi]

9 hours ago, Dodgy Knees said:

Two great pics of NZ at it's best... superb.  Few years back I saw Bruce Anstey wheeling the Britten at Jurby iom, just before he broke it, oops. Incidentally,  what's the latest news on Bruce, I know he's been very poorly.

I know he won the junior 250 race last year at the classic TT in August. Not sure if he's doing the TT this year or not? Clive Pagett will have a bike for him, that's for sure. Let's all hope he's up to riding it. The man's a legend, has overcome cancer twice now and can still make it look easy round the TT course!! Respect. 

[Guest]

19 hours ago, betoney said:

5 days in the Red Lodge area or 5 days total for the trip?  There are a lot of beautiful areas to ride in that region.

We rode Beartooth Pass 2 years ago, Chief Joseph Highway into Cody and through the Bighorn Mountains.  Then returning back across Wyoming through Ten Sleep Canyon, Shoshoni and The Tetons. 

If you are coming from Wisconsin, you get to ride through Black Hills SD as well.  👍

I think 4 days of riding around the Red Lodge area.  It’s 1200 miles from WI so I can ride out there in a day and I’ll come back in 2. That will make it a 7 day trip but I can always take longer coming back.  When I’m going someplace to ride I always haul butt out there then I’m there to ride. Funny part about the Red Lodge trip is it was on a friend’s bucket list so I agreed to reschedule my 48 state 10 day ride and do it with him. He’s already bailed on the trip but I had the hotel in my name so I’m going regardless. 

I don’t think I’ve ever gone more than 240 on the FJR and 200 is a stretch on the FJ-09. That’s about all the stress I can stand. I regularly run 1000 mile days and it seems I gas the FJR just after 200 miles and the FJ-09 after 180 as long as there’s no big wind. It’s probably only 1 more stop at the end of the day but it always seems like a bunch more. I think the biggest part is psychologically getting to 200 before thinking about gas vs stopping just short all the time. For the Red Lodge trip it’s no issue, for the 48/10 that I want to complete in 7 it would be. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Guest

[betoney]

4 hours ago, donk said:

I think 4 days of riding around the Red Lodge area.

Funny part about the Red Lodge trip is it was on a friend’s bucket list so I agreed to reschedule my 48 state 10 day ride and do it with him. He’s already bailed on the trip but I had the hotel in my name so I’m going regardless.

Wait, wait, wait... 48 states in 10 days?  WTF?  That's crazy, but I am intrigued!  😲

I don't know if you already have an exact itinerary planned but after Beartooth Pass, this was our route through Wyoming 2 years ago.  At an absolute minimum, -Chief Joseph Highway into Cody and then the Bighorn Mountains are "must ride".

[keithu]

On 2/18/2020 at 10:22 PM, donk said:

Have you done a lot of rallies on the FJ-09/Tracer before?  Thinking of swapping from FJR to my FJ-09 but I worry about the fuel range. Do you use an aux tank?  Be great if you could start a thread on LD riding the FJ-09/TracerGT. 

I rode the FJ in the 2016 Cal24 Rally, but otherwise no. Fuel range is definitely a problem and I'm working on an aux tank right now. I should post pics in my "Build Projects" thread in a month or so.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, betoney said:

Wait, wait, wait... 48 states in 10 days?  WTF?  That's crazy, but I am intrigued! 

 

The 48 states in 10 days is an Iron Butt Association ride. You have 10 days to travel to all 48 states and you must have receipts to prove it. Depending on your start and finish points and route it can be as little as 6500 miles. That route is basically a W starting in Maine and ending in Washington state or visa versa. My route starts at the Michigan Indiana border and ends in Maine and is just less than 7000 miles, sort of a big check mark shape.  7000 miles in 10 days is only 700 miles a day so I am going to do it in a week, 48 states/7days or about 1000 miles a day.  A challenge but certainly a doable ride. The Iron Butt Rally is 11 days and about 11,000 miles to finish with required bonus locations. Now that’s doing something. With my ride I have the luxury of mapping my route months in advance, during the rally you are not told of the required bonus locations until the morning you start the rally. 

This is the kind of ride where the extra range of the FJR is something I hate to give up. If you can save even 30 minutes a day by making less fuel stops that becomes huge as the days add up. It would have been easy for Yamaha to push the fuel capacity to 5+ gallons when they went to the Tracer and with the engines fuel economy that would have been huge. There are advantages to the FJ-09, a more open seating position and the fact that the bike is considerably lighter are big pluses. Come 10 o’clock at night after 1050 miles you become acutely aware of how heavy your bike is any time you stop. Some people make a big deal out of chain vs shaft drive but in my opinion modern chains are trouble free. 

[betoney]

1 hour ago, donk said:

The 48 states in 10 days is an Iron Butt Association ride. You have 10 days to travel to all 48 states and you must have receipts to prove it. Depending on your start and finish points and route it can be as little as 6500 miles. That route is basically a W starting in Maine and ending in Washington state or visa versa. My route starts at the Michigan Indiana border and ends in Maine and is just less than 7000 miles, sort of a big check mark shape.  7000 miles in 10 days is only 700 miles a day so I am going to do it in a week, 48 states/7days or about 1000 miles a day.  A challenge but certainly a doable ride.

I certainly commend you and anyone else who does the long distance riding but don't understand how it is possible for multiple days.  A sustained 65mph average (possible on the interstate) gets you 1000 miles in about 15.5 hours if you never stop for gas, food or stretching.  Realistically, that's only a few hours a day for sleep before getting right back on the road, how do you maintain stamina, fight exhaustion and keep your senses alert?

[Guest]

First and foremost is ride safely. You become very efficient at gas stops, getting on and off the bike, into and out of hotels and eating. The more detailed your plans the easier it is to stay on schedule.  I sleep 4-5 hours a night in a hotel and I never push it.   If I get tired I stop and sleep for 10-15 minutes.  Avoid stimulants like coffee and I seldom run more than 9mph over the speed limit. It’s like anything else you learn how to do it and with practice it gets easier.  The first time anyone does a 1000 mile day it’s A THOUSAND MILE DAY. After many of them it’s JUST a thousand mile day.  Mostly it’s a state of mind.  I love that the trip reduces your world to the essentials, you the bike and the little gear you carry. I love the places and things you see along the way, like a constantly changing slide show. I love being out in the weather, well except extreme heat. I love just doing it, I love doing the calculations, how many miles, how much gas is left, what’s the range in these conditions, on and on. 

When people do their first Iron Butt Ride usually a 1000 miles in 24 hours one of two things seems to happen.  Most say, “yup I did it and I prefer not to do it again” and then there are a few of us with the genetic flaw that are hooked and don’t want to stop. I am not a hard core long distance guy.  I simply like to ride far.  To put it in perspective I had lunch a few weeks back with a fellow that rode 124,000 documented miles in 2019 while holding down a full time job.  I think he did 64 1500 mile days and many back to back 1500 mile days. That’s way beyond me, way beyond what I could do mentally or physically. But there are guys out there that can and do do it.  Most importantly they do it safely, for themselves and for others that share the road with them.

On the forum we have @olddawg who’s put over 200,000 miles on his FJ-09. He likes to ride. That’s 40,000 miles a year for 5 consecutive years, 800 miles a week for 260 consecutive weeks!  He’s my hero. I’m sure there are many others. We all ride as long and as far as we want and that’s what makes it special. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Guest

[rustyshackles]

I don’t have anything singularly epic planned so far.  There’s a 4-day rally at the end of April 

Long Distance Rallies | Heart of Texas Rally

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Webpage dedicated to long-distance motorcycle rallies in Texas

.Overlaid on most of 2020 are two go-as-you-please events, the Tour of Honor 

2020 Tour of Honor Motorcycle Ride

and Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas 

Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas – A great tour for folks that love Texas and love to ride.

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A great tour for folks that love Texas and love to ride.

 

 

I’ll visit TOH and MCGTTX locations during the HOT as time and location permit.

[keithu]

Adding to my list for the year:

The North by Northwest 33-hour rally starting and ending in Bend, Oregon September 11-12.

[1moreroad]

On 2/19/2020 at 2:44 PM, hlmiskelly said:

Nothing epic, just a few overnight trips, the first to the Georgia Guidestones near Elberton, Georgia, and the second to Robert Johnson's supposed grave in Greenville, Mississippi (with stops at Elvis Presley's birthplace and William Faulkner's home).  These are two sites that have long been on my things to see.

Your 2nd map ends in Greenwood, not Greenville. Message me when you get close to your trip. I live in the area. Maybe we can grab a meal.