7 days, 2366 miles. Damn I love this bike!

[Dm23]

Got back last night from the longest bike roadie I've done to date and loved every second of it. 

Only problem I had with bike was my power outlet crapped out on me day 1. Fortunately though I had run an sae plug out from the battery for my heated jacket if need be and a buddy had a sae to usb adapter he wasn't using so I was able to keep devices charged. 

Mc crusie control worked seemlessly and I'm happy as hell I installed it before the trip. 

Had some low back pain first few days but that's standard. I get low back pain from driving my truck or sitting at a desk for more than an hour..... but after the 2nd or 3rd day I don't know if the bagster seat broke into my arse or my body acclimated, but 300-400 mile days with no back pain whatsoever!!

I upgraded suspension before the trip and that was also a good move! Side cases and top box loaded plus sleeping bag and tent bungied to backseat and she handled beautifully.

My buddy who bought my multi 950 from me was on the trip with us and I didnt miss it all. Especially when he dropped it twice at a standstill.... 😂😂  I told him it was heavy!

Day 1- santa rosa, ca to visalia, ca

Day 2 - visalia, ca to death valley, ca 

Day 3 - death valley to hoover dam to zion national park, utah

Day 4 - 400miles around zion, bryce canyon and etc

Day 5 - zion to valley of fire, nv

Day 6 - valley of fire, nv to bridgeport,ca

Day 7 - bridgeport, ca to sonora via hwy 108 (amazing ride!!!) And back home to santa rosa 

 

Already planning the next one!

 

And thanks to those of you that offered riding suggestions for zion area. That was some amazing riding and scenery. 

[koth442]

Wow, that is an amazing ride! I also fixed the double post for you. 

[texscottyd]

3 hours ago, Dm23 said:

Day 4 - 400miles around zion, bryce canyon and etc

I'll pick that as 'best day of the tour' 

Sounds like a fantastic trip!   I'm more than just a little jealous...

[fddriver2]

Pretty Impressive. How about some pictures? That's an amazing part of America.   

[texscottyd]

I took the liberty of updating your route map, @fddriver2: 

[Dm23]

44 minutes ago, koth442 said:

Wow, that is an amazing ride! I also fixed the double post for you. 

Thank you!

[Dm23]

22 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

I took the liberty of updating your route map, @fddriver2: 

Haha! Thanks!

And yes that ride was amazing. The change in scenery was incredible. Roads were also all in pretty damn good shape and very fun. 

The 108 from outside of bridgeport to sonora was really really fun as well. Not as impressive scenery wise but one of the funnest roads I've ever ridden. 70ish miles of freshly paved twisties with hardly any cars. 

And much to my surprise I really enjoyed the ride from valley of fire to bridgeport. Not really a big straightaway fan generally but it was pretty enjoyable. 

I'll update that map with the exact route we did around utah and upload pics when I get the rest of my buddies pics. One guy in particular had 3 cameras so he has the majority of the good pics. I just had my phone. 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Dm23
Typos

[PhotoAl]

Thats a great trip.  I'm mid 60s and retired.  Little over 2 years ago I traded my beautiful 2014 ZX6R 636 ABS on a BMW F800GT just to do long trips.  Really missed the power and fun attitude of the ZX6R but took 4 1/2 long trips on that bike.  My first long trip was 10 days and went from Alabama to Yellowstone and back.  I had ridden the ZX6R 600 miles in a day once and 250 to 350 mile days several times but never a multi-day trip.  It was an absolute blast, spent a lot of nights in a tent.  Took all of my best buddies with me - that would be me!  I do have a SPOT which was handy for sending my wife "I'm OK messages".  LOL I was sitting in the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois, WY and she called me.  She was looking at my location on her iPhone and it showed me down the street in a shack.  She was afraid I had been bushwhacked!  In June I went to South Dakota and then down to Moab Utah. That is amazing country and just a bit east of where you were.  Had one day which I used to go to Canyonlands.  Amazing place.  Not sure I would want to live there but the open and barren landscape is amazing and beautiful.  Every trip I've taken has had at least one great twisty road.  That one had several including the Snowy Mountain Road in southern Wyoming.  

Why 4 1/2 long trips.  In lat August I had the 1/2 long trip.  Set out for Idaho and Montana.  At the end of the second day and 1,100 miles down the road, just as I pulled off the interstate at the KOA in Grand Island had a massive failure of a rear wheel bearing on my BMW F800GT.  Was just able to get to the KOA, BMW was literally unridable!  I had been looking at Tracers and Tracer GTs for several months.  There are no BMW dealers or shops in Grand Island NB!  Since it was too late to call anyone I had all evening to think about it.  Good thing is the KOA have really great pizza - as good as any I've eaten in a restaurant outside of Italy so didn't starve.  Idea, maybe I could find a Tracer GT and they would bring it to me and trade for the busted BMW, hummm  Opened up CycleTrader.com and searched for Tracer GTs pithing 300 miles.  Wow there are several!  Inquired about a couple to see if they were still available.  Afterwards look on eBay for BMW rear hubs.  Next morning got a response from Vern Eide in Sioux Falls SD, yes they had the Tracer GT and yes they would trade but it had to be fixed first and I had to get to Sioux Falls.  Found a complete swingarm on eBay in LasVegas and ordered it.  Got Uber to take me to the airport to get a rental car.  Uber driver showed up, it was the Red Barron in his red Impalla.  A great fella and we had a good time talking on the ride to the airport.  Stopped by Harbor Freight and bought $100 in tools, swingarm showed up and in 3 1/2 hours at a very leisurely pace swapped out the swingarm and I had a working motorcycle!  Wife not only send me the title but also my checkbook so I didn't bother asking if I had permission.  Rode to Sioux Falls and traded for new 2020 Tracer GT!  Wahoo I finally had an exciting bike again.  We talked about the first service and I decided to stick around 3 days and have the first service done there.  Originally thought about putting a 200 to 300 miles on it and changing the oil in a AutoZone parking lot.  Dealership was amazing and friendly.  They went out of their way to help me out knowing that they would probably never see me again.  After the service set out on the 1,400 mile trek home.  WOW what fun (except for the crummy stock windscreen)!  Love the bike and it is a great touring bike, cruse control is super nice - been there without it and even a throttle lock is no substitute for cruse control.  As for my failed trip, turns out the time I would have been in Montana was when a winter storm came thru and left 6 to 10 inches of snow.  Would have been holed up in RedLodge Montana for an extra 5 to 7 days!  

Next year Im going to San Jose California to see out son.  Was going to go this year but circumstances prevented it.  

My trip planning is simple, go to the KOA website and see where there are KOA campgrounds and plan around that.  Ive stayed other places but KOAs are consistent and reasonable priced for camping.  Most of the time I tent camp but if the weather is hot or bad I try and stay in a cabin.  Have seen 84F at midnight and 30 to 40 MPH winds with 60 MPH gusts and along with rain and small hail in the tent.  I don't cook and take no cooking gear.

 

[betoney]

36 minutes ago, PhotoAl said:

Why 4 1/2 long trips.  In lat August I had the 1/2 long trip.  Set out for Idaho and Montana.  At the end of the second day and 1,100 miles down the road, just as I pulled off the interstate at the KOA in Grand Island had a massive failure of a rear wheel bearing on my BMW F800GT.  Was just able to get to the KOA, BMW was literally unridable!  I had been looking at Tracers and Tracer GTs for several months.  There are no BMW dealers or shops in Grand Island NB!  Since it was too late to call anyone I had all evening to think about it.  Good thing is the KOA have really great pizza - as good as any I've eaten in a restaurant outside of Italy so didn't starve.  Idea, maybe I could find a Tracer GT and they would bring it to me and trade for the busted BMW, hummm  Opened up CycleTrader.com and searched for Tracer GTs pithing 300 miles.  Wow there are several!  Inquired about a couple to see if they were still available.  Afterwards look on eBay for BMW rear hubs.  Next morning got a response from Vern Eide in Sioux Falls SD, yes they had the Tracer GT and yes they would trade but it had to be fixed first and I had to get to Sioux Falls.  Found a complete swingarm on eBay in LasVegas and ordered it.  Got Uber to take me to the airport to get a rental car.  Uber driver showed up, it was the Red Barron in his red Impalla.  A great fella and we had a good time talking on the ride to the airport.  Stopped by Harbor Freight and bought $100 in tools, swingarm showed up and in 3 1/2 hours at a very leisurely pace swapped out the swingarm and I had a working motorcycle!

That was quite the ordeal you encountered.  In hindsight, experiences like that make for a road trip you will never forget.

[Dm23]

10 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

Why 4 1/2 long trips.  In lat August I had the 1/2 long trip.  Set out for Idaho and Montana.  At the end of the second day and 1,100 miles down the road, just as I pulled off the interstate at the KOA in Grand Island had a massive failure of a rear wheel bearing on my BMW F800GT.  Was just able to get to the KOA, BMW was literally unridable!  I had been looking at Tracers and Tracer GTs for several months.  There are no BMW dealers or shops in Grand Island NB!  Since it was too late to call anyone I had all evening to think about it.  Good thing is the KOA have really great pizza - as good as any I've eaten in a restaurant outside of Italy so didn't starve.  Idea, maybe I could find a Tracer GT and they would bring it to me and trade for the busted BMW, hummm  Opened up CycleTrader.com and searched for Tracer GTs pithing 300 miles.  Wow there are several!  Inquired about a couple to see if they were still available.  Afterwards look on eBay for BMW rear hubs.  Next morning got a response from Vern Eide in Sioux Falls SD, yes they had the Tracer GT and yes they would trade but it had to be fixed first and I had to get to Sioux Falls.  Found a complete swingarm on eBay in LasVegas and ordered it.  Got Uber to take me to the airport to get a rental car.  Uber driver showed up, it was the Red Barron in his red Impalla.  A great fella and we had a good time talking on the ride to the airport.  Stopped by Harbor Freight and bought $100 in tools, swingarm showed up and in 3 1/2 hours at a very leisurely pace swapped out the swingarm and I had a working motorcycle!  Wife not only send me the title but also my checkbook so I didn't bother asking if I had permission.  Rode to Sioux Falls and traded for new 2020 Tracer GT!  Wahoo I finally had an exciting bike again.  We talked about the first service and I decided to stick around 3 days and have the first service done there.  Originally thought about putting a 200 to 300 miles on it and changing the oil in a AutoZone parking lot.  Dealership was amazing and friendly.  They went out of their way to help me out knowing that they would probably never see me again.  After the service set out on the 1,400 mile trek home.  WOW what fun (except for the crummy stock windscreen)!  Love the bike and it is a great touring bike, cruse control is super nice - been there without it and even a throttle lock is no substitute for cruse control.  As for my failed trip, turns out the time I would have been in Montana was when a winter storm came thru and left 6 to 10 inches of snow.  Would have been holed up in RedLodge Montana for an extra 5 to 7 days!  

 

Damn! What an adventure! I agree with betoney. Sometimes mishaps make the experience more memorable. And you definitely got a hell of a story out of that one. And congrats on having an exciting bike again!

[PhotoAl]

Yes it was defiantly an adventure.  Have so many great memories and met some wonderful people.  I didn't go as many places but have a lot of incredible memories.  I'm ready to go again but need to wait until winter is over and have to take the wife somewhere first.  LOL she told me before the first trip "I don't ride on the back of motorcycles and I don't camp" but she lets me go.  Thinking about Texas hill country for a late fall trip.