Any tips for a long road trip ?

[F6bisnext]

I go up to the Blue Ridge mountains every year with about 20 of my buddies and their friends. We meet up and ride together for 4 days and have the time of our lives.

If weather is bad, we will trailer up to a buddies house in Chattanooga and ride up the Cherohola Skyway for a gorgeous ride. Would rather ride, but why make it unbearable if you don't have to.

Sometimes we will call the hotel ahead of time and ask if they will receive a shipment from us. Two of us will box up some extra clothes...and ship it there. We will ship it back when we are leaving. This greatly reduces the load and things you have to worry about on the road.

Pick a hotel with a washer/dryer and carry less. Just do a load of wash or hand wash in the sink. I ALWAYS pack to much, so when I prepare my packing list I go over it again after I've picked out what I'll bring and reduce it by half.

A safety tip we use when riding loaded and in groups is the guy two bikes back of you has to give you the go ahead on how you packed your bike. If riding staggered, his bike will be directly behind you if something should come off. Use zip ties instead of bungees and pack extra's. I have some that are almost 3 feet long and they can hold down an elephant!

Most of all, HAVE FUN and enjoy the open road.....after all it's the reason why we ride.

[ths61]

I go up to the Blue Ridge mountains every year with about 20 of my buddies and their friends. We meet up and ride together for 4 days and have the time of our lives.

If weather is bad, we will trailer up to a buddies house in Chattanooga and ride up the Cherohola Skyway for a gorgeous ride. Would rather ride, but why make it unbearable if you don't have to.

Sometimes we will call the hotel ahead of time and ask if they will receive a shipment from us. Two of us will box up some extra clothes...and ship it there. We will ship it back when we are leaving. This greatly reduces the load and things you have to worry about on the road.

Pick a hotel with a washer/dryer and carry less. Just do a load of wash or hand wash in the sink. I ALWAYS pack to much, so when I prepare my packing list I go over it again after I've picked out what I'll bring and reduce it by half.

A safety tip we use when riding loaded and in groups is the guy two bikes back of you has to give you the go ahead on how you packed your bike. If riding staggered, his bike will be directly behind you if something should come off. Use zip ties instead of bungees and pack extra's. I have some that are almost 3 feet long and they can hold down an elephant!

Most of all, HAVE FUN and enjoy the open road.....after all it's the reason why we ride.

I have some HVAC zip strips (and tightening tool) left over for a job I did. You could attach the seat to the bike if necessary.

Turns out the biggest thing in my pack so far is my camping pack. If we were not camping for part of the trip. my pack would be very small.

[ths61]

600 miles done today. Started out at 58 degrees and proceeded to 108 degrees. Got to hotel just as the lightning started to appear. Arizona has some nice smooth highways.

Had my 6 serviced just b4 I left and they must have overfilled the coolant because it burped a couple of times. Never did that b4. Will keep an eye on it.

Camelbak, highway pegs and tunes are a Godsend.

Riding with a buddy on a Vision on the superslabs. The Vision is consistently using a gallon less at fillups. Guess I need to put my fat azz on a diet.