What's your longest traveled trip in one day?

About 700 miles down I95 on a BMW R1100R (damn that short gearing....) two-up with gear.

About 700 miles down to Atlanta over-night on a Ducati S4RS with no gear.

About 550 to Knox County, TN over-night, with gear. (After only 3 days of riding a motorcycle, on my brand new BMW F800ST).

In each case I could have ridden more, but certainly wouldn't have enjoyed it.

I feel that 1,000 miles is my upper limit. After that it would be torture for me.

Couple times over 1000 in a day on a '96 Triumph Daytona 1200 recently. A few more done on an 1150GS. 850+ on a GL1800. I like to ride.

/shrug

Not is my long trip, but this is the hard, Burdeaux (France) to my home in Marbella (South Spain), 1300 km under the rain and wind, Kawasaki VN 900 Classic with full luggage.

Last month, September 2012 I missed the trailer heading out west for our anual dirt ride. I did some work on the motor the night before leaving, screwed things up and the bike was not operational until two days later. Rode straight through from Newark, Ohio to Steamboat Springs, CO. Total miles 1,487. Had 3 long stops, about an hour each and then multiple shorter stops for gas, food, rest, etc... Put on 16 tooth front sprocket so motor cruised comfortably at 85mph and the majority of my ride was at this speed. Bike has 9 gallon Safari fuel tank and a small windshield I installed just for this road trip, I have to say this single cylinder thumper did not wear me out like I thought it might. It was just the cumulative time in the saddle and I probably would have felt just as beat if I had ridden a Gold Wing. It was not a fun ride by any means and this 55 year old will not do that again (rented storage unit for bike and left it in CO. Next year fly out and back...YES !!!!) Found myself hallucinating several times during the ride which is my brains way of saying, get the hell off the road you idiot and rest for awhile...which I did. I wasn't trying to see how far I could go in 24 hours, I was just trying to get to a destination and I knew if I started feeling bad enough, I would pull over and get a room. I would not recommend that anyone start a long trip with the object of doing X,XXX miles in a day. Your state of mind, your rest the night before, your level of stress, your bike, the weather, the roads, the traffic, the food you eat during the trip all will contribute to determining how far you can safely go in 24 hours. I think I need to take my own advice. Good Luck

Some very impressive rides there.

My longest so far was 900 miles in a day on my Ducati M900 Monster, on the first day of doing 2700 miles in four days, San Diego to Cleveland. I only had those four days between jobs to get there, so that's what I did.

The 900 was a very long day. I can do 600 mile days on that bike for days in a row. I'm thinking of doing a couple of the easier IBA runs (SS1000, BB1500), just for the experience and to be able to say I did it.

PhilB

I've never done the magical 1000, but low 900-ish a few times. Not by choice generally, but because i need to be somewhere or turn 2 days into 1 to get home sooner at the end of a long trip.

I find anything under 600 to be comfortable and sustainable for me. i.e. after 600, I don't look at the bike with dread the next morning and can do it multiple days in a row.

*snip*

I hear that -- once I'm pointed homeward I tend to roll like a Panzer towards Paris.

This past May I rode to CA from VA on my 1200 GSA. First day was 1146 miles, second day was just under 1000, and the third day was easy, only 450 or so. Almost the entire route was droning down I-40 with a few little side jaunts here and there.

And then I rode back a week later but I decided to take I-70 for a change in scenery. 600 miles and change the first day (I wandered through Death Valley and the Nevada desert), 1000 the second day (got snowed on in CO), and the run home to VA the next day was right around 1,000 miles.

I generally started riding around 6am and finished around 11pm. I had plenty of daylight so I just kept riding, it might be more difficult if doing a good portion of the riding during darkness.

It was really pretty easy, no real drama. I did have lots of podcasts and audiobooks to listen to so that helped pass the time.

Did 950 back in '77, on a Suzuki RE-5, two up

Now days I refuse to slab it, no fun I will spend hours on twisty roads riding, but the bike rides on a trailer if I have to travel to get there.

I love to RIDE, but hate to TRAVEL, on a MC

I take it that was on the DR650? I'd like to know what mods you have done to it that would make it any more comfortable.

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My longest was about 780 miles on a ZX-7R Ninja, my friend riding his 6(?)0 Ducati Monster (whatever size they were back then), when we decided to just keep riding, and riding, at the beginning of the trip home from Michigan. We decided that Ohio really wasn't a state we wanted to go through at all on that trip, so we skirted back into Canada. As night approached we were both being chased East, for a long time, by a rain storm, and stopping briefly for fuel or a donut to check to see if each other needed a motel yet.

But being chased by rain means you don't want to stop to decide, or to find a place, for too long, so we kept on riding. Eventually New York, then PA, and back down south to home.

It felt good that day, where the previous shorter days were sometimes harder to do.

1835 miles would qualify you for the double iron butt sticker. Wow - After almost 1100 miles, I may ass was numb, so I could not imagine riding 1835 miles.

I have tried pretty much most everything on seat arrangements that is out there, such as the beats, air-cushion and sheep skin, but none of them provided the great balance for support and comfort on the standard BMW seat. So with my last 6000 mile trip, I used my sheep skin and put a therma-rest seat underneath the sheep skin that I bought for $21 at REI on sale. This set-up seems to do the trick. I was able to adjust the air-cushion when needed and the sheep skin on top provided the extra cushion.

This is the therma-rest seat:

http://cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/seating/trek-and-travel-seating/trail-seat/product

My current best mileage day has been the 680mi from my home in mid-MI to Rogers, MN via I75, US2, US8. I rode this route in one day out and one day back with a couple of days hanging out with a friend in between. On the way back, I was dealing with 60°f temperatures and according to the radar, around 2"/hr rainfall for most of the trip through the UP and well into the lower peninsula.

Just did 5,700 miles over 7 days (averaging ~ 800 miles a day) in early September which included two transit days from the midwest to the mountains covering over 1000 miles(per day) each way on the interstate. This bike made it easy.

"I take it that was on the DR650? I'd like to know what mods you have done to it that would make it any more comfortable".
Yes, it was the DR650. Only comfort modifications are aftermarket seat, small windshield and 16 tooth front sprocket. After 4 or 5 hours of riding, there was no longer any use for the word "comfort" in describing the remainder of my ride. I was just very commited and focused and willing to endure the situation to buy a couple of extra days of dirt riding.

Dang, 1835 Miles...Thought I was a superhero doing a SS1000 (actually 1032 Mi.) on my '83 Gold Wing earlier this year.

I'll nominate b4thenite, doing 600 miles on a Ducati 848 for an honorable mention (post #13)! I can't imagine it's riding position is much different than the 748 I had and that would have been a rather tiring ride.

Lynn

I was looking for a destination to do a SS1000 and decided to ride down to fox creek leather in VA and buy a jacket and ride back home to NY. Ended up with 1203 miles and a damn nice jacket.

Boulder,CO to Lovelock,NV-950 mi or so.

Stupid; should have taken a week.

Orlando, Florida to New Sweden, Maine

According to my odometer I did 1842 door to door non-stop. In rain from North Carolina to about Houlton.

On my DL650 so it was fairly easy.

By far the longest distance I have done in one hit.

In September of 2011 I did a 3 corner ride of the UK in 2 days.

Southend to the north and back

I like getting on the bike and disappearing over the horizon.

YMMV

Mike

My buddy and I did the TLH loop 3700 miles in 7 days, 1000 miles of it on nasty gravel, construction mess. the rest all B roads. Having done it, I wouldn't do it again in 7 days, I'd stretch it to two weeks and enjoy the local routes @ a more relaxed pace.