1200 miles round trip. What do I need?

[meanmotorscooter]

I going to take my month old V-strom 650 on a trip this 4th of July weekend. I have a Givi E52. I'm also thinking about getting a dry bag to put on top of the passenger seat. I think I will get a mini air compressor and a tire plug kit too. I will have my Garmin 2610 mounted by the time I leave. Can anyone recommend the largest dry bag that will fit between me and my E52 and also how do you secure it to the seat? I already have good rain gear so that's covered. My current farkles include grip puppies, throttle rocker, hand guards, motech crash bars, greek belly pan, motech centerstand, fenda extenda, alaskan sheepskin butt pad, and the Givi E52. I do have the amotostuff adjustable mount for the Givi so I could move it back to accommodate a larger dry bag. Any other gear suggestions would be welcome. Thanks!

[freeflow]

can't really answer without more details. for me, a roll top duffle styel in medium is plenty and I secure it with bungee net to the strom rask easily.

BUT,
where are you located? where are you going? what type of riding, dirt or street? and how much stuff do you need for your personal comfort? month old strom. adjust chain yet? many miles yet?....usually you need to adjust it within the first 1000 miles (then usually not again til 6K)

[dfwscotty]

camping?

motels?


Will dictate your needs as well.....

Sounds like a fun trip!

[meanmotorscooter]

Am I crazy to expect to do a 600 mile day ?

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by meanmotorscooter

Am I crazy to expect to do a 600 mile day ?

Not crazy at all... but you won't get to stop and see much. So that depends on your goals for the ride. I generally aim for anything between 200 and 400 miles a day, and that allows me to stop and see things along the way. Sometimes I end up riding a lot further than that, and occasionally less than that.

As for what to bring, I've found that on a one- or two-night trip, I can fit everything I need in my top case. I've been carrying my tent on the pillion seat since it doesn't fit in the top case. But clothes (You don't need much for a weekend trip), some food, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and maps all fit in the top case fine. I have a smaller topcase than you.

Jamie

[FotoTEX]

Overpacking serves no purpose. Go for the ride not to take everything from home with you. Less is more.

[VonHelm]

Unless you're really humpin' it, you can figure on making at least 50+ miles per hour if you figure in gas stops, butt breaks, and other general foolishness.

Of course, you can up that average a lot with higher speeds, longer fuel range, and and the burning desire to cover as much ground in a day.

On a chain driven bike, I always take a small can of chain lube. If you get caught in the rain, it will really dry out a chain pretty quickly at elevated speeds. Lube 'em up every night.

I always take a canteen on road trips. If you get stranded for a couple of hours in the sun with a flat tire or other failure, it will help you from getting heat stroke on top of your troubles. Been there. Sucks mucho bad.

A small flashlight with fresh batteries. Even if you're not planning to travel at night. It may get dark before you find help.

Oh. And aspirin. Having a headache on a road trip is miserable.

First aid kit. Better safe than soggy with your own blood.

Personal protection, if you are so inclined. Stranded, in the dark, out of state plates, alone, in a remote area- not good.


Have fun! Be safe. Rest when you get tired. Drink lots of water.

[G.Gordon]

1200 miles...? In how many days? Where are you staying when you get "there"?

All that make a difference.

I did 1035 on my way back from Moab in April this year. Left there 8am and pulled in KC at 7am. Took maybe 1.5 hours off to work some, 2.5 to nap, and then the fuel stops. Only one real meal break. So as you can see... that averages out to be 54.47 mph. I did stop to take a few pictures though so that might have eaten up another hour or so. 500-700 mile days on the stroms are NO big deal.

As far as what to take: Tools/lube (the new bike might shake something loose), and the rest is contingent on what the heck your doing while your gone. Just a quick trip there and back the next day... I'd take a clean pair of undies and that's about it other than tools and personal hygiene items.

[meanmotorscooter]

I took off friday to tuesday. I have to be somewhere by Sunday. I was planning on doing 600 miles on friday and taking my time coming home on monday. I'll be staying with friends and family.

[meanmotorscooter]

Originally Posted by FREEFLOW

can't really answer without more details. for me, a roll top duffle styel in medium is plenty and I secure it with bungee net to the strom rask easily.

BUT,
where are you located? where are you going? what type of riding, dirt or street? and how much stuff do you need for your personal comfort? month old strom. adjust chain yet? many miles yet?....usually you need to adjust it within the first 1000 miles (then usually not again til 6K)

NJ to SC. Going to see family and friends. All street riding. I have about 450 miles on the bike so far. I haven't adjusted the chain yet. The other day I checked it and it seems pretty tight. I've been using Dupont chain lube.

[Boston12GS]

Originally Posted by meanmotorscooter

NJ to SC. Going to see family and friends. All street riding. I have about 450 miles on the bike so far. I haven't adjusted the chain yet. The other day I checked it and it seems pretty tight. I've been using Dupont chain lube.

FYI, the chain shouldn't be "tight", make sure you have the appropriate amount of slack with the bike unloaded. Don't assume the monkeys who put the bike together in the place you bought it knew what they were doing. With a bike this new I'd do a careful wrench-around and check for anything that might be loose. You don't necessarily have to re-torque anything, but I wouldn't hesitate to slip a tool over any fasteners I can see and applying a tad of pressure just to make sure they are at least snug.

Having said that, you've picked as a bike what I consider the most reliable and best value/price tourer to be had. I had one for a short while (~6,000 miles) before I got my GS, and if I'd had the garage space I would have kept it. Great bike.

New bike issues aside, to be honest 600 in a day is no big deal, if you're reasonably time efficient. I just did a tad over 1,000 miles in a day both riding down to and back from the Eastern Rendevous (Boston-Hot Springs, NC). Left ~5-6am, arrived ~10AM, so 16 or 17 hours.

In fact, immediately after the July 4 weekend I'm planning three consecutive 1,000+ mile days to travel from Boston to Raindog's party in Yachats, OR (although, if I can swing the time off I'll do four days like 1,100, 900, 700, 300, so I can ride hard through the half of the country I already know well and when I'm freshest, and begin to take some time when I get out west in the Dakotas, etc.

But 1,000+ miles a day is straight on riding, no sight-seeing, fuel stops kept to a minimum of ~5 minutes (no smokes or coffee breaks), then the wheels are rolling again. Food is energy bars, other quick stuff.

IMPORTANT: Camelbak keeps me hydrated, so I don't have to waste time standing still in order to have a drink. THE CAMELBAK IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. If I was all geared up to take a 1,200 mile ride, and the morning of departure I couldn't find my Camelbak, I'd make it my number one priority to stop at the first open store that sells them to get one, especially in the summer.

HINT: Pack it full of ice in the morning--FULL of ice--and then whatever water you can fit. It'll melt all day, replenishing the supply of liquid water and keeping everything nice and cool.

HINT: On hot days, the water sitting in the hose can get pretty pissy even if the camelbak reservoir is cold. So, when you get the hose in your mouth don't just suck water--blow into the tube to push the warm water back in to the reservoir, so your first sip of water won't be body temperature.

HINT: If it gets REALLY hot, one way I find to keep cool is to wear my ice-filled camelbak UNDER my Darien jacket, which is loose enough to accomodate this. With the vents open and the air wooshing around inside the jacket, the ice-filled camelbak helps cool things down quite a bit. Of course, it can get hot enough where it's more useful to close the vents, too. Don't know if your jacket fit will allow this.

The key is to start early, so you're giving yourself plenty of riding hours, and TO USE GOOD JUDGMENT. If you're getting tired, or too hot, don't kid yourself about it, take a break, maybe call it a day--no shame in that.

Other than that, the biggest hardship you'll face doing a 600 mile day will almost certainly be the V-strom's stock seat.

No, I'm not kidding. The thing is a friggin' torture device after an hour or so. I'd lay good money that unless you're using this bike solely for local riding, you'll have done something substantial to that seating arrangement within the next 6 months (maybe by the end of this ride!).

Good luck, be safe, DO A RIDE REPORT!

[RandyM]

+1 on the Camelback. Some people also put Camelback bladders in their tank bag or pillion seat bag.

For tools make sure that you at least have the tools needed to adjust the controls and windshield, in addition to the pump and patch kit.

I have used a Wolfman Beta bag. It will fit between you and the Givi. It's large and water resistant but it is not a true dry bag. It has a very good strap system and is very secure.







Here is the Suzuki gel seat, probably the lowest cost aftermarket seat. It adds about an inch to the seat height. Some people buy seat pads from Walmart or wear padded bicycle shorts under their riding pants.


Earplugs are cheap and help a lot to reduce fatigue. Have you experienced the wind buffeting problem on your helmet? For me it felt like my helmet was vibrating. If it is bothering you then it will get tiring on a long ride. The usual solution is to install the madstad bracket or to cut down the windshield. There are endless threads about his in the beasts forum in this site, VSRI forum, Yahoo DL650 group, and on Stromtrooper. Some people don't seem to be bothered by it. If it is not affecting you, then don't worry about it. If it starts bugging you on the trip, try lowering the windshiled to the lowest position or pulling it off.

[freeflow]

Originally Posted by meanmotorscooter

Am I crazy to expect to do a 600 mile day ?

hell no. get on with it, ride safe and don't count the miles. keep your stopped time low and speed consistent.

12 hrs moving time, 57 minutes stopped, 916 miles. 75.1 mph moving average (boring interstate, but had to make time) was pretty easy on my strom

[chiba]

From NJ to SC... one thing I can recommend is avoid the DC metro area (I-95) if at all possible. Swing a bit west and just skip the whole wretched mess.

Stay hydrated. Drink something every time you stop, take a leak every stop too if you have to. Heat exhaustion/heat stroke can sneak up on you very quickly, especially in VA/NC/SC where the humidity is high.

Eat light while you're out riding, save "real" meals for when you're done for the day (works for me, anyway, makes things much more comfortable in the saddle).

600 miles... yeah, that definitely do-able in 1 day, but it's gonna be a long day. I did 520 from western Ohio to northern Virginia - took me just under 11 hrs. Long day and not all at 75 mph.

--chiba

[tbirdsp]

Good advice so far. I just did 580 miles on a KLR geared down a tooth on the front. 11 hours, 2 stops.