Upcoming 12 hour ride....What should I worry about?

Hi everyone -- this May I'm doing a trip down to Costa Rica with a few friends, flying out from Denver. Being that I live in Boise, I was thinking what better way to begin the trip than with riding my 1985 XJ700 to Denver from here. This will by far be the longest period of prolonged riding on this bike. She runs great right now, but I really don't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere. So, what are some good things to check or doublecheck before taking a bike of this age on a 12 hour ride? I know that it's air cooled, but any risk of over-heating? Also, any small tools or parts that would be wise to bring with me, just in case? I feel like I know the bike fairly well in terms of small repairs, but thus far I've just done small rides (upwards of an hour) around town.

Appreciate it!

 

How many miles?

I would take a trip (or two) of at least half the mileage that you're planning, and see what happens. It's always good to get a "shakedown" run or two, good long ones, under your belt while still relatively close to home.

 

A decent stop and a very good look around the bike every 100 miles or so. I always found that I needed to stretch my legs and have a break from other road users around this point. It just so happens that all my bikes need refueling around this point too. Make sure that you do not have to rush or ride too hard and, above all, enjoy the ride.

 

A set of hiway pegs , a windshield and a 1 gallon gas can cuz ya just never know. Just to mention a few. Just sayin'.

 

Worry about how much your as* is going to be hurting after 12 hours on a bike, lol!

 

lol... i was hoping to be the first your ass guy...

 

Yeah, I'm such a dork, keep watching this video, some of you will get a kick out of it I'm sure. Hope my bike sounds this good when I finish it.

'81 550 Seca

3:11 is the best part, about half-way through, he he.

:lol:

 

What is the expected temperature on the ride? Air cooled will overheat if left idling or at low speeds I have an oil temp gauge and on hot days (above 100) idling at traffic lights sees the temp climb pretty quick.

On the long run, check the oil level regularly.

 

For starters keep yourself hydrated, if the bike leaves you stranded you need to be well hydratet. The push or hike to the next town might be away's down the road. Keep your cell phone charged. Also more things to bring along... a credit card that is not close to being maxed out. For serious stuff, rest every time you stop and stretch out. Take an advil if you need it for pain on the rear... it will help. Just before you leave double check oil levels and tire pressure. If the tires look worn replace them before you are on cords and make sure they are properly inflated. DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL, this will not help anything!!!

Hope you enjoy your ride and don't do it just to make miles. More miles do not translate into more smiles until you get really close to your destination. Above all have fun and don't worry about the bike. If you have it in top running condition like you should, then there is really nothing to worry about. Hope this helps

Sean

 

A 1/4" set of sockets for various bolts... 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16mm to start, any other torx or sockethead sizes you might use commonly, 10, 14 box end wrench, leatherman and a guud but small set of vice grips.... that'd be my long ride toolbox. A towel or rag. Grease inside the gloves sucks.

 

ifonly, that just sounds kinda weird! 8O :lol: :lol: :lol:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

i hope your a young fella. cuz there's no way my ass or spine could take that kind of riding on them old bike setups.

i can do it now becuase my bike is setup for better comfort.

that's an 830 mile 13 hour drive. realistically your looking at 20 hours at least. you'll be allright on your first tank of gas. but the farther into your trip. the more you will be stoping to get the blood circulating in your ass and legs. and the longer y our stops will be.

200 miles was all i could handle on my old yamaha before calling it a day.

i'd recommend you spending the night in evanston or rock springs wyoming. that's about the half way mark.

and depending on what time you drive through. some towns may not be open in wyoming for gas. so you might consider packing 2 gallons on the front fender.

quite frankly. the only way i'd take a bike that small is if it had chain drive. the front sprocket can be upped to lower the engine rpms. 80 mph is a LOT of engine rotation on a shaft drive.

your driving in may. you know the temps will only be in the 80's. overheating won't be a problem. if you get off the freeway in ogden and take the pass over to the 80 into wyoming. you will bypass salt lake city. the only rush hour traffic you will encounter would be denver.

wear a jack. you WILL encounter cold pockets. specially around the lakes. and in the mountains. wyoming is a lot of hills.

 

Good call on the operating hours of small town gas stations. I was lucky not to have to spend the night in one small town, got to the pumps just as the guy was locking up for the night. After some pleading, the guy went back in and turned on the pumps and filled my bike, a couple minutes later and I would have ben S.O.L.
I didn't need to, but gave the guy about a 5 dollar tip for helping me out.

 

I found during my years of riding various bikes, it's not the destination, it's the journey that makes the trip worth it. All aspect of maintenance need to be addressed above all. Good tires, topped off lubricants and all electrics in good shape before partaking in such a journey. Carry neccessary tools along to make repairs that may arise and hopefully you won't need any of them.
Know how far the bike will travel on a tank of gas and if in doubt, top it off often if you are not sure of the distance to the next filling station.

And... you must make your bike comfortable to ride for long distances, which is no. 1 and most important, in my opinion. The seat, the handlebars and foot peg location have to fit ME, not just me trying to fit the bike. Bikes are only made for the mass and not one particular riders, so some improvements need to be made to make them yours. It took a few hundred miles for me to realize that my bike wasn't manufactured for my riding style at all. The seat and handlebars would need modifications for me to put any meaningful miles on the bike or it would have to be owned by someone else. I want to enjoy the ride, not just try to make it to my destination and see if I can "try to make it".
A good bike to ride is one that you hate to get off everytime you are parking it back in the garage.

I now have a softer seat, different handlebars and small floorboards to make the bike fit me, which makes the journey much more important than the destination.
Some what to keep their bikes stock (as in "classic styling, etc.) which is fine and dandy if it's just for local bar hop or short rides on the weekends. But if you plan to make it a long distance machine, it will have to be comfortable for your riding style or you will suffer and make you impatient to just get off of it as soon as you can. What kind of bike do you want to own?

 

You're right about the bike fitting you properly adding to the comfort and endurance levels; HOWEVER---

Keeping a bike "stock" looking DOES NOT preclude comfort. My '83 550 Seca looks pretty near stock; however the seat IS NOT, nor are the handlebar and grips. They are, however, the right "fit" for me; which has produced a bike I can ride all day without getting sore. My point being that just because a bike looks "stock" doesn't automatically mean it's uncomfortable for long rides.

 

amen on the comfort level.

i can handle the handle bars. but the foot pegs need to be moved forward and the seat redesigned. and repadded too. the foam is 30 years old almost and hardened up.

 

If have room you might want a tire repair kit and tiny air pump.

I haven't got that stuff yet but its on my mental shopping list.

Also first aid kit to go along with your tool kit.

 

i bought a 12v electric tire pump from harbor freight. and a tire repair plug kit.

but i also have 12v power supply wired up. it gives me 2 usb sockets and 2 cigarette sockets.

 

Snowwy: Any chance you have a tutorial posted of your "power terminal" setup?

 

picture number 1

the harness directed underneath the gas tank.
ground is terminaled to a ground bolt into the frame
power is hooked up to fuse box.





picture number 2.

my cell phone holder. bought off the internet for $12.
the wire wrapped around the handle bars is my usb cable for my phone bought at any local store. walmart was cheapest.
the cigarette socket. bought from harborfreight for $7. routed under the gas tank and connected to the fuse box.
the plug into the socket goes to the black box with the white emblem. notice the red switch to turn off and on.
the black box has 2 cigarette sockets on the left side. on the top side is 2 usb ports.



the box was bought for $20 from our local accessory shop.



the coolest thing if i were a kid though.
the white spot on the socket switch. the white emblem on the black box. and the white spot on top for the usb ports. each have 4 colored l.e.d.s. those white spots change colors.



flip the switch. the box lights up. LOL.

 

Just run it right off the + terminal of the battery?

 

Oh yeah, and take a decent pistol in case some a-hole tries to give you any sh*t when you least expect it.

 

running it directly off the bat terminal gives you the possibility of electrical overload should you decided to stop for a quick car wash with nothing plugged in.

with the key off. you don't have to worry about it. and you can check for moisture inside to make sure it's dry before turning the key back on.

course. if you're going to leave everything plugged in. you could always wrap it with a good tape that won't peel off. then you won't have to worry about it. i just haven't gotten to that point yet.

my socket is only lit up when the key is on. the power box itself is only lit up when i flip that seperate switch.

you have to keep in mind the dangers should you get caught in a rain storm. i have a windshield. but that don't stop the rain when the bike is sitting.

another thing you could also do would be to stick everything in some type of sandwich bag or something. and close it off with a zip tie. if you're not going to be plugging things in and out a lot.

my cell phone cable never comes out. i have another cable that i plan on using for people that have cell phones with the first generation usb port. so both usb ports will be plugged in. for anyone that needs a quick charge to make a call and has a usb charged phone.

so not only do i have a charging station for my cell phone. but i can also use my phone for gps. and mp3.

the sockets are for my tire pump and whatever else may come along.

at some point and time. i will be wiring up some kind of music player.
a radio with an aux plug and two speakers seem to be cheaper then buying a amp kit with two speakers designed for motorcycles. but the idea of having waterproof speakers should proably be considered more then regular speakers and radio. my cell phone will be plugged into the system as my mp3 player.

 

Good for you. The point I was making is the bike, in stock form, may not be good enough for a long ride. Sometimes just adding a windshield, and a pair of highway pegs is all that's needed to make a long trip more enjoyable.
I put thousands of miles on my bike when it was stock and servived without to many aches and pains, so I know it can be done. I just felt like something was missing and found a sweet spot after some modifications. And sometimes it don't take much.

 

Go to a marine supply and get a set of boat speakers, just a thought. Or to a landscaping place, they sell outdoor speakers too. Don't know if you knew this already. Just sayin'.

 

RE Aux power plugs:
I grabbed a 12V plug that has 2 cig lighter and 2 usb plugs. I snipped off the main cig lighter plug, connected it to ground and the rear running light wire. This way the plug is only on with the bike. (I may have tossed in fuse and a relay for safety but at the moment I don't remember).

 

thanks maxim. i haven't thought about the marine.

i'm just looking for something that's going to work and not be expensive. i've tried two amp kits already and there just wasn't enough volume for the highway. both had radios. and the radio portion kicked butt. the mp3 just didn't have it.

my reason for the car stereo system was the fact that my own car kicks ass on radio and speakers alone. i have no fancy amps tied in.

at the time i bought my power supply. i didn't know there was a box available. i was just looking for a way to charge my cell phone. 2 weeks later i found the box.

i like the idea of it having it's own switch though. so i didn't want to cut the plug off. and i can use it in the car if i need to.

the problem i found with the bike wiring. is that the actual voltage was 1.5 volts less then what the battery is receiving. car chargers are slow for my android phone. so i wanted to make sure i had the same battery voltage at the plug. so i wasn't spending MORE time getting my phone charged.

when i'm running gps. and a constantly lit screen. it's tough to find a car charger that can keep up. unless i want to spend boo goo bucks for a carrier rated charger. it's also tough to have them last for more then a month. i've replaced my car chargers 5 times already. the first one was from verizon. the rest were different stores.

not once have i replaced the standard cables. my wall charger with cable can do the job 2 times faster. but the bike gets the job done.

 

Well, if I can get off my lazy ass this afternnon I'll go out and take some pics of the system I put together for my 2004 Bandit. For now I'll say that involves a simple setup that includes a couple of eye connectors, an inline spade type fuse rated at 10 amps, a dual outlet cigarette lighter with an idiot light and a manual on/off switch and a power inverter for clean power for electronics.
It's safe enough for charging my cell and running my GPS. The other outlet lets me plug in my air mattress inflator for when I go camping.
Like I said, once I've taken my wife to work, then I'll have some free time, stay tuned.

 

The only problem I found witht he waterproof marine speakers is the only ones that come in any kind of housing are 6' speakers and would bekinda big on a bike, unless you have a fairing to hide them in.
I've also seen riders that have car stereos in the sadlebag, with a remote to control the volume and change stations, etc. I considered going that route at one time, but didn't want to use the room up in the saddlebag. Just sayin'.

 

MAN AM I PISSED RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!
I just did a full write up on my power outlet mod and then lost it all!
So I'm just going to post the pics again! Stupid frickin-frackin computers! ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!