I am looking at possibly riding the V up to Rochester, MN from Laguna Vista, TX. It is 1500 miles one way and I would need to make the trip up in under 2 days. Leaving Saturday evening around 8:00 after a 12 hr. shift in the ER and arriving in Rochester Monday evening and be ready for a job interview early Tuesday morning.

I am 50 yrs. old in pretty good shape, and have ridden LD's before on sport touring bikes, but am a little concerned about fatigue on the smaller Versys.

I rode the V down from Dallas a few weeks ago (520 miles) in about 10 hours (half of those hours in heavy rain) and was pretty sore after the ride. The stock seat especially became uncomfortable. I have now put on about 1500 miles on the bike and have aclimatized myself somewhat.

Do you think I'm nuts? What is the experience of others with a LD dash?

Cheers,

Well at 20 years old it would be a piece of cake. I will soon be 55 and wouldn't even consider that ride on the V. I have L4 and L5 deteriorated due to early years of dirt biking. I would consider on my Goldwing but not after a 12 hour shift and leaving at night on top of that. I do have a modified seat and taller windshield on my V but the stock seat for me a 300 mile day would be too much.
There again you only live once so if your health is good maybe just do it!!!!

There again you only live once so if your health is good maybe just do it!!!!

Here here! (or is it hear hear?)

I have L4 and L5 deteriorated due to early years of dirt biking.

Dirtbiking injuries also plague me, I have had back and knee surgery. The back holds up pretty well as I try to keep myself in good shape, however, my knee can be bothersome on longer trips, although the surgery really has helped.

I rode from Ann Arbor, MI to Laguna Vista on a Speed Triple 7 years ago, it took me a couple of long days; also spent a considerable amount if time in the rain, I held out pretty well, suprisingly. Although I was only 43 at the time.

Dang, I'd like to ride the bike, but my wife thinks I'm completely insane. Well I don't have to leave until the 10th of August so I have a few days to consider it.

Cheers

Here here! (or is it hear hear?)

Hear hear wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hear_hear)

:D

ETA: I am 37 and don't think I would make that ride. Good luck on your trip whatever you decide!

Hey Zeniac.... I'm new to this forum, as I am seriously considering a Versys for next season. Right now I ride an older ´81 XS650 Yamaha, but would like something a little more reliable and comfortable for longer jaunts.

I live in Rochester, MN, so I am interested in hearing about your thoughts on the Versys after that long a ride. It might make me consider something else...but I really like the Versys, so I hope it satisfies you.

I´m 40, so I do not yet have all the aches and pains that everyone older than me keeps implying ;-)...but a comfortable long distance tourer is definitely something I'd like to have.

Let me know your plans...I would love to meet you after you get here, and hear about your trip in person. I have never done a long distance ride, but really want to do one soon. A buddy and I might do one next summer, which is why I am considering a Versys.

Personally, I think the ride is a bad idea on several levels.
1. You are suggesting a long long ride in two days.
2. You are planning to leave after a 12 hour shift.
3. You will arrive absolutely "burnt-out" for your interview.
4. You will not make the best impression on the interviewers.
5. They will question your "judgment" based on 1-4 above.
6. I'm willing to bet JUDGMENT plays a big role in your job/skills requirements!

I suggest you bite the bullet and either drive a car/truck or fly. Neither is as taxing as riding a MC long distance. Save the LD ride for when it is vacation and you can enjoy the ride, slow down or stop as required or wanted.

Red

Personally, I think the ride is a bad idea on several levels.
1. You are suggesting a long long ride in two days.
2. You are planning to leave after a 12 hour shift.
3. You will arrive absolutely "burnt-out" for your interview.
4. You will not make the best impression on the interviewers.
5. They will question your "judgment" based on 1-4 above.
6. I'm willing to bet JUDGMENT plays a big role in your job/skills requirements!

I suggest you bite the bullet and either drive a car/truck or fly. Neither is as taxing as riding a MC long distance. Save the LD ride for when it is vacation and you can enjoy the ride, slow down or stop as required or wanted.

Red

+1

+1

I second that.....

The first weekend after I purchased my Wing I headed out on Saturday morning at 6:30 and returned around 6:30PM. I rode 650 miles and worked around the house until 11:00PM.

It you can jump n the V and do a 700 mile day. you will probably be able to make a better decision after that.

I am 73 and can still ride 750 mile days. I am sure that my versys will do it with ne problems. It ia a great and fun bike to ride.

The bike will do fine for that ride. Your butt might not, but I certainly wouldn't do it after working 12 hrs!! You need to be rested and alert for riding any distance!!

I am looking at possibly riding the V up to Rochester, MN from Laguna Vista, TX. It is 1500 miles one way and I would need to make the trip up in under 2 days. Leaving Saturday evening around 8:00 after a 12 hr. shift in the ER and arriving in Rochester Monday evening and be ready for a job interview early Tuesday morning.

If you didn't have a 12 hour shift just before the beginning of this ride, I would have said that it's a fairly easy target you have. The problem I see is that you will be starting the first day with a high level of fatigue built in, and it's a recipe for disaster as the miles pile on that first day. After a good night's sleep, you'll be fine the next day. Doing the ride in two days isn't that difficult, so might be better to start early on Sunday after you've had a chance to rest.

The seat is easy to modify, you can do it yourself with few blocks of hard foam, spray adhesive and a staple gun.

Gustavo

Conversely to all the nay-sayers, if you , hypothetically speaking of course, were diagnosed with something incurable and you only had 6 months to live, would you even be asking this question???

Conversely to all the nay-sayers, if you , hypothetically speaking of course, were diagnosed with something incurable and you only had 6 months to live, would you even be asking this question???

How does does getting into an accident that could get you seriously injured on the first day of those hypothetical 6 months help? :huh:

Even IBR participants practice to build up their LD riding skill. Riding when you are too tired to be 100% at the controls is just plain stupid. An ER job is probably more demanding than just riding for 12 hours, so if you leave after such a shift, it'd be at least as tired as if you'd been riding all day. I suppose the right question would be for Zeniac to think about how many 12 hour + days he has done recently and whether he thinks he can do 18 hours or so. The thing is that it's not that difficult to do the ride in two days after getting a good overnight rest, which is why I don't see the point of leaving straight after work... :confused:

Gustavo

I guess I should clarify things. First, I am an experienced rider and have ridden many 750 mile plus days. When I picked the bike up, I flew up from the Rio Grande to Dallas in the morning, picked the bike up around 1:00pm and rode it back home that day (520 miles) through about 250 miles of sometimes heavy rain.

I am in pretty good shape for a 50 year old male and am experienced enough to shut things down if I am getting tired. My thought was to save myself a sixty mile ride (round trip to my home) by leaving from work and hitting the road for 3-4 hours and then turning in. This would give me 4-5 hours of less time on the road Sunday and Monday. It would leave me with two 650-700 mile days which is an easy ride and still give me a good nights sleep in Rochester before the interview on Teusday morning.

The potential for mechanical or tire problems is a issue as with a bike it is not always easy to find tires or a repair shop in a timely manner. I plan to replace the rubber and I recently serviced and went over the bike from stem to stern after bringing the bike home from Dallas.

My wife thinks I am getting too old for romping across the country on two wheels and has quit riding with me for anything other than short trips, as she finds it is either too hot or too cold, too wet or too windy, or too whatever.

What I was hoping to hear was that the trip would be seen as routine and help to alay her concerns. Oh well...

I'm going to start looking at some soft luggage next week and order new rubber. I'm kind of leaning towards the Conti Road Attacks, what do you guys think of them?

Cheers,

ps Took the new sled to the baseball game tonight, everyone on bike row took a long look at the bike, mostly positive. Guys that know me thought I'd come home with a Triumph Tiger and were surpised I'd go with such a small bike.
So far I'm pretty happy with my decision.

Just back from 5400+ miles in 12 days on the GT. Did several 900 mile days, they were tough, and I did not do them back to back. The GT has cruise control, much better wind protection and nicer seat.

I could make 600+ on the V but would add a wrist lever for helping with throttle.

Think you need 3 days to manage better. I am 62 by the way.

I was on Pilot Road 2s, now over 10,500 miles and still some tread left for running around local. Stick like glue in twisties and held up to some high speed runs 2up and loaded, like 1150 lbs gross.

Just back from 5400+ miles in 12 days on the GT. Did several 900 mile days, they were tough, and I did not do them back to back. The GT has cruise control, much better wind protection and nicer seat.

I could make 600+ on the V but would add a wrist lever for helping with throttle.

Think you need 3 days to manage better. I am 62 by the way.

I was on Pilot Road 2s, now over 10,500 miles and still some tread left for running around local. Stick like glue in twisties and held up to some high speed runs 2up and loaded, like 1150 lbs gross.

Three days would be nice, so far I have not been able to find anyone to fill in for me on Saturday, we are running very lean because of summer vacation. I may be able to get one of the night guys to come in a couple of hours early which would give me a little more of a cushion, but having the entire extra day would be gravy.

The Pilot Road 2's are also on my list. Over 10K on a tire is impressive. I have had good luck with Bibendum's tires on both cars and motorbikes. The Conti's have had good reviews as well, I have used Conti's on my bicycles and have had good results.

How does your wife like the 250R? My daughter was looking for a sled this spring and I thought the 250R would work great for her needs, she found a good used Suzuki GS500S and has been very satisfied with it.

Cheers,

I put on 650 miles a few weeks ago on a 24 hr trip up north Mi. A little sore, but livable. It would be way easier once I get my new seat and a Kaoko throttle lock. I think you could do it, but I agree with the others about the inherit problem with a lack of focus, after a 12 hr day. I've done many 12 hr shifts over the years and all i wanted to do after them was a fat one and a beer, followed by 8hrs of sleep.

BTW..What were you doing in Ann Arbor? I live there, east side, Packard and Platt area. Small world ain't it?

BTW..What were you doing in Ann Arbor? I live there, east side, Packard and Platt area. Small world ain't it?

Picked up the Speed Triple from a guy up there. I rode it back from Ann Arbor much like I did when I picked up the Versys. One great thing about bikes up north is that they usually don't have many miles on them and once you get close to the end of riding season there are always some good deals about.

Here in South Texas, our prime riding season is in the winter, summers are brutally hot and humid.

I am 73 and love to ride. I have a reputation for having an iron butt. The most important thing about riding is safety. From the sounds of your experence you should be able to make it ok. Just ride safe. may God be with you.

<snip> My thought was to save myself a sixty mile ride (round trip to my home) by leaving from work and hitting the road for 3-4 hours and then turning in. This would give me 4-5 hours of less time on the road Sunday and Monday. It would leave me with two 650-700 mile days which is an easy ride and still give me a good nights sleep in Rochester before the interview on Teusday morning.
<snip>

That sounds like a good plan to me, and it also seems like it's something you really want to do - which is probably just as important. I think you should do it! :thumb:

Yep!

How does your wife like the 250R? My daughter was looking for a sled this spring and I thought the 250R would work great for her needs, she found a good used Suzuki GS500S and has been very satisfied with it.

Cheers,

She loves the 250r, a beginner for sure. It is geared pretty low, so I put the 15T CS off the Versys on it, much better in the lower gears now. It is stock with 14T CS. Gets slightly better mpg than my versys. When I take 2 gallons, she takes 1.8

Very easy to ride and turn compared to her first bike the S40.

She loves the 250r, a beginner for sure.

Great to hear, my daughter also is enjoying her GS500F.

Well it looks as if the trip is off. :( My wife and Daughter have decided to come with me on the trip so I will be driving the cage up. It has got me warmed up to trying some LD riding with the V though and I really appreciate everyone's comments. :thanx:

BTW, we survived Dolly pretty well, but the mosquitoes have grown to the size of small birds and it is like riding in a hailstorm on the road. My faceshield gets so covered in bug guts that I've had to pull over and clean it (sometimes every 5-10 miles) just to be able to see well enought to ride. I am also having to wash my mesh jacket every couple of days to keep the big guts accumulation down to an acceptable level. We still have a lot of standing water about and because much of the area I live in is a refuge area they do not allow mosquito spraying or insecticide use in any of the posted marshlands.

Hopefully we will miss this lastest tropical storm brewing in the gulf and get back to some normalicy.

Cheers,

I went to the Shenandoah National Forest in Virginia two weeks ago from the top of Pennsylvania. I drove 750 miles round trip and it made my inseam so sore I didn't even want to get on the bike the next day at all. I went down and back the same day and the bike ran between 70 and 80 for hours. I slept half of the next day as it really wore me out and I'm 47. The seat sucks for a long trip and the low beam headlight is next to useless at night. I was riding on car tailights at night and had to turn my high beams on even with cars right infront of me to make turns in the road. Also make sure you give your chain a good cleaning before you leave. I didn't do this and my chain was giving me minor problems when I got back as a few rollers were binding up from being dirty after my trip. I had to spray my chain with penetrating oil and let it sit over night, scrub the hell out of it, and then rub it down with a rag. The front sprocket had all kinds of junk around it when I took the cover off. As far as the motor it ran like a champ!

The headlight problem is an easy fix. I too experienced this with the stock adjustment being way too low. I popped off the cowling and swapped out the stock low beam with a Silverstar, adjusted the headlight and now my low beam is fantastic. High beam just adds filler but not much distance so I may purchase a Silverstar for it some day as well, however, looking back, even if I had just adjusted the aim of the headlight, I think it would have improved the lighting substantially.

Could your inseam pain be related to wearing pants with large seams? I have found riding wearing blue jeans can be an issue when riding longer distances and I also bought a cheap set of leathers at one time that also were uncomfortable in this way, you may want to look at a change in clothing or maybe try the bike shorts that others have talked about on this site. I'm going to give it a go next long ride as I have a number of pairs of bicycle and triathalon shorts already. I am also going to do the seat mod to raise the seat a bit as well.

I always carry a can of chain lube with me on longer rides, I usually lube once at a lunch break and then at the end of the day when the chain is still warm. I use DuPont Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant as recommended by WebBikeWorld. It works great as it dries without a residue and works well to clean the chain as well as lubricate.

Cheers,

My prejudices are these. A motorcycle on the interstates is booooooooooring. I take a 4000+ mile or so wander from MI to the Rockies, sometimes beyond, most every year and avoid the slab like the plague. (Currently have a 1200 ZZR but lurking here on the anticipation of going smaller someday) The Versys is made for many things but gigantic drones on the interstate isn't one of them.

The only reason to do this is for the challenge and saying you did it Many many people are into such things and I say fine. What those iron butt people do is amazing, more power to them. It will only be 48 hours of some discomfort and would actually be a piece of cake if you set your mind to it. It never occurs to me to do such a thing but that's just me. I've been putting 10K miles a year on my bikes for a dozen years, in the 7 month Michigan season. I did a 1000 mile day once by accident, couldn't find a motel room on the blast home after two weeks out, superslab of course, and it was easy, Gpz1100 admittedly. Still, I never even think of trying to do it again. For me motorcycle travel isn't in getting there, it's the journey on roads never taken. That's just me of course.

You might want to consider the new Dunlop Roadsmarts. Two different hardness of rubber are molded into the tire. The center is a harder rubber than the sides and they are great in the rain. They were developed for long mileage and good traction in the rain. I have a set on my Honda ST1300 and they are the best tires I've ever had in my opinion. Bye the way, I replaced the Conti Road Attack with them. I got very poor mileage (4000 miles) and the sidewalls wore prematurely and shaped the tires into a V. They then wandered all over the road.

Come to think of it, that's what you need for that kind of trip, a Honda ST1300! Good luck no matter what you do.

DallasDon, I was in Cu Chi in 68, we took couple of rockets every day around tet. I was a proud army spec 5, and the tower chief at cu chi. Glad you made it back!

Back on topic, my wife and I just returned from a 2 week vacation on the GT, 5400 miles, including yellowstone. Biggest days were 900 miles in 13 hours, but most were like 500 or so. Ran Pilot Road 2s, finished with 10,500 miles on them, great tire, also a dual compound.

Having said that, I changed the rear to a Roadsmart and also put a roadsmart on the front of the Versys.

I also agree with take the back roads when ever possible, might take longer but never know what you might see. The interstate is full of big trucks and lots of construction.

I have considered the Dunlop Roadsmarts, but have not heard too many actual user comments. Prices are about the same as the Pilot Road 2's. I have had better luck in the past with Michelins than Dunlops, but the new generation of tires are much different today.

Good to hear you have had such good luck with Dunlop DallasDon, I'm going to reconsider them again.

BTW - One of the reasons I wanted to take my bike up to MN is to do some laidback cruising in MN with my grandson, he is nuts about riding and even participated in producing Motorcycle safety videos with me for our local Trauma Regional Advisory Council when he was 5 yrs. old. They were aired on 6 local stations throughout the summer. It was too cool.

see http://www.geocities.com/rgv_zazen/TRACMotorcycle.wmv

ps. I had tried numerous times to get him to ditch the training wheels but they were his security blanket, as soon as he saw the commercial on TV he asked me to take them off and it took about 2 seconds for him to forget that they were ever there.

I did 1200 in 19 hours and I was beat I was 23. I did that on a stock KLR-650 knobbies and no bar weights. The only thing I had is cruise control. I recomend plenty of rest before the trip and make sure you are properly geared up. I have done a few 500 mile days and those are fun. so if you got to do 1500 do 750 and 750 so thats an average of 65 mph for 12 hours allowing for rest and KYBO trips 100 points to anyone can tell me what KYBO is.

100 points to anyone can tell me what KYBO is.


K-Y Booty Odor?

That's so wrong.:teetertooter:

100 points to anyone can tell me what KYBO is.

It's the only stop other than gas stops you really need on a trip... ;)

Gustavo

That's so wrong.:teetertooter:


:D:D:D

Just finished a 5000km round trip from Nova Scotia to Ontario (Canada). From my driveway to my brother's is almost exactly 2000kms, so drove about 1000km in Ontario visiting family and friends, and enjoying well maintained roads. Last year and the two years before that I road 24 hours straight on the boulevard C90 to get there, this year on the Versys I had to stop a little past half way, not because it rained the entire time, which it did, but because my back and ass were killing me. As soon as I got to a dealer for my second service I picked up a seat pad, made by ROHO, the motorcycle line is called airhawk. Its an air filled seat that you adjust to your weight and shape. I used it on the way back to Nova Scotia and didn't have to shift around at all, was very comfortable, adds a bit to the seat height, but I have long legs.
The luggage I used were a set of Oxford Sport soft bags, I think I have a thread about them with pics, and a 'water proof' roll top duffle bag. I quote water proof because apparently an amber from a camp fire burnt a hole in the bottom. Once in Ontario I also picked up a tank bag also made by oxford sports, made packing a lot easier and kept the rain gear a little more handy, had I ever taken it off, it rained all the way back too :).
So with a total of a little more then 10000km on the bike the stock rear tire has worn out, I have a set of pirelli scorpion syncs coming next week. The front tire is still pretty good, but I like to match my tires.
I was cruising on the trans Canada highway at around 130km/h to 140km/h and the bike performed fantastic, I think I'll get bigger sprockets once this chain is worn so I can keep her below 6000 rpm on the high way though.