Just finished a 4,700 mile trip Friday on my new 650. I have to say it went very well. Couple things I added to the bike and a couple things I did differently made a huge difference. Put a Go-Cruise throttle lock on the bike and added cheap hiway pegs to the crash bars. Also borrowed an Air Hawk seat pad and bought some good (Ex Officio) synthetic underwear. I ran Michelin PR 4's since it was almost all super-slab and they performed great. My last bike was a big metric cruiser with ride by wire cruise control, big stereo, yada yada yada and I thought the Versys was going to suffer on the slab running 90mph. Not the case at all. I camped every night on the road to save $$ and had plenty of storage with my panniers and tail bag. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with the performance and relative comfort of the 650. Later, Dan-O

Congrat's!!

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I am embarking on a trip from Houston to Alaska on the 4th July and I was thinking of doing some camping. How did you find campsites enroute? Is there an app that can be used... I am a Brit and unfamiliar with riding/camping in the USA.
Regards

John

Glad it went all well for you.

Farmer boy, I used the KOA app and was able to plan my stops at good intervals. Highly recommend KOA's. Clean, safe and most have swimming pools, laundry etc. Once you get into Canada, you just have to google camping. Me and a buddy rode from Cincinnati to Alaska last year with no reservations or a planned route. We just winged it and didn't have any trouble. Get fuel every time see you a gas pump and be prepared to ride and camp in the rain. You can back Channel me if you need any pertinent info on Alaska trip. It was awesome! Dan-O

Farmerboy, there is a lot of free camping on your way to Alaska as well. Research free camping on federal land. The chances of something happening to you while camping is leads than the chances of you wrecking or getting sick on your trip. As long as you act as poor as those around you, you will be OK.
Flaunt your money, jewelry, etc. and you increase your chances. Low key is the way to go.

Once you enter Canada, watch for provincial campgrounds, and IF you go up BC 37 - the Stewart/Cassiar Hwy - watch for the Kinaskan Lake provincial campground on the W side about half way up - GOOD site - and another close to the Alcan (Alaska Hwy), called the Boya Lake provincial campground on the E side.

I AVOID that because at least in a public campground the grizzlies have MORE choices about who to eat, so the 'odds' work out better for you.

Thanks guys...all useful stuff.
Things like bears and deer jumping into he road are alien to us Brits so I shall do a bit of googling! If bears are a real problem for campers I may elect to use motels!!!!

I am a bit worried about the heat in Texas... my son tells me it is really, really hot and I have been told that riding at night can be dangerous due to wildlife leaping about... anyway I have ordered a cool vest and bought mesh riding gear and hopefully by the time I get to Albuquerque it will be a bit cooler! Never really had a problem with heat in the north of England!

I am in Texas as well.
In the high heat we get down here a days ride with mesh is a BAD idea.
Its like driving into a blast furnace and the wind at your skin, and it will dry you out faster than you can drink water.

In the summer full coverage and use your vents to control the air flow.
The cool vest will help a bit...it is HUMID down here. so they dont work well.
You hit Arizonia it will work a lot better.
i would leave the mesh at home and go with full gear. You will be in cool far longer than you will be in heat.

I would just add that although we saw plenty of bears (black and grizzly) along the road, we didn't have any issues while staying in established campgrounds.

I rode from Texas to California in the summer of 2011. I left out at 1am the highways were dark but no issues with animals. Rode 850 miles and pulled into a hotel in Arizona under an air-conditioner before the real heat set in. If i do that trip again in the summer time i would do it at night but get an earlier start...

Thanks. That's encouraging. I guess you used motorways?


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Yep I-20 from Ft.Worth through Texas.

a an early start a full day of riding, you are beat and need a place to stop for the night.
Thats when you find out you are still in Texas.

yes! We Brits forget how big Texas is!!! We have had a heatwave in England for a few days and I am getting worried about riding a bike in such heat!

John - I agree w/ Joe. Remember that the Bedouin wear flowing robes, NOT tee-shirts and shorts.

Your sweat will cool you as it evaporates.

Sounds like a great trip Dan. I look forward to meeting up with you soon so you can give us the gory details over a cold one. I too have the PR 4's, and spend about 60% of my miles on the slab these days. Is IN the same as OH wherein the state routes are in much better condition than the x-ways? See ya soon.

Rayj, I backchanneled you last week.

Got it an replied to your quote. ive me a heads up when you plan on coming over this way. Supposed to be clear tomorrow so I'm planning on going down to Coffee and Cars.