Getting ready for a new 1400 mile ride

[Mikilufz6]

Hello fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and riders… A buddy and I are planning on a trip from san diego to vancouver. My current ride is an 07 fz6 24000 miles on it. It has been babied and well taken care of for the past 14000 miles. Full synthetic oil… 2k miles on tires pilot road 2. I am the third owner of this bike. My buddy is planning on getting an fz1 or an fz8 for the ride. I have a few concerns and would like to get your feedback. I plan to do about 8 hrs worth of riding per day. So far i have chain wax, extra oil, extra coolant, slime tire kit, jb weld and some tools just in case. anything extra i should bring? Any spots i should hit up?? any and all feedback is accepted and if someone is willing and around the area while we are riding you are more than welcome to join our little adventure.

Thanks again fellow riders! Ride safe and be careful with them cages!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

You can't go wrong going up along the California, Oregon coast and around the Olympics in Washington and maybe taking the ferry from Port Townsend.

 

[tejkowskit]

Just me, but I've never brought coolant or oil. You can get either at any gas station. But if you have the space for it I guess it's no big deal. Your tire patch kit is a good idea, but do you have a way to inflate tires?

Take lots of pics and post them up when you get back!:thumbup:

 

[nivag]

I wouldn't bother with coolant or oil either, you should be able to get this at most gas stations.
I've done a 2500 miles trip on a bike with 40K miles and not needed to add any.
Defo keep up on chain maintanance and keep a eye on tyre tread depth and pressure.

 

[Kingwu]

Hello fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and riders… A buddy and I are planning on a trip from san diego to vancouver. My current ride is an 07 fz6 24000 miles on it. It has been babied and well taken care of for the past 14000 miles. Full synthetic oil… 2k miles on tires pilot road 2. I am the third owner of this bike. My buddy is planning on getting an fz1 or an fz8 for the ride. I have a few concerns and would like to get your feedback. I plan to do about 8 hrs worth of riding per day. So far i have chain wax, extra oil, extra coolant, slime tire kit, jb weld and some tools just in case. anything extra i should bring? Any spots i should hit up?? any and all feedback is accepted and if someone is willing and around the area while we are riding you are more than welcome to join our little adventure.

Thanks again fellow riders! Ride safe and be careful with them cages!

Holy **** 1400 miles...

 

[Mikilufz6]

I just purchased some Nelson-Rigg SPRT-50 saddlebags…. any of you guys have any experience with this brand. I wanted some givi or caribou.. waaaaaay above budget…

 

[lawlberg]

I would do a little bit of cable maintenance before you depart - lube up your throttle and clutch cables and check for any signs of wear - they tend to fail on me at the most inopportune times - fortunately my clutch cable failed 2 days before my 1500 mile trip two years ago, so I was able to fashion a makeshift one using bicycle brake cables.

 

[Water Bear]

I would do a little bit of cable maintenance before you depart - lube up your throttle and clutch cables and check for any signs of wear - they tend to fail on me at the most inopportune times - fortunately my clutch cable failed 2 days before my 1500 mile trip two years ago, so I was able to fashion a makeshift one using bicycle brake cables.

How do you check for wear? Just look for the cable fraying near the places where it bends on its path to the clutch?

I would add to the rest: Be sure to have water proof gear on hand. I did ~1680 miles both ways to TX recently and got hailed on somewhere in Louisiana / west Texas.

 

[lawlberg]

How do you check for wear? Just look for the cable fraying near the places where it bends on its path to the clutch?

I would add to the rest: Be sure to have water proof gear on hand. I did ~1680 miles both ways to TX recently and got hailed on somewhere in Louisiana / west Texas.

My clutch failed right at the perch on the handle - so had I looked at it I would have seen the frays there - other signs would simply be a catching feeling on the cables, or tightness when the bars were turned.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

In the event you have any unexpected emergency, don't be shy and post up, many forum members may possibly be able to assist along your travels.

 

[Water Bear]

My clutch failed right at the perch on the handle - so had I looked at it I would have seen the frays there - other signs would simply be a catching feeling on the cables, or tightness when the bars were turned.

Excellent, now I know. And the more I know, the less I break down far from home.

In the event you have any unexpected emergency, don't be shy and post up, many forum members may possibly be able to assist along your travels.

We have some very helpful folks on the forum, take this suggestion seriously. Not that anyone has ever broken down far from home.

 

[banjoboy]

Hello fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and riders… A buddy and I are planning on a trip from san diego to vancouver. My current ride is an 07 fz6 24000 miles on it. It has been babied and well taken care of for the past 14000 miles. Full synthetic oil… 2k miles on tires pilot road 2. I am the third owner of this bike. My buddy is planning on getting an fz1 or an fz8 for the ride. I have a few concerns and would like to get your feedback. I plan to do about 8 hrs worth of riding per day. So far i have chain wax, extra oil, extra coolant, slime tire kit, jb weld and some tools just in case. anything extra i should bring? Any spots i should hit up?? any and all feedback is accepted and if someone is willing and around the area while we are riding you are more than welcome to join our little adventure.

Thanks again fellow riders! Ride safe and be careful with them cages!

Check'in 'n slime'in yer cables iz good advice. :thumbup:
I'd recommend the Slime Pump, w/ Stop 'n Go plugs for tire care. (I used the Slime once, it didn't work, and the tire guy chewed my ass out on the next tire change.)
You'll prolly wanta throttle lock too. You can buy 'em or make yer own?

Dunno how much time ya have, but I'd recommend going up HWY 108 to 395, to 89 (Sonora, Ebbets, 'n Monitor Passes. :thumbup: ) up along Lake Tahoe, through Truckee and up HWY89 to Quincy CA. Or you can hit Tioga Pass, but it's real slow go'in in Yosemite. (HWY 108 has a lot less traffic 'n better ride'in.)
If you have lots of time, all the roads around Quincy (HWY 49, La Porte rd, HWY 162, and 70) are epic, but they got east/west. If you do head west, there's HWYs 3, 36, 299, and 96 that are all epic too.
From Quincy you can head north on 89 and go over Lassen Peak, then up to Crater Lake OR. (Mor epicness!)

 

[FinalImpact]

If you can dump an extra $100, throw some springs and fork oil in it. You won't regret it. Point: adding extra wight is going to make it pretty mushy. About 3 hours work at a slow pace and you'll be able to do additional inspection of the brakes and steering components.

- Fresh engine oil
- bleed brakes
- fork oil / springs??
- adjust rear shock for added gear
- at least a spare low beam lamp / maybe brake lamp to if no other lighting has been added.
- all the other stuff mentioned ^^
- for me, never found a chain lube to go >400 miles

- PM for rides in PDX and or take a look here if any of these places interest you! http://www.600riders.com/forum/usa-pacific/51561-2014-adventures-final-impact-pnw-rides-pics.html
http://www.600riders.com/forum/usa-pacific/49202-fizzer-turned-adventure-bike.html

I'd highly recommend you find Wind River Road north of Carson in WA. Its roughly ~40 east of PDX so a bit out of the way tho. Return path will land you in Woodland WA on I5... https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF...60&ei=6PiFU_TEKOm58QGxg4GADw&ved=0CLMBEPwSMAo

 

[Mikilufz6]

THX vegasrider… I will sure keep that in mind. lalwberg my buddy that sold me the bike had that same thing happen to him… his clutch cable broke in a sunday ride… I plan to take a spare clutch cable just in case… And its also something you need to replace eventually so, its a no brainer.

Yeah wrist rest would be awesome! The throttlemeister one is a pricey one… but might be worth the extra 150… Final Impact… thanks a lot for info… worth more than .02 cents man…

You guys have a great day… and I will keep you up to date with the fixes/upgrades !! Thanks!

 

[texcollect]

I just purchased some Nelson-Rigg SPRT-50 saddlebags…. any of you guys have any experience with this brand. I wanted some givi or caribou.. waaaaaay above budget…

I had a similar set of bags on my bike for the Republic of Texas 1000 last year. I had an issue with keeping them apart and built a spacer out of a plunger handle which I cable tied to the bracket behind the license plate. Pm me if you want pics.

 

[FinalImpact]

I had a similar set of bags on my bike for the Republic of Texas 1000 last year. I had an issue with keeping them apart and built a spacer out of a plunger handle which I cable tied to the bracket behind the license plate. Pm me if you want pics.

Plunger to the rescue! of course we want pictures! :thumbup:

 

[texcollect]

Ask (politely) and you shall receive. I took what I had around (plunger handle) cut it to length, added some felt pads at the ends to protect the bags and painted it black.

The pole didn't have to support anything just keep things apart !!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

his clutch cable broke in a sunday ride… I plan to take a spare clutch cable just in case… And its also something you need to replace eventually so, its a no brainer.

Yeah wrist rest would be awesome! The throttlemeister one is a pricey one… but might be worth the extra 150… Final Impact… thanks a lot for info… worth more than .02 cents man…
!

I doubt you will need to carry an extra clutch cable. Just lube it before you leave. Even if it does break, you can get it replaced in just about in any city. Your bike is still rideable without a clutch cable. Just don't stop! You can shift without using the clutch and always push start to get going from a stop. Just find a downhill slope. FWI my clutch cable was replaced at 70k miles, only because I wanted to, not because I needed to. Plus one on the Throttlemeister.

I've done several 3-4,000 miles trips with nothing that you mentioned of carrying. All you need is fuel and money, full safety gear and rain gear. Check your tire wear and pressure and go! I would carry some extra fuses, but you may already have them in your fuse box, but I like to have extra and they take no space.

 

[motojoe122]

+1 to what [MENTION=83]VEGASRIDER[/MENTION] and [MENTION=15974]FinalImpact[/MENTION] said. Before the R6S forks, I did the spring and oil swap. I really liked it, but I can't leave good enough alone. After replacing the clutch cable last week, it's something I would not want to do underway. It's not that difficult of a task, but it's time consuming. Do it before you go or when you get back.

 

[Mikilufz6]

Installed saddlebags... They are quite alright for the price