Is your Bottom made out of Iron? Ever taken a Serious motorbike trip? Daytona? Sturgis? The Big Easy?
Ok, a friend (one of our church members) has asked me to come visit. He's got a contract flying Choppers and Cropdusters for the next two months. We used to eat breakfast together about three times a week when he was in town, and he said if I'll ride up there, he's buying. Problem is, he's 500 miles away. I can't afford to drive the Tahoe, and I don't trust my crackerbox (18 year old Mazda). I think I'm going to take the Goldwing. I've never really ridden more than about 200 miles in a day, but I'll only have about 3 days to make this voyage (1000 miles round trip). What do you think? Is it do-able for a sleep deprived, rapidly-aging, and slightly-overweight desk-jockey?
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Did you do that on Suzzy? I bought my sister a moped (real pedal style) about 17 years ago, and it needed some work (broken frame!!!). I didn't have a truck so I rode it (broken frame and all!!!) about 12 miles to my cousins shop. It was a mini-epic journey. NEVER again!!!
Yeah, spent like an hour cruising the 'hood, being cool. I've managed to avoid selling it, must get a different frame to let that engine into it's fll potential...u
I dunno. The bike frame is nice and light. If you could just lower it and attach some serious aerodynamic panels........
Yeah, but I'm rather fond of the idea of creating something slick. I'd like to try to adapt it to electric start, and have some sort of alternator system. I only get about 2 hours out of the battery atween charges.
Jun 26, 2009. 12:07 PMgearhead1951
says:
When I wuz 26, a shipmate of mine had decided to get out and go home rather than re-enlist ! Trouble wuz her home wuz Oregon and we wuz in S.Carolina !! I had a bone stock 42 HD ULH and she had a seriously warmed over 49 Indian Sport Scout ( bored and stroked to 55" plus a LOT of other engine work) ! So I took 2 weeks leave and escorted her home ! We made it to Cali on I-40 in 3 days ! My bike kinda set th' pace cuz that old 80" HD wuz built to cruise and I maintained a steady 70-80 mph between stops to fill tanks and bleed bladders ! That little Indian would let me lead for while and then she would get bored and blast past me like I wuz sittin' still ( I might outta mention that Annalese is a full blood Nez Perce' ) Goin' up US 5 to Eugene took another 2 days, I spent 2 more restin up and th' rest of my 2 weeks leave gettin' back to Charleston ! I wuz one tired, saddle sore hillbilly time finally got back to th' ship !
Wow! That's quite a trip. Man, the '70s were a real golden era for American Iron. My father was able to afford a long string of old Pans, Knuckles, and FLats back then. These days, American iron is out of the grasp of most working folks. My 15 year old just took over my main ride ('73 Shovelhead), so I'm going to have to rebuild my other ('79 Sportster). I've still got a Goldwing, Bultaco, Bandit, and a few 2-strokes on the back burner. But I'd love to put my backside on an old Scout ,Chief or Vincent.
Jul 11, 2009. 1:37 AMgearhead1951
says:
Friend, I think you sent this to me by mistake, But if not, then no I dont have a sportster !! Sportys are good bikes, and can be modified to suit most any purpose you need it for (within reason)
I think he was talking to me. I replied to your comment and he replied to mine. Sometimes it'll show up in your notifications as if he'd actually sent it to you.
Yeah. But it needs rewiring and a gasket job. I don't really have time to mess with it. My kids are able to do it, but they're usually playing with their own rides.
THe first bike I can remember riding (on the back) was an early 70's Sportster, of course it was brand new back then. I loved my '73 Sporty, but my oldest son really wanted it. He's changed it up a bunch (lowered it, smaller tank, bobbed fender, and sprung seat). He's planning to make it a hardtail with a springer front end. Funny thing is, he can't even LEGALLY ride it (on the road) until December, (but he's been riding it locally for quite a while).
Jul 13, 2009. 5:38 AMMr. Cowboy
says:
See me, I like the old stock sportys with the loud pipes. My grandpa is a Vietnam Vet and after he came back, he go I think it was a umm '72 I wanna say. My moma loved it
I like some of the sportys stock, but they look better to me with lower bars, a single seat (which some of them had), and spoked wheels (which some of them had). Mine has shorty pipes, and I ditched the front fender too.
Not for the Sporty. My friend is using the Goldwing for now.
Aug 10, 2008. 11:50 PMRishnai
says:
My grandpa bought a '78 Goldwing when he was almost 65, and rode it long-haul to all 50 states (had it shipped to Hawaii) with his wife on the back. You have to make sure you get enough sleep (and I do mean a lot), but 500-mile rides can be done in a day if needed (take naps every 100-150 miles). Even 20 minutes of sleep makes a huge difference, but set an alarm. Grandpa's tried-and-true method was to never sleep more than an hour at a stop, schedule it so that he won't be riding at night, and make sure he had plenty of food, but not more than one small cup of coffee. One other tip is that you want to move fast at the start, not the end. Hurrying while tired, late, and after several hundred miles is the recipe for disaster, y'know.
Yeah, I have found that being tired and trying to hurry don't mix well. Even on a long car trip, I find myself slowing down after about the 5 or 6 hour mark. When I've been driving 12 hours, I find myself doing about 10 under the speed limit. If I make this run, I'll try to get up and on the bike pretty early. I'll do a hard 200-300 miles and then take rest stops every 70 or 80 miles thereafter.
Aug 11, 2008. 12:21 AMRishnai
says:
Yeah, I like to slow down as I get tired-er, but some folks I know try to hurry and "just get there and sleep." Those are usually the folks I try to avoid letting drive the last leg of a trip, 'cause I'd rather get there in one piece. Let me know how it goes-- I'm still trying to figure out a good long-distanc riding strategy.
If I make the trip, I'll try to keep a log and make a slide show. I know 1000 miles isn't over the top, but it might be a good point of reference for others planning long-haul trips. Part of me is tempted to do it on my son's Ninja 250 (just to prove I'm not too old), but I probably am a little too grown up for that.
Aug 12, 2008. 11:03 PMRishnai
says:
Sounds great! When you do your log, please include the sort of terrain you're doing at the time (probably mostly flatland, I'm guessing). Being right on the edge of the mountains, I'm sure 1000 miles east would be a totally different animal than 1000 miles west. Ooh, and gas milage. That would be an interesting thing for all us 'iblers to know. As soon as you cross the Utah/Colorado line and buy gas, you get around 8-10% better gas milage in a car (or at least my family does), so on the Wing, changes in fuel grade or content might make a suprising difference.
I believe two guys at my work did land's end to john o'groats (800+ miles) AND BACK in one day at an average speed of over 70mph, in heavy rain some of the day, on bikes. If they can do that, your 500-mile-each-way over 3 days doesn't seem like such an insurmountable challenge, does it? Granted, these two were on shiny modern >1000cc shaftie touring bikes with heated grips and all that malarkey, but still... 1700 miles in 20 hours? That's an Iron Bottom award right there.
1700 miles in 20hrs!! Wow. That gives me a little more hope. The WIng is definitely smooth to ride, but it's an old one without all the plastic and modern comforts.
Well it could have been worse, you might have had an Enfield "thumper", after 100miles at 55mph it feels as if there are springs in your fingertips. :) On a more serious note... "sleep deprived" and 2 wheels dont work together. The bike is probably more than adequate and comfy enough, but fatigue will catch you far quicker on a bike than in a car.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I guess that's why I've rarely done more than 200 mile rides. But this Goldwing is SOOOO comfortable. It makes my Harley feel like an unbalanced cement mixer.
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