Planning a long trip, need help!

[ColumbiaBMW]

Sometime this July I am planning on riding my bike to Boulder CO where my friend lives, and we want to ride around Estes Park and the Rockies for a few days. The longest trip I've done in one day is 150 miles, and this is going to be about 700 miles, so this is a huge jump. I don't have a lot of vacation days available though so I think it will be best to just ride Interstate 70 all the way in one day.

So, first advice I would like is this; what kind of maintenance should I either do or have done before I take off? I understand I should change the oil, and check fluids, but with 19,000 on the bike now, is there anything that is prone to fail soon? How much trouble is it to install the new QD's? I'm not the best mechanic in the world, actually I'm closer to being the worst in the world, so I may just buy them and have someone else put them on for me. Can someone point me in the right direction of what I need to buy?

Second question is what kind of things should I take with me? Things I know I should take are; cell phone, extra quart of oil, tire plug kit (although I don't know exactly how to use it), and the tool kit. Anything else that could be helpful on the road?

I know this is a lot of questions, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

PS I can't wait to post photos in the "Great Rides" forum.

[gregor]

I'd not recommend 700 miles in one day. The longest I've done is 350 and that is tiring even with a screen to take the blast.
I'd factor in an overnight stop somewhere.

[ColumbiaBMW]

I'd not recommend 700 miles in one day. The longest I've done is 350 and that is tiring even with a screen to take the blast.
I'd factor in an overnight stop somewhere.

I thought about that, but I don't have enough days of vacation and I figure if those Iron Butt guys can do a 1000 mile ride, I can push through a 700 mile ride. Although, I definitely do need to get a screen before I take off.

[pinecone]

Your trip sounds awesome and I totally think you should do it. But please don't plan a 700 mile day. I assume that also means another 700 mile day on the way back? I know your post isn't about distance, but I do 150 mile days regularly and to me a 400 mile day feels exhausting. 700 miles means up to 14 hours of riding. Think about it - do you really want to be riding from 8am to 10pm? You're going to start feeling tired and be tempted to push through and by that time it will be dark and your concentration will be off and that's just bad news waiting to happen. And then the next day you're not going to be real fresh for the twisties.

Sorry for the lecture - have fun and stay safe Can't wait to see the ride report!

[wncbmw]

I did 690 miles coming home from the Bash this year, about 1/2 in the rain. With a speedster screen. And and stock seat. Windshields and custom seats are overrated!

If a 150 ride is your longest day, a 700 mile day will certainly be a challenge. You should be concerned with how your butt, knees and mind will adapt to the longer distance. I suggest a couple of 300 miles days at least prior to the ride to find out the weak points in your system (system being the bike and your body!)

The most important factor is your mind. Ask yourself if you can maintain the mental sharpness you will need to do battle with the traffic on a 700 mile day. On a practical note, I would recommend getting up very early and knock out as much as you can while still fresh.

[ColumbiaBMW]

I appreciate everyone's input, and after thinking about it, I may end up taking my tent and camping overnight somewhere in the middle of Kansas, but what about the maintenance issues and supplies I should take? Oh and can someone help me with the fuel QD's so I don't have to stress about those leaking the entire trip?

[DSKYZD]

Don't stress over the QD's. If they fail on the road, a repair can be made with 5/16 fuel line, couplers, clamps and vice grips (to pinch the line while you cut off the old QD) available from the nearest auto parts store. Once the bike is off, the line pressure is lowered and the leaking stops or is greatly reduced. Also, you could disconnect them and stop the leaking if they break at the typical spot. A working R1150R with current service is more than capable of making the trip.

Plan a 14-16 hour day for that kind of mileage on the Interstate. Get yourself some Under Armor boxer briefs instead of cotton undies. This will help with one of the components of monkey butt...irritated skin. The second component, soreness, is a dull pain that is manageable. The sharp pain of my skin being pulled was the hardest part of long days before I discovered the Under Armor skivvies trick.

Enjoy your trip!!

DSKYZD

P.S. Here's a great thread on the QD's: http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7474

[Max Continuous]

Columbia03BMW

I just got back from a 10 day trip with some days being 400 miles and I certainly would not relish a 700 mile day. Not to say it can't be done but it certainly won't be pleasant on the latter half of the day.

The recommendation of starting the day as early as possible is sound advice. Stretching will be mandatory. I found that frequent changes of riding stance helped with the stiffness and aided in circulation. A few minutes with my feet on the passenger pegs, then on the main pegs, then on the cylinder heads ( for only brief minutes so as not to create a hot spot on the cylinder head ). A camel pack or some other way of keeping hydrated will be imperative. I found myself getting sleepy while riding the interstate through Alabama in the middle of the day. Dehydration sets in very quickly.

I personally would not worry about your quick disconnects. If they aren't leaking, don't fuss with them. If your service is up to date, oil and fluids are up to date and you have enough tread depth on the tires, have fun. Perhaps throwing a tire plugging kit on top of the air box will ensure you don't get a flat. Leaving with out one, almost always guarantees a flat.

If you have 50 bucks to spare, a sheepskin seat pad from Alaskan Leather will be worth more to you than a First Class seat on Virgin Airlines when you pass the 350 mile mark!

Looking forward to hearing how you make out. Best of luck!

[wncbmw]

Max gives good advice. I carried a sheep skin on the entire Bash ride for the long runs but never put in on the seat due to the rain. I hear they work wonders.

If you bike is up-to-date on service and tires good, I would have no worries.

camping overnight somewhere in the middle of Kansas

This however is desperation! (Apologies to any Kansas board members)


DSKYSD give good advice too, especially about the skivvies! Wonder who told him about that?

[Sunbeemer]

If you are a member of the BMWMOA, don't forget to take your Anonymous Book along. Anybody listed there will be glad to help out if needed.

Check your wire looms around the headpost and behind the headlight for overtight cable ties.

And take extra water! Stay hydrated. Don't drink much (if any) coffee, it dehydrates you and makes you need to stop.
Wear earplugs at highway speeds. You'll thank yourself in 10 years...

Check out the Iron Butt Wisdom page of 29 long-distance riding tips:
http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cfm

Good luck, have fun, be careful.

[Boxer]

700 miles is a long ride, no matter how you do it. It can be done and many people routinely ride that distance in one day when traveling long distances across the continent. That said, those people are used to it by riding relatively long distances every day!
My longest day was riding 1500 miles in about 29 hours...from 7AM near Chaco Canyon, in northwest New Mexico all the way to Atlanta, GA before noon the next day. I've done 1000 miles in one "riding" day on a couple of other occasions, but it's not really fun. You have to pretty much hug the freeway and maintain that 55-60mph average...all day long.
I say it again...ITS NOT FUN!
350 miles is a nice day ride if you're heading somewhere else. I'd keep it at that, and have a little more enjoyable ride...and be able to enjoy myself upon arrival.
The best ride is to take it easy and maybe make 700 miles in three days..or 2 1/2, but you know what you need to do.
I can't remember when you said you were leaving, but right now you gotta watch for those storms across the midwest. Make sure you come back and tell us about it.

[seisouso]

The longest trip I did was SF to Vegas, bout 570 miles each way. Having a comfy seat made a huge difference (Sargent), and the throttlemaster was great, as I've had numb hands before from gripping the throttle for six hours straight. I've heard a scrunchy can be used as a cruise control too. Don't try to go too fast, because you won't get there faster. You'll just get more tired fighting the wind and end up stopping longer when you take breaks. The biggest help however was loading up my ipod with audiobooks and using etymotic (or any in ear) headphones. It kept my mind engaged during the long straight sections, and the in ear type headphones block out the wind noise pretty well, which can also make you tired. And if you expect it to be hot, get one of those cooling vests that you soak in water, and a good 1 gallon ziplock bag. When you stop to gas up, you can put the vest in the bag with lots of ice and cold water, and when you let it soak for a few minutes and put it on it can keep you cool even through 100 degree desert heat long enough to last till the next fillup. Good luck!

[wncbmw]

If time is an issue, you might leave the afternoon before you had planned, say after work, and make use of the extended daylight. Knocking out 150 or 200 miles would make the next day's ride more feasible.

[DSKYZD]

DSKYSD give good advice too, especially about the skivvies! Wonder who told him about that?

It was some old beemer geezer...












...who's about to be a little older pretty soon.

[nelljones]

I don't think you realize how long 700 miles is. I'm one of the route planners for our 4 bike group, and we try to keep interstate days at 600 and twisty days at 200. If it is raining or very hot, even that mileage will be hell. LD riders worked their way up just like any other sport. Would you step outside and run 26.2 miles? I have great respect for the mileage kings, even if I think they're nuts.

As for what to take, the Anonymous book and cell phone are essential if you are riding alone. My husband and I manage to carry tire patch kits (which he knows how to use but I dont'), air pressure guage and tire pump, oil, spare bulbs and fuses, and about a million tools. And I have my laptop.

And I carry a nail repair kit and a hair dryer. Laugh if you like, but I have used acrylic nail glue for a million things. If I can fit stuff on my bike and carry it to and from my bike, my husband can roll his eyes but he can't object.

Good luck. Come back safe.

[ColumbiaBMW]

I don't think you realize how long 700 miles is.

I do realize how far it is, I've done the drive several times, and I've done it straight through every time. I understand that it will be much more difficult on a motorcycle with the wind and sun all day, but that is why I posted that I will probably camp in Kansas at the halfway point. This thread was about what maintenance I should worry about, or what tools I should really have, or little tricks that I could use (such as the underwear trick previously mentioned, which I do for sure.) So I appreciate everyone concerns about the total mileage, but I can assure you I will not push on unless I feel great, and more than likely I will camp halfway through the trip.

[FloridaBeakster]

Well, I was going to comment on the distance, but I'll keep my mouth shut on that one.

I presume that your 18,000 mile service is complete? If not, make sure that's done, and your annual or every-other-year service items are up to date.

I would highly recommend the Stop-N-Go Tire Plug Kit (the smaller one, withOUT CO2 cartridges). Just follow the instructions carefully, and it's super-easy to repair a tire. Throw a tire-pressure gauge in the kit. Also, pick up a 12V compressor, this one is small and reasonably priced: Slime Powersport Tire Inflator. You can also purchase an el-cheapo $15 one and tear it apart, but the Slime is a nice package. Bring along a piece of rope. If you have to work on the bike (especially when plugging a rear tire, or removing the rear wheel), you want to tie the centerstand to the front wheel, so you don't topple the bike.

Make sure you have someway to plug it in! If you have an accessory socket, you can get an accessory plug to SAE connector to plug the compressor into the socket. If you don't have an accessory socket, it's probably a good thing to install before you go for the compressor, cell phone, etc. All the wiring is there, you just need the BMW part.

I would get the Omega QD's and at least have them with you along with some extra O-rings for the disconnects. Then, if you have any reason to remove the tank at all, replace the QD's, too. BUT, I am an ease-of-maintenance freak and chaging the QD's was the first thing I did after buying the bike. You are not likely to need them for your trip.

Another good thing to have, but probably not necessary for the trip, is an upgraded toolkit. When doing maintenance and repairs on your bike, you should be using the toolkit that came with it. Whenever you run across the need for a tool that's not there, add it to the kit.

Make sure you have spare fuses and a few spare bulbs. I carry one spare tail/brake bulb and one spare turn signal bulb. If I didn't have auxiliary lights that were on all the time, I would also carry a spare headlight bulb. I stuffed two bulbs in some foam and slid it in the electrical box in the slot just forward of the fuses.

I also like to carry a bungee net and/or cargo straps with me in case my side cases shrink during the trip. Extra water is good advice. When I lived out west, I'd stuff a Camelbak bladder in the tankbag with a 90 degree bite valve. I could stuff the tube up my full-face helmet while on the move.

Good protective gear and rain gear is a given.

[ColumbiaBMW]

I presume that your 18,000 mile service is complete? If not, make sure that's done, and your annual or every-other-year service items are up to date.

First of all, thanks a lot for all the advice, and links to the tire repair kit.

As for maintenance, I just bought the bike when it had 16,000 miles on it, and now it has 19,000. I don't think the previous owner had any maintenance done to it, he had the valves adjusted once shortly after buying it brand new, but he never had them done again. It has a new battery, and I had the valves adjusted and throttle body sync done a few weeks ago, along with an oil change and new spark plugs. What else should I do? Brake fluid has probably never been changed so I'll probably do that. Are there any other fluids that I should change? Thanks again to everyone for their help!

[FloridaBeakster]

OK. New (to you) bike with 16,000 on it with unknown/questionable service history. This is what I'd do (if you've done any them since purchasing the bike, you're good to go on that item):

Change engine oil and filter
Change transmission oil
Change final drive oil
Replace air filter
Replace/bleed front brake fluid
Replace/bleed rear brake fluid
Replace/bleed clutch fluid
Replace spark plugs
Adjust valves
Balance throttle bodies
Check alternator belt tension

[ColumbiaBMW]

Change engine oil and filter
Change transmission oil
Change final drive oil
Replace air filter
Replace/bleed front brake fluid
Replace/bleed rear brake fluid
Replace/bleed clutch fluid
Replace spark plugs
Adjust valves
Balance throttle bodies
Check alternator belt tension

That was exactly what I was looking for, thanks!!!

So far I have done:
Oil and filter change
Replaced spark plugs
Adjusted valves
Balanced throttle bodies

So I still need to:
Change transmission oil
Change final drive oil
Bleed brakes and change fluid
Change clutch fluid

About the air filter and alternator belt tension though...is a K&N filter worth the price? And doesn't the alternator belt have an automatic tensioner? (Forgive me if that is a stupid question, please remember I may be the worst mechanic in the world, I just like to ride motorcycles a lot.)