Long Rides and Highway Cruising!

My '81 450L is great for a long cruise on the highway. I have to wonder how fast you plan to be going if you're cruising at 7K on the tach. I'm usually about 4500 to 5500K at about 65 to 70 mph in 6th gear...gets me close to 65 to 70 mpg.

As for riding 200 miles straight...take the scenic route. I always find a place or two along the way that I want to stop and enjoy the views.

The stock gears on my '81E are 16/45... in 6th I run about 100 RPM/ 1 MPH. I'll be on the interstate for ~150 miles so I'd like to cruise at ~70+ if possible.

Finding scenic spots is no problem, well, actually, it may be THE problem 'cause there are too many! The routes from Denver to Rapid City (Sturgis) have several legs of 40 miles + without any services or towns.

I've decided to trailer the bike since I don't have any luggage for it. I think I'm still going to order new sprockets though, probably start with a 17-tooth front and if that doesn't do it for me I'll try a 43-tooth rear in addition.

She's spinning about 5k at 60 which should be pretty comfortable. I have some case savers on the bike which i can put my feet up if need be.
I plan on making this a full day deal. I got a buddy that lives near the mountain in case I'm too tired to make it back. Not trying to win any races, just enjoy the scenery and some twisty roads.

[snark]

My '81 450L is great for a long cruise on the highway. I have to wonder how fast you plan to be going if you're cruising at 7K on the tach. I'm usually about 4500 to 5500K at about 65 to 70 mph in 6th gear...gets me close to 65 to 70 mpg. The highway bars, if you have them, make the ride a joy. The only big thing I did to make the bike more comfortable was to put on a 1986 seat.

As for riding 200 miles straight...take the scenic route. I always find a place or two along the way that I want to stop and enjoy the views.

BTW...I've never had to bungie cord my side covers on. Just make sure you put them on correctly and you'll be fine.

Check your sprocket sizes. rlong74 17/42 would be like 2 up on the front, to your 16/45. You may need to change both

I have the TX which gives me 16/43. I do need to change the rear which I will be doing soon and I may go down to a 42.
Thanks SqDancer

Check your sprocket sizes. rlong74 17/42 would be like 2 up on the front, to your 16/45. You may need to change both

That might not look too bad as long as you don't have buckhorns on it. mine came with one of these- http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalogue/Classic.shtml
First thing i took off the bike when i got home. Luckily i kept it and i can at least try to cut it down to a decent size.

I have done a few runs on the freeway so far but anything over 60 and the buffeting gets to be pretty uncomfortable. I was looking at this JC Whitney cafe fairing to work around that:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/sport-style...40d2010y1986j3

Would look awkward on my 450L but what the hell.

I will testing this mod out next week on a trip down to Mt St. Helens. need to get some wind protection between now and then but I think it should do ok overall.

It is usually better to go one up on the front sprocket, for a couple of reasons:
It is cheaper
You do not have to mod the chain to do it, just move the back axle forward a bit.

What RPM is the engine running in 6th gear at 60 mph?

It's turning at 5k.

Mine is the T model so it's 16/42 and I went up one in the front. It's a JT Sprockets 17T JTF513.17
Only cost me 12 bucks on Ebay and 20 minutes of my time.

What RPM is the engine running in 6th gear at 60 mph?

Mine is the T model so it's 16/42 and I went up one in the front. It's a JT Sprockets 17T JTF513.17
Only cost me 12 bucks on Ebay and 20 minutes of my time.

What sprockets did you use?

I believe my stock are 16/45. Is it better to go one up in the front or three down in back?

Bike should handle it fine.

For sustained highway riding changing out the front countershaft sprocket for another with one extra tooth makes a noticeable reduction in freeway rpm. I did this mod on my old 400 during my commuting days and liked the results. The sprockets are cheap and you can switch back and forth with the original in only a few min.

I did this yesterday and the results are great. No big deal switching them out either. A must do for twins if you're doing much highway riding.

[Nessism]

Bike should handle it fine.

For sustained highway riding changing out the front countershaft sprocket for another with one extra tooth makes a noticeable reduction in freeway rpm. I did this mod on my old 400 during my commuting days and liked the results. The sprockets are cheap and you can switch back and forth with the original in only a few min.