Long Trip Plans

[Guest]

Be sure to bring a copy of " Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Persig. If you have a breakdown at least you will have something to entertain yourself with. Keep in mind that 800 miles is nothing but a warm up for these aging Suzukis.

 

[DohcBikes]

--Talc up--

 

[dorkburger]

Long trip is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. 800 miles isn't that long in my opinion, but after a 500 mile day im pretty shot. My ES isnt exactly a touring rig however. Last year I got a drywall screw in my rear tire and had to buy a plug kit mid trip. It was the rubber mushroom plug type kit with installation tools and CO2 cartridges. The plug held fine for another 2k miles and now the tire is worn out. I didnt get to test the CO2 cartridges though. The screw leaked very slowly, so I did the repair in a convenience store parking lot with an air pump and saved the cartridges.

 

[londonboards]

See my link about rearets

Mods for Long Distance on a GS Suzuki
Also go for a windshield, bar end weights (to reduce vibration) and some form of mechanical cruise control like this:

or even one of these helps a lot:

Throttle Wrist Rest

And wrap your toolkit up with a nice piece of old carpet. Something you can kneel on by the side of the road to fix that ignition system:

 

[posplayr]

Where is the 3 peice hammer set?

 

[wymple]

You only need one hammer if it's big enough.

 

[posplayr]

You only need one hammer if it's big enough.

Yes, but to offer your GS the finesse it needs and yourself the bragging rights you deserve, the matched three hammer set with set you apart from the average wrencher .

 

[Guest]

As for your tires. I would recommend getting two bottles of RIDE ON tire sealant. Cheap insurance against flats.

 

[Tim Tom]

In 2012 I took my 850G from NJ to CA and back. Ended up being an 8,000 mile trip. Things that broke on that trip:

1.) The RR blew on day 3. It was the original one in the bike, I had a spare with me, was replaced and back on the road in about an hour.
2.) Same day I ran the bike really hot and melted the silicone valve cover gasket. I did not have a spare with me, so I ended up putting in oil every day until I could get the part in Reno NV.
3.) Not a break down, but I did have to fit a new rear tire in Denver. I knew the tire on the bike had enough life to get me to Denver, but not much further. Shipped the tire to a friend there ahead of time and took care of it.

Those were my only issues. In 21 days and 8,000 miles of riding. And two of them happened on the same day!

I did bring quite a few tools with me, full socket set, box wrenches, needle nose pliers, zip ties, spare wire, wire strippers, wire cutters, volt meter, some spare fuel hose, and my tire plug kit. Also had some JB weld, and gasket maker. Because of the length of the trip I had a full set of replacement spark plugs, spare new stator and RR, spare clutch and throttle cables, and my valve shim kit. Rather than rely on the CO2 bottles I went for a Slime Mini Air Compressor that you can run off the battery of the running bike. Also had the string type tire plugs, with associated reamer and puller tools. I only used about a quarter of the tools I brought with me, but I'm glad I did have them in case they were needed.

Some overall advice:
Make sure your bike is running great before you leave. Adjust your valves, sync your carbs, change the oil. Have front and rear brakes in excellent condition. Check the forks and swingarm for play caused by bad bearings. Make sure the fork seals are in good shape and not leaking. Be sure the fuel lines are in good shape and not cracked or damaged. Good tires with enough LIFE (Not tread!! They are different!! Learn how to read the age of the tire, and if it's over 5 years old REPLACE THEM!!)

Make sure you have riding gear that fits and is comfortable to wear all day. If your helmet fits poorly and creates a pressure point, you will not have a fun trip. Get rain gear if you don't have it! Waterproof boots and gloves are a must.

Stretch and hydrate often throughout the day as you ride. Ideally every 120 miles or so. Whenever you get gas, take the time to stretch, drink water, eat a snack. Doing so will greatly reduce fatigue before it happens. Once you are tired it's too late.

I found it easy enough to ride about 400-500 miles in a day. That left me plenty of time to find a nice campsite and relax a bit. 800 miles should be a breeze provided your bike is running properly and you ride smartly.

 

[jdvorchak]

I've done plenty of touring. We usually go about 2 to 3 thousand miles for the entire trip. I have a cup holder and keep refilling the water bottle at every stop. Take a few sips often while riding. Only tools I only carry are a credit card, cell phone and towing insurance. I have windshield cleaner and microfiber towels because if you smash only one bug it will be in your line of sight. I've found that if I run for 100 miles or 1 1/2 hours at a time then stop for fuel and snacks and more liquids I enjoy the ride more. Rarely drink soda (pop) but will drink either water or sport drink like Gatorade. You don't realize how quickly you will become dehydrated and one of the first things to go is decision making and reaction times. Take your time and enjoy the ride! I've done 580 miles in a day and I've done 300 miles in a day. Enjoyed the 300 mile days more than the 500. Now this is just me. It's the ride not the destination...

Kind of a funny story. My wife and I were in Key West and I saw a guy on a brand new Harley Ultra Classic touring bike so I stopped to talk a bit. I asked where he was from and he told me (don't remember) but he said "Rode 328 miles yesterday to get here!" Like he was really proud of that. My wife looked at me and said "Didn't you just ride 360 mile for lunch the other day?" End of conversation....

 

[Houndawg76]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate all the good tips. Here's my grocery list of things to do to my bike:

Tires- I replaced the back tire last fall (Metzler 880) so that's not a problem. I'm replacing the front tire this spring- it has plenty of tread, but I'm seeing hairline cracks in the sidewalls. I'm going with a Metzler 880 on the front because I got 11,000 miles out of these tires.

Charging system- I replaced the stator last spring (thanks Stator Papers) but I left the original RR in place since it tested OK and the battery held up last summer without any problems. I'm thinking about going ahead and replacing the RR just in case......

Brakes- this is my big concern. I'm going to replace all the brake pads and rebuild the front brake calipers. I'm also going to replace the brake lines, too. I have the caliper rebuild kit for the front brakes.

Saddlebags- looking on Craigslist for a good deal.

Carbs- going to clean them and give them a looking over.

That's on my list so far. One of the other things I'm thinking about doing is replacing the windshield. It's just tall enough to block the wind off the upper part of my body, but the wind comes off the top edge and hits me right at forehead height. This gets annoying after an hour or so.

 

[posplayr]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate all the good tips. Here's my grocery list of things to do to my bike:

Tires- I replaced the back tire last fall (Metzler 880) so that's not a problem. I'm replacing the front tire this spring- it has plenty of tread, but I'm seeing hairline cracks in the sidewalls. I'm going with a Metzler 880 on the front because I got 11,000 miles out of these tires.

Charging system- I replaced the stator last spring (thanks Stator Papers) but I left the original RR in place since it tested OK and the battery held up last summer without any problems. I'm thinking about going ahead and replacing the RR just in case......

Brakes- this is my big concern. I'm going to replace all the brake pads and rebuild the front brake calipers. I'm also going to replace the brake lines, too. I have the caliper rebuild kit for the front brakes.

Saddlebags- looking on Craigslist for a good deal.

Carbs- going to clean them and give them a looking over.

That's on my list so far. One of the other things I'm thinking about doing is replacing the windshield. It's just tall enough to block the wind off the upper part of my body, but the wind comes off the top edge and hits me right at forehead height. This gets annoying after an hour or so.

The unfortunate consequence of indecision is that with a Shunt R/R you are hastening the death of the newely installed stator. By the time you do change to a SERIES R/R the stator may already be damaged (cooked) making failure on the trip a real possibility. I would pull the statro cover and check to see how cooked the stator is and make a decision to change it along with the Sh-775.

 

[jdvorchak]

Too bad you are not closer to St. Louis. I have a really nice set of throw over saddle bags for sale. $50. Honestly they look like new. They are vinyl not leather and pretty sure they've never seen rain.

 

[Houndawg76]

Yeah, me too. I am on the opposite side of Missouri from you.

Question on the RR that Posplayer is recommending- does that come with the correct connectors or will I need to rig up something to connect it to the stator and battery? I'm asking because if it doesn't what kind of Polaris vehicle did go into originally so I can see if any of the local motorcycle wrecking yards would have anything like it to get the correct connectors.

 

[posplayr]

Yeah, me too. I am on the opposite side of Missouri from you.

Question on the RR that Posplayer is recommending- does that come with the correct connectors or will I need to rig up something to connect it to the stator and battery? I'm asking because if it doesn't what kind of Polaris vehicle did go into originally so I can see if any of the local motorcycle wrecking yards would have anything like it to get the correct connectors.

details and links are here. It is listed in my signature as "GS Stator"

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?191795-GS-Stator

 

[twr1776]

Have you been through the wiring yet?

By that I mean taking every connector apart (including the headlight bucket), cleaning with electrical contact cleaner, re-assembling with di-electric grease, and using heat shrink tubing everywhere you can.

IMHO more stators and r/r's fail because of poor wiring connections than any other cause.

 

[Ray916MN]

Some great riding in AR. Don't miss AR125, 7, 16, and 341. 160 running east/west across southern MO is a good road too and if you take AR125 and use the Peel Ferry to hook up with 125 MO north of 160 it is an excellent ride.

Have fun!

 

[jdvorchak]

Have you been through the wiring yet?

By that I mean taking every connector apart (including the headlight bucket), cleaning with electrical contact cleaner, re-assembling with di-electric grease, and using heat shrink tubing everywhere you can.

IMHO more stators and r/r's fail because of poor wiring connections than any other cause.

I also think a lot of stators and R/Rs are mis-diagnosed because of the wiring.

 

[Houndawg76]

On the subject of saddlebags, I found out Amazon.com has some great deals on saddlebags. I found a set that listed for $119 on sale for $39 plus shipping.
BTW, here's a picture of my bike. For some reason I can't upload anything more that 40KB.