California or Bust! (Motorcycle trip)
 

Anyone want to join me on a little motorcycle ride from June 1st to approx 17th?

From WV to CA and back. It should be an interesting trip. I loaded some software on my phone to upload gps data to my website so anyone can track me in realtime. It will also place photos on the map in the proper location so it should be pretty cool.

tentative list of stuff to do
* Petrified Forest
* Meteor Crater
* Grand Canyon
* Highway 1
* Golden Gate Bridge
* Wall Drug
* Goldfield/Tonopah and other ghost towns
* Salt Flats
* Mt Rushmore
* Crazy Horse
* Devils Tower

so go to Rick’s Site starting on the 1st to see my travel log and TrackMe Display (v1.20) to see a realtime map of what we are up to
:turtle::turtle::turtle::turtle:
It will list average speed and total distance. I will keep track of my gas mileage. Anyone want to guess what my total trip mileage is going to be?

Sounds like an awesome trip!! Cool way to combine technology with a good old-fashioned road trip!

That sounds like a really fun trip. My parents tell me that I have been to many of those places, but I was less than a year old and don't remember any of it. I'm going to try to make it at least as far as Oklahoma this summer.

I think once you get out of WV you should easily be able to average at least 60 MPG.

I am mounting my pack differently on the bike to try and get better aerodynamics. So instead of a large flat pack behind me it is going to be narrow and taller so it helps direct air off my back better. My saddle bags will be packed so they are only as wide as my legs and don't stick out past me.

I am still not sure of the windshield though. I never was able to actually get better mileage with it. So I will mess with it a bit the next few days and see if I can get the air smooth around it and if not then I will just forget it.

I went from the stock 15 tooth front 42 rear sprockets to 16/41. I will be changing back to street type tires in the next day or two so I should have much better highway rpms and hopefully get my mileage up some. There is no offroading on this trip so street tires and tall gearing will do fine.

With all that I still don't know if I can manage 60mpg tanks but I guess I will find out next week :)

With that kind of distance, you might want to keep the windshield. Whether it helps aero or not, it will help keep you from being quite so tired at the end of each day.

Don't forget the Painted Desert while doing the Petrified Forest. Awesome drive.

The Meteor Crater isn't a National Park, but a private site you have to pay to enter. But VERY worth it in my opinion.

Grand Canyon. What can I say? Must see at least once in your lifetime.

Highway 1, You'll want to stop now and again to soak in the views, can be overwhelming at times on a bike. And, really, watch for other gawkers.

Golden Gate Bridge is pretty cool. Take some time to walk through the Presidio and other SF sites. Lombard street is a MUST!!!

Wall Drug. Never been. Someday.

Goldfield/Tonopah and other ghost towns. Lots of history. A walk through Goldfield is a step back in time. But a question? Sort of out of the way, are you planning this before or after SF? If before, Death Valley and all around the are is quite interesting (if you stop in Beatty, NV, the pizza at the Sourdough Saloon ain't bad!!!).

Salt Flats, Be carefull if the flats are wet. I might suggest, depending on your motorcycle's fuel capacity, a trip from Wendover over the north side of the Great Salt Lake and visit Promontory Point... The trail is old railroad bed, and can be muddy if its rained. Maybe too late to alter your plans for that though. (The little Mexican food place East of Wendover at the turnoff for the Salt Flats is decent and not expensive either).

*Mt Rushmore
* Crazy Horse
* Devils Tower
^^^^^^^^^
All neat things to do and see.

Be safe on the ride man... Thats an ambitious adventure on a dual purpose thumper!

EDIT!!!!
If you plan to head East from Wendover and the Salt Flats, I-80 is just long and straight and BORING!!! I quick drop back into Wendover and south a bit to the Pony Express Trail east into Salt Lake City would be a nice diversion. And very doable on street tired motorcycles. When dry, you could even manage the whole trail in a Metro (though you might drag the bottom once or twice!). Its on your way, for the most part...

Good info there Z :)

I just modified the windshield so it sits about 3 inches higher than it used to. I will take it for a drive Friday for about 100 miles and see how it does. If it works then I'm set. If my head is still getting buffeted real bad then I will probably just forget it. I am in good enough shape to not get tired from the wind blast so it is not really a problem either way. I would rather have it on just to keep the bug guts off me really. I will be wearing the same thing for 2-3 weeks so I would rather not have to scrub bug guts off it every night. :thumbup:

Bug guts - poncho?

Just trying to help... That windscreen might be good for keeping the bugs off. Crossing Nevada on highway 6 in early to mid June will have early morning and early evening bugs. REAL bad. Cruising through there one night it was quiet and then suddenly, like the Millenium falcon dropping out of hyperspace into the planet remains, bugs for about 3 miles... Cost almost a roll of quarters to get the red and yellow stains off the front of the WHITE Neon... And that stretch between Tonopah and Ely is open range too, tangle with a Bovinus Rex at highway speeds...

I put a full fairing on my bike after I had to ride home ~60 miles in a hail storm.
You might want to keep it for that reason alone.
Allow the rain and other elements to go around you instead of through you.
On a totally different note;
!!!!!!!!Damn I wish I could go!!!!!!!

even with a late start we still made it to Memphis.

speeding like maniacs though so I got anywhere from 35mpg going 80mph for a full tank and 42mpg going around 70mph for a full tank. So far I am not doing good on my mileage :)