[captainconk]

just wondering how long trips are on a sportbike? i'm taking my 04 f4i to florida next month and that's about a 18 hour ride from ohio to my florida destination. so, can i expect to have a destroyed back by the time i get there?
i'm meetin a friend down there... i can't wait to leave his 07 yzf 600 he's been bragin about in the dust!

[slickwill]

My back does all right on the F4i on long trips. It's my butt that can't handle it. I've heard that gel bike shorts can make a difference.

[Gregory Waters]

i would think your back would hurt after awhile i know my ass and my back start to get bothered after about 3hrs.

[BikePilotRR]

It sounds like you're planning a highway trip...not too much fun. If you were to route some fun roads, you'll do it with ease. I've spent LONG hours in the saddle in the Ozark Mtns. with no problem, woke up the next morning and did it again. I've actually put on over 2000 miles in a weekend over there. But you're constantly adjusting, sliding around the seat, moving around...on the same note, I've also run highway on my bike a few times, not for 18 hrs. though, closer to 5hrs. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I was ready to get off when I got to my destination. But your bike is more comfortable than mine....I'd say do it! Besides, sometimes the most miserable rides turn out to be the memorable too. I still think about the time I got caught after sundown, two hours away from the hotel room which was in Ft. Smith, Ar., and I was down in Mena, Ar.-- just finished riding the Talimena Trail (one of the best roads in America). Sun went down and so did the temperature....while we were eating Pizza and talking about our ride--nice and warm inside, little did we know that it had gone down to near freezing outside. I mean the second we went outside to get on the bikes...it hit us like a brick wall! And us, all we had were windbreakers, for the most part. Luckliy, Wal-mart was open across the street, and just the ride to there, we froze our a*&es off. We went to the hunting Dept, and bought up some hunting gloves & long johns, figured that would get us back to Ft. Smith. We got on the road and were immediately turned into popsicles. Had to stop a couple of times going back up, just to thaw out some, and it was hard to turn the keys back on every time...but we made it. But you know, I remember that ride like it was yesterday. The best rides were all a blur, we had a blast, but I couldn't tell you one thing that comes to mind about them...because we were having to much fun to make memories....but that ride in the cold...I remember it sharp as a tack.

[captainconk]

thanks for the opinions, i was alittle worried about how i'd feel riding that long. i am taking two full days to make the trip so i'll be stopping alot and i'll stop overnight at the halfway point so i think i'll be ok.

[blue1000rr]

id say as long as your not in a huge hurry and can stop every few hours for 15 min or so then you should be fine.

[BikePilotRR]

Come on, don't be a wuss, you get to stop every couple hundred miles anyway, since that's all you'll get out of your tank....see how fast you can do it in! Just jokin'... but on an F4, you should be able to go for quite a ways without a problem, it's a fairly comfortable bike...not very far removed from the VFR which is considered a sport-tourer and can swallow miles like a Goldwing, just not with so much style. I'd say get an MP3 player with long battery life and inner ear/ plug-style ear-buds. The ear plug style ear buds work like an ear plug by drowning out background noise, like wind-noise, and you can listen to them at sane volume levels. Plus you get the added bonus of being able to take your helmet on and off without ripping your ears out, like the outer ear ear buds tend to do. I have a Sansa MP3 player that has a battery life of 20 hours, they make them that will go even longer than that....the earbuds that I use are the V-moda Vibe. They sound AWESOME, nothing short of the full spectrum of sound. Anyway, the point is, that if you bring along some entertainment, it will help extend your ride, by keeping bordom in check, to some degree. If you don't use the MP3 player, at least use ear-plugs. By keeping the wind-noise down, will help keep you fresh also...wind-noise wears you down after a while. While you're in the saddle, shift yourself around every now and then--sometimes put your toes on the pegs, sometimes the arch, sometimes the heal. You can also, put your left forearm across the tank and lean on it for a while. This will help extend your ability to stay in the saddle. If you can plan in some backroads, it would help also.

[blue1000rr]

Originally Posted by BikePilotRR

Come on, don't be a wuss, you get to stop every couple hundred miles anyway, since that's all you'll get out of your tank....see how fast you can do it in! Just jokin'... but on an F4, you should be able to go for quite a ways without a problem, it's a fairly comfortable bike...not very far removed from the VFR which is considered a sport-tourer and can swallow miles like a Goldwing, just not with so much style. I'd say get an MP3 player with long battery life and inner ear/ plug-style ear-buds. The ear plug style ear buds work like an ear plug by drowning out background noise, like wind-noise, and you can listen to them at sane volume levels. Plus you get the added bonus of being able to take your helmet on and off without ripping your ears out, like the outer ear ear buds tend to do. I have a Sansa MP3 player that has a battery life of 20 hours, they make them that will go even longer than that....the earbuds that I use are the V-moda Vibe. They sound AWESOME, nothing short of the full spectrum of sound. Anyway, the point is, that if you bring along some entertainment, it will help extend your ride, by keeping bordom in check, to some degree. If you don't use the MP3 player, at least use ear-plugs. By keeping the wind-noise down, will help keep you fresh also...wind-noise wears you down after a while. While you're in the saddle, shift yourself around every now and then--sometimes put your toes on the pegs, sometimes the arch, sometimes the heal. You can also, put your left forearm across the tank and lean on it for a while. This will help extend your ability to stay in the saddle. If you can plan in some backroads, it would help also.

the mp3 player is a good idea but i refuse to have both ears taken up by head phones so i bought a pair of koss in ears, about $50, and then cut the right one off so that i can still listen to music but at the same time i can hear what is going on around me. and trust me you do have to close your eyes to cut off one of the headphones on a $50 pair

[road_rubber]

captainconk, sounds like a nice little ride you have planned. All good advice with the moving around on the bike, music and taking backroads etc. It certainly would be a waste of 18 hours riding to just sit on the highway enduring windblast. Spend some time checking the bike before you leave and consider what sort of emergency toolkit might be handy to carry while you're at it. Consider weather and any variation in altitude/climate along route be prepared to dress accordingly.

How long you can ride for a stretch depends on what sort of distances you're used to doing on a regular basis and how used to the bike you are. It's not the ideal bike for a long haul but not bad either and if it's your daily ride and you're used to an hour or two at a stretch you might even be able to ride continuously-ish for a couple of a days, don't sweat it just take whatever time you need. Take a burner and a bag of coffee grounds or powdered soup so you can stop in nice spots for a brew rather than gas stations for a cheeseburger - take a camera - eat light.

Enjoy and ride safe.

[slickwill]

A carefully packed tank bag can make a long ride much more bearable because you can then just lay your chest right on it. It allows you to rest your back and arms.

[-Z-]

Yeah, great suggestion on the fully packed tank bag. Besides, it's not like it's really going to interfere with steering or anything. And yeah, stop anyways, and consolidate your stops. Instead of stopping for food, then stopping half an hour or so later for gas, then again later to stretch, combine them all and do them all at the same stop, and then take the whole time to stretch out and relax. I did a trip from Sac to Philly one year, and on an F4i too. Of course, I stopped each night and caught some sleep, but I don't think that should be a major problem for you, with only an 18 hour trip.

[jrocket]

Go for it!! Your memories from the trip will make the whole thing worthwhile, as BikePilotRR said.
Although I haven't had the opportunity to do one, I sure think about it from time to time. I'd love to take the time to do a week-long trip on my bike.
Btw, I was in that part of Ar for a mtb race this past weekend. All I could think of was how much fun those roads woulda been on my 929.
J

[BikePilotRR]

jrocket, you HAVE to do it... NW Arkansas is fantastic! The place was made for a 929! The Talimena trail goes from Mena, Ar to somewhere Oklahoma, it is an asphalt ribbon, left, right, left, with elevation changes galore! But be careful, there's deer and bears, they'll move for you though...lol That's not the only road though, there are lots, in fact, you can almost just point your front tire in any direction and find some fun. Bring a map, so you can find yourself every now and then. There's lots of places to stop for a break too, there are lots of caverns to see...there's the glass church in Eureka Springs, which is a neat town in itself, tourist trap though. Which is just a hop, skip and a jump from Branson, Mo.. I've burned through and entire rear tire in two days over there though. Was lucky enough to find a mechanic that was working on his jeep , after hours, at a Yamaha Shop in Harrison, Ar., who made a phone call to his boss, and was gracious enough to agree to sell me a rear tire...saved the rest of the weekend! But you may not be as hard on your tires as I am. I tend to bugger 'em up pretty bad in the curves...plus it was a track day tire (I think it was a Pirelli Diablo, if I remember right). I started using more street oriented tires on the rear, and have been finding that they hold up extremely well, with no real traction issues. I know this is off subject, but right now I am running a Continental Race Attack in the front and a Road Attack in the rear....and find it to be an awsome setup. Last setup was Michelin Pilot Power in the front and Pilot Road in the rear, and it was also excellent. In between these two sets of tires, I tried out a Pirelli Diablo Corsa in the rear, because I ran through the entire Pilot Road, and still had a little bit life left in my front Pilot Power...and you know, I didn't find any added grip in the Pirelli over and above the Pilot Road... I'd still dial a slide, at will...and to make things worse, it only lasted 1500 miles. I guess the point is that, I've been experimenting a bit with tires and am finding that it's ok to put a road tire in the rear....with 190mm of rubber back there, it still gets good grip with the road tires...and they're lasting around 5K to 7K miles instead of 1500-2500 miles. Something to think about.

[fireblade3876]

Possibly think about bar risers, this wil take a lot of strain off your wrists and change your posture slightly to reduse back fatigue.

[chukky]

I officially sanction all the info and advice you have been given,so off you go
Cheers
Chukky