[trixter]

I've read about other such trips here and have always wanted to see the country at warp speed, and so that's what I've done. Last week I loaded up my 06 CBR 1000RR, and left from Savannah, GA and headed west. Before all was said and done I had covered 6282 miles in basically 8 1/2 days. (I cheated and left on Thursday night) It kinda went like this...
Savannah - Tuscaloosa, AL - 443 miles
Tuscaloosa - Denton, TX - 623
Denton - Phoenix, AZ - 1086 (turning this one in to ironbutts.com)
Phoenix - Cambria, CA - 589
Cambria - Austin, NV - 597
Austin - Vail, CO - 723
Vail - Lawrence, KS - 661 (younger son lives here)
Lawrence - Tulsa, OK - 221 (elder son lives here)
Tulsa - Magazine, AR - 148 (met friends here)
Magazine - Savannah - 880
This trip was a hoot. Lots of things to see and do - I only wish I had had time to see and do them. I felt rushed, which I suppose I was. Warp speed across west Texas was fun. (the hard-wired Valentine one worked VERY well) Riding through the Mojave at 114 degrees was interesting - as was riding across Vail Summit pass at 30-something degrees through snowpack on the side of the road. I rode through about 400 miles of rain on the plains (mainly - lol) and bright morning sun along highway 1 from Morrow Bay to Monterey.
I averaged 43.2 mpg and spent about $1500 total. I took some pictures, but nothing fantastic - and not nearly as many as I wanted. I managed to get some decent video from the mini-cam mounted underneath the nose, as I was headed west from Bakersfield to the coast.
The only mechanical malodies were the tomtom GPS which decided to stop charging it's batteries from the hard-wired connector about mid-way. Could be the way it's wired in - I haven't diagnosed it yet... And I had to stop in Las Cruces for a new chain. Actually the new Carrozziria rims came with an aluminum rear sprocket, which I didn't realize wouldn't hold up well to high heat and long distance. The sprocket got eaten badly and as the chain stretched, it kinked and destroyed itself. (I shoulda checked it more often) Given there was no replacement readily available I had to limp it home after that. (limping a CBR is about 85mph) Smooth clutch action and rolling on the throttle instead of my usual ham-handing it, did the trick.
I think maybe my fave section was highway 50 (the lonliest road in America) from mid-Nevada through Utah, and then I-70 to Vail. Very cool. I highly recommend this trip, with perhaps another week or 2 to investigate side trips as inspired.

[.OrgOwner]

Great post, thanks for sharing!

[sinfuldragon]

how did your tires look when it was all said and done

[trixter]

Originally Posted by sinfuldragon

how did your tires look when it was all said and done

Actually, pretty good. I put on a brand new set of Metzler Roadtec Z6s right before I left. I would say they are about half there, perhaps a bit more. The Z6s work well for me because they handle very well for a sport touring tire and, well I don't exactly run em as hard as some folks do.

[Quick 26]

sound like a good trip. did you have a problem with the bags scratchin the bodywork? i want bags but dont want scratches

[OSIRIS]

Wow! Cool trip and a nice writeup! How bad was it on the stock seat and I assume the stock bars? Any throttle lock?

[trixter]

Originally Posted by Quick 26

sound like a good trip. did you have a problem with the bags scratchin the bodywork? i want bags but dont want scratches

the cortech bags worked very well - 3 clips and they're on or off. no scratches to the bodywork (which i quit worrying about when i backed the tail into side of the garage) because of the neoprene protective pieces, but the pointed edge of the aluminum protecter over the rear brake fluid reservoir ate through the front of the bags. (they were already damaged some before i learned to fold the passenger pegs down to avoid bag contact)
i also lost one of the bag covers on an earlier trip, so i didn't even take em - just lined the bags with trash bags to keep the interior items dry.
when i pulled the bags off the bike i tossed em over my shoulder to carry in and out of hotels, etc. i carried my laptop (15" screen) in the tail bag along with an extra shield (to swap out at night) and all the cords and crap for my cameras and whatnot.

[trixter]

Originally Posted by OSIRIS

Wow! Cool trip and a nice writeup! How bad was it on the stock seat and I assume the stock bars? Any throttle lock?

stock bike, basically. the stock grips didn't bug me, but i could have used a throttle lock to give my throttle hand a break now and again. i can't see me using it a LOT, just now and again...
i took a lot of warmup rides to get the old (and i MEAN old) keester in shape. savannah to daytona is 250 miles - down one day, back the next. miami beach is 500 miles - down one day, back the next. panama city beach is 840 miles round trip - so i went over for lunch one day - and back. that was the one that let me know i could do this, although it would be physically demanding.
since i'm 5'-5", i think it gives me an advantage in how i can move around on the bike to alter my comfort / discomfort level in different areas. i stopped about every 150 miles for gas, and when i did i always took 15 - 20 minutes, for a candy bar, bottle of water, whatever. once i got off the bike - all the soreness went away... unitl about 50 miles after i got back on.

[Quick 26]

Originally Posted by trixter

the cortech bags worked very well - 3 clips and they're on or off. no scratches to the bodywork (which i quit worrying about when i backed the tail into side of the garage) because of the neoprene protective pieces, but the pointed edge of the aluminum protecter over the rear brake fluid reservoir ate through the front of the bags. (they were already damaged some before i learned to fold the passenger pegs down to avoid bag contact)
i also lost one of the bag covers on an earlier trip, so i didn't even take em - just lined the bags with trash bags to keep the interior items dry.
when i pulled the bags off the bike i tossed em over my shoulder to carry in and out of hotels, etc. i carried my laptop (15" screen) in the tail bag along with an extra shield (to swap out at night) and all the cords and crap for my cameras and whatnot.

thanks. i took the rear pegs off of mine, do you need them on there for the bags to clip to? i plan on getting a different brake ressi set up for mine anyway to clean up the back of the bike

[trixter]

Originally Posted by Quick 26

thanks. i took the rear pegs off of mine, do you need them on there for the bags to clip to? i plan on getting a different brake ressi set up for mine anyway to clean up the back of the bike

In my case - I DO have the bags clipped to the rear pegs, however the strap is long enough you could probably find something else to clip to. The receiver part of the web strap attachment I just looped around the passenger pegs cuz it was convenient...

[Quick 26]

[OSIRIS]

Originally Posted by trixter

stock bike, basically. the stock grips didn't bug me, but i could have used a throttle lock to give my throttle hand a break now and again. i can't see me using it a LOT, just now and again...
i took a lot of warmup rides to get the old (and i MEAN old) keester in shape. savannah to daytona is 250 miles - down one day, back the next. miami beach is 500 miles - down one day, back the next. panama city beach is 840 miles round trip - so i went over for lunch one day - and back. that was the one that let me know i could do this, although it would be physically demanding.
since i'm 5'-5", i think it gives me an advantage in how i can move around on the bike to alter my comfort / discomfort level in different areas. i stopped about every 150 miles for gas, and when i did i always took 15 - 20 minutes, for a candy bar, bottle of water, whatever. once i got off the bike - all the soreness went away... unitl about 50 miles after i got back on.

That's impressive! I'd like to do some longer trips on my RC, but I don't think I could do it without a throttle lock. I did a 650 mile trip on my 929, but I was spent the next day. Not sure I can swing it on the RC though