Topic: your biggest journey on a bike tell me about it.

[benly- ben]

I recently found out about Charley boorman and Ewan mcgregor. you might already know that they have been on two epic journeys touring the world on BMW gs (long way round, long way down). I'm very interested in big journeys on bikes just like these, so tell me about any bike journeys you have been on.
Benny

[DammitDan]

And Charley went on the Paris-Dakar race in the middle of the two 

Check out "The Race To Dakar"

[nickjtc]

Flew to Montreal in the summer of '98, with the missis, and picked up a '96 BMW R1100RS. Left the dealer on the Monday afternoon and we were back in Kamloops on the Saturday pm. We rode back via North Bay, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary. The 'leg' between North Bay and Thunder Bay (along the north shore of Lake Superior) was brutal, with a lot of road construction.

Rode my KLR650 in the Alberta 2000 Rally (in 2000, coincidentally) and covered 2500kms in 25 hours.

Used my VFR800 for two 'Iron Butt' rides, the first a 1500 mile/36 hour jaunt from Edmonton through Saskatoon, down to Calgary and home. The second was a 2000 miles/2 days ride from Sea Ranch, California, through Nevada and Utah (stopped in Ogden) then north through Montana, Idaho and Washington back to BC.

Rode 'Sophie' my '79 CB650 to and from Fort St.John, BC. 1000km, with the usual ride time being about 11hrs. Then I did a weekly commute of 440kms from Quesnel to Kamloops.

My goal is to do an 'Iron Butt' ride on Sophie.

[mcpuffett]

i'm just watching that dvd at the moment  , another one to look out for is "By any means " Ireland to Australia Charley Boorman,

my longest motorbike journey would have been in 1989 from Lancaster to Belgium on board my 1976 Kawasaki z750 twin went easter bank holiday to a place called Kalmthout on the Belgium /Holland border, i went with my best mate at the time his brother & their girlfriends & his mum and dad,  all on bikes of course Triumph Bonneville,Yamaha XJ 650 and Harley 883 sportster, went from Hull to Zeebrugger on the overnight ferry and stayed at their Uncles Biker bar for free just had to pay for our beer   happy days i've got some photos somewhere i'll try and scan them and post some  , cheers Mick.

[benly- ben]

Flew to Montreal in the summer of '98, with the missis, and picked up a '96 BMW R1100RS. Left the dealer on the Monday afternoon and we were back in Kamloops on the Saturday pm. We rode back via North Bay, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary. The 'leg' between North Bay and Thunder Bay (along the north shore of Lake Superior) was brutal, with a lot of road construction.

Rode my KLR650 in the Alberta 2000 Rally (in 2000, coincidentally) and covered 2500kms in 25 hours.

Used my VFR800 for two 'Iron Butt' rides, the first a 1500 mile/36 hour jaunt from Edmonton through Saskatoon, down to Calgary and home. The second was a 2000 miles/2 days ride from Sea Ranch, California, through Nevada and Utah (stopped in Ogden) then north through Montana, Idaho and Washington back to BC.

Rode 'Sophie' my '79 CB650 to and from Fort St.John, BC. 1000km, with the usual ride time being about 11hrs. Then I did a weekly commute of 440kms from Quesnel to Kamloops.

My goal is to do an 'Iron Butt' ride on Sophie.

that's one cool trip, a kid like me dreams of touring America on a bike, I'm the only kid that thinks like that in my whole school. nearly 1000 in my skool.

I have heard of race to Dakar and by any means but not seen them.
I have books for long way round, long way down, race to Dakar & by any means.Currently reading long way round. I'm a looky lad!!
Benny

[jhonsey]

Not the longest but one of my most memorable was a trip from Grand Junction, CO to Mankato, MN. The trip started out with the temp touching 100 degrees in GJ. By the time I hit the mountains, 42 degrees. Timed it just perfect to deal with rush hour in Denver and more heat. By the time I hit the plains I was dealing with a 30 – 40mph wind out of the south. And, of course, more heat. I stopped in North Platte for the night because I was beat up. I was a traveling sound engineer at the time and worked a large outdoor show the night before too so that didn’t help the fatigue level at all.

Next morning was overcast but nice. The temp was between 70 and 80 so I took off north on hwy 83 to leave the godforsaken freeway behind. Beautiful ranch land with rolling hills and enough curves to keep things interesting. Crossed the Niobrara, headed into SD and took a right at Mission. Hwy 18 in SD was great, straight for a long time, then, out of nowhere, curves and hills would pop up. Hopped on I-90 for a few miles, entered MN and got off the freeway again at hwy 60. Took hwy 60 all the way to Mankato. One of the things that made the trip memorable was it was one of the last for my 85 Yamaha FJ1100. I sold it soon after in moment of sheer madness. I miss that bike and have fond memories of the places it took me.

Pics:

[detdrbuzzard]

when i was a teeni rode my norton from detroit to lexington kentucky left there in the morning and headed to mackinaw michigan. spent the night there and crossed the bridge in the morning and too hwy2 west into wisconson down to milwaukee. had dinner and a nap and headed out five housr later for detroit. i tell you i didn't want to look at a bike for a week

[benly- ben]

I hope to do this sometime maybe not in england though, rainy weather , thanks for that!
Benny

[Ryan 550k]

Here's some pics of last summer's ride.  Some friends and I rode from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington.  Next day rode north with a group we know to the Hoh Rain forest in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.  Beautiful, beautiful country we have up here.  Don't know the miles on that trip but it takes two day to make it to the Hoh.  In the second picture down, that's my black 78 CB550.  From what I remember mine was the smallest bike on the trip, I kept up just fine though.  Man I can't wait for next summers trip.
Ben, I'm currently reading Race to Dakar.  Fun read, really intense race.  Charley's a little whiny but I think that's just his nature.

[Sam Green Racing]

Ya dad said, go to bed Benny.

Sam.

[tramp]

i'm jealous and retired and working on my 74 750
hmmmm what could that add up to

[Ryan 550k]

i'm jealous and retired and working on my 74 750
hmmmm what could that add up to

In my book that adds up to many trips once that 750's finished!

[DammitDan]

Who was the 19 year old forum member that just rode across America on his CB550 cafe bike?

He chronicled the trip for us here on the forum some time back 

[Ryan 550k]

Your kidding!?  That's great!
And to think, I was thinking about posting a thread asking if there was any reason why I shouldn't be able to head down the West Coast from Portland, OR to San Diego, CA on my 550 over the summertime.  Nevermind

[benly- ben]

ill be off to bed sam,
                          having all this fun talking to you guys but skooling ill have to take seriously unless theyll be no benly riding for me!!
cya later guys.

[seaweb11]

Your kidding!?  That's great!
And to think, I was thinking about posting a thread asking if there was any reason why I shouldn't be able to head down the West Coast from Portland, OR to San Diego, CA on my 550 over the summertime.  Nevermind

Remember to bring layers of clothes....it's cold on the OR and CA coast in the summer

That was my longest......... Van to SF and back

[BeSeeingYou]

Summer of 1982 I took a month off of work and took a trip alone on my Yamaha XS650.  Main waypoints were Minneapolis to Sturgis, SD for the bike rally.  The obligatory stop at Devil's Tower and on to the Bighorn Mountains.  Next stop was Yellowstone and Jackson Hole.  From there thru Idaho and Nevada to Lake Tahoe where I spent a few days with a friend.  Next stop was Yosemite and then on to San Fransisco so I could ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.  From there I went up the coast highway to Crescent City and there spent a few days with a cousin.  Next stop was Crater Lake in Oregon and then on to the Columbia River Valley.  From there I took Highway 12 to Walla Walla, Lewiston, and through the Bitter Root Mountains to Missoula.  Nice little stretch of road.  I then went north to Glacier Park and then back south to the little town of Boulder, Montana to spend a week with a good friend and do some local exploring  Spent a day at the mining ghost town of Elkhorn.  At that time it was little known and undisturbed.  The dance hall still had the painted stage backdrop hanging there, wooden tombstones in the graveyard, mining equipment and artifacts lying about. Did a lot of trout fishing on the Little Boulder River.  The river was mostly on private land but through my friend we had access to places seldom fished.  After that I had to get back to Minneapolis in two days.  Took Highway 12 all the way back to Minneapolis as I try and avoid freeways as much as possible.  I covered about 6000+ miles on my trip.

[Frankenkit]

Who was the 19 year old forum member that just rode across America on his CB550 cafe bike?

He chronicled the trip for us here on the forum some time back 

Shenanigans.  He's my hero.

[my78k]

Kit is right....and it is one of the best reads I have had on this forum. I would also suggest Ben (if someone hasn't already and I missed it) that you go through the Tour reports section as there are a handful of really good ride reports.

Dennis

[andy750]

1992 - Trans-USA on a 1976 CB750 (3 weeks, 7000 miles)

2001 - CB750 K4 - Boston, MA to Euraka, CA down Rt1 (Pacific Highway to San Diego, CA then onwards to La Paz, Baja, MX, 18 hr ferry ride across to Maztlan, MX onwards up the Devils Highway to Durango followed by a loop of Mexico going to the Pacific Ocean (Aculpulco) to the jungle (Palenque - jungle Mayan ruins) to Tulum (on the Gulf of Mexico side) to Veracruz and then back to Boston, MA via Texas, Alabama, South Carolina to name a few...2 months, 16, 000 miles.

2003 -CB750 K4 - Oxford, England to Glasgow Scotland and back then onwards to Hook of Holland, Munich Germany to Salzburg, Austria followed by a tour of the Alps (Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany) then onwards to Prague, Czech republic before heading home via Hamburg, Germany and Amsterdam, Holland (the last place we cooked up the idea of the SOHC Easy Rider Trip...). 6000 miles, 20 days.

2004 CB750 K4 - LA (airport) to New Orleans following the route in the movie - Easy Rider -all the photos and reports here -www.easyridertrip.de  and then home to Boston, MA (5500 miles, 16 days).

2005, 2006, 2007 -riding in Japan 

cheers
Andy

[Frankenkit]

how do you do that, do you have your bike shipped, or use someone else's, or...?

[andy750]

how do you do that, do you have your bike shipped, or use someone else's, or...?

Same bike Kit. A 1974 cb750 k4.

Shipped it from New Jersey to Southampton,Uk 2002 then back again in 2003 (after 1.5 yrs) -one way trip = $700. Then in 2004 shipped it by Fwd Air to LAX for the Easy Rider trip ($500 one way).

I am not at all wealthy but saved money/sacrificed to allow me to do these trips. Well worth it ;-)

cheers
Andy

[my78k]

Andy, I have to say that I envy you and those rides. Heck, one of those good long rides over a couple of weeks span rivals my entire road riding distance!

I have thought of going over seas to do a long moto tour maybe through England/Scotland/Ireland. One of those ones where you rent the bike and they do either a group ride or you can set it up where they have all the rooms booked and you just have to make sure you get to the right hotel on the right night...stopping along the way and how you get from one spot to another is totally up to you...Somehow I suspect I will never have the coin for that though!

Dennis

[fuzzybutt]

in 1998 the week before my brother jim got married we did a tour through vermont, new hamshire and maine all through the green mountains and the white mountains, the maine coast. i rode his 69 bonneville and he rode his dyna glide. best week i ever had i think. we camped every night in a different spot, the best part of thew trip i think was the ride up Mt Washington.

[andy750]

Dennis, check out Roadrunner magazine - they have some good trips (and reports) organized to the places you mention. Believe me once you have done it, you will see that it was all worth it. Money lasts only so long but memories last forever.

cheers
Andy