Lots of great advise here.

Motorcycle trips are truly the best part of riding in my opinion. I would suggest you confirm a ultimate destination but not every road to get there. Nothing can spoil a ride more than worrying about running out of gas, trying to make up time to get someplace or getting stranded out on the road at night looking for a place to sleep.

- Gas is easy - Start looking when your tank is half empty not when you hit reserve. The gas stop lets you re-hydrate, grab a snack and talk to people. Plus if you use a credit card you will have a great record of your trip to piece together next winter.
- I take an i-pad with me and stop for a coffee mid afternoon. Someplace like MacDonald's with free internet. Using priceline.com and I can usually book a great hotel in a place I know I can reach easily before nightfall.
- I love riding at night during the summer however during a motorcycle trip you might want to avoid it. First is you will miss all the scenery. Wildlife and bad road conditions can really mess up a trip at anytime but at night you don't have as much time to react/avoid it. Also in many rural places especially down east gas stations can close up for the night.
- The decision to take camping gear is a real personal debate for me. I have always taken it but I've found that I'd actually prefer not to use it on long trips. Hotels/motels offer free breakfasts, showers, a place to wash clothing, pools/hot tubs and a friendly place to chat with other travelers. A rain drenched dark campsite sleeping in a musty tent just can't compete. This is a personal struggle for me as I love camping. Drinking a coffee around a roaring campfire laughing with friend over the days adventure sure is great too. You decide.

Keep rain gear in a easy access place. You may need is quickly and you don't want to offload all your stuff to get it. On a trip you may put it on and off 2-3 times a day or if your real lucky never...

Google map is a great tool to plan out a trip but unless you plan on travelling on express ways the entire time its can provide you with unrealistic mileage figures. Twisties, small towns are great and you will stop more often or run into summer road construction delays etc.. Remember to allow yourself lots of time and don't push to meet some schedule your planned 6months ago from your livingroom off a map.

Take a credit card with a healthy limit. If you need something buy it (your on vacation) Unless you are traveling in a 3rd world country if you need a dry pair of socks or batteries just buy them locally. Last year my camera got wet so I went to a best buy in the states and got a great camera for a great price and carried on.

Enjoy the planning part but don't sweat it if the actual trip ventures off plan. The best things usually happen when you just enjoy the moment of a trip.