GTA to BC... Do it or nah..? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

GTA to BC... Do it or nah..?

The perfect bike for this trip, aside from an ST of course........

How long to you have for the round trip?

Right now I have 21 days, but it's no big deal if I need more...
I figure 5 days out, a week or so to do what I wanna/gotta do in BC.... Then 5 or six days back takin it easy...
 
Right now I have 21 days, but it's no big deal if I need more...
I figure 5 days out, a week or so to do what I wanna/gotta do in BC.... Then 5 or six days back takin it easy...

Based on your trip distance of 4,000 km one way to Kelowna this would be about 5 days at 800 km/day there and back or 10 days of mostly slabbing it. Totally up to you of course but I'd look at a ship bike to Vancouver and fly option vs. 10 days on boring highways. Spend about 3 weeks in BC, Alberta, Washington, Montana, Oregon, maybe northern California etc..... vs. long days on the Trans Canada Highway. Another option is to lengthen the trip there and back by doing mostly back roads through the US. Take 7 or 8 days each way, when a week in Kelowna and you have a trip just over 3 weeks.
 
any of the big touring bikes would be great for this run, mostly any bike but a SS would be alright i would think

I don't disagree, but I'm referring to an optimal bike vs. one that can simply do the miles. The FJR is a sport touring bike that is much more sport than touring vs. much of the competition.
 
Based on your trip distance of 4,000 km one way to Kelowna this would be about 5 days at 800 km/day there and back or 10 days of mostly slabbing it. Totally up to you of course but I'd look at a ship bike to Vancouver and fly option vs. 10 days on boring highways. Spend about 3 weeks in BC, Alberta, Washington, Montana, Oregon, maybe northern California etc..... vs. long days on the Trans Canada Highway. Another option is to lengthen the trip there and back by doing mostly back roads through the US. Take 7 or 8 days each way, when a week in Kelowna and you have a trip just over 3 weeks.

That all sounds good, but my reason(s) for going to Okanagan / Vancouver aren't exactly "vacation-esque"...
I'd get to my destination near Penticton, park the bike and switch to four wheels for my time there and the run to Vancouver.
I guess what I'm using the trip as is an excuse to take the bike... I've always "said" I'd like to, but it's been a looooong time since I've ridden that far for one trip.
When I tell my wife about it her reply is... "Well if you're going to do it you shoukd do it now. You're not getting any younger"... Lol.

I've gotta three day trip coming up soon... 'See how that goes and maybe I'll have a better idea as how a 4000km trip would go...
Or... it'll slap me into my senses and I'll just book on westjet again...Lol
 
Based on your trip distance of 4,000 km one way to Kelowna this would be about 5 days at 800 km/day there and back or 10 days of mostly slabbing it.

800 km/day? Interesting, what is normal for people on a long trip? I went on one tour with some co-workers and they were hurting after 400km. I now choose not to ride long trips with others because I like to cover more distance. On an FJR, I would expect to do 1500+ most days. The best I did on the Ape was 2300km in 24 hours, but that is obviously not sustainable, I was running home to avoid snow so it was mostly boring slab.

OP, I would ride one way for sure. If you don't plan on doing a loop down through the states on the way back, I'd consider having a plan to ship the bike back so you would have more time out west.
 
I once did Burlington to Ft. Lauderdale non stop on a Honda CX650E, but..... I was 24 years old... Lol
 
We started out with a 735 average planned and dropped that to about 520 km days which was much better. We did high 700s acroos the prairie coming home - could have done more but kept riding the tail of a storm front so we'd stop and relax for a while to let us get further ahead.

You have to have cushion days for breakdowns, neat things or just plain kick back.

You can ( and we did ) high mileage on the slab but if you are riding the Bow Valley Parkway or Glacier or Yellowstone then your distance will drop dramatically....time for photos, ferry rides, wandering bison etc.

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The road to Tofino is gorgeous but between twists, traffc and ferries you aren't doing high mileage.

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https://500px.com/macdoc/galleries/bc-trip-with-kenz
 
800 km/day? Interesting, what is normal for people on a long trip? I went on one tour with some co-workers and they were hurting after 400km. I now choose not to ride long trips with others because I like to cover more distance. On an FJR, I would expect to do 1500+ most days. The best I did on the Ape was 2300km in 24 hours, but that is obviously not sustainable, I was running home to avoid snow so it was mostly boring slab.

OP, I would ride one way for sure. If you don't plan on doing a loop down through the states on the way back, I'd consider having a plan to ship the bike back so you would have more time out west.

You've done 1,500 km a day for 2-3 days back to back?? Unless you're doing some kind of Iron Butt ride why bother. I've done about 1,050 km going to and back from Southern OH many times, no slab other than the roads around Buffalo and the QEW and even on a Russell Daylong seat the last couple of hours are a drag. Nice pace is about 600km - 650km and stay on back roads as much as possible and enjoy yourself, most people could do this day after day for several weeks on a vacation.
 
On my cross-country adventure we did 19,000 km total, it was almost exactly 500 km per day on average. The highest were 800 - 1000 per day for the last couple of days to superslab it home. There were a couple of days with almost nothing.
 
A bit of the road along the east bank of Skaha Lake. .. A few minutes from my destination.



The reality of travel through the majestic rockies during the height of the season is plenty of this crap too...


Pylons and lane restrictions.... And those guys holding the stop/slow sign on a pole.

Get stuck behind a car pulling a camper and you're screwed...
 
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You've done 1,500 km a day for 2-3 days back to back?? Unless you're doing some kind of Iron Butt ride why bother.

The last long bike trip I took was 7 days ~11,000km, pretty much all secondary roads until the trip home. Wake up, start riding, when you need gas stop for breakfast, grab something quick for lunch with more gas, stop for dinner with more gas, ride until you get tired, sleep beside bike and repeat. Most days I was riding ~6:00 to 23:00 minus 2 meal stops and ~4 gas stops. I had a great trip, it was perfect for me, others would consider it torture.
 
Pretty sure you posted something about this before and you mentioned you had driven your truck out their. I say load the bike in the truck and have at er'

Two of us are going out at the end of this month and that's how we're doing it.Were just gonna haul *** .One guy sleeps while the other drives.
Their have been people on this board that have done some imsanely( imo) long rides but I know my limits and I get miserable after a few hours in the saddle. Some people love it , I am certainly not one to put in 10-12 hour days for 5-6 days, fuzz that !

Most say the prairies are boring but I really liked driving them in my van, all the wide open space was cool.I wouldn't want to be on a bike for hours across them though . I think between the head wind and the wide open space the wind would be a real biatch .

Just some thoughts ... and keep in mind stunt driving in BC is 40 over not 50 , just a heads up ,Whatever you decide BC is paradise (as you know)and I'm sure the trip will be memorable .My trips to bc have always been ,23 days and we are rollin'
: )

Sounds like a good trip
 
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If I had the time I would do it in a heartbeat. Maybe one day...not today/this year. Hell if I do 5000km this year I'll be pleasantly surprised.
 
W e did it in 2015 - flew the bikes with Air Canada to Vancouver. Left Tor at 9 am - arrived and on bikes in bc by 11. 3 weeks lovely riding and rode home via the US - Glacier, Yellowstone, Beartooth etc ...then a bltz attitude 130-140 legally home.

If you add up fuel , food, accommodation wear and tear on you and your bike - flying one way to save 4-5 days is a good deal.

I actually like this idea! Specially about the 1 way ride AND THROUGH THE STATES AS I FOUND THE MIDDLE OF THE JOURNEY BORING. Specially as you start to see the beautiful mountains in the distance...and 6 hours later...they are still in the distance!!! LOL
 
You only ride near, Ace?

:lmao:

I rode across the continent last summer. The prairies, while not a highlight, were quite enjoyable. There are plenty of different routes one can take. If I was able to go again, I wouldn't hesitate. What are you waiting for, man? Load up and go!
 

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