Transcontinental ride (July 1, 2011) | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Transcontinental ride (July 1, 2011)

I agree with your philosophy of not over planning. In my experience much of the adventure is a result of spur of the moment decisions and finding gems that you never expected to encounter (like Crater Lake for you). It's hard for things to not go as planned when they weren't planned in the first place. What a great way to avoid disappointment;). A couple of weeks ago I was on a quick Friday after work to Sunday Pennsylvania ride and ended up riding all the way home in torrential rain. The challenge of making it through those difficult conditions added to the fun of the weekend ride.

When reading your RR I checked Canadian Tire on-line and , while they had a Bios blood pressure monitor I couldn't find your thermometer. I guess I'll have to visit the store.
 
It's hard for things to not go as planned when they weren't planned in the first place. What a great way to avoid disappointment;).

I like this, I'll steal it :)

A couple of weeks ago I was on a quick Friday after work to Sunday Pennsylvania ride and ended up riding all the way home in torrential rain. The challenge of making it through those difficult conditions added to the fun of the weekend ride.

My experience is very similar. In the end only most amazing roads and scenery is remembered, right along with the most challenging and even miserable parts. I remember the Beartooth Highway as fondly as I do I40 near Albuquerque at 45+ and no shade in sight.

When reading your RR I checked Canadian Tire on-line and , while they had a Bios blood pressure monitor I couldn't find your thermometer. I guess I'll have to visit the store.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help, it's been a while since I bought it and the memory has faded. Don't get stuck looking for Bios specifically or Canadian Tire exclusively. There are other stores (Ssopppers, Dollarama, auto parts stores come to mind) and other manufacturers of similar gadgets. Look online too, DealExtreme.com and Chinabuye.com come to mind (no duties and free shipping).
 
Vlad! Great ride report! Just discovered this thread and read it start to finish. Thanks for taking the time and putting this together with lots of very useful information and nice pics with good writing. Congrats on having a safe and thoroughly rewarding trip and hope you get to do lots more in the seasons to come.
Cheers.
 
Vlad! Great ride report! Just discovered this thread and read it start to finish.

Thank you for the kind words Shane, I appreciate it. I wish I posted in the right forum though. A lot of people missed it because it's in Rides/Hookups and my requests to have the thread moved to Cruising/Touring touring forum were not acknowledged :(. I'll try one more time...

Jesse just made a great HD video of our ride through the prairies. I posted it in #4, but here it is for those that already read the entire thread:

[video=youtube_share;O7LgX71VPM0]http://youtu.be/O7LgX71VPM0[/video]
 
Thanks for taking me along on your ride......reminded me of my 2010 ride from Vancouver Island to Tor/Unionville/Cannington and back in 11 days....my total was 11,700km.....Baby Bandit worked like a hot damn. On the subject of chain lube.....at each alternating gas stop, I did either Belray white chain lube or WD-40 to help keep it from getting too sticky and attracting too much dirt. I think that cleaning it every night would have been a better alternative. I have since done three more 3-4 day trips through the Okanagan region and one four day trip to McMinnville Oregon to see the Spruce Goose, but have yet to try the "cleaning daily" procedure. Your 100,000km on the Bandit only serves to keep me on mine.....again, thanks for the look, and if you're ever out this way again, try to take in the Island.....you may enjoy it.:p
 
Thanks for taking me along on your ride...

You are very welcome, I'm glad you liked it.

As for the chain maintenance, I use nothing but Dupont Teflon spray. The previous chain lasted over 40,000Km even though it was cleaned only once, so I doubt I did anything wrong except neglecting to lube it frequently enough. Cleaning it every night is an overkill, IMO. It's highly impractical and time consuming away from home/shop and it will cumulatively cost more time/effort than replacing the whole damn thing. Just to clarify, by cleaning I mean washing with kerosene and scrubbing with a grunge brush until there's not a speck of dirt or grease left on it.

Keep the Bandit :). My "Suzy B" is 137,000Km young and I don't think I'll ever sell her. If anything, she may one day get bored to 1250 and turned into a mean streetfighter.

I've heard only fantastic stories about the Island and I'll do my best to visit it one day. I had to skip it due to time constraints (along with many other beautiful places, starting with Yellowstone). This continent is way too beautiful for just three weeks. Not to mention huge :)
 
What happened to your friend and why did you split up? I put 22,000 miles on my bike this season and it is the detours and unexpected that really do make a trip memorable. Camped and cooked my way around the states. No restaurants....no motels/hotels...no ride reports either. :rolleyes:
 
We decided to have an adventure for our own. I had to hit friends and along the way wanted to stay near the coast while Vlad go more inland. We plan to meet up at Death valley but I had an accident in Washington and took time camping and meeting up with old friends. I quit riding and took the plane home from Las Vegas, riding with my banged up arm is becoming torture.

I plan will continue my ride in December break, goal is to bring my bike to the East coast and wait for spring to bring it up.

The days we rode together was wonderful and I had tons of fun. I actually enjoyed the Prairie thanks to Sena bluetooth. When we went our own way we stayed in touch with unlimited verizon to verizon prepaid cellphone.
 
Like Jesse said, to the word. I'll just add that the time we rode together was a real treat. Even those 900+Km on the straight superslab through Minnesota were fun thanks to the company. I wish we had bigger tanks so we could find out how far we could really get without stopping :)
 
KK, just wondering I guess. And ,yes, the Sena's are the bomb,really elimanates frustrating mis-communication when riding with a partner.
 
great ride report, Vlad! I've gotta do one of these trips sometime in the future.
 
Your route was fantastic! Thanks for the pics Vlad. Good ride report. Glad Jesse is ok. I rode with friends out to the westcoast last year. Can't wait to do it again next year. So many places to see.
 
I wish i can make a ride report as good as this I will try my best once i finished my trip. I'm finalizing the video from Beartooth pass although its not HD.
 
http://youtu.be/O-HfXlFDl0Q
Here is the video, we made the right call to spend the night in Cody before doing the pass( huge black clouds on top of the mountains). The weather did caught us at red lodge.
 
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Your route was fantastic! Thanks for the pics Vlad. Good ride report. Glad Jesse is ok. I rode with friends out to the westcoast last year. Can't wait to do it again next year. So many places to see.

Thank you for reading/watching and commenting. You are right about so many places to see. I couldn't imagine this continent would be so entertaining. I guess we all fall for stereotypes like the "boring prairies", but I proclaim that no road is boring if you have a powerful enough bike and can ride it in any way you feel entertaining. In other words, give me the prairies of South Dakota or the deserts of Arizona and new Mexico any time.

great ride report, Vlad! I've gotta do one of these trips sometime in the future.

Thanks and go for it. If you step out of your comfort zone, don't wait for the right circumstances, don't over-plan or over-think, everything falls into place as you go. All challenges, mishaps and bad days eventually turn out to be the best part of the story. I know I'll remember 47 degrees through Albuquerque and miserable 400Km through the Rockies at 9 degrees, rain and fog as much as I will Beartooth and Crater Lake. I'll never forget the face of the gas station attendant in Nipigon when I told him I intend to sleep in my own bed that night - it was 10 degrees and the fog/drizzle was so thick I barely found the way out of the parking lot 1200Km from Toronto. Stubborn as I am, I kept plowing until the weather got better and arrived home safe and sound.

http://youtu.be/O-HfXlFDl0Q
Here is the video, we made the right call to spend the night in Cody before doing the pass( huge black clouds on top of the mountains). The weather did caught us at red lodge.

Awesome video Jesse, the best one so far! It made me want to hit the road immediately.
 
Thanks for sharing Vlad. I read it all and really enjoyed it.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to do a similar trip some day.
 
Thanks for sharing Vlad. I read it all and really enjoyed it.

I'm glad you liked it Carmen. Knowing other people are inspired by it makes the sharing worthwhile.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to do a similar trip some day.

I'm sure you will. Remember, it's much easier than it seems and you don't have to spend a lot of time or money. Obstacles are all in our head and - they are nothing but excuses.
 
My Bandit has 63,00 kms and like yours it has proved very reliable. I'm curious about the work you've had to do on your bike considering it has 130,000 km. Have you had to replace your alternator, starter, or other electrical issues?
 
No issues whatsoever Carmen, reliable as an anvil. I've done a few mods over the years, but no major parts needed to be replaced yet. Of the things that needed work most notable are:

- One of the front disks recently became loose, rattling like a tambourine :). I banged the rivets into submission until I replace the whole wheel with a spare better one I have.

- I've disassembled and cleaned the forks last year and they are OK, but I'm considering replacing them with a fresh set I already have and doing the valve mod this winter.

- I never had any electrical issues but still did a major harness overhaul two winters ago. You can read all about it here.

- Bandit headlights are a well documented Achile's heel. I refurbished mine twice, but they are still far from good. Luckily, I don't ride at night that much.

- Rear and then front wheel bearings were replaced just as a matter of regular maintenance. I had no problems with them.

- Steering stem bearings were shot and replaced with roller bearings last winter.

- I have purchased a manual cam chain adjuster and will probably put it in soon. I think I hear some valve-train noise that wasn't present before, but the bike runs like a dream.

Other than those, it's been just regular maintenance and a ton of little mods, from handlebar riser to grip heaters to air horn to oil drain valve to oil filter adapter to... I have to admit that I have somewhat neglected regular valve adjustments and carburetor synching, but it never caused any problems. The last valve check was done after 24,000km but everything was within accepted tolerances. It's been 30,000Km now and I think I pushed it far enough :). To my defense, I always used only the best oil and filters and changed them in regular intervals.

137,577Km and counting :)

P.S. You can join my little group of bandits for a ride and see for yourself. Just shoot me an e-mail.
 
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Just found your thread read it from beggingng to the the end. ( a good way to spend a slow day at work )
That was an awesome trip wish I could have been there. Great job with the pics and the videos and awesome detailed report. Your very good.

I am planning to do a trip down south into the mountains next year not sure when and don't care where as long as it's on my bike.

I would like to ask if I may. How much do you think the trip cost you? Even if you just want to ball park it no problem. If you would rather not answer that's ok too I understand.

Thanks for the story pics and videos.
 

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