Not boring at all. In fact, I hope part 2 is just as detailed. It's the detail and small things that make it an interesting story. Also, reminds me a lot of when I started touring on a old Honda Shadow. Many big, small, or unexpected experiences, discoveries, and problem-solvings make for great memories.
800 km in one day on a 250 cruiser
- Thread starter IMAWILDPARTY
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IMAWILDPARTY
Well-known member
Wish I had some interesting stories for the return trip, but I don't. Some interesting things happened in Athens, but they weren't in any way related to motorcyles, and most probably ought not be repeated. Beer was $15 for a case of 30. I was happy to let people drive me around. Went kayaking for the first time, and the heavens opened up on us while on the lake, which was awesome in its own way.
The forecast called for 90% chance of rain in the areas of Ohio I was riding through, so I wasn't going to press my luck twice - I donned the rainsuit before heading out. Good thing too, since I got hit by showers(nothing too heavy) three times in the first few hours of riding. The route I took, while not ugly, wasn't the most picturesque, and where it was, there weren't good places to turn off. In case it wasn't clear earlier, the route was designed only to be the the fastest possible way from A to B. I'd like to do multi-day trips in the future where I plan for more interesting riding, but it wasn't really a possibility this time around. Still, riding through southern ohio and skirting west virginia was nice, they're pretty hilly and made for some cool riding at times. Northern OH, northern Pennsylvania, and the bit of new york to Buffalo weren't the most exciting, as I'm sure most of you are aware.
At the Canadian border, the people directing traffic told me that if I could squeeze through, I could go to one of the closed gates where they were checking motorcycles. I got honked at a bunch of times, but it probably saved me a half hour. The border guards just asked me a couple questions, didn't even check my stuff. Much friendlier this time around.
Hit traffic coming into Toronto, no surprise there. Had to beep the horn a couple times to avoid getting hit by people not checking their sides in gridlock, got home around 7pm, so that makes about 10 hours with food and gas stops. Better than the 12 hours on the trip there, mostly accounted for by the traffic coming out of Toronto and running out of gas.
I looked at this trip as a trial for how difficult it might be to do long-distance bike travel, and to see what kind of issues I might iron out before attempting multi-day riding trips. In general, I feel like I was adequately prepared and had a good understanding what would be involved. Seems to me that as long as your will and your bike hold out, you'll be okay. One day I want to set out coast-to-coast across canada, preferably with company, possibly camping most nights, and riding through the big, really impressive places in North America, monument valley and places like that. Hopefully on a bigger bike. While a little more power might be nice, and a more stretched out configuration wouldn't hurt(I'm not short), the biggest drawback I see with my particular bike for long distance riding is the small tank, which only does about 200 kms before hitting reserve. At the same time, stopping to stretch every 200 clicks might not be a terrible idea.
The forecast called for 90% chance of rain in the areas of Ohio I was riding through, so I wasn't going to press my luck twice - I donned the rainsuit before heading out. Good thing too, since I got hit by showers(nothing too heavy) three times in the first few hours of riding. The route I took, while not ugly, wasn't the most picturesque, and where it was, there weren't good places to turn off. In case it wasn't clear earlier, the route was designed only to be the the fastest possible way from A to B. I'd like to do multi-day trips in the future where I plan for more interesting riding, but it wasn't really a possibility this time around. Still, riding through southern ohio and skirting west virginia was nice, they're pretty hilly and made for some cool riding at times. Northern OH, northern Pennsylvania, and the bit of new york to Buffalo weren't the most exciting, as I'm sure most of you are aware.
At the Canadian border, the people directing traffic told me that if I could squeeze through, I could go to one of the closed gates where they were checking motorcycles. I got honked at a bunch of times, but it probably saved me a half hour. The border guards just asked me a couple questions, didn't even check my stuff. Much friendlier this time around.
Hit traffic coming into Toronto, no surprise there. Had to beep the horn a couple times to avoid getting hit by people not checking their sides in gridlock, got home around 7pm, so that makes about 10 hours with food and gas stops. Better than the 12 hours on the trip there, mostly accounted for by the traffic coming out of Toronto and running out of gas.
I looked at this trip as a trial for how difficult it might be to do long-distance bike travel, and to see what kind of issues I might iron out before attempting multi-day riding trips. In general, I feel like I was adequately prepared and had a good understanding what would be involved. Seems to me that as long as your will and your bike hold out, you'll be okay. One day I want to set out coast-to-coast across canada, preferably with company, possibly camping most nights, and riding through the big, really impressive places in North America, monument valley and places like that. Hopefully on a bigger bike. While a little more power might be nice, and a more stretched out configuration wouldn't hurt(I'm not short), the biggest drawback I see with my particular bike for long distance riding is the small tank, which only does about 200 kms before hitting reserve. At the same time, stopping to stretch every 200 clicks might not be a terrible idea.
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IMAWILDPARTY
Well-known member
Anyway, so I didn't really take pics while riding, most photo opportunities seemed less attractive in the rain, especially without a waterproof camera.
Anyway, here goes, in case people are wondering 'what the heck is in southern Ohio?'.
The bike loaded up Sunday morning. She may not be too fancy, but she always seems to get me there.
One of those big ol' harleys I can't decide whether I like. Feel like I might have to double my years before I'm allowed to own one.
I did see some nice weather, even if it was fleeting.
My friend's roommate's dog, in front of the 250cc monster after the first trip.
So I took the dog to the park to play catch. After the dog got tired, this dude comes out of the woods with a dog, singing, and playing a guitar. He goes to talk to a girl in the park, playing with her own dog. He doesn't seem successful. What's a guy supposed to do?
Remnants of a delicious meal I made for my friends, least I could do for them letting me crash. *note - try 400 pound monkey if you like ipa's, not a bad brew.
This is the last pic of the night. I feel that the visual haziness is representative of everyone's recollection of the events that transpired.
\
Couple pictures of Athens, Ohio. It's a pretty nice college town with some pretty solid restaurants.
Night isn't the only time you have to watch for deer.
Stroud's run, where we went kayaking and got soaked to the bone. Fantastic experience.
Pics don't do it justice, but if you're ever in southern Ohio, check out Old Man's Cave.
This must be the only guy I saw wearing a helmet in Ohio, no one feels the need to wear one there. Also some kind of field piece. One of he military nerds can chime in. Kind of disappointed I didn't think to take pictures of all the people on bikes not wearing helmets or any gear whatsoever.
Anyway, here goes, in case people are wondering 'what the heck is in southern Ohio?'.
The bike loaded up Sunday morning. She may not be too fancy, but she always seems to get me there.
One of those big ol' harleys I can't decide whether I like. Feel like I might have to double my years before I'm allowed to own one.
I did see some nice weather, even if it was fleeting.
My friend's roommate's dog, in front of the 250cc monster after the first trip.
So I took the dog to the park to play catch. After the dog got tired, this dude comes out of the woods with a dog, singing, and playing a guitar. He goes to talk to a girl in the park, playing with her own dog. He doesn't seem successful. What's a guy supposed to do?
Remnants of a delicious meal I made for my friends, least I could do for them letting me crash. *note - try 400 pound monkey if you like ipa's, not a bad brew.
This is the last pic of the night. I feel that the visual haziness is representative of everyone's recollection of the events that transpired.
Couple pictures of Athens, Ohio. It's a pretty nice college town with some pretty solid restaurants.
Night isn't the only time you have to watch for deer.
Stroud's run, where we went kayaking and got soaked to the bone. Fantastic experience.
Pics don't do it justice, but if you're ever in southern Ohio, check out Old Man's Cave.
This must be the only guy I saw wearing a helmet in Ohio, no one feels the need to wear one there. Also some kind of field piece. One of he military nerds can chime in. Kind of disappointed I didn't think to take pictures of all the people on bikes not wearing helmets or any gear whatsoever.
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losttourist
Well-known member
thanks for the update glad to hear your trip was a safe one. the virago 250 / vstar 250 was a bike I was seriously contemplating on as my 2nd bike. At the time I was riding around on my tw200.
Thanks for the update! Good to know you got home safe and sound! Also it's a great learning experience! I'm just praying for the rain to push through as I've got a ride planned starting at lunch! Watching the radar intently lol
5:12
Well-known member
hey thanks for sharing man.
were you bothered by the vibration during your trip? i have a virago 250 as well. i did a 12hr stop and go trip before. this was my longest single ride/trip on my bike. it wasn't a destination trip, it was a ride and end up somewhere kinda thing. mostly consisted of getting lost
then i did an 8hr continuous trip. mostly highway. this was just a point a to point b trip. the small tank gets you worrying at times. but you're right about getting to stretch every 200km. vibration was numbing after a while. i don't have a windshield on mine though. horizontal winds, passing cars and trucks get your attention once in while
high five to you man for this experience man. i'd like to do more trips as well but i've been thiknking abt what if the bike breaks down etc etc.. anyways, like what was mentioned above, if youve got the will and the bike holds up, it's always a good experience.
were you bothered by the vibration during your trip? i have a virago 250 as well. i did a 12hr stop and go trip before. this was my longest single ride/trip on my bike. it wasn't a destination trip, it was a ride and end up somewhere kinda thing. mostly consisted of getting lost
then i did an 8hr continuous trip. mostly highway. this was just a point a to point b trip. the small tank gets you worrying at times. but you're right about getting to stretch every 200km. vibration was numbing after a while. i don't have a windshield on mine though. horizontal winds, passing cars and trucks get your attention once in while high five to you man for this experience man. i'd like to do more trips as well but i've been thiknking abt what if the bike breaks down etc etc.. anyways, like what was mentioned above, if youve got the will and the bike holds up, it's always a good experience.
If you run it dry again (and FYI).. the fuel petcock is vacuum operated in both "reserve" and "on" positions. What that means is: the pistons must be moving up and down for the fuel to flow. The "prime" position bypasses the vacuum part and allows fuel to flow from the "reserve" pick-up straight through. If you run dry, just turn the petcock to "prime" wait 5-10 seconds then start the bike, once the bike is running switch to reserve (presumably you ran out of fuel and will have to...). As a side note your bike also has an accelerator pump in the carb, which also needs to be primed if the carb is completely dry, just give the throttle a couple of quick turns when running and warm. Try not to turn the throttle while the bike is off as the pump is squirting fuel into the intake every time you do..
Great trip story too.
IMAWILDPARTY
Well-known member
hey thanks for sharing man.
were you bothered by the vibration during your trip? i have a virago 250 as well. i did a 12hr stop and go trip before. this was my longest single ride/trip on my bike. it wasn't a destination trip, it was a ride and end up somewhere kinda thing. mostly consisted of getting lost
high five to you man for this experience man. i'd like to do more trips as well but i've been thiknking abt what if the bike breaks down etc etc.. anyways, like what was mentioned above, if youve got the will and the bike holds up, it's always a good experience.
Honestly, I find vibrations are worst at around 80kph(not terrible, but noticable), and things seem to level off after that, so the vibrations didn't bother me at all. The windshield is a bit short for me but helps somewhat. Not saying you don't feel some of the bigger trucks, but it isn't usually something that bothers me much.
Can't afford the insurance on a bigger bike at the moment, so this one puts its time in. (it's also my only vehicle.)
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IMAWILDPARTY
Well-known member
Thanks for the advice, I'll be committing it to memory tonight.
wonderings
Well-known member
The bike does not really matter, you can tour on anything and have a great time. I find at border crossings, the easiest thing is just do what they ask. Do not offer to help or anything extra. Keep it simple, do what they say and things go smoothly. Been finding crossing into the US has been more friendly then coming back into Canada lately.
Sounds like a great trip and the beginning of more touring! Enjoy it, ride safe! You learn more after every trip on what works best for you when touring by bike.
Sounds like a great trip and the beginning of more touring! Enjoy it, ride safe! You learn more after every trip on what works best for you when touring by bike.
5:12
Well-known member
yeah i notice that too. around 80kmh and around 105-110kmh then it tapers off. either it actually vibrates less or getting used to the vibration haha. pretty much same here. buying a bigger bike seems more plausible but insurance makes it not doable. im quite happy with my bike and it's also my only vehicle. i just changed the pipes on mine. sounds nice but i like the look of the stock exhaust better.
didn't know about this. thanks for the tip.
