Solo trip from Toronto

[PacoT]

Just got back from a 3-day ride down to Pennsylvania!
Originally planned for four days, but I ended up cutting the trip short thanks to the heat wave. Riding with a humidex over 40°C? Yeah… don’t be like me. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stupid.

Learn from my mistake—if the forecast looks like you’re riding into a sauna, it’s probably best to reschedule… or at least skip the camping and crash in a motel with A/C.

That said, it was still a great experience overall. Big thanks to everyone who took the time to share tips and suggestions before the trip—super helpful as always.

I’ll share more about the ride soon. For now… I really need a shower.

 

[ToSlow]

Just got back from a 3-day ride down to Pennsylvania!
Originally planned for four days, but I ended up cutting the trip short thanks to the heat wave. Riding with a humidex over 40°C? Yeah… don’t be like me. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stupid.

Learn from my mistake—if the forecast looks like you’re riding into a sauna, it’s probably best to reschedule… or at least skip the camping and crash in a motel with A/C.

That said, it was still a great experience overall. Big thanks to everyone who took the time to share tips and suggestions before the trip—super helpful as always.

I’ll share more about the ride soon. For now… I really need a shower.

View attachment 74736View attachment 74737View attachment 74738

Looks like a great time regardless of heat,

Were you camping in CG,s or just finding spots that suit you?

 

[PacoT]

Were you camping in CG,s or just finding spots that suit you?

I make reservations at National Parks and State Parks. My anxiety will be too much if I don't have a place booked to spend the night.

I know that kills flexibility in case something changes (as it did on my trip), but I would be really angry with myself if everything was booked by the time I reached the end of each day.

 

[PacoT]

Just got back from a 3-day ride down to Pennsylvania!
Originally planned for four days, but I ended up cutting the trip short thanks to the heat wave. Riding with a humidex over 40°C? Yeah… don’t be like me. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stupid.

Learn from my mistake—if the forecast looks like you’re riding into a sauna, it’s probably best to reschedule… or at least skip the camping and crash in a motel with A/C.

That said, it was still a great experience overall. Big thanks to everyone who took the time to share tips and suggestions before the trip—super helpful as always.

I’ll share more about the ride soon. For now… I really need a shower.

View attachment 74736View attachment 74737View attachment 74738

Here is a brief report from my 4̶-̶d̶a̶y̶ 3-day trip I took last week from Toronto to Pennsylvania.

Background
I put together a rough 4-day plan that balanced fun riding with practical limits. Since I'm on a naked bike, comfort isn’t its strongest suit, so I capped the daily distance at around 500 km. I also wanted to keep things affordable, so I aimed to camp or stay in cheap motels each night.


Day 1 – Getting Closer
Sunday, June 22
Left early around 7am to cross the border before it got busy. The idea was just to position myself closer to the twisties without exhausting myself. But even then, I stumbled upon a few unexpectedly fun roads that put a smile on my face. The ride was windy, which helped with the heat, but it hit me hard once I stopped to set up camp. I ran low on water and couldn’t find the potable tap at the site, which made me a bit nervous—lesson learned there.


Day 2 – The Sweet Spot (and a Bit of a Struggle)
Started strong with a ride through Long House Scenic Drive, which seems to have been recently repaved—except, ironically, the curves. You could see a change in pavement color and even some potholes right in the middle of turns. So while it was beautiful and twisty, I kept things cautious due to the gravel and surface conditions.

Then came the real highlight: PA-666. The constant elevation changes and sharp curves every few seconds made me feel like a Group B rally driver (I wasn’t even born during that era, but that’s where my brain went). That stretch alone made the whole trip worth it.

I was smarter with hydration this day—frequent water breaks and a long lunch stop in a diner with ice-cold AC. But after lunch, I had to slog through some painfully straight highways, and the heatwave really kicked in. It felt like riding into a blast furnace. Hot wind, heavy breathing inside the helmet, and no shade in sight.

To make things worse, I hadn’t properly planned for dinner. By the time I got to the campsite, I realized there were no food options anywhere nearby. So there I was: surrounded by gorgeous forest, but hungry as hell and drained from the heat. That combo really made me start questioning whether I wanted to keep going for another day.

Day 3 – Decision Time
Woke up still feeling low-energy and a bit off from the previous evening’s missteps. Checked the forecast and saw rain was likely on Wednesday, which would’ve been my ride back. Riding in mesh gear through wet, humid highways didn’t sound like a good time.

Given the weather, the heat, and how I felt physically, I made the tough call to cut the trip short and head back a day early.

Ironically, the ride from the campsite back toward the border turned out to be really enjoyable. The roads were flowing, the scenery was relaxing, and the temperature—even with the heatwave—was surprisingly tolerable. It felt like the trip was throwing me a small reward for the effort.

But then came the QEW after Niagara... and that was a different story. The traffic, the lack of airflow, and the concrete heat radiating from all sides made it the worst stretch of the entire trip. At that point, it felt like I was melting in my own gear—hotter than any point in Pennsylvania.

Final Thoughts
While it didn’t go exactly as planned, the roads I did get to ride—especially PA-666—were worth every kilometer. I’ll absolutely go back, just maybe during a cooler time of year and/or with a Multi (if I can find one that fits within my budget).

 

[mimico_polak]

Awesome thanks for sharing @PacoT! Looks like a good trip overall.

How did the Monster feel over extended days / distances? My Scrambler overheated once on the 401 in a heatwave and had to pull over in a construction zone to let it cool.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

Here is a brief report from my 4̶-̶d̶a̶y̶ 3-day trip I took last week from Toronto to Pennsylvania.

Background
I put together a rough 4-day plan that balanced fun riding with practical limits. Since I'm on a naked bike, comfort isn’t its strongest suit, so I capped the daily distance at around 500 km. I also wanted to keep things affordable, so I aimed to camp or stay in cheap motels each night.


Day 1 – Getting Closer
Sunday, June 22
Left early around 7am to cross the border before it got busy. The idea was just to position myself closer to the twisties without exhausting myself. But even then, I stumbled upon a few unexpectedly fun roads that put a smile on my face. The ride was windy, which helped with the heat, but it hit me hard once I stopped to set up camp. I ran low on water and couldn’t find the potable tap at the site, which made me a bit nervous—lesson learned there.


Day 2 – The Sweet Spot (and a Bit of a Struggle)
Started strong with a ride through Long House Scenic Drive, which seems to have been recently repaved—except, ironically, the curves. You could see a change in pavement color and even some potholes right in the middle of turns. So while it was beautiful and twisty, I kept things cautious due to the gravel and surface conditions.

Then came the real highlight: PA-666. The constant elevation changes and sharp curves every few seconds made me feel like a Group B rally driver (I wasn’t even born during that era, but that’s where my brain went). That stretch alone made the whole trip worth it.

I was smarter with hydration this day—frequent water breaks and a long lunch stop in a diner with ice-cold AC. But after lunch, I had to slog through some painfully straight highways, and the heatwave really kicked in. It felt like riding into a blast furnace. Hot wind, heavy breathing inside the helmet, and no shade in sight.

To make things worse, I hadn’t properly planned for dinner. By the time I got to the campsite, I realized there were no food options anywhere nearby. So there I was: surrounded by gorgeous forest, but hungry as hell and drained from the heat. That combo really made me start questioning whether I wanted to keep going for another day.

Day 3 – Decision Time
Woke up still feeling low-energy and a bit off from the previous evening’s missteps. Checked the forecast and saw rain was likely on Wednesday, which would’ve been my ride back. Riding in mesh gear through wet, humid highways didn’t sound like a good time.

Given the weather, the heat, and how I felt physically, I made the tough call to cut the trip short and head back a day early.

Ironically, the ride from the campsite back toward the border turned out to be really enjoyable. The roads were flowing, the scenery was relaxing, and the temperature—even with the heatwave—was surprisingly tolerable. It felt like the trip was throwing me a small reward for the effort.

But then came the QEW after Niagara... and that was a different story. The traffic, the lack of airflow, and the concrete heat radiating from all sides made it the worst stretch of the entire trip. At that point, it felt like I was melting in my own gear—hotter than any point in Pennsylvania.

Final Thoughts
While it didn’t go exactly as planned, the roads I did get to ride—especially PA-666—were worth every kilometer. I’ll absolutely go back, just maybe during a cooler time of year and/or with a Multi (if I can find one that fits within my budget).

There's a 2015 Multi 1200 in Clarington for under $10k (looks like it needs a desmo service though ($800). Includes full bags/etc.
I wouldn't snooze at a 950 version if you're mostly riding without a passenger.

 

[matthew]

Here is a brief report from my 4̶-̶d̶a̶y̶ 3-day trip I took last week from Toronto to Pennsylvania.

Background
I put together a rough 4-day plan that balanced fun riding with practical limits. Since I'm on a naked bike, comfort isn’t its strongest suit, so I capped the daily distance at around 500 km. I also wanted to keep things affordable, so I aimed to camp or stay in cheap motels each night.


Day 1 – Getting Closer
Sunday, June 22
Left early around 7am to cross the border before it got busy. The idea was just to position myself closer to the twisties without exhausting myself. But even then, I stumbled upon a few unexpectedly fun roads that put a smile on my face. The ride was windy, which helped with the heat, but it hit me hard once I stopped to set up camp. I ran low on water and couldn’t find the potable tap at the site, which made me a bit nervous—lesson learned there.


Day 2 – The Sweet Spot (and a Bit of a Struggle)
Started strong with a ride through Long House Scenic Drive, which seems to have been recently repaved—except, ironically, the curves. You could see a change in pavement color and even some potholes right in the middle of turns. So while it was beautiful and twisty, I kept things cautious due to the gravel and surface conditions.

Then came the real highlight: PA-666. The constant elevation changes and sharp curves every few seconds made me feel like a Group B rally driver (I wasn’t even born during that era, but that’s where my brain went). That stretch alone made the whole trip worth it.

I was smarter with hydration this day—frequent water breaks and a long lunch stop in a diner with ice-cold AC. But after lunch, I had to slog through some painfully straight highways, and the heatwave really kicked in. It felt like riding into a blast furnace. Hot wind, heavy breathing inside the helmet, and no shade in sight.

To make things worse, I hadn’t properly planned for dinner. By the time I got to the campsite, I realized there were no food options anywhere nearby. So there I was: surrounded by gorgeous forest, but hungry as hell and drained from the heat. That combo really made me start questioning whether I wanted to keep going for another day.

Day 3 – Decision Time
Woke up still feeling low-energy and a bit off from the previous evening’s missteps. Checked the forecast and saw rain was likely on Wednesday, which would’ve been my ride back. Riding in mesh gear through wet, humid highways didn’t sound like a good time.

Given the weather, the heat, and how I felt physically, I made the tough call to cut the trip short and head back a day early.

Ironically, the ride from the campsite back toward the border turned out to be really enjoyable. The roads were flowing, the scenery was relaxing, and the temperature—even with the heatwave—was surprisingly tolerable. It felt like the trip was throwing me a small reward for the effort.

But then came the QEW after Niagara... and that was a different story. The traffic, the lack of airflow, and the concrete heat radiating from all sides made it the worst stretch of the entire trip. At that point, it felt like I was melting in my own gear—hotter than any point in Pennsylvania.

Final Thoughts
While it didn’t go exactly as planned, the roads I did get to ride—especially PA-666—were worth every kilometer. I’ll absolutely go back, just maybe during a cooler time of year and/or with a Multi (if I can find one that fits within my budget).

I always have every night booked somewhere when I go on trips. It also lessens anxiety for me when crossing the border. I can show US border guards all my hotel bookings for the entire duration of the trip.

I have also cut trips short, or cancelled all together, due to heat.

 

[PacoT]

Awesome thanks for sharing @PacoT! Looks like a good trip overall.

How did the Monster feel over extended days / distances? My Scrambler overheated once on the 401 in a heatwave and had to pull over in a construction zone to let it cool.

The Monster feels amazing. Funny enough, the faster it goes, the better it gets.


Not sure why, but at low speeds, downshifting from 3rd to 2nd or 2nd to 1st feels super clunky about 50% of the time—sometimes it just refuses to go into gear. From what I’ve read on other forums, this seems to be a common issue with M1200s. Some folks suggest it might be due to a miscalibrated component that requires a Ducati-specific diagnostic tool to adjust properly.
That said, when riding at higher speeds and rev-matching while downshifting, it’s incredibly smooth—like buttery smooth. I could never rev-match this well on the Tiger.

As for heat, the bike seems to handle it well as long as you're not stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I’ve had it enter "safe mode" twice now—most recently on the way to this week's burger meet. The engine light comes on and power gets restricted. I have to pull over, let it cool for a few minutes, and then it’s back to normal like nothing ever happened. Still trying to figure out what’s triggering that.

There's a 2015 Multi 1200 in Clarington for under $10k (looks like it needs a desmo service though ($800). Includes full bags/etc.
I wouldn't snooze at a 950 version if you're mostly riding without a passenger.

Oh nice, thanks for the heads-up! I’ll definitely check out that 2015. I’ve also heard good things about the 950, but they seem to be a bit rarer than the 1200s. I’d say around 7 or 8 out of 10 listings are for 1200s, with only a few 950s popping up.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I make reservations at National Parks and State Parks. My anxiety will be too much if I don't have a place booked to spend the night.

When I am travelling I don’t sweat it, I have in the past pulled into a conservation area or Crown land/BLM land (USA) somewhere around dusk and quietly throw my tent down and spent the night. It’s a great feeling being able to just go wherever the wind takes you sometimes.