Toronto to New York City

[nakkers]

I'm planning on riding to New York from Scarborough beginning of July. In about 2 weeks. Starting Saturday AM and need to be arriving in NYC (Queens) by Sunday 9PM. I want to avoid interstates and keep it under 50-55mph. I'm going to be riding on a Rebel 500 with a rider on my back. I want to do it on a reasonable budget but don't want to cheapen out on safety. Getting myself a rear seatback/sissybar with rear rack. A rider seatback. A windscreen that fits over my headlamp cowl (Don't want to remove my factory cowl which makes the bike look cool). Couple of bluetooth intercom and a rider's women's helmet preferrably modular or open face as she is claustophobic with full face helmets. Want to do an oil change before starting (GP Bikes in Whitby is too expensive). Planning on just getting a backpack and wrap it with tie ropes to the seatback unless there is a better budget solution. Any recommendations or suggestions please post. Thanks in advance.

YouTube the oil change job and do it yourself. Even if you pay regular price for the oil, you are ahead.

The nice thing about some quality dealers, they can check other things. Condition of chain and sprockets, fork seals and any other wear items, brake pads etc. the brakes is something you can do on your own too.

Get a decent oil filter and chain lube, watch Ari with chain maintenance.

There are tail bag solutions that fit to a rear rack/backrest on marketplace. Many folks sell their accessories separately and you can find practically new stuff at well below list price.

The finger lakes area can be a nice place to explore. However, with limited time to get to the destination, I’d adjust nav settings to avoid highway/interstate and tolls and see where it takes you.

State police have a heavy presence in western NY. Plenty of small gas stations for a bio break and snack, stretch.

If you are keeping the pace at 55 mph or below, not sure you even need a comm set up. Market place can be your friend here too. Look for a duo set so you can chat with your partner along the way. Being a weekend, even secondary roads will have traffic.

Other than wallet and CAA, let the wind take you where you please and enjoy it. Personally I’d stop at the duty free for a bottle of bourbon but, that’s just me.

Sometimes nav settings to avoid highways puts you in service roads or other places that can be boring or just a pain to deal with. Like the service roads along the QEW for example. Might be worth it to just bite the bullet and take the freeway for those stretches and jump off when needing a break.