Long distance travel

I returned two days ago from a 4,700 mile trip through nine northwestern states. Took about 16 days to smell the flowers. Fully loaded - soft saddlebags, Ventura seat bag, tank bag, and tent and Thermarest air mattress on back of Ventura luggage rack - I got a low of 62 MPG, a high of 85 MPG, with most tanks giving over 74 MPG. I was impressed with how comfortable it was - surprised, actually. I was expecting an endurance test. I just ran it at 65 MPH on the highways. High altitude riding yields excellent gas mileage. Going up high-altitude mountain passes required one or two downshifts and a more sedate pace, but I never wanted for faster. The slower you go, the more you see, and the easier to stop and turn around for those inevitable photos. Temps ranged from 100+ F to high 30's, and the bike took it all in stride.

Glitches: horn button did not like rain riding, and required a few dozen activations to clear the "cobwebs" after rain. The engine experienced the well-documented low RPM starting/rough idle about half-dozen times. For the relatively few times I actually started the bike, the occurrence on the trip was higher than average. It seems to have happened most often at high altitudes (6,000 - 10,000 feet) after a brief shut-down for a photo. Ummm, that's all that comes to mind, other than the new chain lube I picked up for the trip sucked and my chain stretched big-time no matter how much I applied the stuff, but that's another thread I will start after this one. I got home, and today I read in MCN a scathing review of the same stuff (DuPont Teflon Chain Saver.) If only it had arrived in my mailbox before I left.

Other than the rain, I'd do it all over again. In fact, I've got my sights set on three weeks off in September, and was going to take my CX650 Turbo around the southwest, but now I am thinking of taking the CBR instead!

I got back last week from a 21 day, 6,400 mile trip on the CBR250. Went from California over to Colorado, then down to Port Aransas, TX, down to South Padre Island for a couple days R&R, then Big Bend, Presidio, and back home. Most miles in one day was 450, with 250-300 being average. Gas mileage from 53-84 US MPG. Best mileage at high altitudes, worst intoTexas head winds! Not a thing hurt on me the entire trip except for inevitable butt-squirm as the day rolled on. Any seam in your garments, even a thin elastic of a brief, will eventually start biting into yer butt, so i took to wearing seamless long m oisture-wicking undergarments only under my FirstGear over pant. Finding a dealer in the heat and humidity of Houston and stopping mid-trip to get new rear tire and chain totally sucked the big one. next big trip i start with new chain and tire. Actually the Dunlop K505 rear was new, but only gave me about 4,500 miles life, so I'm done trying other tires and will stick with the IRC, which gives me 7,000 to 8,000 miles consistently.