Bad Road Trips

[Cooter]

Sooooo... I've been inspired by tales told of long motorcycle road trips.
Some successful, some not-so-much, but great stories nonetheless.
Ever since I discovered my first BuelI (now 4! you know how it goes...) I want to do one on a Buell. Cross country ('Merica). And back. One Backpack.
I travel a lot by airplane (really doesn't count) so I know how to pack, and I've done it before (for 3 yrs, but in an RV) and without hitting a highway, so I've learned enough "lessons" to know to ask people who've done it before.
Since I can't exactly get Ewan McGregor or Charlie Boorman on the phone, I'm asking you guys

Mostly they are good tales of adventure and success... I've read those so don't bother

I think theres more out there that didn't work out so well. I'd like to hear about them.

 

[Nibniblee]

Alright ...
Some years back... My first ride was an 03 BMW F650GS Dakar. My buddy had a brand new G650 GS. We decided to pack our gear and hit Skyline Drive an Blue Ridge Parkway for a 3 day 2 night camping trip. My bike was well used with a supertrap exhaust in not so great condition.
Before we left I had the great idea to buy some insulation and repack the exhaust. I repacked it, we hit the road and about 3 hours into the trip my bike started to stall real bad, eventually cutting out completely. I coasted to the side of the road and my buddy pulled up behind me. After much deliberation and troubleshooting I thought maybe some of the new insulation may have been sucked into the pipes. Damed if I didn't over tighten the the lil hex screws that hold the end cap of the supertrap on and we could not get it off. After much trouble I got 4-5 screws out and the end cap was wedged in at a funny angle. The bike would start but instantly shut off. I had the idea to start the bike and gun it, hoping to pop the end cap off with pure force, without discussing this with my buddy in advance.
Well it worked, shooting that end cap off like a shotgun blast directly into my buddies new BMW. Hit his bike square in the side of gas tank punching a coke can side hole in it. His new helmet was on his sitting on his seat and the force sent his helmet rolling down the gravel shoulder beating the heck out of it and his new Scala. It turned out, there was some insulation sucked into the tube, I was able to remove it and start the bike. The end cap, and about 8 rings never to be seen again. Had to call my daughter to bring my pick up truck to take us both back home with the bikes. Then had to pay up for my buddy to get new gas tank, scala and helmet.
This was my first (semi) road trip ever on a motorcycle.

 

[Cooter]

Hole-ly crap!
Sorry...had too

 

[vltor17]

If you plan on staying in motels the whole time, it can be done with a backpack. I'm too cheap for that. When I do a big bike trip, the panniers are full of camping gear and food. I'm still a newbie at it myself, but they are some of the best times I have had. Sounds like you been spending some time over on ADVrider.....