long distance riding on my xb12r?

[chevnut55]

my girl has a big cruser and does long trips..she rides to nova scotia from ma.
I told her if she raced at the track I would do a trip..so we are racing this weekend and shes planing a 3 day ride in a few weeks.
the farest I have ridden was to laconia nh and back..around 120 miles..shes talking 700-1000 miles in a day!
any advise on how to do this? anything to do to the bike? myself? what to bring..etc?

 

[Loki]

O man, youre going to die. Esp your knees after the first day. The worst thing about riding distance for me was the vibes would just cook my knees and the pain would set in later that night. Thats why i always wanted to put some sort of highway pegs that didnt look like shit and could be taken off. But good luck.
Shift your body around a bit, just dont try to stay still the whole way.

 

[noone1569]

I've done a couple 500 mile days on a firebolt. Not too bad as you have to stop for gas every ~100 miles anyway.

Corbin seat!

 

[Alfatango1]

I've done 350 a day. No issues with a throttle lock of some sort and an mp3 player. I did the same ride a few years before without a throttle lock and it sucked.

 

[oh9bolt]

Move around on the seat shifting your wait to different spots, and stand up to stretch your legs, I also invested in compression shorts which helps a little with your junk staying in the right spot and keeping dry. This stuff helped me.

 

[noone1569]

My tricks to long days on the firebolt:

Compression shorts
Buell Adventure pants, vents open

Stop every 100 miles, move around a lot at the stops to get blood flowing

Shift around on the bike a lot, open your legs get some air flow.

I've never used a throttle lock though . . hmm.

 

[gtp3800]

its rough but can be done. to avoid burning or painful knees, get the frame grips. they do more then just grip. then I would also suggest a soft seat or gel pants because after about 150 miles straight your ass will be killing you. you will need gas every 120 miles (can get more but you need to stretch). So do some good walking. A throttle lock would be nice, if you dont have one dont hold the throttle too hard, let your hand relax to keep blood flowing.

 

[chevnut55]

sounds fun..had knee surgery last year..still hurts,3 back surgerys..still messed up. and bad hemroids!
Ill look for the throttle lock,get lots of powder and alive. she had a gell seat cover even though she has a 4' thick seat..wonder if I can borrow it?

 

[onelogue]

You can buy my touring seat for sale it will made your butt feel better.

 

[chevnut55]

we did 220 miles this weekend ,bought a throttle wrist saver,no problem but could use droped pegs because of leg cramps.

 

[vanson1200r]

I have done 700 mile days but that is pushing it on my XB12R. I have sport bags and a cramp buster that really helps but I live in California so weather is never a problem.

 

[jstfkndi]

Yeah, I would have said dropped pegs and for any kind of distance, go with a dual compound tire. Seemed like every bike I had came with Dunlops (practically track tire) and wound up getting only 2800 miles before the middle wore out. I am quite the gentile rider and these were during the hot months to be fair, but still....not nearly long enough for me.

 

[jandj_davis]

I put a set of Heli-bars and lower pegs on my bike, and can do 200 miles with no problems other than moving around a bit. If you leave your passenger pegs on, you can also use them as another foot resting place.

 

[rodimus prime]

Ive done 450 miles in a day on my xb12, I took about an hour break halfway and didnt have any problems. But then again I ride 180 one way trips every weekend.

 

[Kid1620]

Get a throttle lock and a comfy seat and you should be fine. Just tuck your shirt in or wear a jacket and plan for rain

 

[chevnut55]

ok, got cortec saddle bags and tank bag, gell/foam seat pad (ugly by the way) throttle wrist saver,cycle pirte adjustable pegs,my first pr of riding boots, and a communtcation system that hopefully works with my gps.. should be good to go ,hope my back can handel it .

 

[xtreme]

Since I did my swap to a Lightning Tail and a select seat, its night and day difference. My butt doesn't hurt and my hands don't go to sleep anymore.

 

[Bill]

It's really not too bad. I'm 6', 205 lbs and do just fine. A couple ibuprofen and stopping to stretch will do wonders. BTW, I've done the Iron Butt on my XB12R, in the rain - a bit stiff after the ride, but that's it.