I'm planning our trip to Sturgis next year. Its 1,700 miles. Whats a realistic miles per day goal riding two-up? I'd like to make the trip in 4 days staying in hotels all the way there. I need to figure how many miles we can make a day without pushing too hard either. 400 miles a day will get me there in 4 days but I don't know if thats realistic. I want to make hotel reservations at aprrox 400 mile intervals there and back and somewhere in Deadwood maybe for the week. How long to get there from the Syracuse NY area?

 

Four hundred miles per day is the minimum I would go for. It is harder to travel with a passenger though.

 

Push it a bit, and do it in three (3).

VERY possible.

I have to say, it is very hard to find room off the highway going to Sturgis. If you do an advance reg, you'll be cool.

 

From what I have heard. (I have not been yet but plan to next year) That the going rate is 3 days and about 500 per day. If this is your first long ride take several 3-500 mile weekends before that so you can get a good feel for the hurting butt... and how many hours it is going to take to make that stretch of miles that you want... JMHO

 

Plan for more days rather than less. When I am by myself I can eat the mil;es a lot quicker than if I have a passenger. Passengers always make it take longer. I'd say 400 miles would bew easy if you are gonna ride 8 hours or so. I've done 750 in a day in about 12 hours. I was exhausted though.

 

There are so many factors. For me, I'd shoot for 3 days. My OL and I can go to Daytona.....650 miles....in 3 gas stops and about 10 hours spent. She's a champ when it comes to being a passenger....She sleeps about half of the time.

 

What's the longest you've ridden so far? The biggest mistake some riders make is over estimating how many milesa day their butt will handle. On a "long trip" (more than 2000 miles) I'll do 500 a day when trying to cover lots of territory. I've done 1000+ in a day, but it was on the leg home from a trip and not going out. On shorter trips, or on those where site-seeing is more important than covering miles, I'll do as little as 200 in a day. It's all in the trip and what I need to do for that day.

A 1700 mile trip (400 a day) is very do-able for most folks, but remember that 2-up is a bit different. Not only do you have to worry about your butt but also your passenger's butt. Remember, if momma ain't happy then no one's happy.

As for getting the motels, I've found that when I plan a long day (more than 350 miles) it is usually a good idea to get a decent hotel/motel. Cheap is great, but if you can't sleep because the bed is so uncomfortable then the next day's ride will be miserable. So I spend the little extra for a decent hotel with good service and amenities.

Last thing ... consider getting a set (for you and the passenger) of gel pads for the seat. I've used the Amspecialties pad for a couple years and like it. Here's the link ...

http://www.amspecialtiesusa.com/

Short of getting a nice touring seat the gel pad will make the miles a little more tolerable.

 

As long as the weather is good 500 to 600miles a day is pretty reasonable. Of course it depends on traffic and the roads you take. Doing 75 mph the miles go by quickly.

 

I rode 13hours the first day,and then 12,and then 6,but I was alone. My advice is to make the first day the longest,10 hours. I was very tired when I reached Sturgis. Stop often and enjoy the trip out. I aloso got offf the beaten path,racked up 4,330 miles by the time I was home.

 

Ain't that the truth! Don't forget multiple potty breaks for the OL!