made it from stl, missouri on a 78 hardtail sporty with her sitting on a folded towel on the rear fender in 92. for added fun I had to hold the starter on with my leg when the bolts vibrated out.

where theres a will.....

 

 

I wouldn't plan 800 miles a day on my Ultra. If I only had 5 days I wouldn't do it, even with a trailer. Regardless of what mapquest says as to drive time in hours, you're going to have to stop a lot more frequently on the bike. If you hit any rain, forget doing much over 60MPH, which you would only be doing anyway if you avoid the interstate.

 

Yeah, a good seat is going to be paramount. And maybe a windshield too. 800 miles in one day makes for a very long day. Especially with all the fuel stops a Sporty requires.

If you try it, good luck. Maybe in my younger days I'd have tried that, but not any more.

 

I think I will give her a test run and do a nonstop trip except for gas and lunch to Thunder Beach Rally in the Spring. That's almost a 7 hour ride and see how she does with the Butty-buddy seat. I already tried talking her into a larger bike, but she reminded me I am so broke I have to ride the Sportster all year and in all weather.

Got to talk to work and see if somehow I can get an extra day or two to really make it worth trying to make Sturgis.

 

Definitely what he said! In my youth, yeah, but not two up either! In my 20's did a two day, 1400 mile trip with the ol' lady on the back, it was a tough ride on the ol' rigid frame shovel, but we did it. Back then though, all we did was ride, so we were very comfortable being on the bike together for long times. We also had the luxury of waiting a few days before the return trip. If we only had a one day break before the return, yowsa! I think the trip there with the excitement of going is one thing, the return trip will be tough and you need to be very careful with the type of exhaustion you may be looking at.

 

Sure you CAN do it, but why would you want to? I took three days each way going to Sturgis from Chicago (998 miles) riding on the DYNA with my girlfriend (now my wife) on the back. We just planned on making the ride part of the vacation. If my time was limited to only five days, I'd pick another destination and enjoy the ride. Take freequent stops and enjoy all the things along the way. IMHO, Sturgis is fun, but not worth making a death-march out of getting there. Remember - If you get there with a tired, pi$$ed-off, crabby and sore wife, then you ain't going to have much fun. The trip home will be a bear too, especially if you run into some bad weather and can't stop at a nice hotel to wait it out because you need to get back to work. I always plan my long trips with a few extra days to crash in a comfy hotel in the event we hit some bad weather. Actually have had tons of interesting and fun experiences while hanging out waiting for the weather to improve.

 

Go for it! We're thinking the same thing about Sturgis next year.

Traveled to Ky. this summer to visit my parents. We hit 10 states, 2600 miles in 7 days. Sturgis should around the same distance from Texas. After that trip we figure anything is possible. When my wife asked what would happen if she couldn't take anymore, I told her we go to a bus station and I'd get her a ticket. She was ready for the next bike trip before we even got home.

 

Riding on the back end of a Sportser is not very comfortable. Do you have pegs or boards? If you have pegs, you should consider getting boards. Cramps can develop from sitting too long.

How many miles do you and the misses have under your belts (or should I say bottoms)? I am not saying that it can not be done. You do need to get used to putting on tons of miles at one time. Before Sturgis plan on taking some long trips.

Miles on interstate are still miles and you are still sitting in the saddle. .

Funny or fun is what you make out of it.

 

If your butts are willing, the bike will make it.