http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cfm

In addition to your bike prep, I would suggest that your own physical and mental prep is paramount.

Riding with a buddy is good, hopefully you have an electronic communication strategy, yes? Have you ever stayed in the same room with your co-rider? With dirty socks? For 10 days?

Heck of a ride, it certainly is doable if you keep the wheels rolling.

If you have a smartphone, you have free access to a GPS-powered internet breadcrumb trail, otherwise known as Spotwalla--use it if you have any family that will be concerned for you.

How is your lighting situation? Can't have too much light with the amount of night riding you'll likely do.

And, my last thought for the moment is this...you're bringing extra fuel I see, but what is your personal hydration strategy? Plenty of options out there, and you'll want to have one.

All the best,

Shane--IBA #7676

 

No passengers. Wife behind me for that long in the seat would make the trip totally impossible.

 

I'm not sure what the slime kit consists of but if your talking about potentially squirting that nasty **** in your tire I'd pass. Just get their pump and pick up one the corded tire plug kits. About $8 at Autozone. That's the best combo if you need a roadside repair. If you recently changed the plugs and wires why bring spares? Spare shift linkage? Damn your not crossing Mongolia. Harley dealerships are everywhere.

IMO the make or break aspect of any long tour is your riding gear. This is when any pirate gear stays at home. Top quality gear only. A 3/4 or full face modular helmet is far more comfortable when doing those long days over and over. Your jacket, helmet, gloves, boots he'll even your underwear should fit perfectly. Don't start the trip with a peice of gear "just a little bit uncomfortable or that'll break-in on the road". You'll regret it.

A good rain suit is a must. You need to be able to ride in it all day if necessary. Doesn't have to be high end Gortex. Now when it comes to boots Gortex or a similar waterproof liner is really the smart way to go. Nothing worse than cold wet feet. I'd pack waterproof gloves as well.

Doing laundry on the road sucks. I found some single use dry cleaning sheets at the grocery store a few years back. They come in an aluminum pouch and are soaked in a scented dry cleaning solvent. Throw your jeans and Ts in the dryer wth 1 sheet and 30 minutes later you're done. Beats the hell out of pumping quarters into the washer/dryer for 2 hours at the end of a long day.

 

We both have Ultras so communication will not be a problem. We also both have RoadTech 660s so plotting and staying on route should not be an issue.

For lighting he has Daymakers and I have PIAA Ultra Bright Halogens. The rear of my bike is totally decked out with Custom Dynamic LEDs and a Flash Module so I typically bring up the rear and he leads at night. Damn backend of my bike looks like an Emergency vehicle but hey it's safer.

I will have to look into SpotWalla. My buddy has a Spot but something on an iPhone would be handy

 

If you both have iphones, all you need is find my iphone app hooked into your icloud account, then the Mrs can find you anywhere. You should have that anyway in case you loose the phone or it gets stolen.

 

SpotWalla seems pretty interesting. You can send out emails to groups providing updates on you route and status as well as a link to a popcorn trail. I am going to give it a try.

 

Hmm. That does sound interesting. Is it a big battery drain?

 

I am running the IronCross iPhone unit. My phone is always charging when riding. I constantly stream Pandora with no drain at all.

 

The hydration part is very critical for me. Nothing but water or some Gatorade (the pedialyte sounds like a good idea). I also carry plenty of water/ Gatorade/ granola bars/snacks on the bike, (if you have a problem on the road ~ especially out west, you might be stuck out in the sun for quite a while before help arrives)

On the road I eat a lot of salads (hydrating at the core), and stay away from heavy or greasy foods.

Good Luck & Godspeed!!!

 

• You might look at the beadrider if you don't already have them. Huge comfort bonus and no butt burn.
  
• Use a backrest.
  
• You might make sure your schedule has a couple of cushion days in it for Murphy's law.
  
• I think 1100/day is going to be tough to do with weather, etc... and it will be hard to enjoy some of the magnificent things you will see(or miss).
  
• I carry a small slime compressor and a stop and go plug kit. Its easy to use and works very well. (I keep it in a small box wrapped in bubble wrap. I had one fall apart rattling around in my saddlebag.)
  
• I wouldn't carry the extra gas. I usually stop at 120-150 miles to stretch some and pee so I top off whether I need to or not.