Planning Coast to Coast trip in May 2015

[Tenerester]

Another ::026:: ::026::

I have a brother and several buddies that are suitable distance riding pals, but no more than 2 guys on a distance / time sensitive ride. My experience is every additional rider doubles the time of each stop, and there are more stops.

You can shed most of your camping gear but make sure you have either a bivy sack and bag or your tent and bag, I was eying up a gas station canopy on a cold rainy night once. We got lucky but it was the last room for miles and miles. I take my tent in hopes it stays tied on the bike the entire trip for a ride like this.

Most of your tourist stops will take too long, look for the rides along the way. Big horns in WY, Chief Joseph and Beartooth Pass are just a few on this side of the border.

If your ride takes you through Minnesota and I am here, tools, garage and whiskey available.

Dave, thanks for the tips and the invite. Hoping to ride through Minnesota. Will get in touch with you.

 

[EricV]

Eric....wow! Wow! Many thanks for taking the time to write this with such detail. This is valuable advise for anyone planning long trips. Thanks a million. A print of this will be going on my trip planning wall right away! ::008::

We have a great resource in the forum. A wonderful diversity of riders and experience. I'm glad I could share some things I learned.

Another point to add, pack some food stuff, things like single serving mac and cheese or oatmeal, etc. that only take hot water or water and a microwave to fix. Even the camping food, but that's more expensive and compact than you really need. The idea is that some days end up being longer than expected and you may not feel like going out to forage for food. And in some small towns, the roll up the side walks at 5-6pm and you're left with maybe gas station food. Having a few things that you can eat with no or little prep in the hotel room can make a big difference. Replenish on the road as needed. I really like the Craft Easy Mac for this. A few packets take up very little room and in a pinch you can use a coffee cup or scrounge a bowl from the breakfast area of many hotels. And I'm not shy about walking across the street to the nicer hotel like Sandman, Best Western, etc to snag a bowl and some utensils from their breakfast area either. ;D Peanut Butter like Jif to go, is another handy thing, some crackers. Take some plastic utensils too, but no need to take a whole box of them.

 

[Tenerester]

Thanks Eric. Noted.

I am looking for a link to a discussion on adding extra power outlets on a S10. Is there a ready power source I can tap into? If someone can help please. Thanks.

 

[EricV]

Thanks Eric. Noted.

I am looking for a link to a discussion on adding extra power outlets on a S10. Is there a ready power source I can tap into? If someone can help please. Thanks.

Many people choose the simple and effective method of running a battery tender pigtail strait to the battery and either leaving it under the seat or just hanging out with a weather cap. Then if you want to avoid the hassle of cutting off the cig plug for the compressor and installing an SAE plug, you can just get an adapter.

Power cord(pigtail) LINK

Adapter SAE to female Cig port LINK

Lots of vendors sell these. The other common option is an Aux fuse block, which again, there are several options of. Eastern Beaver PC-8 being a popular one that comes with a harness designed for the Super Tenere and plugs into one of the un-used oem plugs, (For Aux lights?) Not positive if it was that or heated grips, or what fits the '14 bikes.

 

[Tenerester]

Thanks Eric.
I might go with the option of an auxiliary fuse box. Need to find a convenient place to install it. I believe the '14 has a unused power cable near the main harness, but I haven't located it yet. Will do so as soon as I recover from this damn flue!!

 

[RockyDS]

One thing I would add to the above info is to consider an Airhawk. The stock seat gets hard after a long day.

http://www.airhawk.net/airhawk-products.aspx

 

[Tenerester]

One thing I would add to the above info is to consider an Airhawk. The stock seat gets hard after a long day.

http://www.airhawk.net/airhawk-products.aspx

Thanks for this. But I actually find the S1o seat quite comfortable. I have done 750km days on it several times. Did 5500kms in 9 days in August and I felt no discomfort. Probably its because i am skinny butted (5'6" 150lbs)

 

[k7tbt]

Have fun! In October went to the Super Tenere Rally in Marble Falls, AR. with Bernie and Doug from Victoria, B.C. Since we went way south for weather that time of the year we put in about 6500 miles in 18 days and that was with a four day stop for the Rally which involved some riding but no big miles. All three bikes performed flawlessly and no flat tires. I would recommend starting out with new tires though and as mentioned carry a plug kit and compressor. Also, before the trip I considered the seat to be adequate, but after a few days I was getting a little uncomfortable. Ron

 

[Tenerester]

Have fun! In October went to the Super Tenere Rally in Marble Falls, AR. with Bernie and Doug from Victoria, B.C. Since we went way south for weather that time of the year we put in about 6500 miles in 18 days and that was with a four day stop for the Rally which involved some riding but no big miles. All three bikes performed flawlessly and no flat tires. I would recommend starting out with new tires though and as mentioned carry a plug kit and compressor. Also, before the trip I considered the seat to be adequate, but after a few days I was getting a little uncomfortable. Ron

Thanks Ron. Yes, I might get a set of new tires before the trip. Plug kit and compressor are already in place.
You seem to have had an awesome trip. I am not surprised the bikes ran flawlessly. With the '14 ES options, I don't think there is anything out there that can compete with the S10 especially when it comes to reliability and ease of maintenance.
I came from a GS and 'a 14 RT. They are both good bikes but a bit overrated in my opinion. I don't think I would have been comfortable doing the cross country trip on any one of those. Tenere seems to inspire confidence every time I ride it. Strangely, I don't find it heavy or big. If I only had the time, I would have planned a RTW trip on it! Probably when I retire!

 

[TwoLukes]

Hey Tenerester, This is TwoLukes. I left last June from Las Vegas, went to Key West, Florida, up to Washington DC, zig zaged back and forth across the country, including the Tenere Rally in Ark. A little over 9,500 miles. I had big plans to camp two out of every 3 nights, but ended up shipping the camping gear back home. It was just too nice to shower, sleep in a real bed, free breakfast in most for $60 a night and I didn't need the weight. I am heading to AK in June on another long ride. I agree with all of the above statements on this string by a lot of riders much better than me, but if you have any quick questions, please give me a call and this rookie can tell you how I did a long ride. Good luck and post updates as you go. Sometime Google "Luke's Cross Country Motorcycle Adventure" and you can read my blog and see pictures of the best long distance bike made!!! Click on any of the links, like Day 1 (or D-1 while I was packing the bike), and see how I did it all. I added a Parabellum 24" wind screen to keep the air out of my face and it creates a great bubble for a quiet ride. Also think music and how you get it into your head . . . I have put 10,000 miles on a set of Tabasco's H-60s and they still have many miles to go. Hit weather several times and IMHO these tires haandled wet as well as any, with immediate off road capability. I could also write a long narrative here but am going to bed . . . Call me if you have any quick questions (702) 682-LUKE (5853). Have a safe trip!!! Luke

 

[Tenerester]

Hey Tenerester, This is TwoLukes. I left last June from Las Vegas, went to Key West, Florida, up to Washington DC, zig zaged back and forth across the country, including the Tenere Rally in Ark. A little over 9,500 miles. I had big plans to camp two out of every 3 nights, but ended up shipping the camping gear back home. It was just too nice to shower, sleep in a real bed, free breakfast in most for $60 a night and I didn't need the weight. I am heading to AK in June on another long ride. I agree with all of the above statements on this string by a lot of riders much better than me, but if you have any quick questions, please give me a call and this rookie can tell you how I did a long ride. Good luck and post updates as you go. Sometime Google "Luke's Cross Country Motorcycle Adventure" and you can read my blog and see pictures of the best long distance bike made!!! Click on any of the links, like Day 1 (or D-1 while I was packing the bike), and see how I did it all. I added a Parabellum 24" wind screen to keep the air out of my face and it creates a great bubble for a quiet ride. Also think music and how you get it into your head . . . I have put 10,000 miles on a set of Tabasco's H-60s and they still have many miles to go. Hit weather several times and IMHO these tires haandled wet as well as any, with immediate off road capability. I could also write a long narrative here but am going to bed . . . Call me if you have any quick questions (702) 682-LUKE (5853). Have a safe trip!!! Luke

Thanks Luke! Very kind of you. Keen to check out your bike mods and trip details. Will get in touch with you if I need help.