Long distances on a Cafe?

Hey everyone, new member here, been lurking for about a month doing some research. Always been a car nut but have recently been looking into bikes for a few reasons. First off, they look like hella fun. Secondly, I always wanted a project car to work on, but don't really have the money or space. I feel like for just a few grand and working in my basement and friends' garages I could probably build a decent enough bike over the winter.

Here's my situation though, I'm finishing my last year of my undergraduate degree with no real direction afterwards as I want to take a year or two before I apply to grad school. So, a friend of mine discussed biking out West across the country with just the bare essentials and try to get jobs for the summer/fall out in British Columbia or Alberta, just looking for some adventure basically. He already has a bike that he thinks he will take, a 2001 CBR929. Modern crotch rockets really aren't my cup of tea though, I really prefer classic cafes...

Which leads me to some questions, would it be reasonable to drive a naked cafe across the country? I'm a total bike noob, so I dunno a whole lot about it. I imagine it would be a lot more comfortable with some sort of mini faring like some of the Cafes on here seem to have. Would bike choice matter a lot? Would it be unreasonable to get a CB360 or other small-ish 2 cylinder? Should I look for larger 650+ 4 cylinders? Does anyone ever use saddle bags on their cafe?

Basically, any advice you guys might have for traveling long distances would be great as well as building up a cafe that would be suitable for this would be great. Or alternatively, tell me it's a crappy idea and get a real job and a career and get my life in order... ;D

If you are riding on highways or interstate then a larger displacement would be better. A small 350-360 typically wouldn't have enough power to keep up with highway requirements or your buddy. At least with a 1000 you'd have a fighting chance. I have one of the viper style fairings on my GS1000 and it helps so much especially if you don't have a helmet.

Check out this topic - Banff on a 360

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=5358.0

niels.d,

I've ridden cross country in the US from California to Pennsylvania so I have a few experiences to share with you:

1. I did it on a 1995 Buell S2 Thunderbolt, 1200cc Harley Sportster power. If you look it up, it has a small cafe fairing and a sport bike riding position. As lonelywolf said, on highways you should go with 500cc or bigger. I've owned a 1980 Yamaha XS650 and now a 1975 Honda CB750 and wouldn't hesitate to take either one on such a trip. The fairing helps A LOT.

2. Luggage, my trip took 8 days, I had a tank bag; underwear, socks, one pair of jeans, a few t-shirts and incidentals. I wore a riding suit on the trip. You never know who you might meet in a laundromat! Don't over do the luggage thing, go light.

3. I stayed in inexpensive motels, ground floor so I could see and hear my bike, locked of course. Sometimes I actually pulled it into my room! A shower at the end of the day felt great. Being a Boy Scout and Scoutmaster most of my life, camping was one thing I wanted to avoid.

My point in all of this is to have fun and don't burden yourself with the logistics too much. Get the right bike and prepare it for the journey, then get going!!!!!

Scott

Dont let anyone pressure you into entering the "real world" before you do some adventuring. I have loose plans to ride out to the west coast on a bike Ive built sometime in the next few years. I feel like its a pilgrimage every motorcycle enthusiast in N.A. should make. Theres just something so cool about reaching the ocean. Just make sure to take plenty of pictures and post a trip report here!

fairings are good, large cc is not that important as long as the bike can handle the speeds, I cruise my 400f at 80 for distance a lot, i put a small aluminum nose fairing on it though for a trip across PA, also a great trick, bring every tool for every repair that you could possibly need to do on the road. and if you do that, i guarantee you'll never need to touch them!

I use to regularly ride 20k+ miles a year and have made several cross country treks... even did a round trip of the Al-Can once... urg! The equipment is very important as all above have said, but taking care of yourself is critical as well. Staying warm or cool depending on the weather is important as well as staying hydrated and fed (but not too well-fed!). Little things like wearing earplugs will help you to not get so tired out as will properly fitting riding gear; suit, gloves, footwear, and a helmet that fits properly. A really important thing for me was to make sure that every morning I took 3 Advil before starting out and then took an additional one each time I filled the gas tank.

Most of my serious travelling was done on major highways. If I had it to do over now I think I'd use more secondary highways, take a little longer to make the trip, and pay a bit more attention to the scenery rather than the odometer. 8)

ridesolo said:

Most of my serious travelling was done on major highways. If I had it to do over now I think I'd use more secondary highways, take a little longer to make the trip, and pay a bit more attention to the scenery rather than the odometer. 8)

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oooh totally, traveling on the back roads, even though it takes twice as long, will make you wish you were going twice the distance

it sounds like a great idea!

i rode my 1978 kz200 from PA to Chincoteague Island, VA. (SO was on his 2008 r6)



we camped for 5 nights, we just wanted a relaxing vacation. we just went for rides, went to the beach, and saw the wild ponies. the kz doesn't goo very fast, but it was fine for when we were on the highway. we didn't pack much; some stuff to cook, pair of jeans, pair of shorts, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, TOOLS. my headlight went out on our trip. there was no way i could find another bulb for that headlight, i had to cut out the bulb and just replace it with a bulb i got at lowe's. i also needed one of the extra fuses i brought with me.

Thanks for the help guys, looks like cross-country is realistic on a cafe, great news! Any more advice on traveling is greatly appreciated guys.

i took my old XJ750 from chicago to KC mo about 12 times... i loved that ride...

but i am creative with it...

cafe:


cruiser:


lady and i are going riding:

also a good idea, either wear only a full face helmet, or bring two... I did a 300 mile trip in the 3/4 with goggles and I was a mess... eyes were red and face was "bugburned?" dunno, but it was raw from getting smacked by bugs and highway sand I think