Long ride....am I crazy?!?!

Last year I rode from Southern NJ down through DE, MD, VA, TN, NC, SC and GA on my VFR. We rode the entire Skyline/Blue Ridge Pkwy, The Gap, Cherohala, RT. 28, Blood Mountain in GA and countless other roads. All together it was 5 days and 2800 miles of great riding.

Now, I'm thinking about doing it again on my WR20R /X. I know others have ridden this bike great distances (Skierd, Krabill, Bigdog, etc.) and know it can be done. But would you do this all pavement ride? Sure it's easy to sit there on your PC (like I have) and say "hell yeah I would do it! It will be a great ride and you'll have a great time!" But lets be realistic for a minute. It will be 300-500 miles a day of riding with a few much faster bikes. I consider myself a very good rider on and off pavement. But will I have fun on the under powered little 250? Will it keep up well enough that I won't get frustrated and annoyed and want to turn around? Or stop at a dealer somewhere and trade it in? It will be fine in the tighter technical areas but on the highway(which is almost unavoidable in some places) it will suck. I know only I can answer some of those questions, but I'm curious as to what others think about this type of ride on this little thumper.

And for the record, I have some SM wheels for the street. So I wouldn't be putting this many miles on a set knobbies.

At the very least you need a bigger gas tank, maybe the IMS 3.1 would be enough?
You rode 2800 miles in 5 days on your VFR? Yowza! I would do that distance in 9 or 10 days on my 675 STripleR (small roads, tight & twisty.)
I would want 11 or 12 days for my WR250X, which I would only ride if the 675 was broken and could not be fixed in time for the trip.

deerHater wrote:

At the very least you need a bigger gas tank, maybe the IMS 3.1 would be enough?

Unless the big IMS tank comes out before I leave, I'll be using the little 2 gal tank. So basically....I'll be using the stock tank. Yes, that part will also suck.

deerHater wrote:

You rode 2800 miles in 5 days on your VFR? Yowza!

Yep and loved every mile! I railed on that bike so hard the entire trip and it never gave me a single problem. I almost wish I didn't sell it.

Ahh the memories

Me: I'd find another VFR (or equivilent).

X-Racer wrote:

Me: I'd find another VFR (or equivilent).

Nah. I put 40,000 miles on that bike and I've had my fill. I bought the WR because I needed a street legal bike to ride dirt. Somehow, I've found myself with only the WR in my garage. Then, I came upon the deal for the sumo wheels and picked them up so I could commute and run it in a few supermoto track days. This trip came up out of the blue. Since I only own the WR at the moment, it will have to be the bike I take on this trip if I decide to go. Part of me thinks I'm nuts and the other part like the challenge. Not so much the distance involved, but my ability to keep up with riding buddies on much more powerful machines for 2000+ miles of twisties. I think it will take all my riding ability to ride this slow bike fast. I guess I'll find out if I go.

Oh I don't think you're going to have any problem riding the SuMo equipped bike fast. Especially if you are in twisties for that many miles. You may not have the straight-line speed, but then again you don't need to haul it all down when you get to a corner.

You'll have a distinct advantage in the way of fatigue factor even if low on the HP to weight ratio. You might even find overall long-haul comfort better than the VFR.

My consideration would be more about the gas capacity and wind factor. ...and you can lie down on the tank of a sportbike for long straight stuff. It's hard to find a hiding place behind the headlight body on the Wr.

They won't have any more fun than you have that's for certain !

I agree with X-Racer. Just how fast do your buddies go through curves like that? If they don't plan on spending half the time doing 100 on the highway, you should be good.

The only issue is the 2 gal gas tank.

Just do it...as we discussed..its better than not doing it.

Riding is like pizza is like sex: Even when its bad, its still good. Beats working, that is for sure.

X-Racer wrote:

You'll have a distinct advantage in the way of fatigue factor even if low on the HP to weight ratio. You might even find overall long-haul comfort better than the VFR.

My consideration would be more about the gas capacity and wind factor. ...and you can lie down on the tank of a sportbike for long straight stuff. It's hard to find a hiding place behind the headlight body on the Wr.

They won't have any more fun than you have that's for certain !

Yeah the wind factor and being able to lean on the tank will definitely be missed. Last time I did this trip I was able to lean on the tank, set my cruise and relax on the hghway sections. Won't be able to do that this time.

As far as the fuel, that is a concern. If IMS would get their shit together I would buy their big tank. But as it is now, I'll have to make the stock tank work and stop every 100 miles. That will get annoying.

As far as the fun factor, I'm sure I'll have a good time on the back roads. I always do.

Hertz wrote:

Just how fast do your buddies go through curves like that? If they don't plan on spending half the time doing 100 on the highway, you should be good.

They're pretty good riders in the curves and they also ride fast on the highway (something I never really do). I'm not worried about them taking off there. I'll meet up with them at some point later. I just want to keep up a good pace in the turns with them.

DougZ wrote:

Just do it...as we discussed..its better than not doing it.

Yep, I'm going to go and see what happens.

You'll need the break every 100 miles lol. Keep he passenger pegs and ride on them if you want a sporty bike seat position, helps keep alert and another way to sit on the bike on long stints. Have some extra gas just in case, mileage drops a lot over 70mph, think 45mpg esp.if windy.

Yeah I'm sure I'll welcome the break every 100 miles or so. The other guys won't but oh well. I'll probably look at carrying another gallon with me. I'm just not sure how yet.

I know this is a ridiculously late reply but Im wondering if you attempted the long trip on the db.