Prepping for cross country trip (LA to Tampa) help please

I introduced myself in the intro section... I am working on getting my bike an 09 interceptor...shipped from OH to LA since I can not find a motorcycle online in LA at all!

I am running the LA marathon in march and then after that I am going to do some site seeing in california.. hit the PCH uup to San Fran .. then back down :nod:...visit some friends.. then off to Tampa

Anyways.. .the furthers I have ridden was Tampa to Atlanta and back. during the winter.. talk about layering of clothes!

The things i need and may need to upgrade on the bike..i dont want to be super cheap tho I dont want to be super expensive some good value stuff... i am not a cheap skate... if you have any recommendations for such a trip below I would very greatly appreciate your input

1) Gel Seat... is this required for such a long trip.. will the stock seat suffice?
2) Tank bag... to hold my DSLR camera and netbook... something water resistant
3) saddlebags.. to hold my clothes..i am not fond of the Givi bags.. any other recommendations .. maybe bit more aesthetically pleasing...something I can use in the city also as a DD..maybe something I can lock also..i may just get the Givis still researching
4) touring jacket / pants /gloves / boots... in case it rains..i know cordura makes some good stuff from the bike magazines
5) helmet...i saw the shoei on the spash page of this site
6) GPS mount to hold my Garmin GPS60 CSX

This is all the accessories I can think of or that I will need.. if anybody has any input on this please let me know

 

pls excuse my nubness .... I am reading as much as I can.. I will probably answer all my own questions.....

found this article...as you guys probably already know this.. just doing some research..
Preparing for a motorcycle tour

 

There are other threads (recent) like this

I just took a long trip. That link you found is chock full of good ideas.
Two pair of gloves at least. My heaviest pair are ski gloves I bought off-season. Rubberized palms, wide gauntlets.
Aerostich electric vest. Plugs into charger pigtail. Cuts down on 4 layers of clothes. Works like a champ.
I believe tools are over-rated. I've toured thousands of miles, and have never used my tool kit in an emergency. They are heavy, too. I now carry an Outbacker with 8,10,12 metrics, and a leatherman. My machines are well tuned and reliable, though. You got AMA roadside or HRCA? Forget the tools.
My First Gear Kilamanjaro has some useless pockets, but I've never put on rain gear over them. I've used my rain coat when stopped and camping, but a good cordura jacket and pants should be dry enough.
Take a shake down trip fully loaded. You will find the things you need and find the things you want to get rid of.
Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the advice!.... so the interceptor has a plug in jack like a car cigarette lighter or do i need to splice into the power? I do not see myself getting heated grips or a heated jacket... i probably should do more research into those... going from LA to Tampa taking I-10 all the way across not sure what the weather will be like in March

I will look into AMA roadside and HRCA when i get back... I think the interceptor stock tools should suffice that plus a leather man.. which I already have

I think I am going with this jacket by tourmaster.. it is low priced and looks good Tourmaster Saber Series 2 Silver Black Motorcycle Jacket
.....I have a tourmaster jacket at home they are of high quality...

I think I may get a set of tourmaster pants when it rains also.. this plus some under layers just one set I like to travel lightly myself

thinking about this saddlebag by icon Icon Urban Tank Bag - Street Bike - Motorcycle Superstore
I have never used a saddlbag with the magnets be enough for a cross country jaunt?...

I still have not found a brand new bike in Los Angeles.... and I am still researching the saddlebags

thanks again Red Menace for the Ideas

 

For the most part your right to a certain extent. Yes the bikes are reliable. That does make them not susceptible to falling over, worse yet a minor crash or just odd things going wrong. I carry a tire repair kit like this with more cartridges:BMW R1100S R1150R RS RT K1200 F650 TIRE REPAIR KIT : eBay Motors (item 200391511919 end time Mar-04-10 17:31:10 PST) I admit I've never used it though. It's a just encase tool. Yes if you have AAA or what ever that's nice. But if your out in bum f@$k Egypt and something breaks or comes loose it may take hours, days, or weeks to be found if no cell phone services are available. At least your bleached bones will be found sooner or later. Like across NM,AZ or places like that. Plus I don't trust or want to rely on others to do repairs correctly. I carry small array of sockets, couple of screw drives, piers and such. Those I have used and they have saved me. A bungee cord or two and most of all some Duct tape. RainX and anti fog for your face shield, a small first aid kit w/aspirin and small bottle of water. Don't forget clean underwear also.

 

Waterproof Saddlebags:

Shameless plug: Giant Loop? Moto: Saddlebags for Motorcycles | Welcome

There is a central pocket originally designed to hold a sleeping bag on the Great Basin. The pocket accomodates one or two Sterlite plastic boxes from any WalMart. Great for cameras.

 

Don't forget to fuel up BEFORE you need to just to be safe, riding a bike is alot better then walking it. I drove from Pensacola FL, to San Diego in a 1970 Galaxie 500(351 windsor 12 mpg) gas stations get a little far between one another in Arizona,New Mexico,Texas on iterstate 10. It's hard to enjoy the scenery while staring at the fuel gage.

 

Sunblock and chapstick may also be a good idea.

 

make sure anything you add on or get for the trip you get it well before the trip and try it out or install it well before you leave, and ride a couple times with it. Don't want to get a new seat the night before you leave, throw it on the bike, then get to LA to find it doesn't fit the bike right and moves, or for some reason it isn't comfortable for you. A seam bothers your leg or something. Especially things like the clothing and helmet. Properly fitted, a helmet when new is typically a little tight in spots after a while. A couple of quick shorter rides should break it in. Otherwise you run the risk of a helmet that feels great after 10 minutes in the store, but after 2 hours gives you a blinding headache. You tough it out and ride 6 hours, but your head is killing you. Guess what, tomorrow, in order to continue your ride, you have to put that same helmet back on, except not you are in pain or discomfort right away, and it is only going to get worse.

As a general rule, it is a bad idea to buy new gear or farkles for the bike right before leaving on a trip. Obviously it is a BIG temptation to do just that, but as a general rule, you want to avoid it.

Intstll a GPS right before you leave, works great. but the 2nd day of your trip, your bike won't start because the GPS drained the battery? Now if you were at home, no big deal, hook it up to the charger, and fix the wiring. a pain, if you wanted to ride, but no big deal. But at a hotel 1,000 miles from home, and you have to be in place X by tomorrow? now you are screwed. You don't even have a car to go get the parts & tools you need.

 

+1
You will be traveling thru some pretty sparcely populated areas. there will not be a gas station every 2 miles like many of us are used to
If things haven't changed, you may go 50 - 75 miles without a gas station. In a car with 10+ gallon tank, no problem, but in a bike...

 

yes, tire plugger and air pump would be a good idea for this

throw an extra gatorade or water bottle in you bags as well, maybe a granola bar or two
if you break down when you were getting ready to stop for lunch soon, you may wait hours for a tow truck
if you are in the desert, it may be hot, very hot

 

I wanted that Icon Urban tank bag. It doubles as a backpack, right? It was out of stock shortly before my trip, so I paid about the same amount of money for a smaller one with a shoulder strap.
It worked fine. When I did go hiking after riding, I wished I had the shoulder straps and a little more capacity.
The one I got has a clear window on top for maps and directions. Very good feature. I used the window everyday, but the shoulderstraps would have only been used 2-3 times on entire trip.
Hard to find one with all the features you want.
The best plan is to try one out (like above, take that shakedown trip. Get used to your shit) and look forward to improving your kit over time.

 

come to think of it, I have a whole shoebox full of stuff I put in the tank bag when I do longer trips
since I haven't been able to do any longer trips in a while, I forgot about it, to the best of my memory, here is what it entails

some zip ties, wire (not electrical, but what I would use to wire up a broken say muffler bracket), leatherman, flashlight (even if you don't plan to ride at night (wrapped in a ziplock bag, with the batteries out to keep them from running down if the flashlight were to get accidentally turned on), water (like I said), granola bars, chapstick, 2 x $20 bill (just in case I lost my wallet or something), some nitrile gloves (if I have to fix the bike, I don't want to put my greasy hands back into my riding gloves), some paper towels, pad & pen, tire plug kit, mini air pump, some hard candies, roll of rescue tape, small roll of duct tape, 1/2 roll of toilet paper (not every public bathroom is well stocked) in a zip lock bag to keep it dry, hand sanitizer, waterless hand wash, bottle of extra prescription pills with a couple of aspirin, amodium AD, allergy meds thrown in (this is extra in the tank bag, in case I lose my main one in the luggage or forget it at a hotel), small spray bottle with windex, some zip lock baggies, extra pair of sunglasses, small thing of tissues

might have forgotten something, but that is most of it, I throw all of it in my tank bag, yes it all fits easily, except the air pump & tire plugger goes in a saddle bag, when I go on a long trip. When not on a trip it either stays in my tank bag if I don't need the tank bag, and if I do need my tank bag for a short trip, I have a little Rubbermaid plastic container the size of a shoe box that it all goes in on a shelf in my garage. That way I don't forget anything the next time.

 

.. my buddy would love this.. he is into dual series BMW's he might meet me on the trip from AZ.. undecided
Plus can a chick ride on the back with this...on?

This makes sense... I agree.. .my only problem is well one.. .I am trying to buy a bike that is in OH.. i do not know where I can ship to.. another Honda dealership.. the only VFR 800 i can find is on ebay .. lol he told me it would be 500 for shipping to LA...I am thinking about getting that sargent ship... I am research general delivery options to get this stuff sent to in LA

As far as GPS I have a Garming GPS 60 CSX... can I not just use batteries? is there an adaptor kit I can get I remember reading about the guy that rode from NYC to LA he had his hard wired and did the same thing and drained his motorcycles battery
<ninja edit>
I just ninja edit this link http://www.cycoactive.com/gps/gps60csx.htm
i am using this thread as a personal reference so when it comes time to buy all my stuff.

I have never owned a tank bag.. i used to throw everything in my backpack on my SV650 and I would use bungee cords for a 2nd bag on the back.. i do not want to go that route again....!!
I hope the icon urban bag is what i need.. it looks pretty bad ass imo.. and it can hold a macbook and a DSLR camera ..which I might be carrying both on this trip
i think i am going to go with this particular tank bag... do you have to use extra straps or will the magnets be enough for a long haul like this....

 

I highly recommend creating your route and then printing a list of dealerships along the way in case you break down or having any mechanical issues. A list of strip clubs along the way wouldn't hurt either :biggrin:

Rollin

 

This was my first tank bag. Had anxiety about it flying off.
Never budged an inch with magnets.
By the end of trip, I had valuables in there and never gave it a second thought.
It does buff down your paintjob. The magnets attract microscopic dirt elements.

 

Does Garmin or other GPS units have an option to locate motorcycle shops? I have never been able to find that data. I'm not trying to hi-jack this but i thought about that some time ago.

 

Well, here's the thing Chyenne. You've never used a GPS? As you travel, you can search, "motorcycle" , 'dealership', "shop" etc....
The unit will give you matches. It's not perfect, but it will put you on the right road.

 

+100 to all this.

A small tire plug kit like this: Aerostich Expedition Pocket Plugger Tubeless Tire Repair Kit - Tire Repair Kits - Tire Repair - Prevent or Repair :: Aerostich/RiderWearHouse Motorcycle Jackets, Suits, Clothing, & Gear plus an air pump like the Slime Slime Power Sport Compressor Air Pump Better than being stuck 80 miles from nowhere, I don't rely on the CO2 cartridges.

The Givi bags may not be your first choice but they're lockable and waterproof. The Honda factory hard bags, also made by Givi, are also a good choice.

Get a waterproof suit, gloves and boots. Aerostitch makes great gear although a little pricy but my Roadcrafter suit has never leaked on me. Staying dry is half the battle.

Can't overemphasize the heated vest/jacket and grips. They're worth every penny. You can get heated grips for $35. Heated Grip Kit Gerbing makes good heated gear among others. You will need to wire this in to the bike, the VFR doesn't come with outlets. Fellow VFR owner's site for all things electrical: Wire My Bike

Is your Garmin waterproof? If not plan to wrap it with a plastic bag. Don't overplan your mileage, 300-400 mile days are probably enough unless you have a lot of higher mileage days under your belt. Have fun, stop and see the sights and good luck! I'm thinking of a west-east-west coast trip myself this summer. :thumbsup:

 

VFRcpn is a little cranked up.
But everything he says sounds good.