Tips for Route 66...

So... I was all excited by the idea of riding the route 66... I talked to one of my older friends how said it sucks, cops at every corner, no fun, not pretty blah blah blah. Well maybe but hey, Route 66 is route 66... I always wanted to do it!
You know (no you don't ) but I'm French (and a woman too) so for us it's really something.
Anyway, as I live in Hawaii, I can't just take my bike and need to buy one (renting rates are crazy) to sell it afterward. Now here is the big question: what to ride? LOVE my VFR but for xxx hours of ride a day and with cops around for a ticket I should get something else. What do you think?
My brother has a BMW 1200 cruiser but is reluctant to let me take it: he is concerned about the weight. NOT MINE DUDES! :kc10: I'm 120 lbs... But the bike's weight. He says that even if the wind blows it down while I sleep, I'm stuck... True but quite frankly also true with my VFR
So... Any tips, tricks, idea?
Also, how long do you think I should plan on? Never really rode long trips but I'm tough! BUT OF COURSE I'm French!
Thank you & Aloha,
Vroum-Vroum

 

There are actually some decent things to do around 66. You may have to get off the route and out of your way from time to time, but the Grand Canyon, meteor crater, petrified forrest, painted desert, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and so on. Yeah they're not all on the route but they're in the vacinity. Take a detour up to Colorado and I would be happy to show you some of the best mountain motorcycling in the world. Maybe even better than the Alps or the Dolomites. That's not a come on, not yet anyway!

I think a VFR would be a great choice for this kind of ride, for all of the same reasons you probably bought it for in the first place. It's versatile enough for almost any situation and you can pick up a speeding ticket on any bike, might as well be a VFR. Otherwise maybe a Honda Shadow or something like that. Plan on at least 10 days depending on how far across the country you want to go. The southwest part of the route is the best in my opinion.

 

looks like its going to be a great adventure for you. good luck and have a grand time!

 

Yep, you are right: I should do it on a VFR - first - and also the the right way (Chicago to LA) - second.
Found a VFR 2003 siklver (exactly the same as mine) on Craigslist but he is asking $ 5,200 while the KBB says $4,555. OK this bike has less than 10 Kmiles (9,something). That's high no?

 

Ah ah! I'd like to know the time... 12 days? 15 days? Looks like 15 should be good to "cruise" around. What about a belt? I think that would help too...
IF I can find any that is not just super size for you guys :-( but would also fit me!
Would you recommend a book? I usually don't like to plan things as I like my freedom (eh eh) but I should be smart too.
Talking about smart, also, do you think I should get one of these pepper spray... I mean is it safe for a lone girl? Obviously I won't go in bars nor sleep on the side of the road, but I do remember a bad event on te death valley area while in a rental car when 3 young guys knocked at my window (I was sleeping in the car due to a tight budget (i was student)) Never knew what they wanted I just woke up turn on the key and drove off
Not that easy on a bike to find some kind of shield... OK I was 23 at the time, and now 41 so maybe not that same gal hanging around. Pretty adventurous but don't want to end up making the news!
??? what do ya think?
Vroum-Vroum

 

BTW I prefer the left side of your profile...

 

Its been a while since I did the trip youre contemplating, so Im sure there have been some changes. You will find that a significant portion of 66 once you are west of the Mississippi has been covered with interstates or other high capacity roads, not all of course, but following 66 as a 2 lane all the way to LA really isnt possible anymore. Some places 66 runs parallel to the newer road and you can get off and just travel 66, but it wont be high speed twisties, more like rural Americana samll town. No worries, thats probably what youre after anyway. Some of what you see will be high camp to say the least, since 66 carries a mythology that the locals are trying to cash in on. There is still enough of the old road and small towns left to get a feel for it. Think of it as a rolling museum, and you get the idea.

I dont have a book to specifically recommend for you, but Im sure youve found the webz to be full of info, just parsing through it can be tedious.

If you want to carry pepper spray, go for it. I dont forsee you running into many problems, in fact I found that most places folks were very friendly and just wanted to talk bikes with me. However, if one swims in the ocean, one needs to mindful that there are sharks around. Im the opposite of an attractive female so maybe I dont always see things the way you would. Since I made these trips alone, I carried a pistol. I never had call to produce it. Im also sure if any of the local law enforcement discovered that fact I would have had more trouble than I cared to deal with, it was a risk I took. It is not a risk I recommend for everyone.

Since you appear to be on a budget, KOA campgrounds are an option if youre in the camping mood. One thing I discovered but dont necessarily recommend for everyone: large cemetaries are great places to lay out your sleeping bag and take naps when the weather is nice, park behind a crypt or large monument, no one much comes around late at night, and dead people wont bother you. I do not recommend roadside rest areas as camping spots, too many shady types around if youre alone.

Allow at least 10 days depending on where you start, because youre going to go slow and want to see things, even then you may want to extend that a bit lest you wind up having to haul ass the last day or so to get to LA.

You will get tired and sore, take some pain meds of your choosing. Do not take this warning lightly. Since you live on an island, I imagine any long ride you take involves seeing some things twice hheeheehehee. Be prepared on a 66 trip for long expanses of nothing, there are places where there's just nothing there.

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head, theres of course all the maintenance of the bike and planning that goes into one of these things. Part of the fun. Good luck, and post pics for us......

 

The bike: My biggest concern if I was doing this, would be picking up a used bike and not knowing if it will make the trip (yes, even our precious VFRs have problems, and sometimes people sell things to get rid of problems). If you have the budget (which you seem to if you even entertained a $5,200 bike), I recommend as new as you can (and as low mileage as you can find) to ensure the least amount of problems on the road. Have a good mechanic go through it completely, then get insurance with roadside assistance (and of course a good cell phone :biggrin. I also agree that a VFR would be great. You already know the bike, so you don't have to spend the first few days settling in. Perhaps a Sargent or Corbin seat though?

Pepper spray: Absolutely. Like 4bear says, most people will give you the shirt off thier back. But unfortunately there are people out there that want the shirt off your back. Being a female and alone on the road just makes you a target (although I think a woman on a bike is much less a target than a woman in a car :wink. I almost always carry on the road (especially if I am travelling alone, and I live by the "don't look like a victim" theory) and have never had to draw (just the way I like it!), but should I ever run into that small percentage of people, I want to have a backup. Pepper spray is a great way to carry a non-lethal method of protection. I hope you just have to throw the full can away at the end of your trip!:thumb:

I would also recommend a GPS if for nothing else than knowing where the next gas station is. When you get down in my neck of the woods (or lack-there-of) sometimes it's a good stretch between them! It would also allow you to get off the beaten path as mentioned above and have piece of mind (on top of a good map!).

Sounds like a great trip! Keep us posted!

 

Well it was a great ride, I did much but not all of route 66 on a 1969 Honda 750 in 1970. It was a great road but now it is broken up in a thousand pieces many of which are hard to find. I live 5 miles from old RT66 (outside of Chicago) and I can piece together old sections only by virtue of my past experience. The feel of old route 66 is still alive but not on 66; it exists on other lesser know routes that are still intact. I would seriously consider another route from Chicago to LA. I am an x Honda mechanic and would go over a bike for you for a very reasonable cost. I still ride my VFR across the country and think it is an excellent choice. My parents are French so I guess that makes me French also although I was born in Michigan, not that that means anything but long distance riding is something I naturally an suited for. Why that is I don’t know…the French connection? There are so many great rides in North America I would really urge you to consider then instead of old 66 which alas is no more. JIM

 

Me too...I've often looked at junior with the same sort of "WTF is he talking about" scowl.

Yep, $5200 for that '03 is too much, even with low miles. $4000-$4300 would be a more accurate value. I only mention it because if you're going to turn around and try to sell it you'll have a difficult time getting your money back. New '07's are going for $7000 right now at several east coast dealerships. If you don't mind starting in New York or New Jersey you could buy one of these bikes new, break it in on the way to Chicago, get the break-in service done there (2 or 3 hours) and than start your trek in reverse from Chicago to LA. You could then sell the bike in Cali for maybe a loss of a few hundred dollars. It would cut the amount of time you'll need in half since you would only be going one way rather than turning around and doing it twice; maybe worth it? Although going at it from LA to Chicago then turning around and taking a completely differant route back to LA would provide a differant and more than likely better experience. Yellowstone and the Tetons, Rocky Mountain National Park, maybe come into San Fransisco and spend a day in Napa Valley, just a couple of many very cool rides to select from should you choose to stay a little north on your return ride.

 

Thank you SO MUCH for all the info, it really helps. Never thought about the cementeries as rest area but might give it a try. I can't believe you said you are the opposite of an attractive female. It is sad if you think that way as everybody has something attractive about themselves. Can be a smile a great body or simply so much kindness and attention. I can't see the rest of you but the last two are true for sure!
I'll send pics if/when I do the trip.
ZZ

 

Here is a modest photo of myself. I prefer it however when a woman see's my soul rather then my rather ordinary looks.

 

Sorry Havcar but I can't see the pic! Beside of course your buddies on your profile!

 

Click the refresh. Hopefully you're not disappointed!

 

So THAT'S what happened to Sock Monkey! Please wash him before passing him along.

 

mmmm, maybe I take you as a buddy rider then for route 66 Although a smile would be anticipated...

 

BTW there is something about these speedo... At least you know what you can expect...

 

Thanks Jim for your feedback. What you are saying is similar o what my friend says... Forget about R66 and go ride on your brother's bike around CA... I need to thin k about it bcz R66 is just a trip on itself!
Pepper spray will be my buddy, not that talkative but hey as long as it protects me!
So you are a mechanic? Maybe you can tip me in for the post available on the mechanic forum section: my VFR keeps having the FI light coming up. I can make it go away by turning the engine off then back on. Well, at least it did work for a while but it looks like it's coming on more often... Any idea of what that could be? Thanks, ZZ

 

Yeah, I think you having me tag along is probably the only sensible decision here. And I promise you won't have to use the pepper spray very often! I'm a quick learner.

 

Not necessarily.........