Planning a big road trip. HELP!

As for the cigarette lighter u can buy one at walmart and then buy some alligator clamps and wire them to the cigarette light wires so if u need it u can just hook the alligator clamps to the battery or u can hardwire and mount it on the side of ur bike
 
I don't know about interstate driving,I hate it and scares the bejesus out of me.I have confidence to ride its just when you get passed to a semi or large suv you get blown over quite a bit.I have been blown over as much as 8ft when trucks pass me.I read of some member on here doing his regular comute on the I95 corridor but I couldn't imagine.Another thing stay off interstate 1-80-90 outside of Chicago.They drive more like 90-100mph on that interstate and they don't slow down to pass they ride up your ass.I drove a big truck back then and when that happened I just slammed on the breaks:yikes:.Its 8 lanes of nuts driving on the hiyway going one way,if your not familiar theres an interchange that takes you to interstate 44 if I remember,I don't know if that's included in your route or not.I would say plan your route accordingly to where theres a lot of 2 lane open hiways.It will make the ride less stressfull and more enjoyable.If I remember correctly our bikes are light around 400lbs wet.
Like as mentioned take some 2-3 day practice rides to get yourself accustomed to the adventurous trip you wanna make.
 
although I don't shy away from riding on four- six- or eight-lane interstate-like roads (it does take some getting used to, I have to agree) I would also recommend using them as little as practically possible. The first few hours are mostly scary with the big trucks and being blown sideways, after that it's just plain boring since there are no corners and you can't really enjoy the scenery either. It gets you places quickly, though.
 
I would consider a semi rigid back-pack which you could mount on the back of the seat behind you. Better than a "trunk" box since you can take it off and put it on your back should you want to take a short hike or take all your stuff into the motel room. It is "soft" enough that it can also serve as a back rest if positioned properly.

A second trick is to use Fedex/UPS. Send all the clothes and stuff you'll want while visiting your friend to a nearby address on the way. Once you are south enough, ship the cold weather gear to an appropriate address that is on your return trip's route in case you need it then. On the way home, when you get to the address where you sent all your cold weather gear, ship all your beach clothes and vacation stuff (and anything else you now won't need) home.

The money you save on gas by not pushing all the weight all the way (not to mention reduced wear on the bike) will pay a good portion of the shipping cost. And avoiding a breakdown due to overloading is hard to put a dollar value to, especially if you avoid it :shrug: . If you get home without a breakdown, assume you saved a bundle :wink2: and incorporate an appropriate high dollar amount saved into the story you will tell.

My friend who did over 35,000 kms last year on a 30 yr old BMW 1000, carries a small solar charger which can bring his battery back and charge up a cell phone etc. Mind you, that's for on roads in Alaska and Yukon where one can wait all day for a single vehicle with jumper cables to come along and help.
 
Wow, these are some excellent responses! I'm so glad all of you have been able to give me your input, even if some of them were what I didn't want to hear :p
A bit more info: I'm planning to pack fairly light (despite what it may seem like). I'm also not a big guy, which I hope will save some weight. I'm looking into sticking a wooden board into the back of my bag to keep stress off my back. My ladyfriend and I will likely only be riding together for short jaunts when we meet in Cabo and possibly a few hundred km if I get her back to her home.
I like the idea of practicing with simulated weight, so I'll be doing my regular 150km commutes with a load for a week to get an idea of how it feels.
Also, I've been planning my route to avoid the interstates as best I can.
Also adding a couple items that were mentioned here to my tool (and part) list. The USB and tire ideas, as well as others, are really good thinking!
 
I've done a number of extended trips from BC to Cabo using my car and I've got respect that your planning on doing this on your 400!!!

With that said, there are people who do HUGE trip's on 250's so....

This is not specific to our bike's but it's a wealth of info for anyone doing any sort of adventure riding.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/

You can get lost reading the ride report's BUT info on Mexico, bike set-up's etc is in-valuable IMO.

The Baja is a very special place. Regardless of what you may hear, I have never had any safety issue's but remember if you look like a victim you'll get mugged in Toronto.

It will be HOT in the southern states and more so in the Baja in June.

All the snowbird's are gone by then so you should be able to kind great free camping on the Sea of Cortez side (mulege is great).

Also check out here http://forums.bajanomad.com/index.php

For Mexico...
1 - DONT ride at night
2 - Carry extra toilet paper
3 - Be prepared for payola

If you have any Baja question's send me a PM and I'll see if I can help
 
It has been said again, but I also strongly recommend not wearing a backpack while riding. A camelbak perhaps, but even that you could stick into a tank bag. Simply strapping the backpack onto your passenger seat with some elastic straps will be much more comfortable than keeping it on your back the whole time.

Also a general riding tip: don't put anything sharp or pointy in your pocket or your backpack (if you do choose to wear one). Imagine falling off the bike while you have a screwdriver in your pocket: it'll go somewhere you don't want it to be. Just be aware of that.
 
Willem: I really appreciate that! The backpack I plan on using will rest on the passenger seat (perhaps you know of hiking backpacks), relieving stress from my back. I have no intention of carrying anything in my pockets whatsoever. Rather, I would use my backpack pockets to hold items. I do hold my safety to the greatest priority.
 
Ah yes I have one of those as well, a 75 liter hiking backpack. Should be simple to get some straps and tie it onto the passenger seat sideways :wink2:

Theres a guy on a dutch motorcycle forum that actually used a xs400 maxim to travel the USA, he used a backpack as well. He strapped it to the back seat. Here's a pic of how he did it, he had the backpack, a tent and a sleeping bag on there I believe.

He put one of those flight bags around the backpack to keep it waterproof and to keep the straps tied away (he also used it for flying) but I think using your backpack's rain cover should be sufficient as well.

Look I'm not trying to tell you what to do, and you'll probably be fine leaning the backpack on the seat but keeping it on your back. I'm just saying, I've done bicycling (you know, man powered pedal bike) with my 75 liter backpack on my back while leaning the weight on my bike (there was a small rack behind the seat). Whenever I would take the bag off my back and bike around (from the campsite to the store for example) it was so much nicer. I even ended up buying a bigger luggage rack somewhere to strap the bag to that for the rest of the trip.
 

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Reminds me of one of them bikes from India with four people on it and all the stuff they own.:laugh:
 
That picture made me giggle. Sorry if I sounded stubborn about the backpack bit. It totally wasn't my intention. I'll definitely look into tying it down to my passenger seat.
I'm interested in how to go about hooking up a USB charger to the bike, because I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time without access to a wall outlet. As well, I expect an air compressor without the housing would be preferable.
 
I agree, the above 2 items would be best. Not only could you plug in a USB charger, you could plug in electric underwear (or gloves or vest) to the same plug.
Ad to them this item, and you would give yourself a standard 12v outlet for other appliances: http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende...sconnect/dp/B0041CDPQO/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_img_y

A small inverter such as this, plugged into the 12v outlet would give you a 110 AC outlet for small appliances: http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-invert...8531532&sr=1-11&keywords=inverter+12v+to+110v
 
Cool stuff! Thanks for the leads (heh, it's a double entendre). I think I'm going to swing by Canadian Tire in the next few days and pick up the 75W inverter and cigarette adapter. With some careful soldering and hiding, I might be able to fit it in the battery tray. Other than forgetting it's plugged in and draining it, is there any downside to just splicing it into the battery?
 
You don't have to do any soldering. The first of the 3 items above simply bolts onto the battery. The plug end can tuck up under the seat out of sight.
You can use that plug to attach your battery to a tender when the bike is sitting.

When the bike is running and you are riding, you simply plug your underwear into the same plug. When it's running and you need to charge your phone instead of your underwear, plug in the USB.

If you want to use a 110 AC appliance, plug in the 12v and the inverter. If the appliance is a TV set, don't watch it while you are driving!
 
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