long trips on your xs's

I'd like to hear stories about long trips you guys have taken on your bikes and problems you ran into.

Furthest I've traveled was on a 91 rigid Honda vt1100 was around a 1000 miles into New Mexico/Arizona..planned on going all the way to the West Coast..back wasn't playing nicely.

Hi, good luck on your longtrip. I have read somewhere that these darlings have even more vibrations than Triumf' of this period. Myself i havent rode any long trips on any bike, other then my XS, and frankly it is quite shaking. But wonderful. The longest ride of mine was about 2 hours, and i would not double this i think....
Maybe something could be done about this, damping the handlebars and footpegs?

I guess if your body could take the abuse you could travel as far as you wanted

Nothing eases the pain like a seat you can really change position on. Especially one you can scoot back on for awhile. A lower back support helps too, like if there's a duffel bag to lean back on. For the engine vibrations, they don't get bad on my bike until it's going faster than I usually want to go anyway.

on a bike with suspension i could ride forever..on a rigid..it gets really tough after a couple hundred miles

when i get my all fixed I'll definately be taken some long trips..I've been wanting to go from coast to coast, not sure if the xs is good for that

Hi Guys,

Well, having kids at home meant that for years I had only one bike, my '77 "D". Stock except for replacing the worn-out stock shocks with some from a Triumph. I live 70 miles north of Seattle, and before my mother passed away, my parents lived in San Diego. I regularly rode the 1300 miles down to visit, sometimes lugging a sidecar on the Yamaha.

After my Mom passed away, my father moved to Montana, and I went over there several times on the now-elderly XS, with a second sidecar. 600 miles each way, so if I left in the morning I could get there in time for a very late dinner.

In between major trips, I spent time riding down to Oregon to visit friends in the Portland area. That's 220 miles each way, and seemed an easy afternoon ride. As mentioned, the seat isn't ideal, and a sleeping bag strapped on right behind me was great for lower back support.

When I got a bit more money, I could choose between the old Yam and an even older Norton Commando, and although the Norton did not vibrate above 1700 rpm, the Yam was WAY more reliable. I know we all bemoan the alternator (especially the rotor), but back then I knew that if I left for San Diego, I would arrive in San Diego!

I've had well over 75 bikes over the years, but the one bike I will never sell is the 1977 "D" Yamaha. We went through a barbed-wire fence together and survived, and she has always done more than her share of getting me home when there was no possible way to do it. She's old, and plain, and getting a bit tired---gee, kinda like me---but she is wonderful, and I love every inch of her!

Isn't it strange: a love affair with a bike. (God, A Girl Bike! Am I some sort of Lesbikeian?)

I've ridden my XS for days on end. Never had an issue beside an achy back just from sitting for so long. It helps to stand up on the bike and stretch your legs once in a while. I plan on taking a trip to New Mexico from Minnesota in not too long. This winter is really wearing on me.

Barb said:

Hi Guys,

Well, having kids at home meant that for years I had only one bike, my '77 "D". Stock except for replacing the worn-out stock shocks with some from a Triumph. I live 70 miles north of Seattle, and before my mother passed away, my parents lived in San Diego. I regularly rode the 1300 miles down to visit, sometimes lugging a sidecar on the Yamaha.

After my Mom passed away, my father moved to Montana, and I went over there several times on the now-elderly XS, with a second sidecar. 600 miles each way, so if I left in the morning I could get there in time for a very late dinner.

In between major trips, I spent time riding down to Oregon to visit friends in the Portland area. That's 220 miles each way, and seemed an easy afternoon ride. As mentioned, the seat isn't ideal, and a sleeping bag strapped on right behind me was great for lower back support.

When I got a bit more money, I could choose between the old Yam and an even older Norton Commando, and although the Norton did not vibrate above 1700 rpm, the Yam was WAY more reliable. I know we all bemoan the alternator (especially the rotor), but back then I knew that if I left for San Diego, I would arrive in San Diego!

I've had well over 75 bikes over the years, but the one bike I will never sell is the 1977 "D" Yamaha. We went through a barbed-wire fence together and survived, and she has always done more than her share of getting me home when there was no possible way to do it. She's old, and plain, and getting a bit tired---gee, kinda like me---but she is wonderful, and I love every inch of her!

Isn't it strange: a love affair with a bike. (God, A Girl Bike! Am I some sort of Lesbikeian?)

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Jeez, Barb! This is [B not[/B]meant to be a sexist comment in anyway, shape, or form. Now that I have satisfied[hopefully]the gods of PC..........You must have an iron butt!! I wouldn't want to make some of those runs on my BMW K1200! You are one tough lady!

I'm excited for the Spring, I've got about 700 bucks stashed away and I'll be heading out as far as I or my bike can go; destination....who knows. Been slowly preparing my XS and my buddy's R90/6. The furthest I've been is a ride I took to Montreal from RI on a small CB....lamb pelt makes for an amazing seat cushion.

Good for you twins. I may be heading to Minnesota from south central California this summer. Tony C.

I rode my 72 XS from Amarillo to the lead belt (southeast) Missouri and back in October of 83 or 4. It started raining on the way back about Rolla, Mo, and didnt quit all the way to about Groom, TX...40 miles from Amarillo.Then it started snowing. I have ridden longer distances on other bikes, but no ride was as long as that return trip.
If I remember right, it was a total of about 2000 miles with the running around I did during the week there.

If any of y'all pass thru Amarillo, pm me before hand, and we can get together if possible!

twinsarehot said:

I'm excited for the Spring, I've got about 700 bucks stashed away and I'll be heading out as far as I or my bike can go; destination....who knows. .

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That's 12,000 miles of aimlessness, more or less. I like it!

jackstraw650 said:

Jeez, Barb! This is [B not[/B]meant to be a sexist comment in anyway, shape, or form. Now that I have satisfied[hopefully]the gods of PC..........You must have an iron butt!! I wouldn't want to make some of those runs on my BMW K1200! You are one tough lady!

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Hi, Jackstraw,

Nope, not iron.....more like lead by the time I arrive! Other than that, it's only one mile at a time, and anyone can ride a mile, right? Then another one....

This summer my uber-friend Sonny and I are taking a couple of Beemers (his 2010 650 single and my 1979 R80/7) and circumnavigating the USA. I'd love to meet up with anyone within riding distance of the edge (more or less) of the country. Riding a BMW, I'll need the occasional shot of XS, just to keep me on the "straight and narrow"!

Thing is, I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than on a bike, covering pavement. Building them is fun (except for the broken nails and skinned knuckles), but my first love is riding, then riding some more!

I hardly notice any vibration on my XS unless it's at idle or near red line. Vibration is a strange thing. The frequency of the vibration is a bigger factor than the vibration itself. High frequency is the worst kind. Every 4 cylinder Honda I ever owned made my fingers so numb I couldn't hold on after an hour or so of riding but these same bikes appeared to be smooth-- I can ride my rattletrap XS650 or any of the Harleys I owned for hours without any numbness.

Grips make a huge difference-- get the funky looking grips with paddles for your hand.

Vibration can be controlled in many ways. For most bikes a stock or near stock muffler system will keep vibration low. Yamaha Specials with the factory crossover tube are smoother than others. A good 2-1 header can smooth an XS but forget megaphones and other open pipes if you want to ride long distance.

If you look at an XS or a Harley at idle you might think the vibration will soon shake the headlight from its mounting but a certain speeds these same engines are smooth-- gear your bike so that the engine is running in its "smooth band" at the speeds you think you'll be traveling most. For most of us that means taller gearing.

Tire balance is a huge factor-- make sure the dots on your tires are lined up with the valve stems before you allow anyone to add weights. On wire wheels, make sure the rims are trued left-right and up-down. I recently bought a steel in an XS that drove and rode like it had square wheels. Someone had tried to add enough weight to fix the problem but the problem wasn't balance, the problem was the wheels were laced out of round-- no amount of lead could ever fix it but a spoke wrench, truing stand and gauge got it to less than .001 out of round and all is fine. And even mags can sometimes be out of round.

To address your question, while I've let to take my XS on any extended trips, I have covered several day trips that went 400 plus miles without beating me up or vibration becoming a problem.

And if you're riding far you'll find a fairing to be a great investment-- I can't believe it took me 30 plus years to learn it.

Barb said:

Hi, Jackstraw,

Nope, not iron.....more like lead by the time I arrive! Other than that, it's only one mile at a time, and anyone can ride a mile, right? Then another one....

This summer my uber-friend Sonny and I are taking a couple of Beemers (his 2010 650 single and my 1979 R80/7) and circumnavigating the USA. I'd love to meet up with anyone within riding distance of the edge (more or less) of the country. Riding a BMW, I'll need the occasional shot of XS, just to keep me on the "straight and narrow"!

Thing is, I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than on a bike, covering pavement. Building them is fun (except for the broken nails and skinned knuckles), but my first love is riding, then riding some more!

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Barb, I'm in North Carolina-- Greensboro if you get near. We're 3 hours from the Atlantic Ocean.

went from Denver to Baja last summer, and went to Vegas the summer before. The only things I needed were exactly what I didnt bring. AAA saved me though, so I would recommend that at least.

Barb said:

This summer my uber-friend Sonny and I are taking a couple of Beemers (his 2010 650 single and my 1979 R80/7) and circumnavigating the USA. I'd love to meet up with anyone within riding distance of the edge (more or less) of the country.

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Let us know your route or at least any locations that you are surely passing through.

Yeah Barb,
Twins is about 1/2 hour, 45 minute's on a bad day, away from me. And I live about 10 minute's from the beach. Got some real good seafood here, and not so bad on the wallet. Might even consider giving you my Iron Butt patch. If you make the 'right' coast, let us know.. Oh, the XS will be available for a fresh dose of AHHHH.

Hi Guys,

That could be cool! I'd love to see some of the machines here, in their native environment! And seafood--ANY seafood--is always wonderful! ('cept octopus....)

We are planning either a big loop around the coasts, with trips inland as we feel the urge, or a giant figure "8", so we can hit more of the inland areas. Last May I rode the Beemer back to North Carolina (Blowing Rock) (RecycleBill, you know where that is, right?). There was a Brit bike rally there that I wanted to attend. The ride to and from was so much fun, I have to do it again, only longer this time!

As it gets closer to July I will get serious about posting a route and projected (flexible) time-frame. I'd love to meet some of my on-line friends in person---especially if they have a cold beer close at hand.....

Barb said:

Hi, Jackstraw,

Nope, not iron.....more like lead by the time I arrive! Other than that, it's only one mile at a time, and anyone can ride a mile, right? Then another one....

This summer my uber-friend Sonny and I are taking a couple of Beemers (his 2010 650 single and my 1979 R80/7) and circumnavigating the USA. I'd love to meet up with anyone within riding distance of the edge (more or less) of the country. Riding a BMW, I'll need the occasional shot of XS, just to keep me on the "straight and narrow"!

Thing is, I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than on a bike, covering pavement. Building them is fun (except for the broken nails and skinned knuckles), but my first love is riding, then riding some more!

Click to expand...

hey ,if you get to southern n.jersey , some good riding in the jersey pine barrens ,