Tiesco
XS650 Addict
I don't know if this forum has a thread about road trips you've been on or plan to go on your XS. I'm interested in the places your bike has taken you. Just curious. Pictures are appreciated too.
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Where have you been?
- Thread starter Tiesco
- Start date
In 2002, I rode my 650 from south of Atlanta to 50 miles east of Erie, PA on mostly US19. It was a good ride. After three days, I turned around and went home the way I came. I believe it was 2100 miles. I parked the bike a for few weeks after the trip. The next ride, I had a dead battery in less than five miles. Shorted rotor!
In 1979, I was stationed in Pensacola, Florida. I was in what the Navy calls a "Class C" school, learning to troubleshoot and repair a pretty complex suite of equipment. 3/4ths of the way through the 54 week school, I got picked to be an instructor, so I had to go to Millington, Tennessee to go through the Navy's Instructor School.
Hurricane Frederic was headed for the Panhandle and the Navy told me to get my ass to Millington while I could. The only wheels we had at the time were the car and my '74 TX650A. Obviously, I couldn't leave the wife and kids with the bike so I loaded it up with a month's worth of uniforms and such and hit the road. 460-ish miles on mostly 2 lane roads, looking over my shoulder the whole time.
I was only there 3 weeks. It seems I have a flair for instructing and they pulled me out of class at the end of week three, handed me my certificate and said "Go home." Having hunkered down in base housing while the hurricane plastered Pensacola, the wife and kiddies were glad to see me. I felt like a shit for leaving them there, but wasn't given a choice.
I was an instructor and course manager at Naval Technical Training Center, Corry Station, Pensacola Florida for the next 4 years.
Hurricane Frederic was headed for the Panhandle and the Navy told me to get my ass to Millington while I could. The only wheels we had at the time were the car and my '74 TX650A. Obviously, I couldn't leave the wife and kids with the bike so I loaded it up with a month's worth of uniforms and such and hit the road. 460-ish miles on mostly 2 lane roads, looking over my shoulder the whole time.
I was only there 3 weeks. It seems I have a flair for instructing and they pulled me out of class at the end of week three, handed me my certificate and said "Go home." Having hunkered down in base housing while the hurricane plastered Pensacola, the wife and kiddies were glad to see me. I felt like a shit for leaving them there, but wasn't given a choice.
I was an instructor and course manager at Naval Technical Training Center, Corry Station, Pensacola Florida for the next 4 years.
stinky78
XS650 Addict
I don’ post often but check in regularly, but thought I’d chip in, I bought a 77d in Michigan in May 2018, I spent the next 3 months riding it to LA, went up through the great lakes, Wisconsin then Minnesota and then kept heading west till I reached the Rockies, then headed south through the Rockies from montana to Wyoming, Idaho Nevada then into Cali and down through the Sierras and finally across to the coast and down the coast to LA, broke down a few times, got caught between 2 storms that were threatening to turn into tornadoes, nearly froze crossing some high passes in the Rockies, poor old bike only just made it with the thin air up there, I camped as much as I could in National Forests etc to save money but also cause I like camping, best trip I ever did, odo clicked over to 5500 miles just as I rolled in to northern L A, bike is now back in Australia and I just got it on the road a couple of weeks ago, running better than ever.
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You have had some amazing adventures !!
I am Wide-Eyed.
I'll bet you have some stories to tell.
Very Cool story! Great pics of your trusty 77 too.
Simple camping. Exploring on an XS. Sounds like a dream come true.
-R
Simple camping. Exploring on an XS. Sounds like a dream come true.
-R
How did you carry your camping gear?
Tiesco
XS650 Addict
My friend and I are planning on going to Boston this summer. He has a 75 and mine is a 77. We aren't exactly sure what to do when we get there but I assume that it'll kind of unfold when we get there. It's only a 7-hour drive but we have never had bikes on the road much less gone on a road trip so it's ambitious to us. I'm looking forward to it.
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stinky78
XS650 Addict
hi Yamadude, I didn't have any proper luggage, just a 50 litre pack that I tied on the back, ended up buying a small duffel bag at Walmart so I could carry more food and I had to buy a few tools to supplement the factory tool kit and a plastic fuel bottle to give me better range when I went to more remote areas, I tried to stay off the Highways and use smaller country roads but sometimes that wasn't practical, I've got a pic here somewhere of it all loaded up when I got lost looking for a lake in north east Minnesota.
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Take the blue highways (2 lane) whenever you can and enjoy the ride !
Ive done the trip from Syracuse to Boston numerous times on my '69 Triumph Bonneville. It can be a joy.
I suggest Rt. 20 to the Albany area, then make your way to Rt. 2 through MA (the northern route) . These routes are scenic and take you through small towns like Sharon Springs, NY.
In regards to travel preparations, may I suggest reading Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. If you dont want to read the whole, lengthy book, you can find web articles just about his bike travel preparation, but I suggest the whole book. We've talked about this book a lot at this Forum.
You did an awesome trip last summer, loved following along!
Tiesco
XS650 Addict
I read that book for the first time a few months ago. It's a hard read. He gets into some really deep stuff. It was interesting watching(reading) him try to get on the level of Socrates and realizing he doesn't have to be on the head. It's not for everyone nor is it possible for just anyone to get there. It's ok to just be on the shoulder.
I should definitely read it again to grasp everything he was trying to say. At 18, some of the concepts take some more experience than I have and further knowledge of the teachings of the Greeks.
What he said about how a mountain should be climbed is a good piece of advice to apply to the way a life should be lived.
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Very cool that you read the book !
My first contact with "Zen" was as a twenty year old in college in the '70's, a reqiured textbook.
Then I reread it about every ten years.
As you may know already, his follow-up book is "Lila", about a boat trip he took down the Erie canal to the Hudson, then to NYC, with lots more philosophy , of course.
Hope you have a great trip.
If you give me heads up as to your iternerary thru a PM when you get around to trip planning, I'd be pleased to join you on one of my XS650's for awhile in the CNY area. I live just off of route 20.
Tiesco
XS650 Addict
It would be a pleasure to have you join us!
jamessgs4 did an absolutely EPIC cross-country ride in 2018 on his hand-built XS650, which took him through Central New York.
I can't seem to find his excellent thread with his many photos. Maybe someone else can find it.....
My nomination of his bike landed him in the calendar that year.
Check out the really nice pic he took of his ride in front of one of CNY's most superb old antiquities, the rural barn.
James !! Where are you ??
I can't seem to find his excellent thread with his many photos. Maybe someone else can find it.....
My nomination of his bike landed him in the calendar that year.
Check out the really nice pic he took of his ride in front of one of CNY's most superb old antiquities, the rural barn.
James !! Where are you ??
....that is a spare gas tank on the sissy bar......
