antisquare
XS650 Member
Hello everyone,
I'm 26 years old and two summers ago I bought my first Motorcycle. It's a 1978 XS650 Special and it seems to be in good shape. This summer (mid july) I'm hoping to take five or six weeks and circumnavigate the USA traveling from my home in Nova Scotia Canada along the American coast up to Vancouver, Canada. This is a huge undertaking and ambitious trip for me. My longest trip so far has been three days at about 400km (250miles) per day. I have a lot to learn and am hoping to gain advice and insight from all of you more experienced XS riders.
Am I crazy to try and take such an old bike this old on a trip this long?
What maintenance would you do to the bike before attempting this? (the bike has 41,000km on the odometer and I have no records of what work was done to it before I bought it)
What parts & tools would you carry?
Where would you buy hard travel cases and a back rack for this model bike?
All of your thoughts and guidance are much appreciated.
Thanks!
I'm 26 years old and two summers ago I bought my first Motorcycle. It's a 1978 XS650 Special and it seems to be in good shape. This summer (mid july) I'm hoping to take five or six weeks and circumnavigate the USA traveling from my home in Nova Scotia Canada along the American coast up to Vancouver, Canada. This is a huge undertaking and ambitious trip for me. My longest trip so far has been three days at about 400km (250miles) per day. I have a lot to learn and am hoping to gain advice and insight from all of you more experienced XS riders.
Am I crazy to try and take such an old bike this old on a trip this long?
What maintenance would you do to the bike before attempting this? (the bike has 41,000km on the odometer and I have no records of what work was done to it before I bought it)
What parts & tools would you carry?
Where would you buy hard travel cases and a back rack for this model bike?
All of your thoughts and guidance are much appreciated.
Thanks!