LESS AMBITIOUS CRUISE TO FLORIDA FROM OHO

I am reading about some very ambitious tours here... very exciting; but I am not ready for that yet. I  am planning to take my Honda Shadow VT1100 on a 10 day cruise from Central Ohio to Key West, Florida, with a stop in Boynton Beach along the way. I am looking for the best way to plan a route that takes me on very few, if any, interstate highways.... kind of a relaxing, small town, back road jaunt. Also, any suggestions for adding to my comfort on this trip, would be appreciated. Thanks.  

I've done the Iowa to FL trip several times - so here's some wisdom:  (1) Do it in the summer! (2) Hit the road late (after 8:30am) and check into your motel room before sunset!  (3) Don't feed the temptation to put the pedal to the metal... roll with the traffic.  (4) Most important - keep your head in the game, don't daydream or become complacent and relax too much.  (5)  If you're a member of the Honda Riders Club they will prepare and send you a trip itinerary with your request to take the scenic route and it's FREE.   Now Git Er Done!!!  ENJOY.  

Get anally retentive about your maintenance and do everything yourself, if you aren't already that way :-)

Replace the forward pegs with floorboards, if you haven't already done so. Buy a new 2 piece rain suit, that fits over your bulkiest riding gear, before starting out. If the tires look like they might need replacing in the next 6,000 miles, replace them the week before starting the trip. Do a full 24,000 mile maintenance checkup a week before leaving, using only the tools you will be carrying on the road. Set the rear shock preload to max, load the bike and go.

On the road, avoid the interstates until you are in the vicinity of a big city, then jump on the interstate and avoid the smaller roads until you get away from the city again. Out in the country, small towns don't have much in the way of traffic control, but when you get close to the city that all changes and it can take three hours to travel 50 miles on the side roads.

Take a look here for strange sights to see :-)

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Oh yeah... pack the bike and live out of what you packed for a week before hitting the road. Put all your stuff on the bike before going to work each day, then unload the bike and carry the bags into the house after work to live out of them, just like you would stopping at motels. That's a quick way of learning just what you need and what you can do without :-)

regards,
Joe  

The other thing I'd suggest is to buy a couple of those compression bags that they sell in Wal-Mart, etc. They do compress your clothes between 25 and 50%, don't generate much in wrinkles, and they are truly waterproof. I did a couple of weeks on the road, and they were invaluable. One for clean, one for dirty. yep, you gotta fold the dirty clothes and put them in neatly.

Get the ones that have the little flap, not the ones that need a vacuum cleaner. You'd look silly with an electrolux strapped to the back.

I'd also consider something like a Flex II jacket. Combination of mesh jacket, and a full cortech, but, you only end up with one set of body armor.  In my case, I had the spare jacket (and body armor) bungie corded to the handlebars. A lot of prime real estate used up.  

THANKS .. some very useful information here. I am not much on maintaining my bike... so that concerns me.... and I hadn't thought about tires either.... and I may be taking this trip alone... not sure if my buddies are going to commit. What about the Flex II ..any link to a site I can find that?
Great help...thanks  

Check the tourmaster website (tourmaster.com).
The Flex has been out for a couple of years now, there are probably some others with similar designs.
Haven't looked yet. Dead of winter, and temporarily, a man of leisure.
My Cortech is getting a little ragged, I bought it in 2001 and have put quite a few hours in that jacket, including 5 hours in a tropical storm in '06 (had damp sleeves and collar...not bad for an all purpose jacket). I have a Joe Rocket mesh that I bought in 2004, and it's showing signs too.
Someone mentioned; get a full service on the bike before you go. Tell the mechanic what you are planning to do. It will tell him to look for things that might fail in the future, instead of just the normal maint. Plus, he should look a little closer at your tires to make sure they have good meat on them.
Having Shaft drive, you avoid the only problem I had on a 3k 2wk jaunt... Chain got wet, and failed. Fortunately, local shop in Maryland had a new O-ring chain, and I was on my way the next day.  

I am not much on maintaining my bike... so that concerns me.... and I hadn't thought about tires either.... and I may be taking this trip alone... not sure if my buddies are going to commit.

It sounds like you need to practice being self reliant on the road. Sit down with a map and plot out a couple routes for local riding. Routes that are little more than loops through the countryside, avoiding cities.

Start with one that is just long enough to go from a full tank of gas, to reserve. Then start with a full tank of gas and don't pull off the road til you get back home. Get used to just riding around alone and having no reason to pull off. After a few times out, ride longer routes. When you get up to about 5 hours on the road, it'll be time to start adding in breaks for meals.

It won't take long before you'll find yourself adjusting the controls differently than the shop does, for YOUR comfort, instead of the mechanic's comfort. Eventually, you'll find out just where your limits are and how reliable you and the bike are within those limits, and all without going more than a hundred miles from home, close enough that you can call a buddy with a P/U truck to come and get you if necessary.

As you test out and find the best local routes for your sunday rides, other people may or may not choose to join you on some of those rides. When you get into the joy of just riding down the open road, that won't be so important any more. When it's no big deal, to routinely get on the road in the morning and return home in the evening, with 400-500 more miles on the odometer, you'll be ready.

In all the years and trips I've taken, only once did I ever take a major trip with another rider. It was okay, but it's more fun to ride alone, especially at night :-)

regards,
Joe