alright, so I've found a few threads on this, but I'm still gonna dig it back up.

I'm planning a cross country trip(from NC to CA) on a 2004 Superhawk around May of this year, and I need some tips from you long distance hawk riders.

For one, about the longest I've ever ridden on the Hawk has been ~250 miles, so I gots a long ways to go. Now last year, I did do ~500 miles on a Gixxer 600 though. I've read alot about aftermarket seats, but I'm gonna try to tackle this on the stocker. I'm planning on my biggest day being 7-800 miles, but I'm planning on 2 of those days back to back.

Alright, now for some real tips, I've never gotten good mileage from the Hawk, but I've never ridden it other than backroad flog'n either. What can I expect from it on the highway with stock gearing? How big is the fuel tank(no I don't know because it's not my bike)? Just curious how many miles I can go between tanks. Any other words of advice you kind peeps could offer would be appreciated, or just sit back and laugh at me and call me a fool.

Btw, the bike has been fitted with Staintune slipons and rejetted accordingly, so I'm sure that will affect the fuel mileage too, but just gimme an idea of what to expect for some distance riding.

 

Like a Harley, plan on making a gas stop every 100 miles. Get a tank bag and put some clothes in it so you can lean on it to support your upper body weight. If it flaps in the wind, tie it down. Bring a can of chain lube and rain gear. Wear ear plugs. Stretch at every gas stop. Drink lots of water after you done riding for the day. Ibuprofin is your best friend. Have fun.

 

Approx 770 miles. I was stationed in Newquay, Cornwall, England and met up with a group ride from Visordown.Com. Rode all day north of London.

By far the best ride I've ever been on. Why?

Everyone was friendly.


Fish

 

You can expect to get some better MPG's out on the open road as long as you watch your speed. My buddy Brandon (on his '98 VTR) and I (on my '05) got identical MPG's (average) at every stop. Our best was 46mpg cutting through some open back-roads averaging ~55. Our worst was 24mpg riding on the interstate doing ~80 with a serious head wind.
As stated above by MotoJoe, bring rain gear. I suggest Frog Togs as they fold up nicley and don't take up a lot of storage space.

 

Oh yea, a CO2 plug kit just in case!

 

Helpful hints:

Padded bike/cycling shorts- wick moisture from....down below and padded for extra comfort

Small digital camera- to record your trip

Tire patch kit-one of the ones ya find in a small plasic box withpush in rope type plugs, tire pressure gauge (use it every morning pre ride!) and a small cycle tire pump. Cheaper than CO2 in the long run.

Cell phone.

Tank bag. Holds all your small stuff.....map included and a bottle of water.

a couple garbage bags- dual protection from rain.

If you wear um.....extra set of glasses or contacts. Sucks to be blind!

Comfy boots...no room for 6 pairs of shoes

Rain gear

I'm sure there's more
Good luck on the trip and remember....if your body is telling you that you are tired...Listen to it and stop for rest

Fish

 

Superhawk: Down the ramp unloading the new (to me) bike.

My first hawk was a 400cc '78 Honda Hawk. Longest ride was 9.5 hours one way from my home town to a Supertramp concert in Edmonton.

After that my longest rides were leaving work every Saturday at 1:20 AM to ride 6.5 hours one way to see my gal. Had to strap a 5 gallon jerry can to the back seat because there was only one 24 hr gas station on my route across northern Saskatchewan. Good times.

-D

 

Only about 300 miles a day is my speed. I cut an 18 onch square piece of sheepskin car seat cover to throw on the seat after 3 or 4 hours of riding. Makes the last part of the ride more comfortable, even with a Sargent Saddle.

 

My longest ride was from Kirkland, WA to Roseburg, OR roundtrip. I took the Cascade Mountains route down and Pacific Coastline back. It was a little over 1100 miles over 4 days, including a short visit with friends in Roseburg. It was the best ride of my life "so far" but with a pretty much stock setup, I was ready to get off by the time I got home. Didn't get back on for over a week afterwards too. Heres a map of my routes, I highly reccomend either one.

 

I did a Ground Zero Ride in '03, did just under 600 mi for the day. We left at 4:30am, and got back home around 10pm, they were totally unprepared for the turnout, only 200 riders in '02, the 03 ride started with close to 1,000, then picked up at least another 7-800 at a couple of stops along the way. Picture that with a police escort straight through the city to Ground Zero, didn't stop for anything, quite a rush. I think I slept in the riding position that night.

 

so far it was about 325 miles one day and turned into an over 700mile weekend. Now I am looking at around 890 miles one way for next weekend to go look at a house up in Oregon. this should be fun it would be nice if my sargent seat shows up before I go.

 

I rode about 450 miles in a day, started on the southern NH coastline, rode up to near Vermont + the CT river, tapped the Canadian border, ripped through this mountain road over hurricane mountain in Maine, then looped back along the Kancamangus highway through the white mountain national forest and then along side Winnepesaukee where I split off and rode home. Did this with 15 other bikes and about 300 modded cars, left home at 9am back by 6:30pm, was just 2 weekends ago.