Farthest Comfortable distance you have rode in 1 day?

[TheCouzin780]

Hey Everyone!
Im wondering what your farthest distance you have rode in one day on the Super Tenere. Can be in KM or Miles I can convert doesn't matter.

Im just planning my route for a 3150 KM trip and trying to figure out the distances i want to be traveling in a day.

I know everyone is different and some can ride farther then others just looking for some input. I am 30 years young so.
Also weather is a factor to i know.

Thanks All!

 

[ABBlender]

I did a nice trip (6000 km) to the Yukon last summer. I found that with stopping for sights/pictures/snacks/etc I was good for somewhere around the 500-600 km mark. I would try to end the day with a stop to fuel up before setting up camp or shortly after getting camp setup. This way, I started every day with a full tank and I didn't have to stop very often for fuel during the day. I did bring a small 5L jerry can that I would have full as well and would dump it into the tank at my first break stop. This would get me somewhere around 600 km range if I needed it and would also get rid of the extra weight up top early on. If the weather was sketchy, I would make additional fuel stops and not touch the reserve fuel on the back. If the day was rough conditions (poor road/weather) I would do less mostly, but could power through to good weather as well. I find (for me) that after 5 or 6 hours on the bike I appreciate the end of the day and it isn't too late in the day and I can enjoy the evening more, maybe just explore locally after camp is established.

Taking good breaks helped me, not just gas-n-go stops. I would take at least 15 -30 min to get off and walk around.

 

[Harry Dresden PI]

Nice weather interstate travel 500 miles is cake .... Have done over 750 miles but not fun ... 300 miles in poor weather at night ...

 

[snakebitten]

If it's just one day, without the need to ride hard the next day, I can push through 4 fuelings.
The first 3 tanks gets you past the 600 mile mark. So that 4th tank can mean I might finish with a 600-800+ mile day.

One of my favorite places on earth is Big Bend. (Terlingua Texas)
It's 719 miles from my porch. I prefer a 2-day trip for going. But have returned in 1 every time.

Sitting comfy in a truck while towing the toys........well, that I'm a documented iron butt.
I can do 1000 miles and still drive hard the next day.

 

[limey]

What's the farthest you have done in a day? Like you said everyone is different. I've done lots of 1000 km days and a few 1600km days and it's no fun when you get older. Weather has never stoped me putting on the kilometres and it depends if your camping or doing the hotels thing. I'm 59 by the way and tomorrow I'm planing on a 900 km day ... well maybe.

 

[RonH]

To me the miles always get easier farther in the day on a long ride. When I take long trips I like to leave at 2:00AM and even if I slept real great up til then, I'm kind of sluggish until later in the day. So for me, if I plan a 1000 mile day the last 500 is always easier than the first. I've done 1700 miles in one day on a GL1800, only 800 on the Tenere though. If I had to vote I'd say 500 miles a day in comfort for sure, more if you're pushing and enjoy riding. I enjoy long days.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I've done a number of 1,000 mile day, partly because it's 920 from my house to my sister's. Doing 1,000, then 500 the next day isn't bad and gets us most of the way to Denver. Like RonH wrote, the trick is to start really early. I think my longest single day was 1,200 but at that point it's hard to get to sleep and then the next day is pretty well shot.

 

[RIDEMYST]

That's sort of a loaded question!
For starters, if your goal is to simply "ride" then divide your available days into your total mileage and make sure you do at least that distance every day.
But if your goal is to sightsee then do your higher mileage days getting to those areas of interest then reduce your daily riding miles.
I live in South Florida, so the first day I usually do around 600 miles just to get to decent roads. After that my days may only be 250-350 miles (more quality than quantity).
I have done a 1000+ mile day but mainly due to necessity as I was outrunning an oncoming hurricane.....that's incentive!
I think you will find that it is much easier to do the higher mileage days at the beginning of your trip as your stamina will decrease with days on the road.
Fatigue is the enemy! That's when you start to make mistakes and that's usually not a good thing when traveling on two wheels. So if you can schedule a day out of the saddle or even a very short riding day that's usually a good thing.
I did over 7300 miles last summer on my Tenere but it was over a 46 day period....so lots of stops over multiple days.
Bottom line is to plan your trip with time to stop and smell the roses....you won't regret it!
My 2-cents. -JEP-

 

[TheCouzin780]

Those are all very good points I have a small gas can I'm gonna strap to my bike. I do plan on tenting it there. My biggest day is 860km and my shortest is like 600km so I think I may be on the right track. I do plan on sight seeing as the bear tooth highway is on my route obviously weather depending as I'll be there in the beginning of September and it's high elevation. Also when I hit southern Utah I plan on riding into the valley of the gods and monument Valley as well then into Phoenix. I am from Alberta Canada so it is some distance. Thanks everyone.

 

[EricV]

Ridemyst pretty much nailed it. I rode the IBR on my Super Tenere and was never uncomfortable. But that's a different animal and I'm set up to do that, plus have the experience of back to back days looking for odd things with specific targets each day. That is part mental, part physical.

What do you want to see? Are there activities you want to do along the way? Factor in your stopped time for fuel, lunch, breaks that make it a nice ride for you. Go from there in your trip planning. 300-400 miles a day gives you lots of time to take it easy. If you really just need to get there, more is possible. Your distance is an easy 2 day ride, for me. But that doesn't make it an easy two day ride for you. (It may be)

 

[RicoChet]

What's the farthest you have done in a day? Like you said everyone is different. I've done lots of 1000 km days and a few 1600km days and it's no fun when you get older. Weather has never stoped me putting on the kilometres and it depends if your camping or doing the hotels thing. I'm 59 by the way and tomorrow I'm planing on a 900 km day ... well maybe.

I take that as you are feeling better?? How's that leg doing?? Glad your up and running!

 

[craigd]

600km per day in the region you will be visiting is certainly doable, but it will not allow much time to enjoy the scenery. 400-500km per day would allow for a more comfortable pace and opportunities to stop at scenic spots for pictures, etc. Also, keep in mind that in September daylight hours are waning and will limit you if you don't want to ride in the dark, and miss scenery. I also find it is nice to save enough daylight to set up camp before dark. One other thing to keep in mind is that many of the roads in that region look relatively straight on the map and you may think that you can maintain a higher average speed than is actually possible.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Your choice of title for the thread and what you are really asking seem to be two different things. Especially with practice, you and the bike can do really long miles.


BUT


As others picked up before I did, how far to plan for a trip which includes tenting and seeing things is a totally different animal. I want to have the tent (or trailer in my case) set up in daylight and have that done before eating dinner, which puts a pretty hard ending time to the day.


In the morning, I tend to snack, pack, and do about an hour on the road before having breakfast. That gives a fairly hard beginning time to the day.


In between are times to subtract, such as for photos and general goofing off. If not trying to be somewhere, I'll use 20 minutes for planning gas stops so I can stretch, pee, and take a break. Apply those for the typical gas range of about 200 miles or 180 if in headwinds &/or over 75 mph. (Gives a solid reserve.)


Put those together and 300-400 miles is a full day - less if in the mountains where speeds are lower.

 

[limey]

I take that as you are feeling better?? How's that leg doing?? Glad your up and running!

leg is doing good thanks and enjoying Arizona.

 

[AVGeek]

As you can see, there are a lot of variables. I did my SS1000 in 17.5 hours, rolled 1066 miles on the odometer, and my route was Phoenix>Las Vegas>Denver. Average speed was 61mph. Unfortunately for me, I left Grand Junction CO at sunset, so missed some of the best scenery of the trip, not to mention that since it was September, it got a bit cold, especially passing through Aspen! My return trip was more leisurely, as I did 2 days heading home through Fairplay, Ouray, Silverton, and stopped for the night in Cortez.

Best bet is to prioritize the needs of the trip versus the time available. In your case, it may work out well to do a high mileage day or two right at the start, back off on mileage in the middle, then crank it back up to head for the barn.

 

[groundhog]

I always think 250 to 350 miles is a comfortable distance for a day. More if you want to get to somewhere good fast, and less if you plan on taking in a few sights.

 

[AlsoRan]

It depends on the type of riding, 1000 km on the highway or interstate can be less fatiguing than 600km on twisty senic back roads. Even 600km with gas, eat's and setting up tent camp day after day will offer little buffer for doing much extra if running the back roads where speeds are lower. i would be careful not to over extened the miliage or you will be going past places you may want to stop at when you need to get to the days destination etc. before dark. But if objective of the trip is to jam somewhere then different. The super T does that well also.

 

[worncog]

The last Saddle Sore 1000 I knocked out was like a stroll in the park. Early start, good clear weather, cool temps. Rolled out at 4am from Kansas City and had a late dinner with the wife in Panama City Beach. In contrast, on another ride I left St Louis in the afternoon and was hammered by torrential thunderstorms and driving rain. Could barely see the white line on the road. Covered less than 300 miles before seeking refuge in a Marriott. Rolled in dry due to Aerostich, but wiped out from low light conditions and the stress from fighting the wind and rain in the dark. Point being: weather makes a difference in mileage covered, not taking any other environmental into account of course.

Finished a 7 day Rally last August wound together with 18 days of riding total. Riding buddy and I covered 600-850 miles per day on average. We were camping all but three nights on the whole route. Rally start in Kansas City in July required a room, as well as North Texas in August REALLY made a hotel a mandatory item, and we needed to do a bit of laundry. The riding on this trip was mostly backroads and secondary highways and we found it pretty easy to cover reasonable distances with no problem.

It really depends on what YOU want to accomplish on your ride(s). Personally, I like to cover a lot of ground and get as much riding in as I can with a preference for backroads combined with an aversion to traffic. Part of this is driven by the amount of vacation days I get combined with the aggressive riding calendar I put together. If you really want to savor the ride and enjoy it...don't expect a large amount of miles each day. Previous comments of 250 to 400 miles are more on target.

 

[Jackal]

I normally stick to 350 - 500 km per day on my trips, most of my trips are gravel and I do allot of stops.

But on one trip up North I had done 1200 km fully loaded with camping gear and pillion and about 30% gravel. The reason I did it was because I wanted to get to my start point of the trip.

I wasnt tired or anything that night and the next day I was up early and on my way again. But I must admit that the cruise control on my ZE made stuff easier.

 

[hawk281]

600 to 800 a day, depending on terrain, especially on my tenere. ::021::