I'm Maxine and I recently returned from the USA where I shipped my LS650 Savage, Cherry Bomb, to the East coast and rode her clear across the country to the West before putting her back on a ship in LA for home to New Zealand.  A lot of people told me I was crazy, I wouldn't make it on such a small bike with such a small tank, etc etc, but I proved them wrong.  We had a fantastic time together, me and my bike, out there on our own, and the only real concern I had at times was the distance between gas stations in some areas, and as its a kiwi calibrated machine reading kilometres not miles, and I gas up out here with litres not gallons, I was a little bit confused at times about how far I was going on how much fuel!  But I soon worked out that a tank cost me twelve US dollars and I could go a maximum distance of 160kms if I had to on my speedo (including reserve) before I'd cough to a standstill.  It never happened, but we were close a couple of times!  All the way along, though, I never doubted for one second that The Bomb could do a trip like that, I had total faith in her, and I'd do it all again in a hearbeat, only next time maybe with some company!  We had a few problems nearing the west side so I ended up finishing my trip a little early, but that was for other reasons additional to the bike concerns and it didn't matter at all.  It was a totally awesome experience, and there's a blog site for my ride, which can be found on http://max-thestateimin.blogspot.com for anyone who wants to have a look at it.  So don't doubt your bike, people, and don't listen to anyone who does!  Your single thumping Savage is every bit as capable and as good as anyone's expensive, hulking great fancy touring machine, and don't let any idiot tell you otherwise!  If I'd listened to the people who told me it wasn't do-able, I'd have missed out on one of the best trips of my life. Cherry Bomb is my best mate, and she did me bloody proud. I wouldn't swap her for anything, and that's the truth.

Congrats on your ride.  Were you planning on writing a book?  I look forward to reading your web site over the next few days.

If you let us know, you'd have all the fellowship you can handle.  Check out beatduck's aventure.

Greetings from a fellow kiwi, I'm down in Dunedin but hope to get up your way at some stage.
8)

thumperclone wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:

I was wondering the same thing! Even here on Kauai where the gas is almost $4.00 a gallon it still don't cost $12 to fill her up!

HI team... Thanks for the welcome!

I TOLD y'all I was confused... It was more like 6/7 bucks US. It costs me $12 NEW ZEALAND to fill my tank!!!!  D'oh...  its $1.63 a litee here at the moment, and the prices go up and down like a sleeper's drawers, so to speak.  Right now its around the highest its ever been outside of remote areas that always charge more, so I'd hate to think what THOSE places are charging right now! As I think I said, I was all over the place with the km/miles and litres/gallons thing, for pretty much the whole darn trip.  The one thing I was grateful for was the fact that in most areas, gassing up wasn't a problem, and I only got nervous a few times when gas was heard to find.  Also, I got to realising there were two ways of looking at the fact that I had to do it often with the pea-sized tank... Its a ball-ache OR... it gives you chance to see what's shaking loose on the bike, rehydrate (which I might not have done so often otherwise, common sense aside), and have a leg stretch before continuing.  Does anyone else find that after a couple of hundred miles or so the knees start to get a bit crampy?  I've looked at where else I could place my pegs, and there isn't much room to move on it, so the bent knee thing was getting kinda uncomfortable towards the end of the longer days. I averaged 100-120kms per hour which I guess is 60-75mph and an average day was about 6-7 hours riding.  Some days I didn't ride at all, a couple of days I was too long on the road, at 10-12 hours, but usually I had enough time to stop and look at stunning scenery and beautiful things along the way.   Yeah my seat is a doozie, the most comfortable of any bike I've ever had, and to help things along I also had a natural NZ sheepskin cushion cover which I kept empty to avoid unnecessary bulk, and which I laid in a diamond shape across the seat, tucking the front tip under between the seat and the tank, and at the back under my pack frame, to sit on.  Even after a ten hour day, when my knees would be singing, my butt never squealed once. Without question, its the absolute best thing I ever spent $25 on, in my whole life.  Get one if you're going a distance!  They are worth every last cent.  I loved your country, people, and I want to come back.  Next time though, I'm going to try to borrow a bike, or rent one, as I went through a lot of drama to get my own shipped in, which I couldn't face again without losing my mind completely, and its too much hassle to try and buy one, as what y'all charmingly refer to visitors like me as "an alien"!  But the hospitality and friendship I encountered, one on one, while out in the US, was extraordinary.  I guess part of the trip for me was just needing to reassure myself that human nature is still inherently good, and I did that tenfold.  We've repeatedly had a skewed picture painted out here, for many years now, of what the US is like - some of the more inane American sitcoms we get out here haven't helped, nor have programs that suggest all families are either completely dysfunctional, all like the Brady Bunch, or all dying of chronic obesity.  We hear enough about serial killers and the "astronomical" crime rate to make us wonder if weird people are all you have out there, and I wanted to reassure myself that America was actually full of good, decent, caring folk, as well as incredibly diverse and spectacular scenery, landscapes and natural wonders.  I'm happy to say that my suspicions proved correct on every count. As for Cherry Bomb, she came home a couple of weeks ago from L.A. and apart from a couple of loose wires, and a carburettor fault (needle displacement) and some scratches to the paintwork that evidently developed in transit on the ship, she's all good to go for the summer round of rallies and rides.  Its great to have her home again! I'm toying with the notion of respraying her anyway, and I'm thinking a custom finished sparkle pink with red cherries and green leaves.  She could look pretty hot all tarted up on the Herceptin Riders event.  Check out www.herceptinriders.co.nz if you haven't already, and maybe download a petition form for me, get it filled out and send it back to me out here.  If every pesron got just one sheet filled out and sent back, it could make a huge diffrence. I'd encourage any of you that want to come out to New Zealand and do some riding to plan it and do it, if you ever get the chance.  life is short.  If you have goals, get 'em achieved!  There are places here to hire bikes, and there's no drama with buying and selling them here either, as insurance (tho highly recommended) is not compulsory, so it doesn't matter whether you're a tourist or a resident, as long as you have some kind of licence.  We're a pretty welcoming bunch out here and hospitality is one thing we do really well also.  In all seriousness, you couldn't find a better place for a holiday, although you really do need at least two weeks, and even then you'd be better to stick to one island to get the best out of the experience and whatever you do DON'T FORGET YOUR CAMERA!!!  I can put anyone in touch with bike hirers here who can sort you out for a machine.  Just let me know.

YAAA!!! another cross county trip on a Savage!!

Max, I just finished a similar trip.
I'll be reading you blog.
Mine is on my "myspace" but I might put the whole thing up in Blogspot.