OK folks, I am planning on leaving a week from tomorrow on a 1,800 mile round trip from central Kentucky to the Adirondacks in upstate New York to see the oldest daughter, her husband and the three grandchildren. This will be my first trip longer than the 300 mile one day shakedown run I went on last week. I only began riding in April of this year and have logged about 2,500 miles since taking the MSF course. I appreciate your input on my check list and preparations. I would hate to go into "Oh Crud" mode halfway there because I neglected something obvious.

THE BIKE
2007 S40
6100 Miles
Memphis Shades Slim windshield
Routy's froward controls
Air Hawk 2 seat pad
Good Tires
Fresh Oil Change (and no, I will not comment on the brand, let's just say it is a new oil called "Klotella" and leave it at that)
Valves adjusted at 5K
Fresh clutch cable adjustment and cable lube
Fresh EBC pads and brake fluid change
New battery in April
12V fused power outlet

RIDING GEAR
Army desert boots
Spare set of boot laces
Fieldsheer mesh pants
Tour Master rain pants
Tour Master waterproof boot covers
Fieldsheer mesh jacket
Fieldsheer Aqua rain jacket
Vented leather gloves
Joe Rocket rainproof gauntlets
Rainproof balaclava
Bell full face helmet

TOOLS and SPARES
1/4" socket set to 14 mm plus a 17mm for the plug
Wrenches from 10mm to 17mm
Screw driver with changeable Phillips and flat bits
Allen wrench set
Needle nose pliers
Slip joint pliers
Flashlight
Air pressure gauge
Roll of electric tape
Wire ties
New spark plug, pre-gapped
Headlight bulb (installed the 9003 and kept the old one as a spare)
Rear turn signal bulb
Front turn signal/running light/brake light bulb
Oil (still anonymous)
Paper oil funnels
Rag to keep it neat
Heavy zip-lock plastic bag for the oil and rag
Patch kit for the Air Hawk
Wood block to bring the bike about level for oil check

OTHER
Saddlemen BR-3400 tail bag with backrest (closeout for $85, great deal)
Maps with preplanned route and stops
Cellphone with charger
GPS with charger
Camera with charger
Discover Card
Visa Debit Card
My entire cash life savings, $87, plus $1.50 in quarters for the air machine
Added 24/7 roadside assistance for the insurance policy
Advil
Makers Mark

As much as it sounds, i mocked up the tail bag over the weekend and, excluding the riding gear, it came in at 28 pounds including clothes and toiletries. (Do real bikers carry toiletries? I am not talking cologne and styling gel, just a razor and toothbrush. hmmm just a thought)

I plan to allow three days each way on the back roads staying mainly on US highways and off the Interstates and state roads.

Thanks in advance for your input and wish me luck.

If you have room you might think about a quart of fuel just in case. On my way home from the tail of the dragon I was getting low so i stopped to fill up (the pick-up truck) and the power was out from a storm the previous day. I didn't have enough to get to where the power was on but I had a small amount in a gas can and the savage had about a half tank so I made it but it could have been a problem. I wasn't planning on power outages when I was planning my gas stops.

I'm only 59, but the first thing I get straight is my meds. BP, Cholesterol, pain. Zip ties take up no room and weigh less than Helium. Definitely take a camera and a phone. I also carry flat fixer that says it works in tubes. If I want to go outside my comfort zone, I have a friend ready with a trailer who can get to me within 24 hours. We had an agreement that I would pay for his gas and trouble even though he said he wouldn't take it. He was also familiar with my route. Fix up an ICE card or two in case you get knocked out.  Go prepared for trouble and expect to have fun.  

The body makes cholesterol to Repair weak spots in blood vessels. Vitamin C ( which we dont make) allows us to make collagen, which is the building block of the blood vessels,.Take C, daily, to bowel tolerance, then back off a little. Vessels will get stronger, cholesterol will decrease.

Blinky, first and foremost, ENJOY YOURSELF!  Is your route primarily secondary roads or interstate?  300 miles a day seems reasonable enough.  Ride defensively and take lots of pictures.

That's a long trip. Good list! The longest trip I did in a day was about 360 miles on a Ninja 250 mostly secondary roads. Brutal...but fun. Took about 9 hours or so.
Anyway, two things you might want to stash somewhere: Duct tape and some Zip ties. You'd be surprised how many things you can repair with just those things if you have to!
Have fun, ride safe, take lots of breaks!

Ive heard of [people doing a Pre TRip dry run, where they get all the stuff they want together & start packing it on. Sometimes, they just said NO to a few things.
I wouldnt do it unless I had some kinda road side assistance insurance, including towing to a repair facility qualified to repair my bike. Not just "The next town"..

I know of no product that will fix a flat on a tube type tire, I spent about $20.00 on fixaflat stuff to get from Tyler to Longview. On a fairly new rear tire, on a straight stretch at 65 or so, its okay even if its almost flat.
Front tire? Youre parked,.

What a great picture..no blur, bike sounds like a sewin machine,, I kept leanin my head back, tryin to see on up the road. I think if ya tilted the camera up a bit so your mirrors & such are out of the pic it mite be better.
If theres a Mic plug, you mite consider getting one & pokin in it. You could leave yourself verbal notes as you film, for when you edit later & it would kill the wind noise. Sounds like the sewin machine is trying to give birth to a hay baler..

Man, how tall Are you? I was almost nauseated by the time you sat down,

& remember, if youre filming, dont run a stop sign,,


Re: Rowboats post about how amazing technology is.. 1971, in high school, they had a camera to film us & we could watch ourselves in a mock job interview,.No telling what that big, clunky, sorry pictured, lousy audio havin piece of crud cost. Your $130.00 camera KICKS its Butt!