There’s nothing like leaving your problems at home and riding on the open road especially on your motorcycle. The fresh air constantly hitting at your helmet, the sights around you, etc is the best thing for a stress reliever to any motorcyclist. Every rider at some point has gone on a long open road drive and has bumped into quite a few situations. Make sure you don’t get stuck by looking at the following tips below.
Inspect Your Bike
- If you just bought new parts ride ‘em out before you leave for your trip. Break those new parts to ensure they’re durable enough for the trip.
- Many bikers purchase new parts thinking it’ll help their trip and few 20 miles in something happens.
- Also make sure that your seats are comfortable enough for you.
- Buy ear plugs or grab a pair of headsets that does not disturb you from hearing the traffic around you just to muffle out the sound of the wind! It’s not the exhaust that causes the problem it’s the wind!
Plan Out the Roads You Will be Taking
- Bring a GPS with you even if you have it all figured out because you never know if something will happen along the way.
- Take the shortest route but be careful with narrow roads it’s easy to get lost and for accidents to happen.
- Mark the places you have been. On a map mark which road you want to take and then at the end of the day mark the road you actually took. It helps with future trips back along the same route and even helps your family members keep track of where you were in the event of an accident.
- Get a tank bag with a map pocket if you’re riding alone. Look for one that’s big and had watertight map pocket it shouldn’t get wet with every drop.
Gas, Traffic, Pace
These 3 little things almost gets to every rider at least once in their lifetime.
- If you take smaller roads the chances of a gas station to always be near gets cut by almost 50%. If you decide to take a smaller road make sure you fill your tank and ride at a reasonable pace.
- If you plan on riding fast and furious take larger, more frequently traveled roads so you can refill your tank when you need to.
- With every city/town you go through make sure that you stay aware of their traffic laws. Just because the traffic laws are the way they are by your house or a neighboring state doesn’t mean that the one your in is the same.
Bring Necessary Items
- Water, bandages, snacks, flares, flashlight, etc.
- Make sure you have your motorcycle insurance paperwork in case you need to produce it.
Good luck out on the open road and be safe. Try to talk to other bikers who have traveled the distance to get any pointers about the people, food, market, hotels, roads, etc.