Cross Country Ride

Hey,

So I sorta own a 1974 Honda CB550 SuperSport near Seattle, but I live in Illinois and it is in the upper left corner of Washington. Ive ridden dirt bikes for fun around property before and taken a motorcycle safety training course but never owned or extensively ridden a motorcycle.

Now the way I see it, I have two ways to get it to IL:

1) Fly out there and ride it back, my uncle is working on rebuilding the engine now. I figure it will break at least once on the trip and it will also take me massive amounts of time. Maybe a little crazy

2) Transport it to IL. Either hire a company, or drive out there and tow it myself.

The earliest this could happen would be summer, but I dont really know what to do. Comments?

Buy a van and go get it. Nothing like a roadtrip.

If your uncle does a good job rebuilding it, ride the thing home. People used to take cross country trips on bikes that size or smaller all the time - in 1975 my brother rode his GT550 Suzuki from Minnesota to Massachusetts and back without any issues.

edit: Peter Egan (the famous columnist for Cycle World magazine) wrote his first published article about a trip he took from Wisconsin to New Orleans and back on a Honda 400 Supersport.

Fly out and ride it back. Of course stay in the PNW for a few days...

Sounds like an epic adventure to me.

CB550s are a fairly decent size and you can ride them long distance - just keep in mind that especially if you haven't had much practise, riding bikes long distance is more tiring than driving a car.

I'd do it if the bike is otherwise in good condition. Get your uncle to overhaul the front brake as well though, those things are fairly scary compared to a modern bike if they're in really good condition. If the arm the caliper sits on is seized, the braking efficiency is going out the window straight away.

In general Honda fours of that vintage are pretty robust and reliable if they've been looked after.

Plan your route well, and get a good waterproof backpack. Get first floor hotel rooms so you can pull the bike inside. Have a AAA membership or something so you can get help in case E36 M3 happens.

You've no street riding experience. So I wouldn't recommend jumping on it and riding cross country.

It's an excuse to buy a $200 Harborfreight trailer though, and go get it. If you've a car you'd trust for the trip.

If there's no rush, there's no rush. While the CB550 is a fine bike, it's not a special bike.

rotard wrote: Have a AAA membership or something so you can get help in case E36 M3 happens.

IIRC, you need the top-tier plan for AAA to help you with a motorcycle. You might want to check your plan before you rely on it.

Most rental companies rent full-sized vans. I'd fly in, rent a van, and haul it home inside. Once you are an experienced rider, ride back out and say thanks.

I'm with fox on this. I would strongly advise against a novice rider taking an unfamiliar vintage bike on an epic journey such as this.

Do what pinch suggested, fly out, rent a one-way cargo van and haul it home.

What would Jack Kerouac do?

try u-ship. I used them to ship motorcycles before. I spent $400 last spring to ship a bike and an large box of spares from NC to Ohio and the summer before I sold a bike to someone who used them to ship a bike from OH to FL for $300.

Round trip gas only from IL to WA has to be expensive if you tow it. Air fair and car rental is also not cheap.

Personalty I would ride it, but I have 25 years of street riding experience.

Agree that you really need to get some experience under your belt before taking an epically awesome jouney like that. Dirt biking is a great way to get learn to ride but pavement has its own set of hazards best learned in short hops. A car with decent gas mileage and the $200 HF trailer are the way to go. Once you get some quality handlebar time in, hell ride the thing back out there!

AAA doesn't tow bikes unless you get the RV package.

AMA will though.

The_Jed wrote: What would Jack Kerouac do?

This.

Where do you live in Urbana? (I live in Champaign)

Yeah I noticed that. My (parents) house is near meadowbrook park, but right now im living on campus in an apartment while going to the UofI

You need to spend some time in the ride report section of http://advrider.com/forums/
Here is a link to a classic from there.
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265019

Another classic: Ride Boston to Denver for Christmas
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295681&highlight=%22christmas+boston%22

If you only read what is posted by the original poster, these two almost read as novels.