Just took my GS500 for a 1,200+ mile round trip ride

[TurkeyChicken]

I just got back from a ride on my GS500 from Albuquerque, NM to Las Vegas, NV. 

We left Albuquerque on Saturday the 10th in a downpour.  We were in rain and hail for the first 30 miles of the trip.  It cleared up for another 100 miles or so, then we had more rain, winds gusting to about 30mph, snow, fog and hail for the rest of the day. 

We made it to a town called Seligman, AZ (about 75 miles west of Flagstaff) when it started raining really hard and the temp had dropped to about 30 degrees.  We pulled over to a gas station and the guy came out and said there's a motel about a half mile away that gives discounts to bikers.  We were cold and it was about 5:30, so we stopped for the night.  The hotel let us park our bikes under the awning so they wouldn't get snowed/rained on all night, which was cool.

The next morning it was perfect.  The rest of the ride to Vegas was sunny (aside from a little fog in the early morning).  We made it to the Hoover Dam and got some pictures, then drove down the vegas strip and later went through Red Rock Canyon.

The ride back on Monday was great.  The weather was perfect.  It took us about 10 hours to make it back.

For those of you planning a long trip, invest in some rain gear. We went to Cycle Gear on friday night and bought some rain suits.  They really saved us.  I didn't get wet at all and its amazing how much the rain jacket kept the wind out.

I also bought a gel pad for the seat... but after that much riding, it still didn't help.  The seats on the 500 just aren't that comfortable, even with extra padding.

I also noticed that with a headwind and some higher elevations (around 7000 ft) it's impossible to pass a semi.  I was maxing out around 70 in those cases, which wasn't very fun when the speed limit is 75.

Some photos and a map of the route can be found here:
http://www.incredirides.com/ride?id=11

A word to the wise for anyone who is planning a really long ride:
1) Get rain gear, even if you don't think you'll need it.
2) invest in some warm gloves (and get an inner lining for it if you can)
3) get some extra padding for the seat
4) Make sure you have a windscreen on.  I don't know what it would have been like without one
5) If you're travelling with a friend or group, invest in some in-helmet headsets.  Those helped so much

[joshr08]

other then the rain it sounds like and looks like you had a great trip.  glad you guys made it there and back in one peice.

[cafeboy]

Nice 
But did you get a pic of the GS "standin on a corner in Winslow AZ"

[TurkeyChicken]

Nice 
But did you get a pic of the GS "standin on a corner in Winslow AZ"

haha, well, does this count:
http://www.incredirides.com/photo/view?id=8

It was taken in Winslow, AZ.

other then the rain it sounds like and looks like you had a great trip.  glad you guys made it there and back in one peice.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun.  There was one car that had a tire explode about a quarter mile in front of us.  Luckily we were far enough behind it that it wasn't an issue and we could safely move out of the way.

[cafeboy]

Nope, There is a place there that's called "standin on a corner"
But still nice