Yea seems like weather wont be a problem, even OR and WA are pretty clear in July, if not the clouds will keep the sun off ya.

if you're going up 101 on the Oregon coast, stop at the Big Wave Cafe on 101 in Manzanita

http://www.neahkahnie.net/bigwave/ and check out my mural! Woot!

Also, the Nehalem River (couple miles south) there is a nice river to camp on, a little one running through the hills.

If you come to Portland let me know if you need help with tools etc!

Mid to end of july is usually nice up here...  But, it rains on July 4th nearly every year.

Yeah a practice trip is a good idea, but you'll make it. A little bit of youth and determination is all it takes.

One more thing you may want to consider getting are heated grips. They run $20-$40 and are super nice. You probally wont really need them in the summer, but they're nice on the chilly mornings and evenings that the coast can have. They're absolutly wonderfull when your hands are wet too.

Be sure to let me know when you're going to be in Seattle there are a few of us GStwinsters up here and I'm sure we can all show you a good ride or two, or a good bar if you're tired of riding. I probally won't have the GS anymore by then but it'll always live in my heart  and I think I can slow down the CBR1000 to let you keep up. 

You should be alright to go the distance (no pun intended). I did 700 miles in about 30 hours last weekend, mostly on country roads, with a sh*t ton of putzing. A pal and I just decided randomly on Friday evening to pack light bags and head north. I've got Cafe-bars on my bike, so my right wrist got a little sore, but nothing severe.

Also, I don't believe it's been said yet ... ZIP TIES are your best friend. Permanent they a'int, but if something rattles loose, like, oh, let's say, the bolt that secures your exhaust to the passenger peg ... they are lifesavers 

Quote from: MinnesotaCafe on April 26, 2007, 01:05:18 AM
...Also, I don't believe it's been said yet ... ZIP TIES are your best friend. Permanent they a'int, but if something rattles loose, like, oh, let's say, the bolt that secures your exhaust to the passenger peg ... they are lifesavers 

Great point. I am a big fan of Zip Ties, next to duct tape they are my best friend

Heated grips are a cool idea, but I doubt I'll need them in the middle of the summer. I ride year round down here in SoCal, and while it doesn't get that cold, riding at 5am on a winter morning does wake you up real good I've found that non-perfed leather gloves with a liner underneath is pretty good for 50-60 degree temps.

Great tips guys, keep it coming.

Get some speakers for your helmet and plug it into a MP3/CD/whatever player to pass the time. If you get some good spekers you can still wear earplugs so you don't go deaf from the wind noise

forget speakers. Drop the $$ on the etymotic ER6-i headphones. They drop the outside noise by about 25 decibels, so with no music, they act as earplugs. Put your ipod between 1/4 and 1/2 volume, and you can cruise while listening to music and NOT going deaf, while still being able to hear all the important things around you.

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on April 26, 2007, 06:14:12 PM
forget speakers. Drop the $$ on the etymotic ER6-i headphones. They drop the outside noise by about 25 decibels, so with no music, they act as earplugs. Put your ipod between 1/4 and 1/2 volume, and you can cruise while listening to music and NOT going deaf, while still being able to hear all the important things around you.

I have 2 different helmets , both of which don't really allow me any room for speakers . I've tried the in-ear ones but i can't get them to stay very well once the helmet's on ... is it ok to take out a bit of apdding just in that one spot so I can maybe mount some regular headphone speakers to the helmet liner itself ? I'm getting one of the mp3 player phones , so it ould serve dual purpose also ...

Not trying to hijack your thread , just looking for clarification for the both of us Bro 

Don't remove the foam. Etymotics aren't regular headphones, they're in ear monitors. They fit far enough into the ear canal that they work, even with the tightest helmets. That's why they're worth the $$ you'll drop on them.