I'm thinking about a trip to Halifax Nova Scotia from New York City in spring or maybe June. I'm slowly going over everything on the bike to make sure nothing will fail me. I am a little worried about the seat so far... even my little CB350 has more cushion. But maybe just being in shape will help.

I've been reading some of the posts about trips you guys have made for inspiration. Do you guys have any other tips or stories you'd like to share about taking a long trip on a GS500? Anyone else making plans for trip this year?

<< also planning a trip from north east Pa to Pittsburgh Pa to visit my bro and his family.
Then possibly all the way down to NC.

Will cover some of the basics that I've read.
Tools, tire repair kit, zip ties, some like carrying an extra clutch cable, extra Oil etc etc
all I can recall right now as im pretty fumed at current bike problems.

and the seat...
read and plan to do this myself as well.
a $20 gel cushion from walmart.
Think its for ATVs or something, I forget exactly.
fits right under the seat fabric.

I'm assuming you are female by your name.  If so:

Lois on the Loose- Book
Ladies on the Loose- DVD

Both probably more in depth than you need but lots of good info in the DVD and the book is very inspirational.

As for your butt, you can modify the stock seat or get a gel/air seat topper.  Airhawk gets great reviews but are expensive.  I have a gel topper meant for a cruiser but works ok.  Jared has my '01 GS seat right now and is doing a custom gel insert at the moment.  You should also stop every 100 miles or so and walk around to get the blood flowing.

To Tombstone's list I would add a shift lever, clutch lever, a brake lever and a master cylinder holder (back piece with 2 bolts that attaches the master cylinder to the bars).  Those are all things that are commonly broken/damaged in a low speed crash/drop.

Other general advice:  Stay hydrated, stop if you are tired, and monitor your fuel level in rural areas.

-Jessie

Do yourself a favour and get a get a gel seat top, you won't regret it.  I did a ~800km trip last year and it prompted me to pick up a gel seat pad over the winter for my longer rides.  Just a tip (having lived in Halifax for about a year), the spring months are cooler there so if you are planning a spring ride ie: April/May bring some warmer clothes   And if you don't have it on your route already try and squeeze in Bras D'or/Louisbourg and the Cabot Trail.  You WON'T regret it.

Have Fun!

Quote from: Erika on February 19, 2012, 04:08:51 PM
I'm thinking about a trip to Halifax Nova Scotia from New York City in spring or maybe June. I'm slowly going over everything on the bike to make sure nothing will fail me. I am a little worried about the seat so far... even my little CB350 has more cushion. But maybe just being in shape will help.

I've been reading some of the posts about trips you guys have made for inspiration. Do you guys have any other tips or stories you'd like to share about taking a long trip on a GS500? Anyone else making plans for trip this year?

Walmart has an ATV Seat Cover that does wonders. Its $20. If you hate it I'll pay postage to ship it to me, Ill put it on my fz !

I have done a few long days and weekend trips since buying my GS in April of 2011 and there are three things I'm looking to have done before my next ride of significant distance.

• Lowered footpegs to give more leg room. I'm 6'1" and my legs get pretty uncomfortable by the end of the day. I've ordered a set of lowered pegs from http://knightdesignllc.com/ and they should arrive soon!
• Crampbuster or similar.
• Extra padding on the seat.

That should cover the major pain points without spending a fortune 

I would suggest building up to that distance if you're not used to it. My first long trip was 3x longer than any distance I had ridden up to then and it was not pleasant towards the end of the ride.

Some good tips already, thanks guys (and gals if there are any mixed in there). Here are a few I wouldn't have thought of... extra levers and master cylinder holder (I think I'll add duct tape to that equation as well). Will definitley look into a gel seat cover or equivalent. Lower foot pegs... my inseam is 32".. so I know I got the leggy issue. Question about that... will the pegs drag while in the twisties? Or will that just make me look tougher.. ha.

Thanks for the reading/movie material to check out... I'll also look into Bras D'or/Louisbourg and the Cabot Trail.

Here's another tip someone gave me recently... photo copy ids and credit cards and etc... put in a ziplock bag, and hide it on your bike somewhere in case your wallet "disappears" somehow.

I've done a few long-ish trips on my bike. Went up from San Diego to SF and back a few times, even went all the way to Seattle once Never had anything happen during the trip fortunately, although I'm quite paranoid about the tools and spare parts I carry. People think I'm crazy when I show them the list but it doesn't take up that much space and IMO is worth it.

The GS is a bit cramped for touring, although I don't find it to be much of a problem. Definitely give yourself plenty of time to get to where you're going, and try to book the smaller back-roads, interstates are pretty boring. Gas mileage at speed is great, I routinely get north of 60mpg on my trips. The discomfort...well, it's there. If it's any comfort to you it stops getting worse after the first hundred miles or so. One thing about touring on the GS is that in terms of cost per mile, I bet it beats basically any other bike out there

The last trip I did in late November. Hit plenty of rain and relatively cool weather (high 30s to 50s). I had a pair of AGV Telleuride pants which were GREAT and an A* Messenger jacket. Both were warm and waterproof; even at the coldest parts of the trip I was comfortable, and despite dealing with 2-3 hours of light rain I managed to get in completely dry. If I did it again I would get a jacket with a short-cut waist, the Messenger jacket billows somewhat which makes riding with it a high speed kind of distracting.

Here's a photo of my bike coming up the 1 between SLO and Monterey. It was a very, very nice ride.



Let me know if you need more specific info on what I bring and what checks I do before the ride.

Good luck on your trip!

Quote from: ohgood on February 19, 2012, 05:16:25 PM

Walmart has an ATV Seat Cover that does wonders. Its $20. If you hate it I'll pay postage to ship it to me, Ill put it on my fz !

You wanna reference a specific part num, or better yet a url on that?
with a place as large as walmart, its probably easy for folks to pick the wrong doodad.

Erika - If you haven't already, check out ADVRider. While they talk about a lot of dual sport/ adventure riding, there are a lot of tips for longer rides. From gear, to storage, places to see in any given areas, etc, that is the place to check out for planning trips IMO.

And there are a few GS500's over there too, so you can see what a "fully loaded" GS looks like.

Quote from: Erika on February 19, 2012, 08:40:34 PM

Here's another tip someone gave me recently... photo copy ids and credit cards and etc... put in a ziplock bag, and hide it on your bike somewhere in case your wallet "disappears" somehow.

You are living in NYC and you are worried about your wallet going missing? Sorry, just sounded funny 

Key, spare key, don't forget a spare key.
PS. Take a spare key....

Ivany, what kind of bags are those?

Quote from: Erika on February 19, 2012, 08:40:34 PM
Lower foot pegs... my inseam is 32".. so I know I got the leggy issue. Question about that... will the pegs drag while in the twisties? Or will that just make me look tougher.. ha.

You can gain approximately 3/4" leg room by swapping out the stock peg for one without all the rubber on top. Some people have had success with GSXR pegs and a little bit of modification: http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.Pegs
The pegs I bought give about 1-3/4" extra room. They don't have all the rubber plus they have a 1" drop. I might end up dragging them but really wanted all the extra leg room I could get! We'll see how they work out in a month or so.

Quote from: dmartins on February 20, 2012, 08:21:12 AM
Ivany, what kind of bags are those?

Quote from: Erika on February 19, 2012, 08:40:34 PM
Lower foot pegs... my inseam is 32".. so I know I got the leggy issue. Question about that... will the pegs drag while in the twisties? Or will that just make me look tougher.. ha.

You can gain approximately 3/4" leg room by swapping out the stock peg for one without all the rubber on top. Some people have had success with GSXR pegs and a little bit of modification: http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.Pegs
The pegs I bought give about 1-3/4" extra room. They don't have all the rubber plus they have a 1" drop. I might end up dragging them but really wanted all the extra leg room I could get! We'll see how they work out in a month or so.

They are Cortech sport bags. They're pretty good - compact but still able to hold a decent amount of stuff. The top bag is expanded in this photo, the side bags expand by about 1.5" also.

Quote from: Phil B on February 19, 2012, 11:12:39 PM

Quote from: ohgood on February 19, 2012, 05:16:25 PM

Walmart has an ATV Seat Cover that does wonders. Its $20. If you hate it I'll pay postage to ship it to me, Ill put it on my fz !

You wanna reference a specific part num, or better yet a url on that?
with a place as large as walmart, its probably easy for folks to pick the wrong doodad.

sorry, i wasn't thinking.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-ATV-Comfort-Ride-Seat-Protector/16777864

"Coleman ATV Comfort Ride Seat Protector"

it's not gel, but it's very fabulous. the guys on advrider mentioned it about 2 billion times, so i tried it. they were right. between that and anti-monkey butt powder, i can go for days on my DRZ without complaining.

i've done a trip from NYC to Cabot's trail (Cape Breton) and also did a xcross country trip last year. Although it wasn't on the GS, i purchased an Alaska Sheepskin and rode for 12+ hours multiple days without any problems. It is very affordable and I don't leave home w/o it for any long trips. I see you are in the NYC area, I am as well. Perhaps we could share GS trade secrets! I'm located in Ft. Greene.

I've been using that Walmart seat cover for a year. It never comes off, whether for long trips or commuting in the city. I stick one of those gardening "kneeling pads" between it and the seat, which is good for taller riders. I'm 6'5" with a 34" inseam, and I could never get comfortable on my GS until I added the pad and cover to the seat. Rode from San Francisco to Seattle that way in January, no comfort issues. Total cost, about $30

I realize that this post may be a little old, but last October, I completed the Iron Butt (1000 miles in less than 24 hours) on my 09 GS500F.  It was a slightly modified, but mostly stock seat.

Went to a sporting goods store and bought a pair of padded bicycle shorts.  They have gel inserts to cushion rear-end bones after a looong ride.  Best $20 I ever spent, and I have the Iron Butt completion certificate to prove it.  I will mention that it fits strange...kind of like a diaper...but for long distance, it worked for me.

Just my 2 cents

--Jesse

Quote from: ohgood on February 20, 2012, 12:43:29 PM

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-ATV-Comfort-Ride-Seat-Protector/16777864

"Coleman ATV Comfort Ride Seat Protector"

it's not gel, but it's very fabulous. the guys on advrider mentioned it about 2 billion times, so i tried it. they were right. between that and anti-monkey butt powder, i can go for days on my DRZ without complaining.

Thanks for the link.

Wow. that looks... umm...

"gnarly" ?
in the old fashioned literal sense? 
Hard to imagine that anything that lumpy-looking, makes for more comfort!