Seattle to Los Angeles in 17 or less hours.

[Dima]

On June 22nd, i'm going to ride from Seattle, to Los Angeles, on katana (stock seat, yea, i know, pain!!! )and will try to cover 1200 miles in 17 hours.
This is my first loooong ride. Would you suggest getting insurance? Any tips for this long painfull ride?

PS. maybe I should try getting that iron butt certificate

[VermilionX]

i thought the katana were sport tourers???

well anyway, i never sat on one so im not sure.

good luck to you!

[-Holiday]

Would you suggest getting insurance?

ehh, you mean like, auto insurance? Yea, come to think of it, that might not be a bad idea.

[NorthernPete]

insurance is good....

[Gadjet]

Before attempting a ride of that length, I *strongly* suggest you check out the Archive of Wisdom on the IBA Website

Keep in mind that to do this ride in that amount of time, you will have to maintain an *average* speed of ~70mph. Any stops for fuel, food, pee breaks, leg stretch, etc.... will decrease your average speed.

It can be done, but it is a very tough ride. Riding at excessive speeds will *not* get you there quicker, as it will tire you out faster than riding at the speed limit, forcing you to stop more often. Riding fast also burns more fuel, requiring you to make more (costly) fuel stops - Every stop that you have to make lowers your average speed for the trip.

I've done rides of this length before, and I'm going to be doing one (possibly two) more next weekend, but I'm allowing myself the full 24 hours that is allowed by the IBA.

Most important piece of advice I can give you, learned from personal experience is this:

*stop if you get tired*

Also, if you are going to go for your IBA certification with this ride, don't forget to get all the proper documentation done (see the above IBA website link - ride rules can be found there) - no documentation, no certification.

let us know how it goes

Owen

[Dima]

Before attempting a ride of that length, I *strongly* suggest you check out the Archive of Wisdom on the IBA Website

Keep in mind that to do this ride in that amount of time, you will have to maintain an *average* speed of ~70mph. Any stops for fuel, food, pee breaks, leg stretch, etc.... will decrease your average speed.

It can be done, but it is a very tough ride. Riding at excessive speeds will *not* get you there quicker, as it will tire you out faster than riding at the speed limit, forcing you to stop more often. Riding fast also burns more fuel, requiring you to make more (costly) fuel stops - Every stop that you have to make lowers your average speed for the trip.

I've done rides of this length before, and I'm going to be doing one (possibly two) more next weekend, but I'm allowing myself the full 24 hours that is allowed by the IBA.

Most important piece of advice I can give you, learned from personal experience is this:

*stop if you get tired*

Also, if you are going to go for your IBA certification with this ride, don't forget to get all the proper documentation done (see the above IBA website link - ride rules can be found there) - no documentation, no certification.

let us know how it goes

Owen

thanks for the wisdom link! i'll read through all of them. I'll try to post a trip report when i'll be done in one of the forums topics.

[jmillheiser]

You need to get insurance. Oregon and california both require it. You cant leave washington state on your bike without it.

1200mi in 17 hours is not going to be an easy feat, assuming you just take I-5 the whole way you need to remember you have 4 major cities to have to fight traffic jams in (seattle, portland, San Francisco, and LA), on the upside you can lane split through the california traffic jams, but this will still slow you down

[jmillheiser]

I would go through the nesscessary steps to document this ride for IBA. If you can pull it off you would definately get your Iron Butt Saddle Sore award (1000mi in 24hrs)

[mysta2]

205 goes around portland, but if you're not hitting it at rush hour I'd stay on 5

[MontyCarlo]

You would have to average 70mph, without ever stopping. Therefore to make it in 17 hours you'd have to exceed the speed limit .... most of the time .... and in excess.

You'll be risking a nasty ticket, and if you don't have insurance in OR or CA, you risk getting your bike towed.

I'd rethink your plan. It doesn't sound safe, even if it was doable.