road trip
 

I am considering taking my bike (barring unforeseen circumstances) from Wheeling West Virginia to Maggie Valley North Carolina to visit some family/friends this summer. I will use all non-highway roads. Do you think this is crazy? What is the farthest any of you have gone?

PS: called the shop and they were working on my baby atm.

It would only take you about a week to get down there :P If you did that I think you should definatly get street tires.And possably re sprocket.It would be a fun trip what would that be 350-400 miles?If it were me I would rent a bigger bike but I am not yet a seasoned China bike rider.

so that would be about an 8 hour trip more or less.
That would be the distance we travel when we take our bikes upnorth and back in a day of riding.

We trailer ours up there then ride the woods for several hours and then climb back into the A/C vehicle and relax all the way home.(yeah we sleep great those nights)

Go for it, it sounds like fun just make sure the bike and you are ready.

I'd say do-able.Just did a 215 mile ride with dixie dualsport.may have a sore a@@ when you're done.these were forest road and a few paved.

You have already put on a smaller sprocket right? Other than that You just have to have buns of steel.

a friend of mine who lived in maggie valley passed away a couple of years ago leaving his business (a rock shop) to his daughter. I have the opportunity to go down and do some digging around their property crystals and stuff. I won't be making the journey in one day.

If I decide to go, I am going to take my good old fashioned time on the way down and really take in the scenery, etc. If the bike is history by the time i get there, i can maybe sell it to a local dealer for 100.00 to buy a bus ticket back.

i love the smoky mountains, i just don't know how well my bike will like them.

as far as the sprocket goes, I am still waiting on it. the bike shop is currently replacing the stock sprocket with new ones from the factory which seems silly because I just plan to replace that one with a smaller 42.

hell, who knows what will happen. when it comes to this bike I've run the full gamut of emotions.

in any case, i am tucking away a little cash here and there for something larger in the future.

but man i wanna go to Maggie valley this summer. the air is soooo clean there and the bbq is good and the people are friendly and its just an overall nice place to be..there in the mountains.

i probably just jinxed myself.

Re: road trip
 

372 miles, twice across 2 mountains in about 9 hours. I was sore and wound up doing the last 15 or 20 miles standing on the pegs, but it was darn fun.(for the record, I did the same route on my TDM and was about as tired when I got home) I'm looking forward to doing again this summer. I plan on riding the Blueridge Parkway, no matter what bike I wind up with.

Just take a break from riding. A couple of minuets every hour. Get something to drink, stretch, walk around... makes a big difference and keeps you more able to focus on riding.

I could reach Maggie Valley in a couple of hours, might be fun to hook up and ride the mountains!

few years back I hooked up with some of my family members in ohio and we went down sky line drive then did the parkway down thru the shenandoha valley.We took our big bikes but that was one of the best times of my life.To me the beauty of that country prooves there is a God!

Yeah, I read an account of a guy that rode through that part of the country. It was part of a much longer trip from Wisconsin to Georgia on his Harley-Davidson.

His name was Charles Lindberg.

The year was 1923.

You've got a modern bike and paved roads. You'll be fine.

tcs

I can't speak for all makes of china bikes, but I definitely would do that with the bikes I have. They have earned my confidence. After working out the little bugs and doing the standard mods, these bikes are very reliable and can run all day at WOT. I speculate this may be due to the fact that they are carbureted down and WOT is probably only 80% of the engines max design output.

The only thing that I would do is make sure you have a comfortable seat or seat cusion. Cusion hand grips and bar end weights are also good. Getting off ever 30-45min helps too.

Keep us posted.

Jason

last summer SamM and i went on a ride in WV about 310 miles all in one day. what a ride can't wait to do it again. after saying that go for it and have fun.

I did 300 miles on my lifan in a day. That included off-road and interstate riding.

Here is a link to google maps for your trip. I clicked avoid highways.
493 miles. You could do that in 2 days.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...1,14.80957&z=6

I would put on the street tires. Balance them. Grip soft grips and cushin up the seat. Get off at least every hour. Just stop for gas alot.

Have fun. The bike will make it. Keep us posted. Has to be members along your route that could help if needed.

Allen

Hey Zap, the route that Kato posted brings you about 15 minuets from my house. I can give you my number and if you get into any trouble anywhere on the last fourth of your trip, I can come and get you and the bike (I have tools and room to work on it, if need be, plus there are several China bike dealers around here (to get parts).).
In fact, I wouldn't mind riding into Maggie Valley if you need some company!

I'd say just hop on and go. Should be fun.

Q