Go for it! Just after we were married, my wife and I left Orlando, Florida, for the Grand Canyon on a Yamaha 350. We had hard saddlebags, a tank bag, and a windshield fairing. We carried our clothes in plastic trash bags in the saddlebags and took a lightweight tent, sleeping bags, cookware, etc. The guy that sold us the bike said we'd never make it, but we sent him a post card from the Grand Canyon.  We were gone for 5 weeks, went 6200 miles, and had a ball! Of course, that was in 1973, when I was a little younger.

Not trying to step on toes, but I have a few things to add.

1st, The bike will haul the weight.

2nd, That far on the stock seats two-up? Really BIG balls

3rd, Contrary to what was stated and maybe what is common knowledge, it doesn't take any more room to stop a bike loaded than a bike with rider alone. If that were the case you @ 150# could stop your bike shorter than I @ 180#. That is simply not true. However, you are talking about asking your 350# bike to stop 3 times that with every squeeze of the lever. The brakes will wear out fast. And they will get hot much easier which leads to brake fade. Once that happens there is no brake. Careful on those down hill grades.

4th, Should you actually make this trip with just the one bike, consider some sort of breakdown insurance. If you do have a breakdown, a tow is only a phone call away. BTW take a cell phone, two if possible and don't forget to wire up a power socket so you can charge the phone battery while riding.

5th, Take your time. You will take your time like it or not so figure for it. 6-8hr days? I doubt it. If you can I congratulate you. However, riding alone I would find it hard to do 6hrs. Especially for 2 or 3 days straight. The safety of you and your wife would be compromised by the riding conditions. And this doesnt include inclimate weather conditions. Highway speeds are very physically demanding for hours on end. I would suggest a windscreen of some sort to help deal with this.


Good Luck!

So far, the cheapes cell phone I have found is one of thoise 10 cent a minute things. My wife was spending in excess of $50.00 a month on a cell phone. Now she is spending about 30 bucks every 3 months. Tha doesnt count the cost of the phoine itself. They can be had pretty cheap. Gotta shop all the usual p[laces, target, Walmart, etc,

great suggestions everyone.  i sincerely appreciate all the input.  it's great to hear everyone's opinons as well.  since the money is definitely not there for a second bike, we're most likely just going to throw a little money at this one to make it more comfortable.  

let's see, what stuff has everyone covered:
security, definitely getting the targus motion alarm- a friend of mine had one of those they're awesome.  cell phones- have two, no roaming anywhere, 911 gps.  the bike also has lojack.  
comfort- looking at some seats on ebay.  i do sorda have an iron ar$e as well.  trucking is in the blood (dad, uncle, great grandad, great uncle, and some others on some other side of the family that we don't talk to   ), and i've also been known to go an extra few miles before my bum goes numb myself.  on that note, however, this is a leisure cruise, and i won't be bothered if we only ride for 2 1/2 hours a day at 50mph.  there's a lot of cool scheiße to see out there and we plan to take it all in.  i've allowed enough $$ for that, and for days where we don't ride at all (i.e. weather too bad, too tired, otherwise preoccupied, etc.).

we also have AAA, which will get us towed somewhere in a worst case breakdown scenario.

that being said, anyone is welcome to join us at whatever point.  i'd definitely like to stop and meet some folks from here along the way.

allan, our next big trip after this will definitely be to europe.  maybe by then i'll have the 50' ketch that i've been dreaming of and i'll be able to haul the savages across the pond on it.

Most everything that needs to be said about long distance on a Savage has been said in this and other threads. With those things in mind.
1. Plan your gas stops carefully.
2. Rain gear takes up more space than you would believe possible.
3. A GPS and mapping software is your friend, but if money is tight this probably isn't an option. The internet makes a good substitute for this.
4. If you're comfortable on your MC 6-8 hour days aren't bad and leaves plenty of time for ...
5. I haven't done it, but if I was planning on travelling on the cheap, I'd figure out how to put a backpack on my MC rather than saddle bags. (OK my MC has hard bags, but if I was going to live off my MC I'd want my backpack).
6. On the Savage, I'd condsider a tank bag and a trunk before I added saddle bags. (I commuted on mine without ever having saddle bags.)
7. Sunscreen on your face (assuming that everything else is covered by gear. After a week on the road, I had a sunburned face inside my FF helmet.
8. Some Advil helps me feel better when taken before a long days ride.
9. A leatherman or multi-tool is a good thing to have.
10. Lots of water containers. I find quality for tools rather than quantity is preferred.
11. I think you'll run out of volume on any MC before you run out of weight capacity (unless you stick to the manufacturer's recommendations).
12. Think safety first. You want to arrive alive at the end.
13. Think personal/property protection second, not everyone out there is friendly. You sound like you won't be in possession of much "stuff" so if you lose any of it you might be in trouble.
14. If you don't know how, learn to fish. Carry hand lines or full gear to feed yourself, money will go a lot further that way.

Have fun

one thing that has helped my wife and I (we do alot of 2 up riding on the savage) was when i shaved off about 1.5 inches off of the sissy bar pad. it was pretty easy. just took the cover off, shaved and shaped off the foam with a serrated bread knife and hand sewed the cover back on. the cover looks a little cheesy and i am sure somebody could do a better sewing job than I did.
But, this allowed my wife more room to skid backwards and i was no longer squishing my cojones on the front of the tank, especially when braking. Definitely do the drivers seat lift too !
good luck on your road trip

EntropyofMe wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:01:


Another option is to take the pad completely off and reconstruct it.  I've had good luck with 1/4" plywood, memory foam (just buy a foam pillow from walmart for that), and then covering it with marine grade vinyl.  That way you can make it thinner/thicker as desired, as well as make it taller/wider as you may want.