How many miles in a day is too many??

[andy4200]

I've started planning a trip which will go down towards Chamonix, on to Corsica and end up back in Chamonix eventually.
The plan was to get a big distance out of the way on the first day as the roads through France from the north are generally flat motorway miles.

I was thinking about 500 miles on the first day and smaller distances on the other travelling days (about 250 max).

Is this too much or would it be ok? What are other peoples experiences? Trying to get an idea so I can at least book a couple of nights accommodation.

I would be on the Sprint and my mate would be on a BMW R1200GS. We would both have full sets of panniers if this makes much of a difference.

Cheers
Andy

[mrmaggit]

It depends on where you're riding, weather conditions, type of bike, traffic levels, pillion, time of year, etc.

In this country, I try not to do more than 250 miles a day, less if there's no motorway. France and Germany's road network mean 400-500 is relatively easy.

[hughesie2]

I did 900 miles in a day once, Calais to Folgaria in Italy, roads are completely different over there and you can just go on and on and on !!

[Davel]

Reminds me - must phone the wife!

I'd have thought 300'ish unless you want the countryside to just be a blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Very much depends upon the roads and the surroundings

[andy4200]

Until I get to Chamonix then it's just motorway all the way. Don't really want to see anything in that part of France.

Personally I would do 500 plus, but my mates a bit concerned about how comfortable the big beemer would be on that sort of distance.

He's not that good with a map so I'll just tell him the hotels only 250 miles away and he'll be happy with that

[iguana]

Did 1300 miles in one hit once,
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in the car tho


Is the bimmer faired? 300miles in one hit on my (unfaired) Bandit & im knacked & walk like John Wayne for hours

[barry sheene]

you might find this useful.....

www.ironbutt.com/tech/aow.cfm




>> Edited by barry sheene on Friday 21st January 02:38

[andy4200]

iguana said:

Did 1300 miles in one hit once, in the car tho Is the bimmer faired? 300miles in one hit on my (unfaired) Bandit & im knacked & walk like John Wayne for hours

yeah, in the car I used to do Glasgow to Pisa without thinking about it but I guess a bike is a different story

The beemer has the big cylinder heads, says it keeps the wind off his legs, and I guess you could maybe say it's half faired or fly screen at worst.

barry sheen said:

you might find this useful..... www.ironbutt.com/tech/aow.cfm

Excellent, I'll have a read at work today

[Robbo SPS]

I planned on 250 miles last year around Spain and Portugal on my faired CBR600.

It was ok after the first day of 400 miles in horrid weather.

I was able to do fun riding when i felt like it. Otherwise i did 300 miles a day and that was ok.

The final 2 days were 800 miles each, and i was shagged. I would only do this again if the same situation arose.

Hope that helps

[eliminator]

I keep below 400

Max I have done is 700 - my bum hurt!

[Mon Ami Mate]

I once rode from Cape Town to Johannesburg in a day (17 hours if I remember correctly, including stops) on an old 750 shaft drive Kawasaki. Can't remember how many miles it was, but it was lots!

[stooz]

I go out with the Triumph RAT boys, and we do Calais to andorra in one day. 10am ferry, so not even an early start.

120 miles at 100mph, QUICK fuel and go again, soon eats up the miles.
the key is the quick fuel stops!!
low traffic volumes and good roads really helps the mileage.

[andy4200]

Cheers lads. Just the sort of answers I was hoping for. I thought I might have been pushing myself a bit but I guess not.

Looks like plan will get me to Chamonix from Leeds with an overnighter near Paris. Third day will get me to Italy for a few days. Same back with pootling in between round Chamonix.
Biggest day is 450 with the rest around 300 - 350 which should be reasonable.

[barry sheene]

Leeds - Chamonix in one hit should be easy, I've done so before a few times....

http://ombomb.kicks-ass.org/resources/1998/RoadTripMay98/LondontoZurichtoGenevatoChamonix.html
http://ombomb.kicks-ass.org/resources/1998/July/98%20July/page_01.htm

and more recently Woking-Toulouse and back several dozen times.....

http://ombomb.kicks-ass.org/resources/2002/Qatar/ItsaHardLife.html
http://ombomb.kicks-ass.org/resources/2002/Pyrenees020602/KneeDown.html
http://ombomb.kicks-ass.org/resources/2002/29th%20SeptCarcassonne/SundayBlasttoCarcasonne.html

For long distance trips three bits of equipment are IMO essential for improving a trip.

1) Autocomm or similar so you can listen to some music
2) GPS, nuff said.
3) Camelbak, go further with hydration....



>> Edited by barry sheene on Thursday 27th January 14:14

[Robbo SPS]

stooz said:

I go out with the Triumph RAT boys, and we do Calais to andorra in one day. 10am ferry, so not even an early start. 120 miles at 100mph, QUICK fuel and go again, soon eats up the miles. the key is the quick fuel stops!! low traffic volumes and good roads really helps the mileage.

On racing for the ferry a while back i did 3 fuel stops with nothing more than open, poor,pay, maybe piss then off. I had a drinking tube to my bottle of drink, the whole idea made it more interesting

[andy4200]

barry sheene said:

For long distance trips three bits of equipment are IMO essential for improving a trip. 1) Autocomm or similar so you can listen to some music 2) GPS, nuff said. 3) Camelbak, go further with hydration.... >> Edited by barry sheene on Thursday 27th January 14:14

Been looking for something that does Autocom stuff. Not the cheapest, granted, but it sounds like it might be just the ticket.

[barry sheene]

andy4200 said:

Been looking for something that does Autocom stuff. Not the cheapest, granted, but it sounds like it might be just the ticket.

Can't courier without it (not that I do anymore

I usually have a sound source (used to be an ipod, but I use solid state these days, a 1GB mp3 player) and a phone on auto-answer plugged into it. It'll mute the music when phone calls are being made.(microphone and speakers in-helmet)...there's the option to plug it into the gps as well, but quite frankly after 5 mins the appeal of that wears right off.

Got my Autocmm from a BMW dealer, they usually have all the gubbins..

>> Edited by barry sheene on Monday 31st January 02:54

[stooz]

same as the autocomm ; here

whats the price of autocomm gear then?

[barry sheene]

If you're planning some serious distance then this is quite a good starting point....

www.horizonsunlimited.com/

[rsvmilly]

barry sheene said:

If you're planning some serious distance then this is quite a good starting point.... www.horizonsunlimited.com/

Horizons Unlimited said:

The Triumph Tiger is becoming a popular choice for two-up travellers. However, it's tall and heavy, and reliability is questionable.

Yours have gone on forever haven't they?