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I recently took a longish ride of 3,600 miles on my '08 400 - from deep south Texas to Las Vegas and back. You can find that story at http://www.burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=61130
This post is more about the bike than the trip itself.
The last time I made a long trip, I made a similar "report" about the bike and gear. That is found at http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=59311. I'll try to build on that.
First - I was to find out that this was a very different trip than the 3,000 miler I made "back east" in September. East of Texas, speed limits are 65 mph in the vast majority of places. In Texas and points westward, speed limits are 75, even on many two-lane roads. That is not a problem, but once you get west of the Hill Country of Texas, you open into The Big Empty of west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and other places. While eastwards, there are two lane roads with lots of little villages, in the west the two lane roads go on for hours with few small villages. That gets boring after awhile, and I began to ask more of the Burgman than she was designed to give. Yes - she can cruise at 75 mph, but she is working hard doing that speed. Too hard for my taste. As I said before in the September posting, there were times when I wished their were a few more cc under the seat.
Altitude? As others have said, the mileage actually improves at altitude. She did not struggle at all in the mountains - and in fact was great fun in the few twisties I rode.
Luggage - I had my top case (it is Givi's largest case, the E55) loaded with clothing, toiletries, shoes etc. and that did fine. A key twist, and I just carried it into my hotel room at night. I also carried a waterproof bag which held my cold weather gear. I don't normally ride in cold weather, so I had to improvise. I wear the Cycleport kevlar mesh jacket and pants, which are designed to be "airish." On cold mornings, I found that I was warm enough with long johns, t-shirt, flannel shirt, jacket liner and mesh jacket, except for my hands. Lined gloves with the kind of liners used by skiers were no match for freezing cold - my hands just stuck out into the slipstream too much. While its doubtful I will ride in such cold weather again, if I do, I will have to find a better way of keeping my hands warm.
GPS - I have a Garmin Zumo 220 mounted on the left brake fluid reservoir using a Motorcycle Larry cap, Ram ball and the mount that comes with the Zumo. The device is hard wired. I planned my trip in daily segments using the Garmin Mapsource software and dumped that into the GPS. I seldom ride the Super Slab unless there is no way to avoid it, so I need to plan the routes rather than let the GPS do all the thinking. I might add that the Mapsource software is a great improvement over the old Basecamp software.
Fuel - on the eastward trip, I never worried about refueling - lots of little towns with gas stations. Not so in the far west - I gassed up when I had the chance. I had one leg where I got 194 miles on a tank before finding fuel. That was a little too close for comfort. Lesson for me: plan fuel stops when going west.
By the way - almost had heart failure at some of the gas prices I saw - $4.99 in California. When I filled up at home, I paid $3.12. Glad I was on a fuel efficient machine.
The only problem I had with the bike cured itself. On the third day going west, it was 27 degrees when I left the motel. The lights would not come on, but after the morning warmed up a little, they came on without any work on my part. I think this was the first time the bike had been outside in freezing weather. Other than that, the bike ran flawlessly.
I keep Dr. Pulley 19 gram sliders in the bike. They had already worn some before the trip, and they were worn even more at the end. With new sliders, an indicated 70 mph (actual speed, 65), RPM are at 5,400. At the end of the trip, the same speed was 6,000 RPM.
For the first time since I've owned the bike (two years and 23,000 miles), I added oil in between changes. On the very last day of the ride, I added just a little oil as the window showed I was right at the bottom line.
All in all - a most satisfactory trip. However, in all due candor, for me, I would like a few more horses for my mount. Much as I like my '08 400 and as reliable as it is, I am wondering if it is time for me to move to a slightly bigger machine. No - not a Goldwing as I don't have that kind of money, nor a Harley as I'm not a Harley kind of guy, but some sort of mid-range tourer.
I'm just sayin'
This post is more about the bike than the trip itself.
The last time I made a long trip, I made a similar "report" about the bike and gear. That is found at http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=59311. I'll try to build on that.
First - I was to find out that this was a very different trip than the 3,000 miler I made "back east" in September. East of Texas, speed limits are 65 mph in the vast majority of places. In Texas and points westward, speed limits are 75, even on many two-lane roads. That is not a problem, but once you get west of the Hill Country of Texas, you open into The Big Empty of west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and other places. While eastwards, there are two lane roads with lots of little villages, in the west the two lane roads go on for hours with few small villages. That gets boring after awhile, and I began to ask more of the Burgman than she was designed to give. Yes - she can cruise at 75 mph, but she is working hard doing that speed. Too hard for my taste. As I said before in the September posting, there were times when I wished their were a few more cc under the seat.
Altitude? As others have said, the mileage actually improves at altitude. She did not struggle at all in the mountains - and in fact was great fun in the few twisties I rode.
Luggage - I had my top case (it is Givi's largest case, the E55) loaded with clothing, toiletries, shoes etc. and that did fine. A key twist, and I just carried it into my hotel room at night. I also carried a waterproof bag which held my cold weather gear. I don't normally ride in cold weather, so I had to improvise. I wear the Cycleport kevlar mesh jacket and pants, which are designed to be "airish." On cold mornings, I found that I was warm enough with long johns, t-shirt, flannel shirt, jacket liner and mesh jacket, except for my hands. Lined gloves with the kind of liners used by skiers were no match for freezing cold - my hands just stuck out into the slipstream too much. While its doubtful I will ride in such cold weather again, if I do, I will have to find a better way of keeping my hands warm.
GPS - I have a Garmin Zumo 220 mounted on the left brake fluid reservoir using a Motorcycle Larry cap, Ram ball and the mount that comes with the Zumo. The device is hard wired. I planned my trip in daily segments using the Garmin Mapsource software and dumped that into the GPS. I seldom ride the Super Slab unless there is no way to avoid it, so I need to plan the routes rather than let the GPS do all the thinking. I might add that the Mapsource software is a great improvement over the old Basecamp software.
Fuel - on the eastward trip, I never worried about refueling - lots of little towns with gas stations. Not so in the far west - I gassed up when I had the chance. I had one leg where I got 194 miles on a tank before finding fuel. That was a little too close for comfort. Lesson for me: plan fuel stops when going west.
By the way - almost had heart failure at some of the gas prices I saw - $4.99 in California. When I filled up at home, I paid $3.12. Glad I was on a fuel efficient machine.
The only problem I had with the bike cured itself. On the third day going west, it was 27 degrees when I left the motel. The lights would not come on, but after the morning warmed up a little, they came on without any work on my part. I think this was the first time the bike had been outside in freezing weather. Other than that, the bike ran flawlessly.
I keep Dr. Pulley 19 gram sliders in the bike. They had already worn some before the trip, and they were worn even more at the end. With new sliders, an indicated 70 mph (actual speed, 65), RPM are at 5,400. At the end of the trip, the same speed was 6,000 RPM.
For the first time since I've owned the bike (two years and 23,000 miles), I added oil in between changes. On the very last day of the ride, I added just a little oil as the window showed I was right at the bottom line.
All in all - a most satisfactory trip. However, in all due candor, for me, I would like a few more horses for my mount. Much as I like my '08 400 and as reliable as it is, I am wondering if it is time for me to move to a slightly bigger machine. No - not a Goldwing as I don't have that kind of money, nor a Harley as I'm not a Harley kind of guy, but some sort of mid-range tourer.
I'm just sayin'
Have driven the '03 400 before so the bike was not all new to me. What was new though is wind strength, and I maybe discovered just now that the winds in Canada are stronger than i thought :lol: 
