Planning a trip, Advice? Route? Suggestions?

Indys....I don't know. I never had good luck with most of them. There was a period of time say...late '70's/early '80's till mid to late 90's where I stayed clear of factory and went strictly with indys or myself. Since upgrading my iron in 2007/2008 its strictly factory/MOCO and while a little more expensive I am totally satisfied. Very fortunte to have a great repore with the local dealership mechanics,service manager and parts guys.

I have a million horror stories with indys including one who tried to steal my Pan until he saw the business end of a Wingmaster 12 gauge.........at least with factory MOCO you have a chain of command to pursue a concern. With an Indy you have zero/zilch.

Well as it turned out this particular indy. Completelly took responsabillity for his error and rebuilt the entire tranny, no charge. Cant ask more than that. Anyone can make a mistake. Backing it up is the key.

That is the greatest to hear that your Indy did right by you. As it should be.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. After seeing some of those pictures, I don't want to miss out on that. Right now the plan is to go west and pass by the great lakes, maybe go towards chicago then head towards boulder/denver area with no real plans in between. Then go across the 70 to the 15 and down the 59 to Arizona to hit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and then head back to the 15 and straight down to Los Angeles. I'm trying to figure out how much money for gas that would take, I'm guessing about 400 each to make it across. I'm figuring about 40 dollars each a day for food and other than that and lodging I don't think theres much else in the way of expenses to worry about.

He's got a Camelback for water which is good--you'll need it. Also, when I stop for gas, I splash water on my t-shirt to cool me down for a few minutes when riding. Don't leave off your jacket or you will get badly sun/wind burned.

You will find your gas mileage actually increases when riding in higher elevations. F.I. computer senses less oxygen and cuts back on fuel delivery. You also have less power though. Have an emergency jug of gas in your saddlebag. Utah, Arizona, and Nevada have long distances between gas stations. I bought one of those 1 gal. cans that is shaped to fit perfectly in Harley (hard) saddlebags. Takes up some room, but you'll be more relaxed when riding through these States.

If you're riding alone, take an i-pod with headphones in your helmet. You only can listen to your motor for so long before you start to go nuts.

Lastly, if you can find a piece of sheepskin to tuck in over your seat cover, you will greatly appreciate this on hot and cold days. Also makes long days in the saddle much more comfortable. I found an irregular piece of black sheepskin at a leather shop in Yellowstone Park for $10. It covers the whole seat and I love it. Strap your tail bag on the seat right behind you so you can use it for a backrest as you ride.

Good idea taking a little extra gas along. I ran out once on my ironhead going across Arizona, but a guy stopped in a pickup and we siphoned some gas out of his truck and I made it to the next gas station. I think there were fewer gas stations back then. That Sporty tank only held 2.2 gallons!

God bless EFI for just that very adjustment at high elevations and you do blatantly feel the loss of power up hill. I imagine a carb at high elevations would have major perfomance issues..

Also it wouldn't hurt to carry extra gas. Here is a web site for a couple different options. I recently bought the 2 gallon tube in preparation for my ride to Alaska in 2014:

Tour Tubes

If you stay on the interstates they seemed fairly consistent although one still had to keep mindfull. Its the secondary and state highways that make gas availablity an issue. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the nights before when at a hotel most had computer access and I was able to check the tpwns on the ruote I was going on the next day, where the towns were, how far apart and what services were available.

That's an interesting gas can, but how do you carry it?

I have H-D hard saddlebags, and found this plastic 1 gal can is shaped to fit perfectly in my bags. It's made by Red-a-gas and cost $30 I think @ Dennis Kirk. Also has a safety no-spill feature.

Seen those..will be getting those too:

Reda Emergency 1 Gallon Gas Tank for Harley Davidson Touring Saddlebags - Harley Davidson Parts

Being as gas will be a concern enroute to Alaska and between the 2 options that'll give me 4 extra gallons and peace of mid.That tube will be in either in my tour pack or the bag on top of the tour pac.

Even riding to San Diego gas stops were a concern at times in the mid and southwest.

Need to be able to strap a spare tire some where too.

Badinfluence, you have to stop some time just to stretch your legs. Besides, I've got to stop for pie every few hours anyway.

I've never had to buy a tire while traveling. I make sure its a nearly new one before I leave town, and I'm getting about 20,000 miles on each set of Michelin Commanders.

When and where are you heading to in Alaska?

The extra gas is just insurance for the those sparse to no gas stations that occur on back county and state roads. I'm a 4-500 mile a day guy mostly 400 miles.

Spare tire..murphys law and all that. One could time tire changes no problem in lower 48 but between helena,MT and Fairbanks and back they may have one they may have to order it and the costs might be double?

I heading to Alaska June 25th - July 31 2014. I'll be 58 and running on treadmill and watching what I eat till then to be in shape.

That's a heck of a trip starting from New England. Are you riding with some others or by yourself? It's 2,500 miles one way from my house in CO, and have done it about 10 times (I have a small cabin in Haines, AK). It's mostly easy riding except for when it rains heavy in Northern Canada and roads flood with mud. Biggest problem up there is wildlife (moose and bears) on the roads, so make sure you have a loud horn to scare them off.

It'll be near or about 10,000 miles round trip. Most likely going with just me and the wife. Not everyone gets 5 weeks vacation. Was hopin for atleast a chase vehicle but going w/out one if necessary.

My destination is Fairbanks. Maybe go to Wassila and get a hug from whats her name?

And she probably would give you a big hug! Nice lady--too bad so many folks turned against her. You will have a very full 5 weeks doing that trip, but memories to last a lifetime. Be nice to your wife if she needs to stop a lot.

I've always been a Palin supporter. The people that don't like her are jealous ugly/fat women and their hen pecked husbands who do what they're told,lol.

I figure to avg 400 miles a day when possible which averages 25 days travel and there are 35 days in 5 weeks giving me a +- of 10 days. I figure I'll need a couple oil changes and at least a back tire.

We rode to San Diego and back (7000+ miles) in September 2010, 21 days plenty of time but by the 11th day we'd only gotten to Grand Jct,CO because of all the meandering and sight seeing. We ended up having to head expediantly back to New England. We left San Diego on Thursday Morning and got back Wednesday Morning.

You may want to check out the New, Dunlop American Ellite series of tires for your size. They last at least twice the normal life. They came out to compete with their own S.E.Ellites that HD has for the '09 and newer touring models. But because they'ers no MOCO logo they're much cheaper.

Thanks for the tip. Currently I use the dunlop 240's I think? They get sketchy over 6500 miles. I don't feel safe running them to the nub while traveling.

I got them for my 09 street glide. Very happy with them. 21,000 on rear and 16,000 on front last time I changed them. On my second set of them now. 52,000 on my bike.

Wow that is the shiznit! Hope I can use them on my 2001 Ultra. That woould be worth the extra $$$$.