How many hours can you comfortably ride in a day?

[bendobe]

I am a pretty new rider from a street perspective and one of my goals with the NC was to do some longer exploration trips. As I plan out my first trip from Denver to possibly see some friends in Montana via Yellowstone I am wondering what I should use as a travelling baseline? I realize that there are a bunch of mitigating factors but I am curious what the hive mind thinks.

What do you find is a comfortable time to spend on your bike over the the course of a day? Does that decrease significantly over multiple days?

 

[Rocker66]

I think that it depends on the individual as some find as I did that the seat gets uncomfortable very quickly whilst others find it just fine. Also some mangae perfectly well with the standard screen whilst others spend a great deal of time finding the best one for them.
Sorry I couldn't give a more definite answer

 

[StratTuner]

I would say 600 in a car and about 400 on a motorcycle. Adding highway pegs and a backrest will make a big difference and push the 400 # higher.

 

[Bubba Satori]

About six.
Maybe 8 if my Depends don't start chafing.

 

[frozenpoet]

Define comfortable? I've done 13 hrs days, only stopping long enough for gas, and could still walk when I was done. Five hour days are the normal for me just farting around where I live. Mileage will very based on the roads you ride. Either way, take some breaks to walk around and stretch, makes it easier to go the couple extra miles till the next stop.

 

[Chestnut]

8-10, stopping every 1 1/2 - 2 hours to eat, stretch, and gas up. It took some training, and I have a custom seat and big windshield. But a 600 mile day trip is cake now. I would suggest planning between 6 and 8 hours per day to start. Then you'll have time to stop if something catches your eye.

 

[James59]

You have to look after yourself, it is easy to overdo it, get tired, lose concentration...

 

[Old Can Ride]

For complete comfort I agree with StratTuner 400 miles. I don't leave the house on a trip without five things on the bike.

1. Good Seat
2. Good Windshield
3. Back Rest
4. Highway Pegs
5. Drink Holder

With these 5 things and a little break in your butt time, you too will be putting in the longer gas stop to gas stop 600 mile days soon.
Motorcycle riding is about the ride (the adventure), not the destination.

I guess I have to add something relatively new to motorcycling items that makes me forget about the butt pain. That is a communication head set and a smart phone, to listen to the music.

 

[TC3]

I am ok doing 650 miles on the bike in a day if it is a full faired tourer. To date only done 270 on my naked S but that was almost all twisty country roads

Tony

 

[Rocker66]

doing 650 miles in the UK takes more effort than doing it in most parts of the USA just because of the types of roads

 

[OriginalRocket]

About 1 hour with the stock seat. The distance depends on the road speed.

 

[TC3]

doing 650 miles in the UK takes more effort than doing it in most parts of the USA just because of the types of roads

Yes good point and I should have added that was only 120 miles in the UK and the rest out in France.

 

[Beemerphile]

If I can stay awake, I can ride. 16-18 hours many times. Maximum mileage day was 1,385 miles in 20 hours. My "normal" for a road trip is about 700 miles per day.

 

[happy]

Please take breaks. A good friend crashed at 50mph and is now paralyzed with both arms invalid. He fell asleep.
Long straight (boring) roads are the worst.
Twisty roads are better at keeping you awake.

I can go on forever with breaks every say 2 hours til dark.

Darkness is another deadly enemy. Try not to ride at night. I see no point at all riding at night.

Ride safe!

 

[Rocker66]

Personally I find doing a distance trip on the rare warm summer night that we get here most enjoyable especially as the roads tend to be a lot quieter. It is great watching the sun come up as your nearing the end of your journey. Pulling up for a coffee at a motorway service station in the early hours of the morning often leads to getting into conversation with interesting people who you would not make contact with during the day as the place is too crowded and people too busy.
Mind you I'm a night person I love night shifts and when I was a train guard I would often change my early & late shifts working passenger trains for a night shift working freights

 

[Garydj]

I have found 300 miles or 5 to 6 hours to be about right with my NC. I have not taken a two day or more trip yet, but I would imagine that second and additional days it would get harder to go the distance.

 

[Beemerphile]

Personally I find doing a distance trip on the rare warm summer night that we get here most enjoyable especially as the roads tend to be a lot quieter. It is great watching the sun come up as your nearing the end of your journey. Pulling up for a coffee at a motorway service station in the early hours of the morning often leads to getting into conversation with interesting people who you would not make contact with during the day as the place is too crowded and people too busy.
Mind you I'm a night person I love night shifts and when I was a train guard I would often change my early & late shifts working passenger trains for a night shift working freights

I agree with this. There are dangers to night travel, but it is very enjoyable. If you are well-rested and have good lighting it is possible to do it safely. Animal strikes are a problem at night in some areas. I pushed on past my endurance once trying to make Hyder, Alaska and I knew I was in trouble. It had gotten dark, there were many bears in the road, it was misting rain, and I was dead tired. I panic stopped for things that weren't even there. BTW, that is one sign of total exhaustion as is having all the sounds go quiet for an instant (which is called riding while sleeping). On long trips, I used to sleep the day before and leave at 8 PM and ride through until 4 PM the following day just to get clear of familiar territory. Then I'd get a good meal and a good night's rest and take a more casual pace after that. Watching the world wake up from the saddle of a good motorcycle is intoxicating.

To the OP, don't target what others can do. Establish your own rhythm. You will know when you are tired and inattentive. Especially as a new rider, don't push it. There are two kinds of endurance: physical endurance and waking endurance. You could be physically spent but wide awake, or you could be physically fine, but sleepy. Since I am trained to distance and the bike is well-equipped, that is why, for me, if I can stay awake I can ride. It was not that way in the beginning. If you have the stock seat, IT will keep you from riding past your waking endurance. I rode from Georgia to New York on my stock seat and every time the speeds got below 50 mph I was standing on the pegs to relieve the discomfort.

ETA: On longer trips, I run a pace that I can maintain. If I am out longer than two weeks, I will occasionally schedule a non-riding day in an interesting area.

 

[PPWW]

That was one of the things I wanted to ask about (your average road trip "comfort zone" Gents) after I start longer trips, but it's good some other rookie thought the same and thanks for all the interesting feedback.

 

[bendobe]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I am going to keep it conservative to start, and just try to give myself a couple sleeping options each day.

 

[dduelin]

I would be doing some local day rides in preparation for your upcoming trip so you can gauge for yourself how comfortable you feel on a bike all day. Getting on a bike for a long ride without working up to it is not a good idea in my opinion.