noisymilk wrote:Pete...3.8 gallons at 80 ish a gallon isn't enough for the Dawson? Hmmm....ok. Good to know.
I'm assuming that the Buddy will have the same issues as my Rattler and get *nowhere* near peak MPG when dealing with wind and hills. Up north especially, it was not at all uncommon for me to get down to 60MPG or lower due to the harsh environment (even though I often would get up over 100MPG in other conditions).
I'm with you - I hate stopping that often and dealing with gas (especially pumping it, paying cash, ending up with candy bars, etc.). It's much easier to do 3-4 gallons at a time and turn it into an event (i.e. lunch + gas).
noisymilk wrote:I am envisioning my scoot like this (and please punch holes in the ideas, I am very open).
I think in general you've got it set well. I would warn that you may wish to consider more warm gear. It may take a couple hours but you can easily become cold soaked on a 70 degree day without sun - I often found myself chilly after an hour of riding in weather where I was boiling and tearing off layers within two minutes of stopping. Best layers for that are down IMO, since they compress easily.
Random other bits:
If you don't end up with much on the floorboards in front, that might be the best place to keep your spare fuel.
If you go full-face helmet, you may want to consider a hydration pack. Instead of wearing it you can just hang it from the front. Personally, I liked to get 64oz diet sodas and stick 'em in the cell holder then refill it for like $.30 all day. ;x
Don't forget you need to change the trans oil every 1k miles (I assume the Buddy is the same here). Carrying a liter is a bit bulky, for a shorter trip it may be worth transplanting some into a smaller bottle - and watch out for it leaking. (I went so far as to duct tape the crap out of my tops and pack it twice in plastic bag and still somehow stuff would seep out)
Speaking of which, don't forget duct tape and spare spark plugs (always at least two IMO). A couple times I burned through good plugs in <500 miles due to really bad gas.
I would never wear jeans for long trips, personally. They don't cut wind at all, get nasty when you sweat a lot, and don't offer much protection at all if you go down. I prefer good hard shell trekking/mountaineering pants personally. Then maybe add a pair of good fleece sweat pants since you can wear them around camp comfortably and also use them as an insulating layer if it gets cool.
Use cash to pay for gas, not a credit card (this will be necessary in most of Canada anyway as they don't take US cards at most pumps). Every time I go on a long trip in the US I keep having my cards turned off as part of the automated fraud detection (low $ transactions in random places repeatedly). It's annoying.
Make sure your saddlebags are waterproof or use drybags inside them. I test the waterproofness of gear by leaving it in the shower at full stream for half an hour with a bunch of toilet paper inside. Most "waterproof" stuff is not at all up to the task of rain at 30+MPH for long periods of time.
Um, and then, after all of that, I'm going to give you the "real" advice: Don't worry about it too much, either way. Just be ready to adapt.
Whatever you set out with won't be perfect, so don't waste too much effort trying to make it so. Just accept that you might be crashing a salvation army store for some extra sweat pants or buying more bungees at a gas station or what-have-you.
I always make this big spreadsheet on google docs before a trip that contains every detail of everything I'm going to bring, then I end up just deciding to ditch half of it the morning I pack everything up... lol.
Just make sure to load up all your gear and try it out to make sure the pegs are comfortable wherever you mount them.
