Why I ride alone 90% of the time and have 4 dogs.

Just enjoy your riding time. Take in the sites and stop when you're tired of hungry. Not making a schedule takes the stress of meeting times out of it.

 

Some of the more scenic areas you will probably consider will have a lack of hotel rooms available without reservations. I would would make a couple reservations in these spots and then fill in the gaps on the fly.

If you don't perhaps you should consider packing a tent and use it when rooms aren't available.

Few spots I would hit for sure on the return trip:

Missoula, MT
West Yellowstone (go through the park)
Gardiner, MT
Livingston, MT
Red Lodge, MT (Beartooth pass)
​​​​​​Cody, WY (Chief Joseph Highway)
Ten Sleep, WY
Gillette, WY
Deadwood/Sturgis

Flat out gorgeous ride.

 

I travel solo a lot. Keep a cash reserve $500 to $1000 on you, just in case you gave credit card issues. I also keep a couple of 1/4 oz gold eagles on me. surprisingly if touted in a jam people seem more willing to help if you can offer them collateral like that.

AAA RV+ membership. That will cover a bike tow up to 200 miles.

Gas really isnt isn't an issue, anymore or get than when you're out west in the desert and then the issue can be how far the next gas stop is.

Rest and nutrition are important. Water instead of soda, frequent breaks, avoid dehydration. Those things affect your decision making ability. Know your limits. I keep a couple of quarts of water and Cliffs bars in the bike just in case.

Hotels/Motels/Camping/Guerilla camping. Have a plan but also be flexible. I couldn't find a place in CO last year below 9000' that wasn't just covered up with people where I could hang my hammock. Above that it was just too cold at night for me too hang so I wound up doing cheap hotels at night. Didn't really have any issues. I typically ride till I get close to an area I want to spend a night and then Priceline or Kaayak a room if I am doing hotels/motels.

Good decision making and knowing your limits are the most important things to know.

 

Two years ago, we (8 bikes, 10 people) did a similar trip. We left Wisconsin and drove through Iowa, Nebraska, then over the Rockies through the Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. Then through Utah and the NE corner of Nevada up to Boise Idaho. Then up the middle of Idaho to Glacier Park in Montana and back over the Rockies east. Then down to Yellowstone and then to Sturgis. Spend a couple days there and then back to Wis. Total of 4600 miles in 15 days. You can cut off time and miles by going through Wyoming to Idaho and then from Idaho east to Sturgis without going to Glacier.

We had no problems finding gas, but then we weren't picky. Gas is gas. As long as the octane is over 90 it works fine. Since we had a group, we did reserve rooms through the whole route. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

Something else to keep in mind...
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...l#post16040119
Make sure you're properly insured

 

Last July I took a 5300 mile road trip through 9 states, had a blast. If you have a GPS, set it on scenic-avoid highways-avoid tollroads and then just ride to the next area you think you might make.

I used gas that I was familiar with (got some bad gas in Green River, Utah at the Chevron, but found out quickly and resolved the issue with good gas) other than that not much of a problem, if in a small town, go where the locals go to get gas.

I hardly saw other traffic at all, but I saw beautiful scenery, wildlife and when I did see others they were surprised I was even on the road because it was usually known by only the locals.

I would usually use the phone or the GPS to look for a hotel about 3 hours before sunset, the only place I had a problem was Amarillo, Texas. I went on to a small town called Vega, Texas and found a chain hotel and slept well (cost a heck of a lot less).

I truly enjoyed the ride, learned about myself (recalled some parts me that I had forgotten), the bike and our great country! I highly recommend the experience.

 

I like your perspective....99% of my rides are solo, too. Meeting other travelers along the way is great especially when camping, but prefer riding my own ride.

I've found unless I'm headed to an area where I know it's crowded (like Jackson or Cody in Wyo.) using my iPhone around mid-day to nail something for that night works well. That way I have more options to explore roads I hadn't thought of. Take that ride and don't look back....and if you're in Idaho headed toward Sturgis consider US12 from Lewiston over to Missoula, Mont. Fine ride.

 

Sounds like you have a fun trip in the works!

Name brand gas stations....carry some Sea Foam with you in case you get a bad tank of gas somewhere.

I've made many solo trips...some days I don't quite know how far I will get, so in the morning (or night before) I'll study the map a bit and pick out a few cities/towns that are potential stops for the night....short miles, medium miles, or long miles...that way, depending on how the day goes I have multiple places already picked out for potentials stops. I generally stay in Super 8's and rarely have I pulled into one that they did not have an available room.

On routes...there are some great online resources for good motorcycling roads.

Here's just one for Idaho-

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/states/id.html


Also, I would HIGHLY recommend including Beartooth Pass in your trip.


A little vid of Beartooth Pass-

 

In my 48 years of riding I've done more than my fair share of solo riding and I have thoroughly every mile.

r own. That said, I've also rode two-up with my wife, also her on her own bike and also enjoyed those times and miles.

I've rode many miles with my current riding partner, led smaller groups and have been in some of the country's largest group rides and one thing remains constant. The more people that are involved, the more complicated things can get and if you're basically a "solo" rider at heart, group trips (and dealing with people) can quickly become a PIA

Riding solo or with another person allows more flexibility in making choices involving departure times, routes to be taken, travelling speeds, things to see, places to see, restaurants, comfort stops, daily driving distances, motels and evening activities. I've probably missed a few things here that could lead to disagreements/differences of opinions when multiple individuals are involved but I'm sure everyone understands what I'm talking about.

I think you (I) tend to be more aware of your personal safety and possibly even may ride more carefully as you realize that if you mess up, you're on you own.
This makes it imperative that you make sure that you have all necessary items that you CANNOT get on the road: Your cell phone (and charger), a major credit card (or two) with enough cash to last you through the entire trip (or access to cash through a credit or debit card), an extra set of bike keys stored deep in your luggage, prescription in properly labeled bottles, D/L, Passport if needed, bike registration, insurance certificates, etc.

The other factor in riding on long trips (solo or with others) is to make sure that your (and everyone else's) bike is roadworthy before your trip.

A new (or at least a recent) battery and tires with good tread life are a MUST!
Make sure of this can greatly reduce the chances of needing to find a dealership or a wrecker towing service during your trip.

Be sure to have a small tool kit and a 5'ft piece of rubber siphon hose just in case and in rural riding country plan on stops every 100 miles or so (less if you have a Sportster in your group) or anytime your fuel gage reads less than 1/2.

 

In 2012 I was planning a solo trip and was about to go nuts with all the details. A friend told me to forget all that **** and just get up each morning and decide what I wanted to try to do that day.

I bought a Garmin GPS and stuck it to the windshield. It was a tremendous help getting through the big cities as far as what lane to be in and what not.

If I decided to hook a left, I hooked a left. Nothing to discuss with anybody. Longest day was 570 miles and the shortest I guess was the day of rest I took just hangin out in Blue Ridge, Mo. I did just short of 4000 miles in 14 days and had an absolute blast. Met some great people.

I used the GPS to find Motel 6s along the way, no reservation, just stopped and never had a problem getting a room.

Now that I have a clean scan from throat cancer, I'm thinking of another one.

The friend's advice worked great for me.