from NY city to San Fran and back...3 questions: what routes would you take? and how long do you think it would take you? and have you ever done such a long distance ride?
**i have '08 streetbob w/ passenger seat and v&h big radius pipes...

If I was going to do that ride I'd point and twist the throttle. If I was going to do some serious planning route 66 would be high on the list.

What is your purpose? Eating up miles? Or an enjoyable ride?

Hard core miles, figure 600 a day as a good pace.

For enjoyment, probably 300 miles a day.

It's over 3000 miles.

Interstate 80 is the most direct route.

A more scenic route is this almost 3500 mile trip: New York to Dallas to San Francisco

I plan to do that same ride within the next few year, actually from the Los Angles area to Florida.

I went to Sturgis from Oreon, about a 1350 miles trip one-way. First day we rode 500 miles because we were meeting up with other riders. But doing this many miles in one day, it all go, go, go. Not much time to stop and enjoy anything. Basically we stopped to eat, get gas and of course stopped at all of the HD dealers along the way.

When we go on long rides, 1000 miles or more, we try to take as many back roads as possible and stay off the freeways. But like the previous poster says, it depends on what you want to accomplish on your ride. If it just to get some miles.... take the freeways. If you want to enjoy the view, try to do about 300 miles a day and stay off the freeway when possible. Of course you will always have to run on the freeway in some areas.

The important thing is to have fun and ride safe.

We left Hinton, Alberta ( 50 mi. from Jasper.) and went to Canada's west coast via the Gaspe peninsula, and the Cabot trail. We dipped down into Maine and came back across the USA stopping to see Niagara falls and then Mount Rushmore and some sights around that part of your country before heading to Montana and back up to Alberta. We stayed on the two lane highways a little slower but you see more of the country. There was some really nice riding through Maine, Vermont, N.H. and N. Y states. Flat and straight across Iowa, and Nebraska but enjoyed that also. Out to see both Canada and the USA loved the trip. We had five weeks and used it all. We stoped to visit a few friends and family along the way, so we could have done it in four but it would have been rushed and not as enjoyable. We met lots of nice people in both countries that also made the trip more memorable. Have a great ride when you go !!!

Last summer did a loop from south central BC to east coast (Virginia) and back We did bigger days (500-600 miles) for the first 5 days and last 5 days which left a lot of time to take in the sites of the eastern half of the country. Tried to stick to 2 lane roads as much as possible. Total mileage 9000 miles over 25 days.

That's what we did - you may have completely different riding/destination objectives. Give us a bit more of types of roads, time costraints, riding style, etc and we can be of more help.

As far as scenery I would run the N.Y. Thruway all the way across then down thru PA and over into OH and up to Southern MI across 94/90 to Chicago and then up to Milwaukee (Take in the H-D Museum) and run 94 all the way to 90 to Seattle then down 5 into central Oregon and pickup 101 down to the Bay Area. Allot of miles but some of the Best Scenery in the Country.

Hi RR,

There's a lot of info you don't give us. How much time to you have, for starters? Personally, if you've got lots of time, I'd recommend avoiding Interstate highways and major metropolitan areas as much as possible. For example, I've ridden from the Texas Gulf Coast to the San Fransisco area many times. I could take I-10 west from Houston and be there in a little over 2 days but normally, I head up through Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and across Yosemite Nat'l Park. It takes me 4 days the way I ride it but it's a lot more fun.

Just a thought and good luck on the trip!
Ride Safe,
Steve R.

That's gonna be a tough ride on a Street Bob, at least for me it would be.

Been coast to coast a few times. Went from San Francisco to Atlanta running I-80 to SLC, south to I-70, and then east through Kansas City, Indy, and points east.

Ran from north of LA to Charleston SC by way of I-40 all the way to Memphis then on I-20 eastward.

One of the best runs I made was to pick up a bike outside Pittsburgh (flew in) then head down to the Dragon and on to the east coast (North Carolina) before swinging back south to Jacksonville, FL, to Pensacola and then back along the Gulf to Galveston before heading north a bit and back west on I-10.

The shortest I'm spent on the road for a coast to coast was 12 days, the longest was 34, and most have run between 14 and 20 days. All of those started at one point and ended up back there with the latest being from southern Utah. I did ride one-way from southern Utah to Philly (2300 miles) and that was in 4 days which came out to around 600 miles a day. Probably never do that again, though. The trip just wasn't any fun for me.

Here's my best advise ... find the spots that you've always wanted to see then plan the route that way. As an example, I'd never seen the Indy race track so I had to route through Indy one time just to see it. So, if the Grand Canyon is a must see thing then you'll have to plan a route that will include that (which will take way out of the way if heading from NY to SF). If the "must see" spot is too far out of the way then go to the next "must see" spot. Chances are there are LOTS of things between NY and SF that you've never seen.