[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

My friend is not looking at smashing the longest riding record. He is too advanced in age to chase those dreams. He is 45+ you see :-)

Hi Sudipto, a good and alert rider with a good bike can conservatively do 500 km a day. the amount of miles you can put in a day depends a lot of road conditions, traffic conditions, bike etc. I have personally done lot of 600-800 km one one day rides, but there had been some rides where covering 500 km have been equally taxing.

In your friends case, if he is not much experienced in long rides, I would advise him to do couple of 500 km runs first - doing 500 km a day should not be a problem, but doing 500 km a day for few days in a stretch - now, that is a different game. I am in no way discouraging your friend, but as GTO said, he need to be extra alert on each and every moment he spent on the saddle. After initial 2-3 days, boredom and tiredness can set it and that may have a negative impact on his level of concentration.

Since this is going to be a long ride, please ask him NOT to carry heavy back packs. Get a saddle bag and a tank bag for luggage. Please ask him to wear good protective clothing - a good quality helmet, riding jacket with armor protection, riding pants ( or knee guards) and a good pair of gauntlet gloves.
I know couple of fellow riders who walked back alive from highway crashes solely thanks to their good riding gear.

Originally Posted by 2500cc

Remember: Riding/Driving is not about how much distance you cover, its all about how well you enjoy the journey. SO dont rush, enjoy your ride/drive and have a blast.

As 2500CC have put it, Riding is not about how much you cover, but how much you enjoy. Please do not stick to a very detailed plan - make a good loose plan with some extra hours\days and in that way, he may enjoy the trip more.

All the best for the ride. Do keep us posted.

[bblost]

Its easy to do 700 kms in a day.
Its not easy to do 400 kms every day for a week.

[RaguHolla]

Can you tell how many days he will ride. Riding 500~ 600 continuously for successive days impossible. I had done many long drive (480km/day), can tell you that at the end of the day, you are so tried next morning you still be recovering! It would be very difficult to put another 480km on next day!

I would suggest not to plan anything more than 300km a day. If he has places he can visit within 300km, it adds rest to him/his bike as well!

In my experience First 3 hours you will all be pumped up, but fatigue gets you after that. So your break intervals starts, and you need to either break sufficiently or you will bed all tried. Then there is odd period of day you wish you won't count to ride in bike. Typically between 1:30~4:30, with heat/sun light its difficult to concentrate. This is not the same with cars where you have comfort of A/C, nice support to back. Planning more than 300km a day makes enjoying the ride difficult, if you have some place to see you won't enjoy them too!

I would suggest plan the distance to be traveled based on following,

* You can travel many miles in first 3 hours (3 is notional numbers, he must find what is the duration he can stretch without getting bored)
* Subsequent each hour one must plan at least 10 min break. If you don't rest, fatigue gets you. Invariantly your driving suffer, you make rash judgment.
* Combine break period with site visits!
* Try not to plan drive immediately after lunch. Fatigue gets you faster.
* Plan for sufficient time for sleep. If once body doesn't gets required amount of sleep, you won't go far!
* if trip is of more than week or so, keep gap of half day for unwanted things like bike trouble, puncture etc.
* Carry first aid kit! and Sufficient water along with you.

Have a good ride.

[BIG SARAN]

Originally Posted by bblost

Its easy to do 700 kms in a day.
Its not easy to do 400 kms every day for a week.

Rightly said sir.

I was enjoying the bull ride so much that I kept going on. But doing something like this for a week is seriously INSANE.

SUDIPTO- My dad is 50+. And he is able to do 300+ kms in a day on the bull.
So, as everybody is saying- have a plan, be cautious and enjoy the ride. Once you start enjoying you have no idea how much you can cover. Of course no need for marathon sessions and butt sores.

[dot]

When we (friends circle) were actively biking around south India, we used to travel for 300- 400Kms in a day easily. The bikes were 100cc ones. Usually, average distance covered were 50Kms/hr due stops, breaks, photoshoots etc.

Riding on GQ may result in slightly greater average distance that can be covered per hour like 60Kms/hr.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Which highway is he doing to drive on, BLR - HYD i wouldn't recommend. Looks like this route has a lot of heavy vehicle traffic.

It's only academic as far is this thread is concerned now, but what you said was true in say 2009. Now Hyd - Blr is 4-laned and divided end-to-end (almost( with *excellent* markings and bypasses for even the smallest of towns.

It's a pleasure (technically/physically) to ride on this highway, although it's so boring it may not appeal at an emotional level.

By the way, +1 to the idea that it's easy to do 500 kms a day (even more on roads like the Hyd - Blr NH7 stretch) but not day in and day out. 300/day on average is more like it for multi-day rides.

I also think highways up north are in general in worse shape - both in terms of quality of surface and riding/driving practices of motorists - than the ones down here. Please don't kill me, but that's what I've observed and heard, again *in general*. This would translate into overall lesser average speeds and distance covered per day.

Regards,
spadix

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by spadix

It's only academic as far is this thread is concerned now, but what you said was true in say 2009. Now Hyd - Blr is 4-laned and divided end-to-end (almost( with *excellent* markings and bypasses for even the smallest of towns.

I also think highways up north are in general in worse shape - both in terms of quality of surface and riding/driving practices of motorists - than the ones down here. Please don't kill me, but that's what I've observed and heard, again *in general*. This would translate into overall lesser average speeds and distance covered per day.

Cool if the HYD->BLR is better now. We lost one of my team members which he was returning after his sisters marriage from HYD. That sad incident has had a lasted impression on me to avoid bike travel as much as possible.

And you are right on North highways. Last December i was in my hometown Jabalpur and only recently the highway from JBP->NGP has been done up so as we can travel in reasonable comfort to NGP. Multiple such examples but in general the Southern highways are much much better and there shouldn't be any hesitation to accept it.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Sudipto,
Rather than notching up numbers for pure academic interest, would suggest your friend to plan the trip carefully where there is no over-kill. Lot of factors act up when you plan for these long rides. Physical Fitness, Condition of roads do matter a lot along with actual time slots. (Ex: We all know early morning starts are good compared to a start by 9)

+1. I would very much go with this advice.

Riding long distances involve too many parameters, the most important being the rider. Since your friend is 45+, I don't think he would be interested in Saddle Sores (SS) or is eyeing to break any record. If I were in his shoes, would target not the kms covered but the riding time and the cruising speed, that would be 6~8 hours with around 70~90 cruising speed on a Pulsar 220 with lots of breaks. Please also advise him to carry lot of healthy fluids and water to energize himself frequently.

Edit - Just to give you an extreme example, a friend who is around 35 did an all India trip in 2 weeks riding almost 7~9 hours per day (average). He completes Blore-Hyd-Blore or Blore-Chennai-Blore in a day ;-)

[ravi_23]

Number of kms covered in a depends upon a lot of factors like kind of roads, weather, bike used, time of the day in which mostly traveled.

If the journey is started early in the morning and traveled mostly on highways with proper breaks and rest then you friend can easily cover 400-450 kms in 8-9 hrs. Key is to start the journey early, so as to avoid traffic rush and hit the highway as soon as possible. Ideal cruising speed should be around 70-90kmph on the highway depending on highway traffic, and a break after around every 80 kms to give rest to both the machine and the rider.

[vigneshnr]

400 - 500 is my comfort. Just be on cruise mode with occasional rev ups.

I always used to start early in the day - 1 hour before the daylight breaks. The trip will be enjoyable with short breaks during the day. A short siesta (20 - 25 mins) under a tree in the noon will actual be more refreshing. Maintaining a steady speed will be fun but induce fatigue. So you can vary speeds once in a while - move muscles. Engine also will ease out in the process. Ensure that the suspension, tyre pressure, handle bar positions are comfortable.

All the more you plan well in advance to make the trip cheerful & enjoyable.

Sad that these days i dont find time for serious bike trips. Good luck and post pics.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by GTO

you require 100% concentration levels at all times when riding on the highway.

Couldn't agree more. And for me, after say half a day, it takes the fun out. And why ride if not for enjoyment.

Must also add that 'real' bikers scoff at me.

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

He is 45+ you see :-)

And you are ....?
Whats happened to Mitch, and your Bullet?

Regards
Sutripta

[Rollin' Thunda]

Riders in the South are spoilt because of the good roads there.
If touring in the north, on non-GQ roads, I think you should budget for no more than 300 km per day, especially if the rider is not very experienced. In fact, 250km may be the sweet spot. Start at sun-rise, take hourly breaks, and end at before 4PM is a very good rule.

[Sheel]

If he is on a trip, he should plan to cover larger distances when he is fresh.

If riding day in & out, depending on road conditions and his ability 300-600 kms in doable.

One caution note though: Ask him to avoid riding once the sun sets in. He may ride in a an emergency on good roads, but thats it.

Doing 200kms of commuting every alternate day for the past month, shall continue the same for a couple. Not on my fave bike & on the worst road though.

[Haroon]

Its a very subjective thing & I really dont think any seasoned bike tourer can give you a very good answer/suggestion that best suits your friend. When it comes to bike touring, each person has his own set of requirements. Some like touring merely to ride & ride & ride the whole day (not necessarily fast) taking in the scenery on the move, whereas some others are more keen on dragging their footpegs, while some others just love to ride a lil and then explore the places on foot etc and get back on the bike. Others just want to shoot pics all thru. Besides, body fitness also plays a part. Some have back or butt problems from longer rides, some can get headaches from dehydration, some can have wrist pain from arthritis etc.

If he is new to touring, let him first set a conservative plan of 150-250kms on the first day and then depending on how it goes, let him increase his time on the saddle or on the ground. However, let him avoid riding in the night unless the circumstances dont leave you any choice.

[figo_united]

As many have mentioned, Its not about how many kms you cover everyday. Its important to enjoy the journey as a whole.
If the trip is for a duration of a week or more, 500kms per day is not suggested at all.

I have been on a 10 day long bike trip (details http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...some-trip.html) and can safely suggest that anywhere between 250-300kms are perfect. make sure bulk of the driving is early in the morning and in the evenings. Makes for a much enjoyable ride, and you can spend rest of the time at the places of visit. Night drives are strongly discouraged. take enough rest at the end of everyday.
Most importantly, make sure all the riders including pillons are wearing helmets! Have a nice and safe trip