[arulpeem]

My longest day trip on a bike was Chennai to Thekkady way back in 1993, just about 560 Km. Those were the days when it was a single road all the way the Dindugul to Thekkady was in a terrible shape. It was a 14 hour trip with a long stop of 4 hours in Trichy. The bike was my RD350 and it was with a pillion all the way.
Longest trip by car was to Madikeri, just about 620 KMs. It took us about 11 hours if I remember right. We had a quite a few stops on the way.

But my most memorable ride was from GovindGhat to Lansdowne in 1992. We were returning from a trip to Valley of flowers and decided to take detour on the way to Delhi. The distance was only about 275Kms, but all in the mountains. The roads were in superb condition. Again it was with a pillion and we averaged about 25Kmph.

[SJM1214]

In my Opinion, 400-500 km spanned out in 10 hours is the best deal. Anything more than that is tiring. This equation change in mountains. I never did more than 200 km in a single day in mountains. However, this purely depends on what kind of motorcycle you are riding and during which season.

I covered more than 500 km many times in a single day. My longest ride (by RE 350 Classic) in a single day was Rohtak to Ahmedabad (946Km) in 18 hours with 4 small stops.

[kozhissery]

It all depends on the road and vehicle

1. Road: I have covered more than 500+ Kilometers in Thunder Bird 350 (Noida to Jammu). Smooth roads relaxed driving. Where as in Ladakh doing 250 kilometres will sap all your energy.

2. Vehicle: After upgrading to Thunderbird 500 travelling became less stressful. Which means if you have bike with bigger engine more distance can be covered. TBTS 350 gets vocal by the time you cross 80 (60-70 is relaxed, and safer too as you will be able to stop pretty quick) whereas TBTS 500 gets vocal beyond 100 (70-90 is relaxed, beyond 80 I don't feel confident in braking in emergency). In big bikes like Z800 I found it to be quite relaxed in 120 (though not safe in that speed in our roads but brakes are great).

Even though many bikes are capable of doing high speeds, the stopping distance and the confidence they inspire on braking is lacking. Add to that dangers in the form of cows, pot holes, speed breakers etc are plenty on Indian roads.

So my suggestion is to enjoy the ride, ride safe even if you need extra time.

[navin_v8]

An average of about 350-500 kms on a motorcycle in a day can be done depending on the motorcycle, rider, road and weather conditions. Anything beyond 500 kms in a day would warrant going at either higher speeds or increasing riding time. The distance covered drastically goes down while riding on ghats, hills and mountains. But then again it depends from rider to rider. I for one like to take in the scenery, interact with people and take adequate stops while riding. For me destination is not as important as the riding journey is.

The numbers can go up if one is driving a car and again it depends on the driver and the car. Average would be around 400-600 kms in a day. Only thing is one wouldn't feel as tired while driving a car as riding a motorcycle. Like others have mentioned safety for me is prime hence I keep my cruising speeds below 100 KMPH unless I see an open stretch where I can increase the speed.

[silverado]

While we may Live to Drive and are addicted to driving, but we cannot expect our passengers to feel the same.

So my answer is it will depend on who the passengers are.
If its a family road trip, 500kms in a day is reasonable.
This number can go down if there is a small child/infant in car.

But if its a trip with buddies sharing driving duties, then 700-800 would be a decent number.

Above distances are assuming we are driving on Dual carriage National highways.

[PAT63]

Hi,
A marvelous thread in which I found no invalid points. I would like to add my experience. I am 55 and I own an Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 and a Kawasaki ER6n. I did a solo ride from Goa to Delhi between the 25th and 28th of Nov 18 on the RE, a distance close to 1900+ km. My previous rides comprised 300-500 single day rides on the ER6n. On this ride, I rode 500 km on days 1,2 and 4 and about 400 odd on day three. The route was conducive via Pune, Nashik, Khalghat, Bhilwara and Jaipur. 4 lanes and minimal traffic for most part till Bhilwara. Oncoming headlights bother me so I chose to start at 20 minutes before sunrise and ended the day around 2 to 4 pm except day 1 where I had to pass Pune.
Comfortable seating and relaxed arms I found most important. The TB500 seat is not suitable for tall riders. So the first thing I did was modify the seat by Kajanchi to shift the lowest portion back.
My experiences enable me never to plan more than 400 to 500 km per day at my age, on 4 lane National Highways and about 350 to 400 on two lane State Highways.State Highwys are riddled with unmarked speed breakers which can catch you unawares. Just thought I'd share what I've learnt.

[Sanjeev V S]

Hello

When I broke the Limca Book of records in 1995, in my TVS sponsored Shogun I have done approx 1100 Kms in 15 hours nonstop, in 2015 I started from Seoni MP at 0600 hrs sharp and reached home in Bannerghatta Road, Near IIM B, Bangalore same day by 2240 hrs, approx 1200+ kms. in my 2014 WagonR Vxi.

In 2018 Well I have done Bangalore to Pondy and back to Bangalore the same day, in my WagonR as well as Bangalore to Cuddalore and back to Bangalore the same day.

According to me, it depends I am very comfortable doing long distances, I prepare my body 2 days before my drive/ride. what is acceptable level may not be someone else's?

Sanjeev

[windiesel]

Originally Posted by PAT63

Hi,
A marvelous thread in which I found no invalid points. I would like to add my experience. I am 55 and I own an Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 and a Kawasaki ER6n. I did a solo ride from Goa to Delhi between the 25th and 28th of Nov 18 on the RE, a distance close to 1900+ km. My previous rides comprised 300-500 single day rides on the ER6n. On this ride, I rode 500 km on days 1,2 and 4 and about 400 odd on day three. The route was conducive via Pune, Nashik, Khalghat, Bhilwara and Jaipur. 4 lanes and minimal traffic for most part till Bhilwara. Oncoming headlights bother me so I chose to start at 20 minutes before sunrise and ended the day around 2 to 4 pm except day 1 where I had to pass Pune.
Comfortable seating and relaxed arms I found most important. The TB500 seat is not suitable for tall riders. So the first thing I did was modify the seat by Kajanchi to shift the lowest portion back.
My experiences enable me never to plan more than 400 to 500 km per day at my age, on 4 lane National Highways and about 350 to 400 on two lane State Highways.State Highwys are riddled with unmarked speed breakers which can catch you unawares. Just thought I'd share what I've learnt.

Well sir, I am about your age, 56 now, and planning a trip from Delhi to Kanpur maybe tomorrow. Its about 470km one way. I ride a Meteor 350, lets see how it goes.

[PAT63]

Originally Posted by windiesel

Well sir, I am about your age, 56 now, and planning a trip from Delhi to Kanpur maybe tomorrow. Its about 470km one way. I ride a Meteor 350, lets see how it goes.

All the best Windiesel. Stay hydrated. I did a Goa Delhi between the 5th and 8th of March (last weekend) on the ER6N, and stuck to the 500km limit..maybe slightly more. It isn't getting easier.

[windiesel]

Originally Posted by windiesel

Well sir, I am about your age, 56 now, and planning a trip from Delhi to Kanpur maybe tomorrow. Its about 470km one way. I ride a Meteor 350, lets see how it goes.

So the Kanpur trip happened as planned! It's May now and the heat is oppressive here in Delhi. Any tips on riding in the summers? Is Chitkul doable in May or must I wait until later, till Aug/Sep maybe?

[Janjua]

Start early. Take regular breaks and ride hard and ride safe. 600+ kms in about 11-12 hours is easily doable in the plains. I did 600 plus regularly during my motorcycle road trip from Chandigarh-Patna-Nanded-Pune.
The longest I have done in the mountains is Sonamarg to Leh, which is about 340 kms, but the toughest one was Karu to Jispa that is about 300 kms, but it took 13-14 hours of riding.

[aviator1101]

Solo Long Rides : what is the maximum distance covered solo by you in a single day (24 hour cycle)?
Please post start and end odometer pictures if possible.

[HTC]

1200 kms. Bangalore to Vizag on my Ninja-250R. Started at 5.30am and reached at 8.30 pm.
My MT blade helmet felt like a sack of sand on my head for the last few hundred kms. I realized how important are light weight helmets for long rides.

*Note- it was not a solo ride, but in a group. Since I was the only one in 250cc bike and rest were in 650cc bikes- most of the times I was riding solo and met them for tea and food breaks only

[srh]

850 km in a single day a few years back. Bangalore to Pune AND return on separate days. On my 2014 Ninja 650.

Have done numerous long trips from Bangalore (to Kodaikanal/ Ooty/ Masinagudi/ Dandeli. Latest one from Goa to Bangalore on my Street Twin 900. Now a days, I need to pop Combiflam tablets to endure such long rides!

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by aviator1101

Solo Long Rides : what is the maximum distance covered solo by you in a single day (24 hour cycle)?
Please post start and end odometer pictures if possible.

I have done several thousand milers, and my longest single ride is about 1225 miles from Sydney NS to Rochester NY on an FJR1300, over 16 hours.

It depends on the type of riding of course. Offroad trails can be tough for long distances. Interstates are great for devouring miles, but can be incredibly boring. I typically will do about 5-700 miles or so per day over several days, on a mix of roads and while avoiding Interstates as much as possible.