Three Week Cross-Country Trip

[yarbroughm]

Hey All,

I'm planning on buying my first motorcycle this spring and taking a three-week long road trip from New York to California and back, stopping in Philly, DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, San Antonio, Albuquerque, the Grand Canyon, LA, Las Vegas, Denver, Mt. Rushmore, Minneapolis, Chicago, Scranton and Boston.

It would be a total of about 7200 miles over three weeks, averaging a bit under 400 miles/day. I have a lot of experience in road trips, going for hundreds of miles to see friends at other colleges. The amount of driving per day won't bother me and I've planned it out so that I will have plenty of time to see what I want to see.

What I am looking for tips about is embarking on such a long trip on a motorcycle. I am particularly interested in getting a late 70's - early 80's model Honda cruiser, like a CM 400 or something. From what I've seen, they seem to be high quality bikes with decent mileage. However, would such a long trip compromise an older bike? Or would a bike of that age perform fine if it already has a low mileage?

Any advice in general is welcome, but if you could tell me anything regarding the risks of taking an older bike on a long trip I would greatly appreciate it.

Mike

The trip map can be viewed in the attachment!