Engine resto's

[Gun]

Credit card, cell phone, Advil...and monkey butt powder

definitely valuable tools!

[Gun]

and one thing i'm going to have to figure, is how to distribute my own weight on the cb77 better. right now, after about 40 min of riding, my hands start going numb from me putting too much wieght on them.

[Vince Lupo]

Good that you're thinking about 3 weeks -- that's about what I figured too, which works out to about 200 miles per day.

Camping too? Yikes, that is ambitious. I did that with a buddy of mine when we did a motorcycle trip of the Canadian Maritime provinces (Toronto to Halifax, over to Cape Breton, across to Prince Edward Island, through New Brunswick and Quebec and back to Toronto). Camping was not fun, especially when you've been riding all day, now you have to set up a tent (hopefully not in the pouring rain), then do something about dinner (Bring food with you too? Leave all your stuff at the campsite, get back on your bikes and then find a restaurant?). Then you gotta break it all down, pack it up well and hopefully it all fits back on the bike properly again -- you really want to do that 21 times? Maybe I'm spoiled, but after all day in the saddle a nice warm dry bed with TV, a walk-to restaurant, and maybe even complimentary breakfast in the morning sounds really good!

Have you read that book by Mark Richardson called 'Zen and Now'? He basically retraces Pirsig's steps on his Suzuki dual-sport, and it might provide some inspiration for you as you plan this. Amazon should have it. I'm in the middle of reading it and he touches on a number of points that you're trying to figure out, except he did the ride on his own.

Anyhow, I'll shut up now and let others offer some thoughts on the matter. My big concern is that 160's ability to do the trip, not to mention the comfort level of the rider, and how much luggage the two other bikes are going to have to carry to shoulder the 160's burden.

As an aside -- here is a photo of the SuperHawk all loaded up for the trip to Toronto a few years ago. Now this was a 1300 mile trip, and look how loaded down the bike is. I don't know if I'd want to put much more than that on this bike...

[Wilf]

For the Vancouver Island leg of your trip you might consider this route:

Take the ferry from Brentwood Bay (outside Victoria) to Mill Bay and use the roads closer to the shore when possible--traffic is slower and it is more scenic.

Rather than doubling back from Courtenay to Nanaimo (there are regular ferry sailings from Nanaimo to Vancouver --check bcferries.com) take the ferry from Comox/Little River to Powell River and ride down the Sunshine Coast to Gibsons.

From Gibsons, take the ferry from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.

Drop in when you get to Gibsons!

Wilf

[Gun]

thanks for the advice and the offer! i'll take ya up on both!

[Gun]

I'm afraid your bike is going to look a hell of a lot prettier than mine when it's packed up, vince!!
hah. I'm no stranger to tents in the rain, and prefer hardship over hotels. If only because i spent a small fortune on my backpacking gear, and i intend on using it :)
comfortable? I imagine this trip will be the furthest thing from.
and i'm worried about that cb160 as well. I may as well take a ct90 to argentina!
something i'd like to consider too, is maybe spending the money on trying to get 200+cc's out of the 160... (i wonder if connecting a cb72 engine to the 160 is viable ?)
but more likely is, we'll be doing 45mph through much of this.

[Greggie-e]

I have done a bit of touring on small bore machines.

In my opinion the best modification you can make to the bike, if you plan on spending money, is to make a custom rack and seat.

I found that a rough cut down of a cheap long seat to 3/4 length to give yourself some room to move, then a rack that takes the last 1/4 of the gap is a good way to go.
It does not have to be pretty.
The seat can be made comfortable with some of that memory foam.
When it becomes uncomfortable to sit on it is time to rest the machine anyway, so stop and take a break.

For luggage a rigid box is best for stability on the bike, then you have the rack made to fit at any welders.

Here is a shot of Vespa I did this to, with a mate riding through the Eastern desert of Iran.






the weight of the luggage is forward, like a pillion, and if packed correctly does not slop around.

A small engined bike is alright for touring as long as you make frequent stops to let the engine cool, especially if you are riding up and down mountains. When riding down you must stop occasionally to let the brakes cool. Test them the first couple of descents to see how hot they get. Then guage your future descents from there. You do not want to run out of brakes while going down hill.

Keep the weight down with luggage. the lighter the better. We make it a competition.

My clothing bag is soft and doubles as a pillow. My mate dispensed with all his underwear on one trip as it was "extra weight". He even snapped his toothbrush in half. I did not go this far.
But weight is your enemy when touring on a small bike.

Strap something to the front as well, like the tent, this helps with weight distribution.

Sounds like an awesome trip.

Good luck.