Anyone done long distance on their Firestorm?

[karenvtr]

Did a 1000 miles in a weekend up bonny scotland last year... was the best weekend the roads where awesome and i found the scotish road users very considerate of bikers ..pulling over to let us all past and general being more bike aware... had a bad back to start and was on loads of dyhydrocodine so didnt notice much pain ...have to say though now adays afer 50-100 miles wrists back and butt hurt

[agentpineapple]

I took my Thundercat to the South of France in 2010 for a 10 day break. It has a similar seat to the storm - nice and roomy to move about, but not the best padding. I used one of those blow up seat cushions that BikerPiker recommended - it was an absolute godsend! Only thing that bothered me was nappy rash... simply due to sweaty butt syndrome from riding in over 25 degree heat!!

That trip also contained the biggest mileage i've covered in a day - Rouen > Prestwick. 700-odd miles, interrupted by frequent petrol/butt relief/red bull breaks (including a puncture!) till I got home, half hallucinating at 4am.

That's still my favourite biking day so far... Hope I can do it again soon!

rouen - chartres route to avoid paris, i've done it many times, on my way down to tolouse and the then the moutains and andorra, great biking roads.......

[AMCQ46]

to avoid monkey butt get some psudocream from the chemist, it is what you put on a babys butt to avoid nappy rash, and it is my solution for enduro riding ...and that is far worse than any road journey.........3 or 4 hrs race, sweating your baldrocks off, the seat smacking you in the butt as you ride the bumps etc.

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The pain I got was skeletal. Those bones beneath the buttocks. Painful. Hoping the storm will be better than the GPZ900R

[geoff996]

Been to the tt twice and went to northwest for the weekend with my mate on his storm, met ed (blackneck) at stranraer 752 miles round trip

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No discomfort then Geoff?

[pinkyfloyd]

Longest trip I have done was Portsmouth to Cornwall and back in a day, 400 mile round trip. I have done it twice now, once on the old gsxr and once on the Storm. I can honestly say the Storm was the more comfortable of the 2. Sadly it was all Motorway and dual carriageway for the most part and boring but I was on a mission. Takes longer to get there than it does to get back as I find leaving early in the morning means I need to stop for coffee and the vibrations make me want to pee more. But on the way back I dont need the coffee refills and I just stop for petrol or a stretch.

I do find I get off the bike in Cornwall and I dont know if its the traveling or the hyperactivity of my daughters younger brother but I get exhausted. Oddly enough the moment I get back on the bike for the 4 hour trip home I am fine again.

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Where in Cornwall were you visiting pinkfloyd?

[pinkyfloyd]

My daughter lives in Bodmin. Next time I come down that way I can easily pop around for a cuppa though

[simon t]

Well if any of you want to test it out you're welcome to come and visit us down here in Chauvac and then knock off some great biking roads.

Did the trip down a couple of times on the Storm before we moved here permanently and it was no problem apart from the tank range of course. I do a fair bit of cycling down here and I can assure you that compared with a pushbike saddle the Storm's is an armchair!

[firestorm1997]

furthest I have been is North Wales on the Storm, done a few trips to Belgium on it too though. Found it a bit uncomfortable especially two up with luggage..this prompted me to buy the GSX1400 with luggage. that does all the miles now. Comfort.....................

[geoff996]

No very comfortable managed to do the last 30 miles at about 130 just to get the haert pumping not bad after about 720 miles

[MacKrell17]

Been to a few moto gps. Did mugello the scenic route via geneva which is an awesome trip. Did assen last year as well as the RBLR 1000mile in 24hours.
Hoping to get to Brno this year.

Did all these trips with the wife on the back and have to say the Storm did amazing. Never missed a beat and had loads of luggage. I would say don't underestimate how good this bike is, especially in the mountains. We were constantly leaving the Rossi wannabes behind as they struggled to get the right gears and such.

My tips would be:
Get a gel insert in the seat.
Plan no more the 200 miles per day. It's good to have the option to have a day off or a slow day if the weather is shite.
Get a small spare tank. A couple of litres is fine and can secured real easy.
Put the puncture proof stuff in the tyres before you set off. Handling goes a bit weird to start with but soon settles down.
A scottoiler is a handy item
Get some ice breaker base layers. You're gonna sweat if you ride Europe in summer and at leSt you can wash the base layer easy.
Pack first aid kit
Sellotape some coinage to the inside of the screen for toll roads
If you have soft luggage the paddock the zips a d take cable lock then you can lock your helmets and luggage to the bike
If you plan on 200 miles per day then you can stop every 100 miles for a good half hour.
In France and Italy be ready for everyone to be your friend. The cops were great, the cars move out of the way and when you stop at hotels they give up their garages so the bike can stay in the warm!

Loved every minute.

[Anotherbikerbabe]

I used to suffer badly from a skiing accident and perm nerve damage to my leg as a result of a prolapsed disc in my back so found travelling a few hundred miles quite uncomfortable. Then we rode down to Swansea from SW Scotland (around 400miles) to stay at our girls and to meet some of the guys (Pete,playerone and cpl of other guys) for a ride around Wales. Long way, used to doing the trip by car mostly but I didn't feel too bad once we got there but the miles inbetween on the ride out, and the trip back home nearly killed me.Mostly on my back as I have that custom gel seat so butt was dead comfy but back was killing me and by time we got to Killington lake services I looked like superman as was leaning forward over the tank with feet right back off the pegs for comfort!! lol..Must've looked mad as we only really stopped for fuel apart from one stop nr Junc 16 M6 where we got off and had a coffee..It used to put me off going abroad cos I thought i wouldn't be able to take the pain in my back etc but I have lost 5 stone in the last year and this in turn has helped my back big time..So I might give it go sometime but plan plenty of breaks and leg stretches as I am 5'10...