Advice Needed: First Moto Trip

For a four hour journey I wouldn't think too deeply. Just get on and ride!
My Speedy only has a small screen and those speeds you mention are easily handled, but if it's your first trip you may need to build up slowly and take a few breaks.
Enjoy your trip and many others.

 

The way to combat fatigue is to take regular and frequent breaks, alternatively drop the speed from 80+ to 60 or so and then the drag is much less and that makes for a more pleasant ride.

 

As a test a 4 hour trip shouldn't be too arduous. As mentioned you might want to get a build up daily plan, before the trip ride every day. On a multi day trip those aches and pains multiply each day. Work on getting "bike fit". Depending on how far from main routes you go carrying lots of spares might not really be necessary. I used to carry spares, tool kits, pumps, puncture kits and more besides. These days i take some zip ties and my phone, its got my breakdown services saved. If your bike is in decent condition it is not more likely to break down on a trip than its normal daily use.
i take one or two multiday trips a year, so whilst not round the world hardass, i have a little bit of experience, as general advice, and it has been said many times in many places and it is true. Get all your gear you are planning to take and put it out so you can see it all, then throw at least half of it away. Some things are truisms because they are true and this is one of them.

 

As others have said, I don't take too much in the way of tools or spares when I have a few days away on a trip like yours - bike tool kit plus a few extra spanners, allen keys, multitool with pliers and most importantly, my puncture repair kit (sticky string plugs), which obviously wouldn't help with tubed tyres, so you need to decide on that one. Would you attempt a wheel off repair or call for breakdown assistance?

I also have a few zip ties, bits of wire, wire connectors and insulating tape in a ziplok bag and a pair of plastic gloves to keep my hands clean if the worst happens.....

 

I didn't mean the bike easily handled the speed, I meant my neck and shoulders
Like everyone has said, have regular brew stops and you will be absolutely fine.

 

@Jamesian21: You may train your core and abdominal muscles. Then you are able to "work" again the upcoming airstream and in parallel you are able to relieve your arms/hands. The neck will also profit from this kind of training.
I was riding my former "Bonnie" with +80 mph for hours across some European countries without any issues. Don't forget get to take some refreshing breaks!

 

@Jamesian21 Good luck. Just take it easy. I would suggest having a chat with @Sandi T She and Steve know their stuff about touring in the States. And everyone here absolutely loves their ride reports.

 

A few years ago, my middle daughter steered a friend of hers to me for advice. This woman had a high-powered exec job, earned gobs of money and looked like a supermodel (Think the K.T. Tunstall song "Suddenly I See.") Anyhow she decided to chuck it all, buy a motorcycle, and just ride off to wherever it took her. Along with all the advice given above and a few other things, one of the most important things I told her was to test any emergency equipment she carried. First, to make sure it works. Second, so you are not trying to read instructions on a dark, lonely back road in the rain. She had a blog called "I kill things with my face." She took off from NYC probably fifteen years ago. Last I heard, she was in Peru. Yes, she had ridden there on the cycle. She was soliciting donations for a village that had been wrecked by an earthquake.

 

In that case you should breeze the four hours non-stop!

 

@Jamesian21 Glad you enjoyed the trip. Big question; Where next.

 

If you bike you definitely need a stop over to break the journey. Keep us in the loop

 

Told you!
That screen looks like it gives more protection than my Speedy anyway.
Glad you enjoyed the trip.

 

Hi, @Jamesian21. Sounds like you had a great first trip! Sorry I just now saw this thread. Been absent from this lovely forum for way too long. Anyway, you received a lot of good advice from the guys here. This is a great community and there's always lots of good advice to be had. I guess the one thing I didn't see come up that I'd suggest is to find routes that are "off the beaten path" (i.e. NOT the freeway at 80+mph!). My hubby and our riding buddies and I avoid freeways when at all possible for many reasons including big rig trucks, wind, and (mostly) the fact that backroads are generally far more interesting in terms of landscape, roads, and things to see and people to meet. So....where's that next 10-11 hour trip taking you, pray tell? I'm in Arizona, BTW, so if you ever get this way, let me know and I can suggest some excellent riding routes.