Long distance riding secrets...

Didn't read all 10 pages, so might have been said. Get a pair of riding shorts, LD comfort or underarmor. It wicks moisture away. Wally world will have some cheap knock offs, work on the same principle but not as effect as the others. Just make sure the seams are flat and not in any uncomfortable areas. Back rest next makes a world of difference in long distance riding.
 
The seat fit is crucial. Once you have a seat that will be comfortable for a tankful of gas then you're in business for long hauls. Now "What seat is that?" is your next question I assume. The problem is that each individual rider is different and seats are very tricky. What's a perfect fit for one rider can be a torture contraption from hell for another rider. So to suggest a seat to YOU that fits me well doesnt necessarily mean it will fit you as well as it does me. You have to try different seats to find "the one" and then stick with it.

Corbin is one that alot of guys like (or HATE because VERY firm/almost hard). Mustang is the trick for others. Still others have their OEM/factory seat sent in for custom fitting and find this works great. All I can say is try various seats based on probability/popularity. I had good luck here on the forum buying/selling seats with members here and you can save alot of money this way.

My factory seat on the '09 RK happens to fit me very well. I just did a 4200 mile round trip to Illinois from San Diego. This was approx 2000 miles each way - 3 days of 650 or so miles each day which comes to 12-13 hrs a day in the saddle. I had no trouble at all, just gas stops and a ten minute stretch at each fill-up is all I needed. This is a seat that fits me well obviously otherwise no way in hell I could have pulled that off.

I also have a solo seat (Danny Grey "big seat") that I like alot.

You just need to experiment til you find the right seat for you.
 
That's the best accessory!

I haven't read through everything either. When preparing for long trips start at the ground and work up. 1. High mileage tyres are not very forgiving and give a poor quality ride, compared with the better brands. I use Avons (Venoms on my old Glide) which are more flexible and smoother running. 2. Fit high quality shocks, to better smooth out road imperfections, which will further reduce fatigue and discomfort. 3. Only when those two are sorted should you consider a different seat.

Last June my wife and I went on a tour to Poland, covering 2,500 miles in just under two weeks. Part way through the second week she had had enough and was very uncomfortable. Spoiled the rest of the trip. May of this year we did a similar trip and mileage, with our new custom-built Ohlins shocks and the same Corbin seat (take note!). Comfort was never an issue and my wife declared them an unqualified success.

In other words, in our experience superior shocks will give the best return for comfort when riding long distances.
 
I didn't have any luck with the Alaskan Leathers Sheepskin. Tried it for 500 miles over a few days. Every time I shifted position, the hair pulled on my jeans and made them bunch up. I was always pulling the jean legs down.

My longest days were 575 miles. I stopped every couple of hours, drank a bottle of water and walked a bit at every stop. But the thing that I think helped the most was stretching. I leaned against something and pulled my knees straight up to my chin (one at a time!) and held my knee there for 5-10 seconds. Then I pulled my knees up but crossed my body with them so my right knee was next to my left armpit.

This stretched my butt muscles and helped get some circulation back.
 
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