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I have owned my 1980 XS1100 Special for 22 years and it finally hit 50k miles on the clock. I have always had multiple motorcycles, cars, and even an RV. Not all my adventures are on this bike, but some of my fondest ones are. Driving through the fields of Indiana with my (eventual) wife, cruising around rural Maryland 2 up with no particular destination in mind just riding. It was the motorcycle my wife and I left our wedding reception on. But only after furiously making last minute repairs with the help information from the forum of course. Once we had kids my wife and I took far fewer trips. Still the 1100 stayed with me, getting me to work with a smile on my face. Fast forward to today and I am now taking my kids on trips.
My oldest daughter and I just took a motorcycle tent camping trip over to a site near Pike San Isabel National Forest in the mountains of Colorado. Adversity makes it more memorable, and I will always remember getting dumped on by the rain as we crested 8500 feet in elevation then freezing my butt off. Storage space was limited on the bike and the weather was supposed to be good so I didn't pack rain gear. Thankfully the last 50 miles were clear and sunny so we were mostly dry by the time we got to the campground. We had a great couple days at the campground before heading home and having beautiful weather for our return trip. The closest gas station to the campground was 52 miles away. At a round trip distance of 104 miles and with 2 people, camping gear, and some serious grades, I decided to bring a fuel bag with an extra gallon which I did use.
This is not my first motorcycle camping trip with my kids and it won't be my last. In fact we all have dirt bikes which is also fun for the family. I am glad to be able to share motorcycling with them and in particular to be doing some 2 up riding on the 1100.
Here are a couple pictures from our trip.
My oldest daughter and I just took a motorcycle tent camping trip over to a site near Pike San Isabel National Forest in the mountains of Colorado. Adversity makes it more memorable, and I will always remember getting dumped on by the rain as we crested 8500 feet in elevation then freezing my butt off. Storage space was limited on the bike and the weather was supposed to be good so I didn't pack rain gear. Thankfully the last 50 miles were clear and sunny so we were mostly dry by the time we got to the campground. We had a great couple days at the campground before heading home and having beautiful weather for our return trip. The closest gas station to the campground was 52 miles away. At a round trip distance of 104 miles and with 2 people, camping gear, and some serious grades, I decided to bring a fuel bag with an extra gallon which I did use.
This is not my first motorcycle camping trip with my kids and it won't be my last. In fact we all have dirt bikes which is also fun for the family. I am glad to be able to share motorcycling with them and in particular to be doing some 2 up riding on the 1100.
Here are a couple pictures from our trip.
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