Rockets aren't exactly luxury motorcycles so I owe comfortable long distance Rocket cruising to:
1. MP3 Player (iPod for me) loaded with 2,500 songs of various genres. You need a good variety of tunes for long trips.
2. High fidelity Music Ear Plugs - Etymotic ER4XR
Etymotic Research | Earphones Exceptional accuracy and clarity.
These work well at blocking wind noise even without music as they have 3 levels of flanges and that also allows them to fit comfortably.
3. Airhawk Air Mattress
Homepage | Airhawk Much softer ride and fewer jarring incidents.
4. I like my new LS2 Valiant Modular Helmet. It is full face but the chin piece flips all the way back creating a 3/4 helmet and has flip down sunglasses.
LS2 HELMETS Not the lightest or quietist but the duel purpose feature is great.
5. Ergonomic rubber coated grips. I use Kuryakyns
Premium ISO®-Grips | Grips | Handlebar Controls, Grips & Mirrors | Kuryakyn
6. Throttle rockers - for both hands. I have cheap velcro ones on the old bike but really like the Kuryakyn Throttle Bosses on the new one.
Contoured ISO®-Throttle Boss™ | Grip Accessories | Handlebar Controls, Grips & Mirrors | Kuryakyn No more death grip finger fatigue.
7. Cruise control - I use a throttlemeister on the old one but they are out of business it appears.
The new one has GoCruise 2
Go Cruise Universal Throttle Control Device | Black | TwistedThrottle.com It works but looks wierd.
8. Backrest - my top case has a gel rest but I roll up a jacket for lower lumbar support.
9. I can lie on my tank or tank bag and put my heels on the rear foot pegs to take the strain off the back in the wind or just to have another riding position if bored.
10. I put my heels on the front pegs but others would benefit from extra foot pegs to stretch the legs.
So that's 3 riding positions. Switch them up too and do stretches to keep from getting stiff from sitting in one position.
11. Shocks of course. I have Hagon Nitros on the old one and Progressive 440's on the new one for now. 11.5" = 1" lowered plus 1/2" with tire = 1.5" drop.
12. Front dropped 1.5" via tire, trimmed fork spacer and dropping triple tree over forks.
11 and 12 make the bike easier to mount, move around and improve cornering for height challenged folks.
13. Fronk fork springs. I went with Wilber Progressives. Improved comfort, stability and cornering confidence.
14. LED Headlights. I usually don't ride much at night but when I do it's nice to see better.
15. Smartphone with GPS, maps and Hotels.com - less stress knowing that you can find a reasonably priced hotel on the road without having to plan too far ahead. Ride as much or little as you want and search for a place to stay up to 1 minute before you're ready to stop.
The wind has really beat me up on the last few trips and the little windscreen is useless above 60MPH so a large windshield or fairing
would help.
Stay hydrated. Wear comfortable clothing etc...