Hey folks,
And upon further reflection it might be a bit too much elephant to digest all at once. Maybe the original looped route I had planned originally taking me to Montana and back might be far more attainable. Not canceling my SW trip but passing on the stress of trying to make mileage in the dark will make things FAR more enjoyable I would imagine.
It might make a better 1500 as one could do that one way with some modifications but it seems that most of you recommend the shorter ss1k for a first attempt and who am I to question those that have gone before?
I do NOT however, think it will be easy whichever way one attains one. I have as I say spent up to 18 hours on my current mount in dual sport conditions dodging the mighty elkosauruses out on gravel but that's a very different environment where my BD lights are legal. Not so in the areas where they frequent by the pavement and which I will have to navigate at speed to qualify for the ss1k or any other recognized 1st attempt. I might get away with using them on more rural routes but on the interstate they're an immediate burn by LE. Which sucks as I literally feel blind when I have to turn them off, but then that's part of the spice now, isn't it?
Additionally the looped route makes sense from a purely practical point as well, SB 878 which as of January, 2016 made it legal to stand while riding in Oregon. A fact that as a dirt bike rider I take full advantage of. I spend probably about 30-40 percent of my time standing, even on pavement so I'll feel free to do so anywhere in Oregon. Prevents DVT and all sorts of clot related issues for older guys and is just good practice anyways as it relieves a lot of stress being able to stretch out on the bike at will. Plus, being on the shorter SS1k as a roundabout will please my Wife I'm sure. Not nearly so much to go wrong as duration and distance are considerably reduced and I'm home in one day. Not that the ss1k will be a cake walk, things appear very "different" shall we say after a while in the saddle. The best example I've ever seen is "Mouse" McCoy after iron manning the Baja 1000 solo in the movie Dust to Glory. Now he was in another realm altogether after that, but you can see the deterioration of his faculties as the race went on. And for sure distance endurance riding is taxing upon the faculties to an extreme that I'm hoping not to underestimate, but to not acknowledge so would be foolhardiness and one should plan for failures as well.
So thanks folks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. I only began riding again after a long time away which I've come to find out was a mistake. So I'm trying to make up for all the rides I missed out on over the years due to different priorities taking over my life for the last 30 some odd years, typical story I'm sure.