My 2001 SV has an aftermarket windshield and I bungied a duffel bag across the passenger seat for luggage; it wrapped over a bit and was only 2/3 full with clothing, etc. for 4 days. I also have a Marsee 15L tank bag for maps, glove liners, drinking water and snacks. I wore lightweight silk long underwear under JR Ballistic pants on the bottom and a polypro t-shirt plus a middle-weight fleece (depending on temp) under a JR Ballistic jacket and Technic Chicane leather gauntlets. My helmet is a basic (~$200) Shoei full face with a clear visor. For a music solution, I used a Rio Volt mp3 cd player (at 128 kbps and a 600MB CD, that's 10 hours of music) and a pair of cheap Radio Shack headphones with the ear pieces removed and smoothed on back which I tucked into the ear-spaces in the helmet every time I put it on. This solution worked much better than sticking Velcro on them since it's hard to place them and make them stay in place while you put the helmet on. Oh, and I left the volume control (on the headphone cord) hanging out the top of my jacket zipper. However, at speed, I pretty much had to keep it at full volume to compete with wind noise.
What I learned from long distance bicycling is very true of motorcycling: move around. I changed my riding position on the seat and pegs (heel or toe or anywhere in between) and moved my hands around occasionally. Sometimes I tucked and sometimes I straightened and stretched my back. I found that the seat was more comfortable if I didn't wear briefs under the silks; however, maybe the HD foam reupholstery or an aftermarket seat would have been better. In the end though, 500 miles weren't killer, but I don't know how I would have felt if I did it again the next day with out a rest day in between. A throttle lock would have been quite useful to keep my right hand happy by allowing me to occasionally shake it out for a while without having to coast. One of my elbows got sore from staying in a tuck too long, I don't think that I was putting much/any weight on it, I just forgot to move around enough. Also, my hands were a bit tingly after 8 hours of riding (with 2 hours of stops mixed in). The right was a bit worse than the left, but I thing that the throttle lock would even it out. My ears were also ringing a bit from the sustained road noise. The headphone speakers (when off) actually reduced wind noise, but I still had to turn the volume way up to hear it. I've heard that more expensive helmets are quieter. Oh, I hardly noticed the duffel; it could have been full (1 week+) and I'd have been fine. I noticed a small amount of tail-heaviness when taking off, but not dangerous amounts.
In the end, I had an awesome time and found it to be more enjoyable than fatiguing. Even the crosswinds in the desert added interest rather than being dangerous. I was surprised at how stable it was given that the combined weight of the bike and rider is under 600 lbs. But since this is my first bike, I have nothing to compare it to.
I've looked at the NEP throttle lock at
http://store.yahoo.com/azmotorsports/nepcruiscon.html; has anyone tried
one? It requires 7/8" bars and has a specific part number for late
model Suzukis; does that apply to a 2001 SV? Also, I thought the "Bar
Snake" available from Holeshot
(http://www.holeshot.com/barsnake/barsnake.html) looked like a good
idea; do you think that the SV would benefit from one? And on another
long-distance riding thread, someone mentioned new grips as a must. Any
grip recommendations or maybe gel gloves? Any other suggestions that
weren't covered on the other LD riding threads?