Hmmmm motorcycle ! yeah I thought you were talking about bicycle also. Anyway, my advice is to stay with TFP people along the way and save money. Also some motorcycle website should have maps to buy that show what small highways are good to travel on and avoid speed traps.
Hmmmm, what else..... I guess get a bike that has back support and even all the way up to the head might be nice. Also get one that has a few places to put your feet as that would help out with variety of movement on the trip.
Also get a list of national parks as those are worth visiting. And you can get a pass for 50 bucks.
http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm
Ohh yeah you mentioned Alcatraz and that place is part of the national park system so the pass would get you on island to celebrate the end of the trip !
Hmmmm, I did a search and it looks like 4 other people want to do this trip as well.
http://www.43things.com/things/view/93598 The thing about doing it with someone else, is if your bike breaks down, then the other person can go get parts, gas, or whatever. AAA and a cel phone would be a safe way to go as well, but two headlights are better than one as they say. Two headlights from two motorcycles are way safer as they look like a car at night to other drivers.
Also you want a bike that has a deep loud noise. You need to push the sound into the newer cars so they can hear you coming. Studies show that high pitch motorcycles get in lots more crashes than low deep bass noisy ones. Some cars these days actually have pavement embedded in their frame to insulate them from outside noise ! Ya gotta punch thru that or you will be road pizza.
Two miles over the speed limit should be fine. I have never been pulled over for that.
I suggest staying in a hotel every so often unless you love camping and have a good padded roll and sleeping bag. Hotels with hot tubs might ease any bike pains or stiffness. Many hotels have a AAA discount so that is another reason to get a AAA card.
www.aaa.com
Wear sunscreen everyday and lip balm. I like Burt's Bees the best.
www.burtsbees.com The company is located in North Carolina so it should be all over the east coast.
Some helmets have music speakers inside them. Some stations have good traffic reports. But turn the speakers to mono so you have one ear free to listen for sirens.
Some of the bicycle websites have good maps for cool places to visit on the trip. The maps are very detailed and the roads have good shoulders for bicycles, but that also means the shoulder would be a good place to stop and take pictures or adjust the side boxes or fix a flat or whatever.
That is all I can think of..... (^:
Jonathan