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Preparation and maintenance are key elements.

The Piaggio 250 have a 12,500 mile belt along with a pretty good cooling and filtration system on the CVT however its sad how many do not clean the filter and end up killing a new belt on the first long ride. On a 2 week vacation I have put multiple 600 mile days in totalling well over 4,000 miles traveled without incident however that was preceded by an early belt/roller change along with oil/gear lube change, new engine air and CVT filters and checking/cleaning the CVT filter every 2,000 miles (more often on dusty roads). Many times the entire 600 mile day would be at 80 mph Interstate speeds so I know that a well maintained stock Piaggio 250 is fully capable of standing up to a 3,000 mile ride with very little maintenance during the event if everything was brought up to date before leaving the starting gate. You will only go through 1/3 of the tire life, 1/2 the distance between oil changes and 1/4 the distance between belt changes on engines with a 100,000 + mile life expectancy on these bikes in 3,000 miles so a well maintained and prepped one should only leave the rider and his abilities being tested.

Personally I go with Engine Ice for coolant since its non-toxic and works out very well on our 115 degree roadways. Preparation to switch over is a simple flush with white vinegar. You see a very definite reduction in the time between when the cooling fan comes on and it cycles off making it so that engine temperatures stay more even.

I know some of the previous years contestants that were riding the Vespa 250's thrashing out where they went wrong together with them afterwards and for most it was experimental enhancements that they thought would give them an edge backfiring on them. Some for example switched to oversized sliders to get higher top end speeds without taking precautions against over riding the edge of the drive face and snagging the oil sump gasket resulting in zero mile days while they corrected the damage from the failed experiment which pulled the gasket from the top of the oil sump dumping all their oil and destroying the belt. While for others it was simply lack of preparation, switching to an aftermarket belt and/or failure to keep the CVT filter clean. Sometimes the big issue was in choosing the wrong riding pants/base layers causing so much discomfort (thick seams and elastic leg bands that cut circulation or pinch the sciatic nerve) that riding was almost impossible.

The Cannon Ball is not the best time to test out new mods that may backfire on you thats for sure and not the best place for a high mileage poorly maintained bike or new relatively low mileage rider.