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Went to visit my buddy in Western Mass this weekend. Took a round-a-bout way there and back of course. The weather was incredable all weekend- sunny and warm with a high of 65 on Sat. and 70 on Sun. It's about 75 miles to my buddies house as a straight shot, but I made that a 160 mile trip there and a 220 mile day back on Sunday.
Hooked the GPS up to the battery before I left using some hardware I had laying around from an electric faceshield wiring harness for the snowmobile helmet. It has a quick disconnect right at the tankbag, the harness connecter comes out by the steering tube. Worked awesome all weekend. That thing can get you in trouble though, it's so accurate and gives you so much confidence that you just say "OK, I'll try this road." Next thing I know, I'm on a dirt road going through a tobacco field because it's a shortcut through to the main route I wanted to hit. Worked perfect though. It is awesome to have a moving digital map right on the tankbag. I think someone could make big money making a tank bag where the entire top is a screen attached to a GPS reciever. My maps are accurate, but a big huge screen would be really nice.
The bike ran flawlessly, I'm really getting used to it now. I only feel a little sore. I have found that at crusing speeds of 55-65 on the back roads, if I keep it in 4th, I am constantly in the sweet spot of the torque. 4-5000rpm and the bike just feels like it's electric, powered by some kind of nuclear turbine with buckets of power at the ready as soon as I twist the throttle.
The rear Metzler is not far away from death, that is a bummer seeing as it was basically new when I bought the bike in September. I've put maybe 2300 miles on it since I got it. I knew I was gonna burn it out quickly from what I have read on the forum. Time to get a pair of Dunlops installed.
I am getting about 190 miles to the tank when I ride touring style before hitting reserve. I assume that I could see 230 miles to the entire tank. That should be right around 42 MPG, way better than my 81 1100E ever saw. Absolutely awesome.
The hills of western Mass are killer riding. I lived there for about 9 years, and didn't really appreciate the roads and terrain as much as I should. Anyone looking to hit that area should make sure to ride routes 116, 112 and 8A. These roads are intense. 116 and 112 are both super twisty with a pretty standard speed limit of 50 mph. 8A is even twistier and follows a killer river through the hills. Speed limits average 35 on this backcountry road, but there are a few sections to let the engine breathe. The road surface can be a little questionable at times, so I kept my speed to under 50 in the corners.
Saw tons of bikes out, the commradery was there, lots of waves going back and forth from the Goldwingers to the V-Twins, to the sportbike crowd. All in all a terrific weekend on the bike.
I love my motorcycle.
Hooked the GPS up to the battery before I left using some hardware I had laying around from an electric faceshield wiring harness for the snowmobile helmet. It has a quick disconnect right at the tankbag, the harness connecter comes out by the steering tube. Worked awesome all weekend. That thing can get you in trouble though, it's so accurate and gives you so much confidence that you just say "OK, I'll try this road." Next thing I know, I'm on a dirt road going through a tobacco field because it's a shortcut through to the main route I wanted to hit. Worked perfect though. It is awesome to have a moving digital map right on the tankbag. I think someone could make big money making a tank bag where the entire top is a screen attached to a GPS reciever. My maps are accurate, but a big huge screen would be really nice.
The bike ran flawlessly, I'm really getting used to it now. I only feel a little sore. I have found that at crusing speeds of 55-65 on the back roads, if I keep it in 4th, I am constantly in the sweet spot of the torque. 4-5000rpm and the bike just feels like it's electric, powered by some kind of nuclear turbine with buckets of power at the ready as soon as I twist the throttle.
The rear Metzler is not far away from death, that is a bummer seeing as it was basically new when I bought the bike in September. I've put maybe 2300 miles on it since I got it. I knew I was gonna burn it out quickly from what I have read on the forum. Time to get a pair of Dunlops installed.
I am getting about 190 miles to the tank when I ride touring style before hitting reserve. I assume that I could see 230 miles to the entire tank. That should be right around 42 MPG, way better than my 81 1100E ever saw. Absolutely awesome.
The hills of western Mass are killer riding. I lived there for about 9 years, and didn't really appreciate the roads and terrain as much as I should. Anyone looking to hit that area should make sure to ride routes 116, 112 and 8A. These roads are intense. 116 and 112 are both super twisty with a pretty standard speed limit of 50 mph. 8A is even twistier and follows a killer river through the hills. Speed limits average 35 on this backcountry road, but there are a few sections to let the engine breathe. The road surface can be a little questionable at times, so I kept my speed to under 50 in the corners.
Saw tons of bikes out, the commradery was there, lots of waves going back and forth from the Goldwingers to the V-Twins, to the sportbike crowd. All in all a terrific weekend on the bike.
I love my motorcycle.
8)
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