RedRider
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Everything posted by RedRider
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Jeff called me just after putting this up. He came back onto VR to get my phone number and saw the message. All is good. RR
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That is truely an IB worthy cockpit. Outstanding. RR
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Someone called me this past Monday night to talk about the lights I just added and hit me at a really bad time. I didn't catch who it was. The phone rang just as I had just put dinner on the stove and then a (former) BIL stopped by with a car we were buying. It just snowballed and I needed to postpone the call to attend the immediate things happening in the kitchen. Didn't mean to be rude. Would be glad to chat about the lights (or anything else). It just hit at a really bad time. Give me a call this weekend if you would still like to chat. Will be in the garage (fixing cars) or in the office (doing taxes) all weekend. RR
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Resonable miles per hour on trip
RedRider replied to Sylvester's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
For a casual pace, 50 MPH overall (including rest stops) is pretty easy. If you really want to get somewhere, you can average 60 to 63 MPH with some discipline. Don't spend time fooling around at fuel stops. Get in, get out, sit there, twist that. You will find speed is not your friend. The additional time required for gas stops negates the additional time saved by a faster speed. Cruising 65 to 70 seems to be the sweet spot. Get over 80 and your gas mileage goes to heck and it will actually slow you down. The real key is to keep you butt in the seat and the wheels turning. If you really want to cover major miles in a short period of time, review the 'Archive of Wisdom' on the Iron Butt website. Not all will pertain, butt there is good advice there. Have a great ride. Stay safe and ride long. RR -
Read this write up on Advriders. Great story. An IB run just requires patience, planning, perseverance, and (sometimes) stubbornness. It is always a good feeling when you are done. Once you know you can do it, everywhere in the country just seems to be closer. RR
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Thanks for the update Karen. Bob, Say HI for me to the gang down there. Pretty soon they are going to start building a fence on the Texas northern border to keep us Wisconsinites out. Good looking ride. Don't take all the good weather, leave some sunshine and warmth for me. RR
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Never a problem trusting my mighty steed. The first I will take it out of the barn will be to travel 5500-6000 miles in 8 days. WI to LA and back. First leg will be 1180 miles in 24 hours (FDL, WI to Tucumcari, NM). Final leg will be 2240 in 48 hours (Burger run - Alice's Restaraunt just south of San Fran. to Moonshine, IL) followed by a casual jaunt of 400 miles home. 2000 (the faster red one) with 80k miles on it. It has never left me stranded (other than crappy D404 tires - that isn't the bike's fault). One week from today will be on the road. I AM SOOOO READY TO GET OUT OF THE SNOW AND RIDE MY A** OFF! RR
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Bob, thanks. The pictures are of the bike as packed to take off. For the last cold leg, we devised a method to keep his hands warm. Since he was at me brother's in Illinois, Curt ask for and received a pair of snow pant outgrown by the nephew. Curt cut the legs off the snow pants and ran them around the handlebar controls. He then put several chemical hand warmers down into the 'legs'. It was effectively a redneck set of Hippohands. Apparently, it worked quite well. RR
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Well, just got a call from my son and he is home. Said his knees were so cold he went in and immediately took a long, hot shower. 2 minutes later, his knees were cold again. BTDT. High temp today was 27F and he travelled about 200 miles. Glad he made it safely. Will post pictures once I get home. Supposedly, he left the camera for me to put the pics on Smugmug (internet file sharing/storage). He will certainly have a story to tell of his first 'real' motorcycle trip. RR
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That's what crayons are for. RR
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I try very hard to make sure the Secret Service has no need to know my name. While not as convenient, I will earn my Benjamins the old fashion way. RR
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He certainly would have accepted it if offered. However, it is there just in case - he has no idea it is there. If I handed it to him, it would get spent. This way, it goes towards gas on my trip if he doesn't need it - but it is there if he does need it. RR
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The new S&T2010 (and I assume 2011) allows you to export the route into a .gpx file. This can be imported into Garmin Mapsource for loading onto your GPS. Otherwise, S&T is just a great tool for planning your routing. If you are like most on vacation, you are not really all that concerned about laying in an exact route to the minute detail. You are more concerned about where to stay the night and some interesting points to visit during the day. Once you have your route planned on S&T you can input the interest points into the Garmin by brute force (right on the GPS) each morning. It works fine for all but LD rally planning (if done properly, it can be done during a LD rally also). RR
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Lake Placid in the summer is pretty and mildly interesting, but full of tourists. A couple of hours to say "I was there" and move on. Cooperstown, on the other hand, ..... RR
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I didn't pack any of the chemical warmers, but talked to him about them last night. He will stop by a Walmart and pick some up if he is getting cold. (I did, however, stash a Benjamin in a plastic bag duct taped to the inside of the side plastics. The duct tape used was black and it can't be seen, but is easily felt for and retrieved). RR
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Bob, Sounds like you're having a great time. Just got out before the sh*t hit fan with the weather. Keep safe. RR
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April 1st or 2nd I am heading from WI to California on the bike. Will be driving thru Madison, DuBuque, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Kansas City, etc. and can pick it up and take it to the coast. Will need to keep a pretty tight schedule picking up and dropping off 'cause I'm biting off all I can chew with the mileage schedule. The farthest north on my route will be Sacramento, CA or Reno, NV. However, I am ready to show the trailer some open country. 4 flat and 1-7/8 on the bike (well, I have the hitch, just need to put the ball back on.) RR
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Got a call from Curtiss this evening. He has set up his tent in Shakamak State Park just south of Terre Haute, IN. He is a little concerned with the weather getting back home, but is enjoying 65+ degree weather in southern Indiana for the time being. Tomorrow he is thinking of continuing south to Mammoth Cave NP. We will see. No need for him to come home until Thursday earliest. It will be raining/snowing until then. Any way about it though, he is going to have a cold ride home. Supposed to be 28 to 32 degrees - for a high - Thursday and Friday. We used to ride in 2 foot snow, with baked potatoes in our pockets to keep warm, up hill, both ways, .... Builds character. He's having fun. RR
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Do not use a double nut. It will take the clearance out of the bearings that you just set up. They will be too tight. Just follow Brian's procedure and you will be fine. RR
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Brian, That is a great write up. I will add my 2 cents worth. (I used to be a design engineer at Timken). When tightening the first time, rotate the tire while tightening. Rotating the tire squares up the rollers and seats them against the back rib. If you tighten them without rotating, there is a possibility of scoring the races/rollers. So, just spin the tire and tighten until it begins to bind. Then just follow Brian's procedure. Your bearing will be set correctly. RR
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If you don't have it, go get a copy of Microsoft Streets and Trips mapping software. Easy to use and great for planning trips. You can even go onto EBay and get a copy that is a couple of years old for $10 or so. Not a lot of changes (unless you are a mapping/GPS/LD rider freak) over the years that will affect the normal user. Feel free to ask questions. RR
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Well, my influence (for good or bad) has rubbed off on my eldest son, Curtiss. He is on spring break from college this week and leaving today to go riding/camping. Curt is taking my 2008 KLR650 which is a reliable machine loaded down with everything he needs. This bike is really a great packmule. He will head out about noon today and is aiming towards Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park. He wants to camp, hike, and just sit around and read (going to school to be a literature professor). I envy him and want to go too. His route today will take him thru central Illinois (Rockford to Normal) and then over into Indiana. Once he gets into Indiana, I expect he will get off the interstate slab. Will likely stay tonight in the Hoosier Nat'l Forest near French Lick. Tomorrow will see him down to Mammoth Cave. I will post a picture of the loaded bike and son once he is ready to go. If he runs into trouble, I may need to rely on the graciousness and support of this family until I can get down to him. While he is 22, he is still my little boy (sure - 6'4" little boy) and I want to protect him the best I can (without him knowing it). I will keep you all up to date. I love my son and am very excited for him to make this trip alone. It will be a great experience for him. Wish him luck. RR
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You should enjoy this trip. Did it a couple of years ago with my Dad and a friend. Do you have a mapping software (Streets and Trips)? If so, I can send you some routes. +1 on ScooterBob's suggestion of Mt Washington, NH. Very, very cool. We left out of Ft. Wayne, IN and went thru Canada (crossed at Sarnia, ON / Port Huron, MI) and crossed back into the US on the ferry at Kingston, ON / Cape Vincent, NY. North side of Lake Ontario is very nice as long as you stay by the lake. Some highlights: 1) NY - Ferry across Lake Champlain. Leaves from Port Kent, NY and arrives in Burlington, VT. Also, at the southern end of Lake Champlain is Fort Ticonderoga. Take the tour if you are into history. 1.1) VT - Hwy 17 across the Green Mountains - amazing scenery 2) VT - Little country store in Hancock - South side of Hwy 125 in Green Mtn Natl Forest. Go to the deli in back and have them make you a sandwich. Only place I have ever seen that has candy, maple syrup, and ammo next to one another on an end cap next to the front counter. 3) NH - HWY 112 - Kancamagus Hwy. 4) NH - Washington Mtn. Don't come this far and not climb this on your bike. FYI - the temp will fall 30+ degrees on this climb. It may be shirt sleeve weather at the bottom. It won't be at the top and there is no place to stop and add layers. Wear your jacket the whole way. Have your wife take pictures 'cause your eyes will not be leaving the roadway. If you pull a trailer, leave it at the bottom. 5) ME - Cadillac Mtn in Arcadia Nat'l Park - get up really early and join the crowd at the top to watch the sun come up. You can ride all the way up. Another bonus is the park rangers do not man the booths at 4:30am and it doesn't cost anything. Ride the road around the park once the sun is up. Two lanes, one way, no traffic, no rangers, great pavement. 6) ME - Belfast - Young's Lobster Shore Pound. This is a place where lobster fisherman offload their catch. Young's has a 'kitchen' where you order your meal. The 'chef' pulls a lobster out of the tank and cooks it. This lobster has gone from the ocean floor to your belly in a matter of hours. The most incredible seafood meal ever. Accept extra napkins if offered. If you are even close, do not miss this stop. There is plenty of other fantastic stops along the route. These just happen to stick out in my memory. 2 week is no problem for this trip. Niagra Falls from the Canada side is prettier. You will need a passport (or one of the new special passes) to get back into the US. DO NOT take a gun into Canada. They do not have a good sense of humor about our 2nd Amendment. Also, if you have criminal record (including DUI), you may find it much easier to stay in the US. Have a great time, take pictures, and write a report telling us about your epic adventure. RR
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FYI for anyone shipping leveling links. They fit perfectly in the small USPS flat rate shipping box. $5.20 including the cost of the box. Take some newspaper (or do what I did and use one of the USPS flat rate envelopes) to pack them in the box. Obviously they won't get damaged, but it would be best for the postal carrier if the box weight was a little more stable. Steamer, enjoy your new ride. You will likely find the low speed handling will improve. If you want further improvement (and have the inseam), you may want to try leveling links (will raise the rear of the bike about an inch). Another option is to use a thinner front tire. But don't do both. RR
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Very nice bike. This may not be the type of helmet your son is looking for, but it is a good helmet and you can't beat the price. Plus, you get to actually purchasing it by going thru the banner at the top of the VR website (and Freebird gets some swag money). http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street/closeouts/helmets/scorpion/exo_400_scar_motorcycle_helmet.html RR