A few comments about the trip....... My riding partners were on a first year 1800 Gold Wing and a few year old Kaw Vulcan 1500 and both had no problems at all on the 2,400 mile jaunt. I figured that the guy on the Vulcan would be fine for 200-300 miles each day but the seating position would eventually take its toll. Nope, he never complained about a sore butt the whole trip. He also had no trouble at all keeping up at speeds from 75-90 on I-10. The Gold Wing lead the way with a Garmin SP III which saved our bacon dozens of times both on the road and in towns and cities of all sizes. The only time it failed was routing us to the wrong location for the Barber Museum....it sent us to the former location down town rather than the new location near the race track. A newer version of this is sure to be on my farkle list after seeing it in action.
We did conservative distances each day. First day about 300 miles in an afternoon, second day a fairly long 500 mile day and 300 miles on backroads as we approached Savannah, Georgia. GREAT weather; low 40's in the mornings, and mid 60's in the afternoon on all riding days. Couldn't ask for nicer riding conditions. I wore a piece of inexpensive fleece under the 2 piece 'Stitch and never needed to break out the electric vest or grips.
My left knee began to ache after about 200 miles on each riding day, so I doctored it with Icy Hot and Ibuprophen before it began to really hurt. Doc suggests Aleve as a pre-treat, so I may try that next time. Must be the beginnings of arthritis. I envied my fellow riders both of whom had highway pegs. I don't know if I want to muck up the FJR with highway pegs, or if they would even help that much. Any opinions from those of you who had problems and tried them?
Seat was fine for 300-500 mile days for me; I added an Aerostitch sheepskin and a couple of thick mouse pads underneath for a little more cushioning and height.
Never did get to the point where seat discomfort was a problem, but we stopped to top off the Vulcan every 120-130 miles as its tank was the limiting factor on how far we could ride together. I couild have gone about 200-220 miles on a tank easily at about 42 mpg average, but a stop every 120 miles to stretch my legs and give my knee a little flexing was welcome. Seating position with MCL 6 degree risers/barbacks was just about perfect for my 6'3" frame, just a bit of forward lean and at 80 or so, very little pressure on my wrists.
My '05 didn't burn a drop of oil, and all mechanicals worked as advertised. Aired the tires up 1# mid journey and filled with gas a bunch of times, but no problems. From time to time, I'd pull up behind the Vulcan with Vance and Hines pipes and think there was something wrong in my engine compartment before realizing it was his pipes........
I used the Smuggler trunk on this trip, and really enjoyed the ability to stash and lock stuff at gas stops and overnight. I filled the hard cases mostly with spare tools, electric vest, extra gloves, etc. and used a Helen TwoWheels waterproof bag for clothes strapped to a modified Ventura Pack Rack fastened over the stock rack. This was solid as a rock and just enough room to hold the bag on with 2 heavy duty bungees and a single strap. In retrospect, I could have left a lot of the tools, air compressor etc. at home, as Carl the Wing rider had all of this too.
My only mishap on the ride was tripping over a concrete lip near the entrance to a motel with helmet and bag in hand and going down face first (still in the 'Stitch) breaking the fall with the palm of my right hand and bending my fingers over as I continued forward. A week later the hand is still swollen and hard to close, but felt O.K. on the twist grip for the remaining two days of the trip. Lucky not to have broken a bone with my severe case of the dumb ass.
The museum was great, the pics I took inside not so great, as I only took a cheapy camera. I'll post a few, but you just have to see this place in person. No money spared to make it world class. Great trip, but I'd add a half or full day each way to reduce the daily ride to 300 miles per day and be able to do more backroad riding each day.
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