Oh, Oh !!! The Weather Has Intervened.....

[H2RICK]

once again in my/our plans. The Third Annual Classic Bike Ride to BC, Idaho and Montana has been moved to NEXT weekend because it is going to be ugly today and tomorrow for a good part of the route we normally take. The temps are the real problem.....when combined with the rainy weather that is forecast. The weather guessers are calling for snow tonight outside of Calgary and in the foothills of the Rockies with a good chance that Calgary itself will get snow overnight. Grrrr.....
On the upside, next weekend is looking faaaarrrrr more promising with clear skies and substantially warmer temps over the whole route of our ride. Here's hoping !!!

[Craig380]

Fingers crossed, Rick, the weather isn't playing ball in the UK either. Unseasonably cold and wet.

[h2okettle]

Rick, when I grow up I am gonna get smarter .... Living in Florida it never really gets too cold to ride... Well last week I decided to do a little tour/iron butt ride on my 1971 Honda CB450 Well I took off with no real warm gear as its 90 degrees and still summer (I thought).. My route was from Florida to Michigan over the Upper Peninsula, into Wisconsin and Minnesota and then??
I left early and rode through the night and made it to Lansing Michigan 19 hours later.. I did notice that is was getting kinda cold during the night, but still tolerable.. (barely).. The next morning it was only 51 degees at 0830.. Then someone told me of a big storm on the other side of the UP and I was headed that way.. Well the brighter side of me, which is still kinda dim, said to turn around and go south again.. I hopped back on the bike after being stopped about an hour and headed south.. I rode non stop back to Decatur Alabama before stopping at a friends house.. The ride covered 1711 miles in 36 hours.. I really put the little Honda twin to the test.. It only took about 800 miles of riding before the vibration in the engine went away.. Or, I really think I was very numb and did not notice it anymore.. I think next trip I will watch the weather channel first..

Allen..... Will ride for food !!

PS.. The tire you put on my GT750 last August is still going strong..

[two-stroke-brit]

good greif what a granite butt you have.
i bow before you repeating "i am not worthy"
who knew a honda could go so far.
cheers mark

[oldjapanesebikes]

The ride covered 1711 miles in 36 hours.. I really put the little Honda twin to the test..

You sir, have the most well developed talent for understatement of anyone I know. That is simply amazing

[doug rooney]

NO kidddin! That is just unbelievable Kettle! Good for you. Not even as a younger fella would I have attempted that....on ANY bike.
And Rick, it is that time of year. If ya don't like the weather today, wait til tomorrow. It's sure to change and you are much farther north than I am. Have fun when you get out there! I know you will, Doug

[H2RICK]

Allen, I swear you'll be tackling the IB on an MZ250 one of these days...if you could find one still running.
That's quite an accomplishment on Honda's version of the "lady's home companion".
That bike also held the world record for the longest cam chain for quite awhile. They are durable old brutes, if looked after properly.
Glad to hear the tire is still working for you. The big trick is to have it mounted in the proper direction, I'm thinking.

[h2okettle]

.
Glad to hear the tire is still working for you. The big trick is to have it mounted in the proper direction, I'm thinking.

Rick I think the other thing is to make sure its not a front only tire, installed on the rear... It does go to show you that a front tire mounted backwards on a fully loaded (hard bags and tour box) down GT750 plus passenger can make it from Florida to Calgary Canada before its worn out.. Guess next time I will not trust the bike shop, with out looking for myself to see if the job was done correctly... Unless I come see you !!

Allen....... Not real smart.... Just rides a lot !!

PS.. You meet the nicest people riding a Honda !!

[johnakay]

wish I had an iron butt just for 300 miles let alone over 1700miles
I just about manage 150 miles in a 6hr ride with stops ever 50 miles or so.
I once (inc wife) did 212 miles and by the time I got home I could have cried with the pain in my bum. it felt like two needles pushing in right up to my ass bone.
I'm seriously considering selling my er6 and maybe get a versy?

[H2RICK]

Ya know, John, my Bandit had the same problem when I first got it.
20 or 30 minutes and I was DONE !!! Who could imagine that Suzuki would make such a torture instrument and call it a "seat" ???
Soooo.....I talked to the gal that does all our upholstery work for the shop and she said: "No probs !! We'll just take the cover off, cut the top half of the seat foam off and replace it with the foam of your choice." I went up to her foam supplier, tried out 8 or 10 different densities of foam and picked the one that seemed to offer what I wanted. Upholstery gal ordered the foam, did the work and you cannot tell anything is different on the seat....until you sit on it. Now I can do 2+ hours on day rides without any pain.....but all day rides still require that I use my strap-on imitation gel pad on top of the seat itself. Six hours is too much even with the new foam.....
Strangely enough my 550 seat AND the Kwak 650 seat cause zero pain no matter how long I ride. Older is better when it comes to seat foams, I'm thinkin'.

Allen, on the whole tire thing, I just gotta say that you and Bobbi must have guardian angels on your shoulders. On the up side, it's a lesson learned with no cost and no bloodshed....and those are the best lessons of all, IMO.

[h2okettle]

A few years ago I had just puchased a 1975 T500.. I rode it for a couple days around my neighborhood getting used to it and making sure it was reliable.. The weekend coming up was a Deals Gap two stroke meet.. I had my 72 GT550 ready to ride up there.. Its just over 500 miles away.. One of the guys on the board asked if I was gonna bring the T500.. I said no as I have only put about 20 miles on it and did not know the bikes reliability.. He called me a sissy and said I was not good enough to ride one anyway... Well now for the rest of the story.. I took that as a challenge, and unloaded my GT550 and loaded down the T500 for a weeks adventure.. I was about 25 miles into the ride and and was wondering what I was thinking.. It was my first T500 and from the old articles I read it was sposed to be a smooth bike.. My feet were trying to slip off the footpegs from so much vibration.. By the time I got into Alabama I was numb and so the ride was not so bad (I thought).. I rode the whole 500 miles the first day and by the end of the week I had put on just over 2600 miles on the bike.. It never gave me any problems, but the footpeg location was a little too far forward for comfort... I do prefer my GT750 the best..

Allen....... GT rideaholic

[H2RICK]

Well, Allen, at the risk of offending a lot of guys on this board, I have to completely agree with you on the Titan vibration thing. Again, you get a gold star for riding one of those that far in such a short time.
I know I would NEVER have attempted such a trip......even back in the day when I was in faaarrrr better physical condition.
Nope, I'll take a GT triple any day.....

[johnakay]

with my old T500 I did a 150 miles run with no hint of bum ach. I felt I could do more.
yes the vibs use to be a problem. at certain revs my feet would slip off.
but most of the vibs could be cured.
gt750 rubber bushings in the engine casings and I did thought of putting rubber bush's in the foot pegs to.
if I remember rightly one of the French guy that use to come here(Pascal)
said that the crank shaft was not ballance? etc