I am a leaf on the wind!

[Hanson]

Thursday May 29, 2014 : miles = 2011 : operating costs = $225.63 : operating cost / mile = $0.11

B2C, thanks for the suggestion.

When I bought my Wee.2, I also purchased an extra seat with the intention of having a custom seat built on the pan for solo long distance riding. The general consensus of the LD community is that Russell Day Long is the optimal option with a few riders using a sprinkling of other custom builders. I am also looking at Kontourseat.com which looks to have a competitive offering especially for those riding in a hot biome. The safe option is Russell Day Long.

Short of a custom built seat, there are a range of aftermarket seats to choose from including those made by Sargent. I have read both good reviews and bad reviews on most of these products and consider them to be something of a risk. If it works, great, if not then it is money down the drain or at least I will finally learn how to use Ebay.

In addition to seats, there is an enormous selection of add on products like gel pads, air pads, beads and such. I bet a lot of these products add something to the level of comfort on longer rides and they are far more affordable than a complete seat. I have burned through my budget for a bit, but it is likely that I will try a beaded motorcycle seat from BeadRider as soon as I get a bit of spare cash. I think this option will help get some air under my ample backside which should also help with "monkey butt".

I think a lot of cruisers have a broader seat pan than the adventure stile motorcycles and this provides better support for the backside than does a narrow seat. This distributes the load over a wider area, and I have a big load to distribute, and decreases the pressure experienced on any given spot on the backside. With such a seat, I think after market gel pads, air pads, and such are going to be a big help as the seat is already broad enough to provide a good foundation of support. If you look at seats like the Russell Day long, these builder makes a standard seat wider to accomplish the same thing often adding "wings" to the sides of the seat. Basically, the wide seat on a cruiser is a good design for long rides whereas the narrow seats on adventure bikes are better suited for riding in the dirt and standing on the pegs.

At this time, I think the first step will be to purchase a BeadRider and see if that offers some relief, and then it is likely that I will send my spare seat to Kontourseat.com after I set some money aside. All of this will be after I make a significant improvement in wind management as I am concerned that excessive wind noise is causing damage to my hearing even with earplugs. Discomfort is temporary, hearing loss is permanent, and this is the reality that is dictating my priorities.

Still to do in no particular order:

Wind management
Seat comfort
Fuse Block
More Training
Oiler
Electric clothing
Auxiliary lighting
More Training
Tank bag
Panniers
LED Headlights
More rider training
Fuel cell

Safe Travels,
Richard

[jstark47]

Still to do in no particular order:

Auxiliary lighting
Panniers

A couple of unsolicited recommendations:

For aux lights, check into Denali lights - available from TwistedThrottle. Several different models/brightnesses available. We have them on my wife's F650GS, and I will be putting them on my new Tiger as soon as money allows. Solidly built, bright, and minimal power draw (LED's).

For panniers, I'm a fan of Givi. I have V35 side cases on my V-strom. Yes, expensive, but my God have I abused those things over the years and they've held up! Whatever kind of plastic Givi makes these out of, it's near indestructible.

[Hanson]

Sunday June 1, 2014 : miles = 2216 : operating costs = $242.92 : operating cost / mile = $0.11

I went for a ride this morning. I rode north up 75 to Denison Texas, had a bit of breakfast, and then rode on some country roads for a while before heading home. I wish we had some great roads nearby, but most everything is straight and flat although riding on the back-roads is still enjoyable. I am going to need to do a bit of research for some fun roads down around the hill country. I know there are some great places to ride up in Oklahoma and Arkansas, but I am wanting to find a place that is closer, more accessible, and provides a regular opportunity to ride some curves.

It is now a month since I purchased my bike and about 20 days since I took delivery and I am having a great time. Next Wednesday is the last day of school for Miranda which means I will have a bit more flexibility in my morning schedule. I think I am going to need to find a longer route to work each morning.

jstakr47, you are most welcome to make any comments or suggestions you might have and I am glad that you are sharing your experiences with bits of equipment. I think I must have looked at every set of panniers online that are manufactured for the DL650A and I like the new Givi Outback panniers quite a bit. I like the more rectangular looking panniers that open on the top, and I am also looking at the Zega panniers from Touratech. These are more expensive, but the Zega cases they can be mounted on either side of the bike. This would allow me to invest in the panniers and use them on the DL650A and then latter I can use the same cases on a Super Tenere even though the silencer is on the opposite of the bike. The Givi Outback cases are left or right side specific. I also really like the products from Jesse Luggage as they mount closer to the bike, but these bags are also quite bike specific. In any event, my cases are a bit far down on the list for now as are auxiliary lights. At this time, whatever is causing the greatest discomfort is going to get my earliest attention.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Sunday June 8, 2014 : miles = 2462 : operating costs = $260.22 : operating cost / mile = $0.11

I had another uneventful week of commuting back and forth to the office but I have started to take a longer route to get a bit more time on the bike each day. My commute is all surface streets.

This morning I took a short ride, shorter than I had originally planed. I did a bit of searching on the internet for better motorcycle roads in my area, and FM 455 was recommended. I added a trip into my GPS with a few coordinates on this road and saved it for the weekend. I was planning to ride FM (Farmers road to Market) 455 from one end to the other and back. I was out the door a little after 6:00 AM and on my way, but the sky was pregnant with rain and it was not long before the roads where wet. This was my first good ride in the rain and I had been looking forward to this experience. I have Klim riding gear and I wanted to check out how the jacket and pants where going to stand up in the rain.

I rode to the east end of FM 455 and did a u-turn to start my trip from one end of this road to the other. The road did have some nice curves, at least for this part of Texas, but the surface was in bad shape in a lot of places and by this time it was raining hard which was having a negative impact on visibility. I found that with the combination of bad road surfaces and less than optimal visibility, I was not having much fun in the curves. I was tense, tentative, and not riding very proficiently. I continued in this manner for a while, but then I changed my mind and headed back toward the freeway. I want to spend more time on just this type of road, but I also want better overall riding condition as I work on improving my skills. FM 455 is not going to vanish. I decided I would just ride up the highway for a while in the rain, stop for breakfast, and then head home. This would give me a good chance to evaluate my riding gear.


>>>> SpotWalla map of my ride. https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id ... 49e92053c0

I went north up to Denison Texas and had a breakfast sandwich and a small coffee at the same McDonald's that I had visited last Sunday morning. I was dry except for my hands as my gloves are not waterproof. My DL650A has a thermometer built into the instrument cluster and the temperature was in the low 70s. My wet hands where actually cold going down the highway at 75 in the rain. I was also surprised at how well the rain is just wind-blasted off my face-shield and how well I could see at highway speeds even in a heavy rain. After breakfast I got back on my bike and headed further north as I was going to ride over to a dam on the Red River. Denison Dam was completed in 1943 and created Lake Texoma. The state boundary between Texas and Oklahoma goes right down the middle of lake Texoma. There is a boatramp at the Texas end of the dam and I had planned on getting a photograph at that location but I found a bit of a dirt road that would get me closer to the dam for a better picture. It was not much of a road, more like an area where people had gone in the past, just gravel, rocks, and with the rain, a bit of mud. I went down a slope toward the base of the dam while wondering how hard it was going to be to get back up to the road.


>>>> Lake Texoma Denison Dam in the rain.

I took a couple of photographs in a soft rain, put my cheep camera back in its zip-lock bag and got back on my motorcycle. I now had to get back up the gravel strewn, muddy, slope to get back to the pavement. I put my bike in first gear, pointed the front tire up the slope, and just cranked the throttle wide open. OK, that is not exactly what I did, but that would have been quite exciting for a few brief seconds and likely very expensive with the current cost of replacement body parts for my bike and myself. What I did do was work the clutch and throttle as the bike moved around under me a lot more than I wanted. I just had an idea of the direction I wanted to go, up the slope, and I let the motorcycle find its way without trying to force it to go exactly where I wanted it to go. The back end moved around a lot, and the front end a bit also. Getting up that slope was harder than I had hoped but easier than I had expected. I felt genuine releife when my two wheels where both back on hard Texas pavement.

Just down the road from the dam is Eisenhower State Park so I took the time to ride over to the entrance. We have done quite a bit of family camping in this park as our children have been growing up. For a number of years we would go each Easter weekend and a couple of other times a year. I just had a quick, friendly chat with the attendant at the gate and turned around to head for home.

When I got home I put the motorcycle up on a rear swingarm lift and oiled the chain. I do this about every 300 miles and I wanted to make sure I did it after this trip because of all the rain.

Overall, I am quite happy with how well my Klim gear and my boot held up in the rain. I was only a bit wet on my belly but I think it likely that I did not do a great job closing the flap over the main zipper on my jacket. Everything else, other than my hands, was bone dry and I am sure I had well over a hundred miles in moderate to heavy rain. The pant and jacket are both constructed of heavy material, and I was surprised that I could feel the rain on my skin like little pin no funs, not not at all painful enough to be distracting.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Tuesday June 10, 2014 : miles = 2501 : operating costs = $260.22 : operating cost / mile = $0.10

Yesterday I rode to work in heavy rain of a thunderstorm and I was the only motorcycle in the car park. Today the morning was incredibly beautiful and I felt so alive on my commute, but there where only two bikes in the parking garage. Normally there are three of four.

It is now one month since I took delivery on my motorcycle and everything is becoming more comfortable, but not at all routine. I have had so much fun over the last month and I am excited about rides I have planned for the near future. There are still a lot of Tour of Honor locations to visit even within Texas and I want to go down to Big Bend, but that will wait for the Fall when the weather turns colder.

I would like to thank those who have commented on my blog and offered their advice, experience and wisdom.

I can not believe how incredibly fast this last month had vanished into history. Life is short, savor the experience.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Sunday June 15, 2014 : miles = 3374 : operating costs = $331.82 : operating cost / mile = $0.10

In the hope of addressing some of my discomfort on the motorcycle, I ordered a Givi windshield and a BeadRider seat. The windshield is a special order and I have no idea when it will be in stock, but I have installed the BeadRider which attaches with some elastic straps that go under the seat pan. I rode it around town a bit and on my commute.


>>>> BeadRider Seat

I can think of only one appropriate method to test a comfort item and that is by going for a rid, and since I still have Tour of Honor sites to visit in Texas, it was time to get on the bike and have a bit of fun. I was up early Saturday morning and was soon on the road for a bit of seat testing and picture taking.


>>>> SpotWalla Track of Saturday ride
Link to interactive SpotWall page = https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id ... bc70492932

I woke at about 4 am, my alarm was set for 5, I turned off the alarm before it went off, and as quietly as I was able I packed my bike and left. It topped of my tank and was riding my plan by 4:32. I love riding early the morning when there is almost no traffic and the air is cool. It was not long before I was on 287 heading for my first stop in Wichita Falls. Lots of people hate 287 as it is not a limited access highway and it has a reduced speed limit, and speed traps, at every little town along the way, but 287 has always been my path to Rockies and so it represents freedom and adventure. Riding north on 287 always lifts my spirits and this morning was no different.

On this morning 287 was going to make me smile, but she was also going to give me a big scare. The time was about 5:45 and the sky was starting to lighten up with the rising sun and my headlights picked up a dear crossing the highway from left to right in front of me. Two in fact, but the first one was already most of the way across when I saw the second one. It was so close and so fast that I had no time to do more than get off the throttle and reach for the binders when the dear where already gone. My chest was pounding from the adrenaline that had been dumped into my system and my brain was racing. Collisions with animals contribute to about 1% or 2% of motorcycle fatalities, and it is a risk that is hard to mitigate if we are going to ride when animals are crossing road. Yes, we can avoid riding at night, we can put big lights on our bikes, we can take a break at down and dusk, and we can watch for animal crossing signs, but unlike many other risks we face these strategies are largely passive and we don't have much of opportunity to save ourselves when a large animal just darts out in front of us from the side. This was to occupy my mind for some time and the image of that second dear reappeared each time I passed the remains of some animal that did not make it all the way across the road.


>>>> Sunrise Saturday June 14, 2014

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, but I actually like the wide open spaces of Texas. I had four locations to visit for EMV Doughboy statues, Wichita Falls, Vernon, Crowell, and Canyon. The Doughboy statue in Crowell is collocated with a Spirit of the American Navy statue which will also be accepted in the Tour of Honor contest provided I submit a second photograph.


>>>> Wichita Falls EMV Doughboy


>>>> Vernon EMV Doughboy


>>>> Crowell EMV Doughboy with Spirit of the American Navy to the right.


>>>> Crowell Spirit of the American Navy contest photograph


>>>> Canyon EMB Doughboy

There was quite a bit of wind in Canyon and the sun was very bright making it hard to tell if I had gotten a good picture, so I took about ten. Many of them where poorly framed or my rally flag did was folded over, but in the end I did get a few that would work for the contest.

Canyon was my last stop and from there it was only about 400 miles to get home. I rode tank to tank and took a short break at a Brahms for a root-bear float and to call Mrs. Hanson. There was a big delay just South of Wichita Falls with the other side of the highway completely blocked to traffic, and another large accident delay just south of Denton on I35. I always hope that no one is hurt, but I can't help being self-centered when the temperature is over 90 and the sun is overhead. I just want to be on my way.


>>>> GPS data at the end of the ride.

Down the road I am interested in doing an Iron But ride called the Bun Burner Gold which involves riding 1500 miles in 24 hours. This is a difficult task even in Texas where we have long stretches of roads with 75 mile per hour speed limits. Saturday's ride was about half of a BBG where I rode about 800 miles at an average pace of 61.5 mph. This is close to a BBG pace but no cigar. To complete a BBG one must maintain an average pace of 62.5 mph and I fell short of that pace on a ride of about half the distance. In the end, I think I can do a BBG, but I will need to be faster at fuel stops, and ,obviously I will not be stopping to take pictures of EMV Doughboy statues. How efficient was my ride? This is not easy to establish quantitatively, but I am pleased with the outcome considering my goals for the ride. One good way to judge how efficient I am with my time management is to look at the difference between the moving average and overall average. The closer together are these two numbers, the more efficient the ride. One of my goals for Saturday's ride was to get a seat of the pants idea of what it is going to take to do a BBG.

How did the BeadRider seat do? I think it helped on this short ride, but not as much as I had wished. The improvement in comfort was at best incremental, but I do think it helped with getting some air for ventilation under my backside. I still had to move around a lot, and every time I would slow down for some small town speed trap on 287 I would stretch my legs one at a time by taking my foot off the peg and then extending my leg a few times. I wanted the BeadRider to help while I put aside money to have a custom seat built, but I was disappointed and if I had to do it over again I would probably not buy another BeadRider. Am I going to take it off the bike? Nope!

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Sunday June 21, 2014 : miles = 3833 : operating costs = $366.62 : operating cost / mile = $0.10

On Saturday I got up early with the goal of riding FM455, and this week the weather was cooperating. I found out about this stretch of road from a bit of Google fu when I went looking for nice places to ride in North Texas. Parts of the east end of FM455 are in poor repair, but most of the road provided nice clean pavement without a lot of traffic. More importantly, there are curves. Not beautiful mountain curves, or those wonderful curves that result in building a road within the confines of a canyon, but what I would call agricultural curves as a lot of rural Texas roads are built along the edges of property which are generally surveyed as rectangles. It was still great to get a chance to select a line, lean over a bit, and roll the throttle on as I headed for the exit. The ride also offered some nice country views and it was only about 225 miles long. I think it likely that I will ride FM455 as often as I get the time and a tank of gas.

When I got back into town, I dropped by the Suzuki dealer. I wanted to pick up an oil filter and have a chat about new tires. I don't need the tires just yet, but I wanted to talk about where and price out some options. Whenever I show up at the dealer there are a couple of the sales people, Tom and Kevin, who just want to talk forever, and Tom is constantly asking me to give him a call to go for a ride. Mostly they talk about places to go eat, and I like to ride solo, but at some point in time I think I am just going to go ride with these people.

This morning I was also up early. I had not planned on going for a ride, but it was raining and I could just not resist. I donned my gear, fired up the bike, and headed north up highway 75. I like riding up to Denison where there is a McDonald's a just the right place to take a break and have a breakfast sandwich and a small coffee. Nothing special at all, but I like this simple ride and I like riding in the rain. Round trip, it is only about 120 miles and takes about two hours.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Monday June 30, 2014 : miles = 3966 : operating costs = $447.15 : operating cost / mile = $0.11

I did not ride at all this weekend, just lots of things going on with the family, but I did get a nice big package delivered by the brown truck today. My Givi Airflow windshield finally arrived. I removed the stock windshield, retaining some of the hardware, and mounted the new windshield. The entire process was straightforward and the fitment was good so there where no issues.


>>>> New Givi Airflow windshield mounted on my bike.


>>>> Dash view of Givi Airflow

The windshield has two major parts, a base windshield that attaches directly to the motorcycle and a second windshield that is adjustable by sliding it up and down. There was a lot of discussion on the forums, primarily Stromtrooper.com, about this windshield and the distilled wisdom was to mount the base windshield in the upper holes and then to adjust the outer windshield so that it is about half way up. While traveling, air is forced between the two windshield surfaces and compressed into a stream of air that is directed upwards. This "air steam" acts as if the windshield is effectively taller when compared to a conventional design. Moreover, if the outer windshield is raised too high, then the "air stream" effect is compromised and the overall performance of the windshield is diminished.

The Givi Airflow was the most important part of my wind management plan, but the second enhancement was to install some wind deflectors. I bought these from a cottage industry vendor who is selling them on Stromtrooper and I had ridden the motorcycle with just the wind deflectors installed for a few days. It is a bit hard to explain, but there is a contour on the faring and tank that allows a lot of wind to be channeled into the chest. I think this was designed for looks, and not functionality, and there has been a lot of experimentation with different wind deflectors to block the wind from flowing up this contour, around the tank, and into the chest.


>>>> Wind deflector


>>>> Close up of wind deflector


>>>> Wind deflector from the rear.

There is a wind deflector on each side and while riding with only the new wind deflectors installed, I did experience a reduction of the wind coming around the tank and hitting me in the chest.

This evening I had to take a quick trip up to the church for a Scouting activity, and after locking up I took my bike, with its spotless new windshield, out for a quick test on the highway. The difference was truly remarkable with respect to both buffeting and wind noise, both being tremendously reduced. Even without earplugs, the experienced sound level from wind noise was significant reduced. I could hear the motor on the highway, I could hear music in my communication system, and I had no problem at all making a test phone call to my wife. She could hear me clearly and I could hear her just fine.

When I bought the DL650A, I was fully informed that it had a major issue with wind management, but this solution has solved that problem or at least mitigated the issue to such an extent that I am very happy with the results. I was very concerned about hearing damage from all of the terrible wind noise, and this new setup is going to be much better for my long term health.

I had also ordered a Toll tag and it is now installed on the inside of the Givi base windshield.

In the next day or two I will do an oil and filter change. I am switching to a high end synthetic from Amsoil which should allow me to accumulate about 10k miles between drains. The maintenance schedule calls for a drain every 3.5k miles and an oil filter replacement every third drain. My intent is to do both at 10k mile intervals.

I hope to be able to put in a good long ride this weekend to test the new wind management package and to acquire a nice patina of bug guts on the new plastics. I want to be on the road, and in the wind.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Sunday July 6, 2014 : miles = 5180 : operating costs = $544.65 : operating cost / mile = $0.11

Yesterday, Saturday July 5, I had a chance to check out my new Givi windshield and the wind deflectors. I had two more EMV Doughboy stops to document for the Tour of Honor, and, as I was going to be down in southern Texas, I decided that I would just ride to South Padre Island.


>>>> EMV Doughboy Statue in New Braunfels Texas

New Braunfels was quite nice, but the Dougboy was in the center of a traffic circle, more of a traffic oval, with the area clearly marked as no parking. Morover, there where police all over the place, so I did not risk parking closer to the statue and the picture was not great. I truly liked the feel of the town and perhaps I find a bread and breakfast and take a weekend in New Braunfels with Mrs. Hanson.


>>>> EMV Doughboy Statue in Sinton Texas

There are ten Ernest Moore Viquesney (EMV) Spirit of the American Doughboy statues in Texas along with one EMV Spirit of the American Navy statue for a total of eleven. With this photograph of the Sinton Texas Dougboy, I have document visits to all eleven Viquesney statues in Texas for the Tour of Honor. This has been a great excuse to go for a ride.

Having completed this task, I then continued on south to visit South Padre Island. I had spent time down hear about twenty years ago, and the decision to go to the island was a mistake. Sure, it is Independence weekend, but I had forgotten just how bad the crowds can be. It was raining, which I welcomed, and the island was a big parking lot full of aggravated people. If I ever go back for an extended visit, it will be in the off season. I was so disgusted with the entire episode I just turned around and left without taking any pictures.

The rain... I had quite a bit of rain on this ride, nothing very hard or dramatic, but the rain felt great and provided very welcome releife from the heat of South Texas.

One unexpected highlight from the trip I experienced on the return home was when the GPS routed me onto Texas Highway 130 North, a Toll road know as the Pickle Parkway. I had read about this bit of road that has the distinction of a posted 85 MPH Speed Limit, but I had never been certain exactly where it was located. The road was sublime with long smooth sweepers on great pavement, no traffic, and pleasant vistas. It is also great habitat for dear and other wildlife, so the ride requite significant vigilance. I rode the speed limit, or at a modestly enhanced pace.


>>>> SpotWall map of trip with interactive link https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id ... 9484a04a64

This ride gave me an opportunity to evaluate my Givi Airflow windshield and I am quite happy with the level of improvement. There is still more wind noise than I would like, but I am no longer concerned about long term hearing loss. On my first ride on May 10, it took a couple of days for my hearing to recover, but I was fine even just after I got home last night. The health risk was my greatest concern, but I am also happy with the releife from the buffeting and constant pounding of the air against my head and chest. Around town, I simply lower the windscreen to get a bit more air.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[Hanson]

Friday July 18, 2014 : miles = 5576 : operating costs = $560.86 : operating cost / mile = $0.10

A "cold" front arrived, and on my ride to work this morning the temperature reported by my bike was only 67 F. I have lived in the Dallas area for more than thirty years and this has been the coolest summer I have ever experienced. The ride this morning was just wonderful even if there was no blue in the sky. Sure, we had showers with the cold front, but I enjoy the rain also.

Yesterday I received a package from Eastern Beavertail, which contains a fuse block for my DL650A. This will allow me to add a number of accessory circuits. I have also ordered a Pro-Oiler automatic chain oiler. Pro-Oiler is located in Netherlands and they sent me a tracking link which is probably in dutch and does not appear to be working. I have no idea at all when my oiler will show up, but when it does I am going to need to go for a bit of a ride to evaluate the unit. Any excuse for a ride! Without a center-stand, maintaining the chain is a real chore, especially on the road, and I am looking forward to having an oiler to minimize that unpleasant task while maximizing chain and sprocket life.

I also have assembled a roadside tire repair kit that includes an electric air pump and various worms and tools to plug a hole in a tire. I purchased extra worms. When it is time to replace my tires, I am going to purposely put a nail or two and a screw in the tire and then practice patching the tire as if I was on the side of the road. All of this fits under my seat, but with no room to spare. I do not think there will be room after installing the fuse block and the Pro-Oiler. Next on the agenda will be tire tools, a bead breaker, and to assemble all the tools I need to remove both the front and rear wheels. It is my intention to change all of my own tires, front and back, and to develop these skills so that I can do so on the side of the road.

The list of outstanding items to address is still quite long. I need to get set up for riding in the cold, I want to have more light for riding at night, and I want more storage space.

Safe Travels,
Richard