First (semi) long ride

[nutcase]

Welp, my bike is ready to for it's first trip that's longer than an hour. I'm going to ride it from Dayton, Ohio (my home) to Indianapolis, Indiana. I'm planning to take US 40 which runs parallel to I-70. 40 is a nice strech of road that has a lot of little burgs to stop in and meander around. I've never ridden this far before, so I think it'll be an interesting experience.

6 months ago, my bike wouldn't move an inch unless human power was applied Flinstone style. Now thanks to the most excellent knowledge and experience of the people on this list, she's running like a champ. My bike actually idles properly now! woohoo! Breaks are good, accleration is scary, clutch still won't go into 5th gear (I haven't pulled it apart yet to search for the missing dowel), no more oil leak in the cam tensioner, and no more backfires!!! My neighbors were very thankfull for that.

Thank you all very much for building such a great community!
Johnboy, 80SG

[Pat Kelly]

good job on the bike. I hope all goes well (I'm sure it will). Mine went from 700 lbs of scrap metal to a ride that just took me 2,815 to BI Deuce and back (despite it's looks). Let us know how the ride went.

[REFFI]

Can't wait to hear how your ride went. I, too, am about to make my first long-ish ride from my home to the California mini-camp (if it happens as envisioned).

[nutcase]

Indy ride report

Excellent ride! My XS ran like a demon. I had a lot of fun. (Even though my butt hurt like hell.) This XS is the first motorcycle I've ever owned (and rode) and I've never worked on one previous to buying this one. I spent most of the summer stalking the list and reading as much as I could about the XS1100's. I finally got it to the point where I was confortable with it's ridability.

Years of wrenching on cars taught me that Murphy's rule applies to everything, especially things with engines. I was a wee bit anxious about riding ~150 miles one way on the bike seeing how I've only been riding for about 6 months and the darn thing still had a couple of small problems. I had a good feeling about the trip and wasn't going to back down. I loaded up the saddle bags and bungied some duffel bags to the back of the seat. This proved to be a miscalculation on my part.

I hit the road at approximately 7:00PM Friday evening. I ran into my first snag just a few miles down US 40. I realized that I was heading west in the early evening on a day with no clouds in the sky. There was a bright shiny ball of fire right in the middle of my vision that half blinded me. I cursed myself for not anticipating this and getting an earlier start. Luckly though, I had remembered to pack my sunglasses underneath everything in the left saddle bag. Once the glasses were recovered from their hiding place in the rain gear. (How they got there, I'll never know.) I continued down the road.

I cruised for awhile down 40 admiring all the corn fields and little towns that went wizziing by. I had the bike cranked all the way to an outstanding 50 mph. Just enjoying the perfect weather (barring the sun in my eyes) and having a good time on my motorcycle when out of the blue I see a dreaded orange reflecter. "Damn, this can't be good." was my first thought. Turns out, I was right. A few miles down the road, there was a bridge out. Crap! I haven't even gotten out of Ohio yet! My second thought was to find the detour and get on my way. But curiosity got the better of me and I rode down to check out the bridge. Sure enough, It was out.

I rode back to find the detour and quickly became depressed. The detour turned out to be I-70 westbound. Double crap! I'd never ridden on a Major highway before. I've been on many dinky ones that are actually 'highways'. This mother has the designation 'freeway'. I didn't have a tight schedule to adere to, but I knew my Aunt and Uncle were depending on me to be there some time before 10:00PM their time. I figured that this was as good as time as any to tackle the road beast and see what it's like. My conclusion: It sucks. It sucks bad.

I entered I-70 and set the ole manual throttle lock (my wrist) to 65. I found that the duffels strapped the to back seat made a nice backrest. But, they were strapped too far forward. When I leaned back, my ass was nearly touching the tank. This made for some sore inner thighs. I stopped at the next rest stop (godsend for motorcyclists) and parked close to some Harleys. I promptly got off the bike and pulled off my full face helmet forgeting I still had my sunglasses on. This can be very painful if not caught in time. After dislodging the sunglasses from my forhead and getting the helmet off, I noticed that the Harley guys were coming back from the restrooms.

One of 'em looked at me, then looked at my bike. I felt foolish because I think they saw my battle with the sunglasses/helmet. The guy looked back at me and asked my what kind of bike I was riding. When I bought the bike, the PO had repainted the tank and side covers and had filled in the holes for the emblems. So, I didn't have any emblems on it. I told him (proudly, chest puffed out, trying desperately to keep tounge out of cheek) that it was a 1980 Yamaha XS1100 Special. He mounted his bike, looked at mine again and made a 'Hmphf' noise. He and his buddy rode off without saying another word.

I ajusted the duffels on the seat to provide more room for my butt. I opened up the saddle bags again to search for my vannila wafers (what can I say, I'm addicted). Apparently, the structual integrity of a vannila wafer is not capable of handling the constant pressures of the open road. Especially when they're being pressed down upon by wrenchs, screw drivers and other various pieces of metal fabricated by those wonderful guys at craftsmen. So I had a snack consisting of a bag of vanilla waferettes. After that, I shot down a fruitopia and smoked a cigarette. I got back on the bike and embarked back on my little journey.

Nothing interesting happened the rest of the way to Indy. The bike ran without any troubles and got me to my destination. My way back got to be a bit interesting though. I didn't have the time on my back that I did on my way there. So I decided that since I was now an experienced Freeway rider that due to time contraints I should take I-70 all the way home. I got on the road and realized that it wasn't going to take long for the rain to pelt the crap out of me. I got off on an exit and stopped at a gas station. I pulled up to a pump and filled the bike while I was there and began to put on my rain gear. The station attendant eyed me as I put on the gear. I must've looked pretty funny with a black leather jacket, a black full face helmet, and black leather boots poking out of the most obnoxious yellow pants you've ever laid eyes on.

My feelings of dread confirmed true as the rain began to come down. It's actually pretty neat when it first begins to rain on a motorcycle because the drops look like little zippy bugs in headlight. I rode on and the rain started to come down pretty hard. The only good thing about it was that the traffic slowed down and wasn't speeding by me in excess of 80 mph. If you've never had a semi truck go by you on a motorcylce doing 80+ while you're doing 60, you're missing out on one hell of an adreneline rush. Damn things will first blow you off the road, then suck you back in as they go past. Pretty interesting actually. Much worse in the rain. I made it to my exit without being to wet. The heat from the big ass engine between my legs managed to keep them warm somewhat. I was able to get home with all of my appendages attached.

All in all, I had a great trip. I love this bike more than ever and am happy to know my work wasn't in vein. I walked into my house with a large stupid grin on my face and promptly hit the sack.

Thanks again,
Johnboy

[chicago1010]

Johnboys excellent adventure, COOL

[skids]

You will enter a new dimension when you get that 5th gear working! That is exactly what your bike needed -- ridden.

[REFFI]

First buy the potato chips that come in a can/tube. Eat the chips. Fill the tube with vanilla wafers (or chocolate chip cookies or Oreo's, in my case). Voila! Ease of transport is assured.

[kjcheman]

Good Ride

Sounds like a good ride. A little rain adds to the adventure. - My wife does not agree wuth this. KC

[TopCatGr58]

Adventures of the Inclimate kind!

Hey there John,
On my run back from XSEast2002 in NY, once I arrived in Va., ran into similar stormy weather, my el cheapo camping rain suit pants had shredded on the ride up, hadn't purchased a replacement, so we stopped at a local store, manager was kind enough to supply me with 3 large plastic garbage bags, that with duct tape made a very secure pants and leggings for the wet run ahead of me.

A few wet weather riding tips for the future, when the rain first starts, the roads are extremely treacherous because the oily road film is being lifted/floated up to the top, so extra care is needed when braking/turning/accelerating until the rain is strong enough to actually wash away that oily road film. Also the painted road markings are more slippery, the speed limits, lane markings, stop zones, etc., so again care should be taken when changing velocity/direction while running over these. Avoid the center zone of the lane, if riding behind traffic, run in their tire lane, they will have pushed water out/off, and you can see the road easier, watching for potholes, etc. Use engine braking-down shifting more, and then easily apply the brakes, rear first, then the front while stopping in a straight line if possible....ie. in town traffic.

Special Railroad Crossing technique for tracks that run oblique to your path instead of perpendicular, slow down a bit and then, provided the opposing lane is clear, you can swerve/divert you path so that you can make as much of a perpendicular path across the tracks to prevent tire slippage and loss of control.
Below=crude drawing, but hopefully you get the idea.
_________________RR__________________
.===. // Traffic lane=>
= ' ' -//. . - =====>
>=. ' // ' ======'
------------------------------------------------------------
Whilst on the highway in good weather, monitor your rear view mirrors more frequently, a Semi-Tractor-trailer-truck should not have been a surprise as it passed you!!! And now you know to move to the far tire track of your lane if you are going to be passed, as well as when approaching similar sized vehicles without a median between you...to avoid the wind blast affects and to give you more room for those lateral swings in direction when you do encounter them.

Lecture closed, glad you enjoyed yourself, and returned safely, be careful out there. Okay, Goodnight Johnboy ! !
Couldn't resist!

[MartyA]

TopCatGr58:
Well stated. Some of these forum sections contain riding tips from different folks and should be added to the Riding Tips page, something like "Common Practices". Your write-up is a very good example. I recall the counter-steering tip that drew much attention also.

To some of us you are stating the obvious, and perhaps we forget that "newbies" can benefit greatly from our regular practices.

I have seen many riders in the exact middle of the lane, and wonder if they know better or not. Sometimes no rain for a long period can make that zone slippery, too.

There is a RR crossing nearby on a 55 MPH curve and at an angle to the road. I always grab the bars and upright the bike and straighten the curve as I cross. Caused a few questions on a few dice runs.

I always give the oncoming trucks an extra 1/2 lane when I can, especially with the Vetter on front.

Garbage bags - kool. Gonna put a couple in the bag right now, for the future.


Johnboy:
Not a big stupid grin. You are on a very good bike, having fun. Call it a big 'knowing' grin. And those bugs in your teeth can be picked out, so don't worry. Besides they are mostly protein, good for you, if you run out of vanilla wafers...

[Bill__Woods]

Hey Johnboy,
I live in columbus, a few more riders and we can hold XS-Midwest 2003 (Camp Cowtown). There is some good riding in ohio, me and my buddy (on his xs750) rode down to Old Man's cave a few weeks ago. Nice twisties out there in Logan county. let me know if you are up for a sunday ride. Glad you made your first long trip on your bike, safe and sound. Mine had been sitting in a garage for 10 years before i got her. When i got her running, i drove circles around the neighborhood. Then circles around a few city blocks. I put the first 100 miles on her, local and close. After 100 miles, i had all the problems worked out. Now i will take it anywhere, my confidence is good in her as a reliable machine. I have rode about 5000 miles this season, so far. Michaels Cumming is planning a oct-sept ride thru WV(better ridin' then ohio) and kentucky via secondary roads. You ought to go with us. I plan too make the trip, but don't know the dates yet.

[nutcase]

Sounds great Bill! I'd love to meet some fellow XSives. I've logged nearly 2000 miles on my bike since I first got it in April. Unfortunately, It wasn't really road worthy. I've spent many days working on the bike when I should've been riding.

Old Man's Cave is a blast. Used to go camping there all the time when I was younger. I never thought about riding the bike down. That'd be alot of fun. I do remember my Dad taking the twisties a bit to fast in our old clapped out suburban.

Let me know when you'd like to do a Sunday ride. Generally I waste most of my Sundays recovering from Friday and Saturday nights. (just kidding) My sister lives in Columbus and I'll be able to visit her while I'm up there. She already gives me crap about never coming up to visit her. Now I have an ulterior motive. I don't know about the WV trip. I'm going back to college soon and my free time is quickly becoming non-existent between work and school. Just email me at: jgrafton@lionapparel.com to let me know.