Well, that was fun! And a little grueling. It was my first real ride after buying my R1150R (my first bike) last November. I Left last Friday morning early from Chicagoland for Paola, Kansas. From about 6:30AM to about 7:30PM I covered 560 miles. I took the superslab Interstate 55 to Interstate 72 to Hannibal, Missouri and from there took U.S. Route 24 across the State of Missouri and across the Missouri River:
I was always happy to stop for gas and stretch my legs:
Mom was relieved that arrived I arrived intact. "Motorcycles are sooo dangerous, I'm glad your safe.", she said. But six months ago her Arabian horse broke 6 of Mom's ribs, her left clavical, and her left scapula. She's 67 and rides every day. Here's mom's horse and my 85 horses:
After a day of relaxing I was missing the torque till I found this:
At ma's showing off my R, but wishing I had a GS:
Then I had to leave Kansas... goodbye mom... goodbye Clark (mom's goat):
On the road again...
Enjoying the hillys:
I lost a saddlebag somewhere -- I had been having a little trouble mounting it, but a good samaritan found it and it's on it's way home via UPS shipping! The riding was great fun and I only hit a little rain on the way home. I had one little scare passing a tractor trailer on U.S. 24 -- a big gust of of wind hit cross ways, just as I was getting ahead of the truck and the total turbulance really jerked the bike a bit. I knew panicking would be bad so I just crouched low and held on. All was OK though.
I think 560 miles is a bit much for one day though. I really had to push hard to do it and I've heard that's when mistakes are made. I think about 400 miles would be about right for me -- with more time for relaxing at the end of the ride. Also, some kind of a wind screen is really a neccessity for a ride like this. Doing it nekkid is possible, but not really recomended, IMHO. Lookin' forward to the next ride & maybe see you there...
Hey congrats - looks like it was a great ride! Weird about your bag - glad someone found it. I did 1200 miles last week - Phoenix to Las Vegas and back and then up to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix and back the long way. I think 300 to 400 miles per day is a nice pace. Hats off to your super-long super-slab riding.
On passing trucks in high winds, I make sure to stay as far away from them when passing as the lane will permit - this cuts down on the wave effect of air coming off the front of the truck. On a recent cross-country trip I saw my son nearly blown in to the path of a car when passing too close to a tractor-trailer on a windy grade going in to L.A. - he did what you did - gutted it out.
Oh - I agree on a wind-screen - it's a necessity for the open highway at high speed. I see guys out there on sport bikes and I don't know how they manage!
Great...thanks for posting your pics....bummer about the case...did you leave it somewhere or did it fall off while riding?
About that system case...by the look of that last pic showing the case that didn't fall off (if the other did)...it looks like it's not positioned right.
Did you have the lower mounting foot positioned correctly in that groove on the case?...a lot of newies just worry about the top and leave the bottom to swing free...it it's correct the case should be perfectly parallel with the rear wheel when looking from behind...it looks a bit off to me.
Randy, They're great pictures.
I agree with your assessment of a good day's ride. I nearly always ride 2-up when I go long distances on the RT and 400 miles in a day is about enough.
randy.....I'm glad you enjoyed your first experience.......good run for the first time out. The pics are also great.
I agree and side withj DJ's evaluation, your last pic shows that the left and remaining bag is not being held by the lower mount.....you need to practice the attachment of the bags.
My only other comment, based on your story.....rode the slab, 560 miles and seen that you are tall and lanky.....man, you need to invest on a windscreen, something like a GIVI A750 or similar, mind you not a sail, that will take the wind off your chest at 75 mph over the long rides.
Welcome to the experience............
Member #312
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
thanks for the tips about attaching the system bags. I think my right bag fell off because it wasn't properly attached. I thought the bottom hook that points upward was in the slot but apparently not. Is there a trick to getting it mounted correctly? I have the square GS rails, which I don't really like the looks of and am wondering if the rails made for the R would also make the system bags easier to mount. I've since taken the left bag off, so I'm not sure if it was mounted correctly or not, but I agree, from the photo of it from the rear it appears to be incorrectly mounted (it's angled a little to too far outward, as you noticed.
Until I saw the first case was missing, I never checked in my mirrors to make sure they were still there. And I had ridden about 100 miles since my last "gas-fill" before I noticed that the right bag was missing. I had no address or phone number on the outside of the bag, so my good samaritan had to break the lock to help me. Fortunately, I had some ID inside the bag.
I haven't seen the wayward system bag yet, but Mr. Samaritan says the outside is not as scuffed up as you might think, consider the tumble it must have taken.
Kind of embarrasing to loose the bag but oh, well... live and learn. The best part of the ride (besides seeing Mom on Mother's Day), was going though the country-side, enjoying the sights and smells (minus the skunks) of rural life. I live in the suburbs and sure would like to get away from it... although I do like having easy access to the City of Big Shoulders (http://www.love-poems.me.uk/sandburg_carl_chicago.htm). I was really pleased with how much power the R1150R bike had in the speed range of 60 MPH and up. The acceleration seems really good when I needed it most (although I can only compare it to cars I've driven, rather than other motorcycles). The onliest other bike I've ever ridden is the Honda Shadow 250 at the MSF course... and I thought THAT bike was a blast at the time!
Guys, thanks for the tips about getting those bags properly mounted! As for goat, she's single, if any of you guys find her fetching
Losing your bag had nothing to do with the GS mounts. I switched my bike from the stock to the GS mount because I like the looks better but they attach the same. The GS mounts don't have the "swoop" up, the grab rails and the place for the semi-worthless rack.
The likely culprit, as others said, is the lower foot has to fit in the "slots" on the bag. I find myself missing that often and have learned that when the bag just doesn't want to fit right, that is probably the problem.
I'll bet DJ is right about the bags. I've heard of bags falling off RR's when the lower foot isn't in the slot properly. When I got my mounts installed the dealer specifically warned me about that. At least a kind soul found it and is sending it back.
'05 R1200GS
Once owner of an '03 R1150R
Member #333 (cool number!)
but oh, well... live and learn. The best part of the ride (besides seeing Mom on Mother's Day), was going though the country-side, enjoying the sights and smells (minus the skunks) of rural life. I live in the suburbs and sure would like to get away from it... although I do like having easy access to the City of Big Shoulders (