Northwest 2009

[Ves]

I've got the first couple installments done on my recent trip out West... 13 days, 4400 miles.... You guys will just have to pretend that the motorcycle in the photos is a BMW...

On 7/13/09 I took possession of the 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250. And after a month of riding it, modifying a few things on the bike, and my knee getting better (nowhere near 100% but close enough), it was time for a trip... now or never. If I waited much longer it would start getting cold. So, as the weekend of 8/15/09 rolled around I had plans to take off and do a tour of the Southeast US. I cleared the vacation time with my boss, and I was ready. Only one problem... the weather was not cooperating. Not only did it rain that weekend but there were multiple hurricanes on their way to the Southeast US, and we were looking at a week of rain exactly where I wanted to go. So, I decided to go Northwest instead.

The new plan was to go up through Minnesota and then cut across South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, all the way to the coast in Washington state. But, since it was still raining on Monday, I went into work and updated my boss I'd be leaving on Tuesday... I hoped.

Tuesday came and the weather was mostly clear going Northwest. The trip was on.

Day 1 through 3 here

Day 4 and half of day 5 here

more coming...

[Buckster]

Awesome trip and pictures. Very interesting. Glad to see you are better and back on two wheels!! How are you liking the Bandit compared to your R's? Be safe and thanks for sharing.

[Ves]

Awesome trip and pictures. Very interesting. Glad to see you are better and back on two wheels!! How are you liking the Bandit compared to your R's? Be safe and thanks for sharing.

It's good to be back in the saddle. Can't tell you how much I needed this trip...
I'm extremely happy with the Bandit... very smooth, torquey and quick, solid 50 mpg, stops well, starts and idles cleanly, handles OK for a stock suspension, easy to maneuver at low speeds, the anti-lock is completely unobtrusive until it kicks in, good clutch feel, didn't use a drop of oil the whole trip... spritz some lube on the chain when it looks like it's getting dry and you're good to go... It's certainly just as capable a sport touring machine as the BMW's. It's funny that several people asked me if was a BMW... guess you see someone traveling cross country with a full load of luggage and you just assume it's a BMW.

And being the cheap bastid that I am, I can't get over the bang to buck ratio...

[Ves]

Next installment...
Rest of day 5 and day 6 are here

[Dr. Strangelove]

enjoying it, thanks

John

PS You didn't think it would get cold?

[Ves]

...

PS You didn't think it would get cold?

I plead ignorance... don't have much experience camping in the mountains... however, I do learn... solved that problem the next day...

[sweatmark]

Good trip! Gotta love the west... we're lucky to live here.

Would have been upset if you'd ridden out here to the coast and didn't look us up!

[Ves]

Good trip! Gotta love the west... we're lucky to live here.

Would have been upset if you'd ridden out here to the coast and didn't look us up!

Yes you are...
Next time... hopefully I'll make it all the way...

[Ves]

Ok, here's day 7...

[Buckster]

Wow....what great roads and great scenery....the pictures are awesome!
Glad to hear that the Bandito is a very capable tourer! What a trip....I'm jeaolous!

[boxermania]

Ves.....thank you.....thank you, for making my day, twofold I might add. First with the trip and the pics and second with the Bandit as I miss my first gen 1200S......she never let me down.

I have never been further north and west of Elk Grove Village, Il, but I intend to make it happen in the near future. Glad you provided me with some additional "must do" urge.

Best of luck.......

[Ves]

Glad I could be of assistance...

Do it... cause there's so much more I didn't take photos of...

And I didn't even get to Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oregon... there's a lot of squiggly lines in those last three...

[Ves]

Days 8 and 9....

[Boxer]

Ves, this is indeed a Great Ride! Your descriptions of your meal with your daughter and her beau is wonderful and I can only imagine how "neat" it was.

Thanks for the report...Carry on!

[Ves]

Well... and here it is... the end...

Thanks for letting me share this with you... writing it was reliving it... Get out there and ride boys and girls...

[iowabeakster]

I think this is your best ride report yet. Great photos, funny comments, food, fun, family, twisty roads...this one had it all. But the thing that I really enjoyed...was that both you and the bike returned uninjured! That was a real change for the better.

I really would like an honest answer...how much hassle did you find the chain drive on a long ride like this?

p.s. --I am really hoping that the work thing turns out for the best.

[Buckster]

Great ride....Great story!

[hortbum]

I grew up in Savanna Il. and now i live in peoria. Great story. Sorry about your job.

[Luke_Warmwater]

I thoroughly enjoyed your story and the pics, but for some reason, I am craving McDonalds food right now....

[Ves]

I think this is your best ride report yet. Great photos, funny comments, food, fun, family, twisty roads...this one had it all. But the thing that I really enjoyed...was that both you and the bike returned uninjured! That was a real change for the better.

I really would like an honest answer...how much hassle did you find the chain drive on a long ride like this?

p.s. --I am really hoping that the work thing turns out for the best.

Hey I'm still alive! Been hanging out over on a "different" board. Just checking up on you folks. Glad you all enjoyed it... and yes, thanks for noticing that everything came back in one piece... this time. Not counting getting rear ended in California last year, the last time I waded up a bike like that was some 20 years ago.. in both cases it involved too sharp a corner and gravel... You play ... you pay... Good news is that some six and a half months after my knee surgery and four months after the above trip, my knee is recovering pretty well; steady improvement. I can walk at a normal pace, climb ladders, etc.. It's only when I start pushing it at the gym that I reach my pain limitations. Like the doctor said, probably a year before it's back to normal...

Regarding the chain. It really wasn't a big deal... usually when I arrived at my location for the night, because the chain was still hot, I whipped out the can of chain lube, put the bike on the center stand, spin the tire with one hand and spray the lube with the other. Takes a couple minutes. Didn't need to adjust the chain at all. A big non-event. I actually find that during street riding the lube stays on for quite a long time. Highway speeds put more stress on the chain and so all the lube is used up by the end of a day.

If there's one thing I miss about the BMW, it's the anti-dive front end. That was always one of the things that attracted me to them. After having the BMW for a while and now going back to the front fork suspension, there's just no comparing them. Some people say they like the "feel" that a fork gives you over a telelever front end. Yeah, you get more feel, but you also get more flex. Hey, different is different...

I've been having fun with it... changed the bars, adjusted the seat, and made a bit of a custom exhaust using a carbon fiber e-bay muffler and a custom bent pipe..



Sounds like a race bike in the fog, not loud enough to be annoying, but with a nice deep tone. Less than a $100 bucks for all of it.

So, the real good news is that I ended up applying for eight different jobs in the new organization and did get a position. So I'm not jobless. The commute is twice as long, but I'm going through more back roads and forest preserves, so I think I'll be commuting on the bike more next year.

Finally, if you notice the picture above, my tire has chicken strips... OK, maybe not that picture, but trust me it does... I've made a conscious decision I'm just not going to push it on the street... just too many variables... I've said that before and I end up sliding back into going faster and faster, scrubbing off the strips... we'll see how long my resolve lasts this time... Maybe the 8.5 inch scar in my knee will help remind me what happens on the street if you push to the edge... then again, I may have to make the occasional trip back to the track...

Today was the first day I saw flurries...