Deals Gap run

[Rickster]

The V Strom's getting a new front tire, a new chain, oil change just before we go, and maybe a new drivers back rest.

Loaded down I can do 150 miles between gas stops, but if we hit a head wind, 180 might be pushing it. If one of us runs out of gas it will cost us 2 hours., not to mention the danger involved.

I'm good with 5 to 8 over on the speed limit.

Tricker, Oakdale is small with what looks like only one option for gas, so I felt it would offer less chance of confusion.

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Affirmative. I'd like to try and choose a spot a few hours ahead of time so we're not wandering around in the dark, exhausted. Our GPS units should facilitate that. Maybe we can do it over a dinner stop.

Yep, GPS's are great for that, is anyone else in our group bringing one?

Thundurburd I assume you will be riding with us, where is a good place for us to hook up with you?

[Thundurburd]

Rick, I won't be riding with you guys, I will be meeting you in Robbinsville on the 31st. I've coordinated this trip with the monthly visit I take to my employers corporate office near Glasgow KY which is about four hours from Deals Gap. I'll trailer my bike there and then leave for Robbinsville probably friday night.

That will work out best for everyone concerned. I don't have much freeway experience and the S50 gets only about 110 to 120 miles before the reserve. You guys will move much faster and go longer without me.

[Clint]

We're perfectly willing to work within that range, and interstate riding is cake. Feel free to reconsider.

Originally Posted by Rickster

If one of us runs out of gas it will cost us 2 hours., not to mention the danger involved.

Bah! I carry a short length of tubing and a breath mint for just such occasions.

I'm surprised that the 'Strom is that limited. I've seen 215 miles with full luggage on the Bandit. It wasn't intentional.

BTW, I'll have a tire plug kit with me.

[Thundurburd]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

We're perfectly willing to work within that range, and interstate riding is cake. Feel free to reconsider.

Thanks, but that wouldn't work for me. By the time I get my minivan loaded for my week at the main office, with laptop case, briefcase, suitcase, a tote with old project files, a box of books, and other miscellaneous stuff the van is pretty well packed. In fact I usually have to take out one or two of the rear seats to get it all in.

Since I am taking a minivan however, I thought I'd bring along a few metric tools, cleaning supplies, and a mini air compressor. Haven't thought this through yet so if there are any suggestions let me know. You guys seem pretty well prepared though.

[frostbitevinnie]

Lets see, how do I respond to all this talk?

1: I do smoke but I never smoke indoors. I smell bad enough naturally so why make it worse?

2: Speed is not an issue with me. I generally ride 10 over.

3: I now have a G-tank so I am able to go 200+ miles w/o stopping. Prior to the tank 130 max. I rode 150 miles yesterday, trying out my new backrest and G-tank operation. Felt great but can Adam make it that far?

4: My gut is usually churning pretty good in the morning so I may be late getting going.

5: Gas stops. Gas, rehydrate and a quick smoke is all I need. Maybe a quick bite.

6: I don't care to smell any roses on the way down. Plenty of roses in them thar hills.

7: Are we avoiding Indianapolis or not? Going through there last year was a PITA at about 2:00 pm

8: I have done some group riding but not much.

9: Money. We can settle at checkout as far as I am concerned. But if you don't pay you will have Frosty on your gas hole.

That's all for now.

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

We're perfectly willing to work within that range, and interstate riding is cake. Feel free to reconsider.


Bah! I carry a short length of tubing and a breath mint for just such occasions.

I'm surprised that the 'Strom is that limited. I've seen 215 miles with full luggage on the Bandit. It wasn't intentional.

BTW, I'll have a tire plug kit with me.

The Power Commander map that I have installed is only getting me about 40 mpg.

I'm going to try and get a better one before the trip.

The one I had in it when I went to the left coast in 06 was a lot better, I saw as high as 53 mpg.

That map was lost when I took it in for service and the tec did me a favor (without my asking) of putting a better (he thought) map in it.

I didn't push the issue at the time because I thought I could reinstall the good gas mileage map any time I wanted, unfortunately the guy I got the map from sent it to me on a floppy disk, and I can't figure out how to get it off the floppy to a CD so I can install it in the Power Commander, and now I've lost track of the guy that gave me the mapping.

I might just spend the $ to have a custom map done.

In any case, with a 5.8 gal tank I should be good for about 230 miles before I'm walking, I just get to be kind of a woos when that low fuel light starts blinking at me at 150 miles.

[Clint]

Pop the floppy in the drive. Open Windows Explorer. Drag the file from the floppy (right pane) to the CD writer (left pane). You should then be able to right-click on the CD drive and select 'write these files to disk'.

[Rickster]

My computer doesn't have a floppy drive.
I picked up an external one from a guy at work, and down loaded the software to my computer so that should work, but when I pop in the floppy it comes up blank like there's nothing on it.

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by frostbitevinnie

Lets see, how do I respond to all this talk?

1: I do smoke but I never smoke indoors. I smell bad enough naturally so why make it worse?

2: Speed is not an issue with me. I generally ride 10 over.

3: I now have a G-tank so I am able to go 200+ miles w/o stopping. Prior to the tank 130 max. I rode 150 miles yesterday, trying out my new backrest and G-tank operation. Felt great but can Adam make it that far?

4: My gut is usually churning pretty good in the morning so I may be late getting going.

5: Gas stops. Gas, rehydrate and a quick smoke is all I need. Maybe a quick bite.

6: I don't care to smell any roses on the way down. Plenty of roses in them thar hills.

7: Are we avoiding Indianapolis or not? Going through there last year was a PITA at about 2:00 pm

8: I have done some group riding but not much.

9: Money. We can settle at checkout as far as I am concerned. But if you don't pay you will have Frosty on your gas hole.

That's all for now.

Answers.

1. Good.

2. Good.

3. He has a 4.8 gal tank, so he would need to be getting at least 45 mpg to do 200 miles between stops.

4. I can work with that.

5. I can work with that too.

6. Good.

7. We have the option to adjust our route when we see what time we get to Bloomington, if it looks like we are going to hit Indy at Fri afternoon rush hour, than reroute at that time. If that's OK with everyone.

8. You'll learn fast, and you will like it..

9. I will gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger ah, I mean room today.

10. Oh wait, there is no ten. Never mind.

[frostbitevinnie]

START ENGINES
With your right or left arm extended, move your index finger in a circular motion.


LEFT TURN
Raise your left arm horizontal with your elbow fully extended.


RIGHT TURN
Raise your left arm horizontal with your elbow bent 90 degrees vertically.



HAZARD RIGHT A
Extend your right arm at a 45 degree angle and point towards the hazard.


HAZARD RIGHT B
Extend your left arm upward at a 45 degree angle with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and point towards the hazard over your helmet.


SPEED UP
Raise your left arm up and down with your index finger extended upward. This indicates the leader wants to speed up.

[frostbitevinnie]

HAZARD LEFT
Extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle and point towards the hazard.




SLOW DOWN
Extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle and move your hand up and down.


STOP
Extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle with the palm of your hand facing rearward.


SINGLE FILE
Position your left hand over your helmet with your fingers extended upward. This indicates the leader wants the group in a single file formation. Usually this is done for safety reasons.


TIGHTEN UP
Raise your left arm and repeatedly move up and down in a pulling motion. This indicates the leader wants the group to close ranks.


TICKED OFF
Extend your left arm straight out with your elbow bent 90 degrees. Carefully extend your middle finger to clearly demonstrate your dissatisfaction with the other guy. NOTE: It is not recommended you do this when you are alone.

[Rickster]

Nice graphics, but I find it easier/safer to point at hazards with my feet.

[Thundurburd]

Originally Posted by Rickster

I picked up an external one from a guy at work, and down loaded the software to my computer so that should work, but when I pop in the floppy it comes up blank like there's nothing on it.

It could be a software issue being that an external drive requires special software to run, or it could be simply a bad floppy. But I've had old computers where the floppy drives were old or just getting out of spec and sometimes had trouble reading disks from other computers. I just tied another computer and was lucky it always worked.

So if you know someone who has a computer with a floppy drive ask them to try it. If they can't burn a CD then email the file(s) back to yourself or to someone who can. Or you can mail the disk to me. Be careful though the Post Office has mangled the last two CDs I tried to send out.

Might be worth a try.

[tricker]

oh.. with my range.. i do 160 due to an engineer who was having a bad day and made the reserve switch a pain in the ass.. I have to pull over literally to switch to reserve. sucks that i'd be the one to limit the range. no load on the bike i can get upwards of 55-60 mpg on strictly highway driving but i've never had full out interstate driving with gear.. I'll see what i can do about the reserve switch. see if i can get it from (evil banshee to turn) to (lesser banshee to turn)

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by tricker

oh.. with my range.. i do 160 due to an engineer who was having a bad day and made the reserve switch a pain in the ass.. I have to pull over literally to switch to reserve. sucks that i'd be the one to limit the range. no load on the bike i can get upwards of 55-60 mpg on strictly highway driving but i've never had full out interstate driving with gear.. I'll see what i can do about the reserve switch. see if i can get it from (evil banshee to turn) to (lesser banshee to turn)

I have a suggestion, this isn't something you would want to do all the time, but it might work out OK for when we are all riding together, just leave it on reserve all the time.

[tricker]

Rick... fair enough. thats why you get paid the big bucks.. I do have a gas gauge so i'll know when things are starting to get really close

Vinnie... you think at a distance your signal to speed up could be mistaken as f-off?

Mike.. i'll put it here too i'll remember to bring your book.. and is it ok if i just pay for your shipping when we meet up in NC?

Clint.. I just didn't want you to feel left out. carry on

[frostbitevinnie]

I hope so.

[frostbitevinnie]

Here's a question. So we meet in Tomah/Oakdale, that's 242 miles for Clint and I to ride to meet Rick and Adam. So what time do we plan on meeting? I think Clint and I will need a break by then so breakfast/gas/stretch? I am just trying to determine if we need to start riding at 2:30 am ,YUCK, or later.

[Clint]

LOL! I sorta figured on 6-7 a.m., but it could be earlier if need be. Figure 50 mph average with stops. How far we goin'? Indianapolis is 660 for us, so if we shoot for 700-750 we'll only have 350-400 the next day. That's about 11 hours of riding. Figuring 3 hours of stops, 14 hours from 6 a.m. is 8 p.m. Not too bad, eh?