Great first tour on my new VFR

I just came back from a great trip to MN from MA. I was on the road eight days total: three there, a day down and a day back from Minneapolis to Decora, IA to see my niece graduate from college, and three days back.

The new VFR was a joy, even though the last day was 540 miles with 440 in the rain, and the first 240 no warmer than 35 degrees. I was hoping to do some more back roads that day, but I ended up riding mostly on 17/86 and 88. There was very little traffic. I also ended up stopping at a Home Depot in Jamestown, NY to get a pair of rubber gloves and a pair of light leather work gloves to wear under them. They were not as flexible as my riding gloves, but they were dry. My rain suit is a Tour Master Sentinel. It is decent, but the pants do leak a bit after a while. Of course after 440 miles of rain maybe anything will leak. The suit does pack up pretty tight, which is nice.

The coldest it got was an hour at 30 degrees after I crossed the Mackinac. Even though it was dry, I wore my rain suit to keep me warmer. I wouldn't say I was warm .

The worse part was along the Michigan Upper Penisula on Rt 2. The ride along the lake was scenic, but I would see what looked like plumes (some times 30 yards long) of diesel exhaust. There were enough logging trucks to make that plausible. But when I finally had to pass through one of them I realized they were swarms of nats. If that is not a reason to wear a full face helmet nothing is!

On the ride out, I stayed almost exclusively on back roads. 57 and 23 in MA are beautiful, as is 23, 23a and 30 in NY. I also like 6 in PA. I have to admit, however, that I am enamored with the upper part of IL. I thought Rt 20 after Rockford was a great road. The farms are classic, and the road is interesting, especially as you get close to the Mississippi River. I assume that 80 and 88 must get all the traffic, because 20 had very little. And the ride along the Mississippi on Rt 35 in WI is also beautiful.

I had one near miss which was my fault. I was behind a car in a passing lane up a hill on Rt 20 in IL (there are actually some hills there), but the car in front of me was riding neck and neck with the car in the slow lane. Finally the car to the right pulled far enough ahead that I could pass on the right, but by then my focus on the guy in front of me and had usurped my attention to what else was around me. I didn't turn my head when I moved right and an SUV when flying by just as I started to move into the lane. It was a good reminder to pay attention. My old bicycling habit of moving into a lane in stages—first move just into the adjacent part of the new lane—paid off that day.

I have been way too busy at work to be as active as I would like on this forum, but I wanted to thank everyone for all the great advice I picked up. The Sargent seat, Helibars, and Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen worked perfectly. The screen was my last addition, but a good one. (I'm 5'9” and I wear a Shoe RF1000 helmet. I had no helmet buffeting at all. ) I had no problem riding 11 to 12 hour days, though I was glad when they ended .

I did have some pretty strong cross winds going back and forth from Minneapolis to Decora (gusts over 30 the first day), but I found that if I stayed close to the tank—something the Helibars do make a bit more difficult—the bike handled the winds just fine.

I'm lousy at taking pictures, but here are three. The first is the bike in my driveway ready to roll. The second is with my brother's bike sharing a parking space in the now-empty parking lot at the college in Decora, IA. And the third is at a rest stop with the Mackinac bridge (5.5 miles long!) in the background.

Thanks again for so generously sharing what you know!

 

Sounds like an adventure..
Sweet bike! I bet your brother is a little jealous.

 

It was a good adventure. Riding for so long in the cold and rain pushes my limits in a good way. Now a couple of hours in a cold rain will seem like nothing!

My brother is jealous now that he has seen my viffer in person , thought the SV650 is a nice bike for the bucks.

 

Thanks for sharing. You put the VFR in her element, and it sounds like she thrived. Nice looking ride ya got there.

 

Thanks, Drewl. I bought the vfr because I wanted a bike to tour on but one that would be fun for all the times I am not touring. I am, to say the least, very pleased.

I did some long rids on my vt1100t shadow--once two-up with my son out to Spokane and back--but I felt so much more in control on the vfr. It was solid in the rain and wind, and it handled some "rough" roads beautifully. And it sure can pass . I know it can handle a lot more than I can!

 

Oh yeah, I averaged 44 mpg for the trip. I pretty much was in 6th at 70 mph and above, 5th at 55 to 70, 4th and 45 to 55, and so on.

 

my .02

Sounds like a nice trip, and you had the right bike to do it with!

Looks good in red.

 

Reg, the bridge was cool. I had hoped to cross it on the way to MN, but the weather up that way looked lousy at the time. I crossed early in the morning. (I had a nice room in St Ignace over looking Lake Huron. The room rates were good because it was off season.) I crossed the bridge at 6:30 AM, so the wind was not bad. A truck driver I met in Wisconson said that they sometimes close the bridge because of the wind.

The middle section of the bridge, about 1.5 miles, is concrete on the outside lane and steel grating on the inside lane. The bridge was down to one lane each way, both on the south bound side, so I had the concrete lane. I am not a fan of the steel grating, though I have crossed more on my bicycle than on the motorcycle. I find them disconsertingly slippery when wet.

Apparently the bridge folks have a service where they will drive your car over if you are intimidated by the heights. I would think a good wind on a rainy day riding on the steel grating side might be my limit! As it turns out, that would have been my option had I crossed going south to north on the way out.

 

Thanks for the write-up! And the pictures look good. If you call them "lousy", mine are downright deplorable...

 

Thanks. The biggest problem I have with pictures is that I don't take enough. I hate to stop, and you can get only so many good gas station shots

 

That is some weather, good for you.

Great trip. What wind visor is that on your bike? Did you put it on or did you buy that way? Were you happy with it on your trip?

 

Cardiac, it is Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen. It was a breeze to put on, and it helped a lot. In fact, I was surprised by how much of a difference it made. After I put the heli bars on, and to some degree even before, I was getting a fair amount of wind in the chest. I'm 5'9" and I wear a Shoei RF1000 helmet, and with this screen I get a nice quiet ride, no helmet buffeting at all. When I'm passing trucks, if there is enough turbulence, I can tuck in just a bit and the bike sails through. I had thought about just putting it on for long tours, but I am so pleased with it I am going to leave it on all the time. (My longest day was my 590 miles mostly on the highways because I was pressed to get back. I was glad to stop, but not tired. I easily had another 100 or more miles in me.)

I know other riders here like the Zero Gravity Double Bubble. I considered that one, too, but it seemed that the ST was best for my setup.

 

Thanks

Ed, Thanks for the information on the wind screen. My bike is new. About a month old, I am carefully considering comfort upgrades. Hearing real world honest opinions is great. I ride in upstate NY so a cold morning wind can be a reality some mornings in early and late season. I am looking forward to a great first year with my new VFR. It is a 2006, new off showroom floor. Put the first mile on myself.

Thanks again

Al

 

Al, I've made three changes--seat (sargent), helibars, and screen--and I think if I had to pick just one, I would say the seat. 10-12 hours in any seat will make you squirm a bit, but I could never have done that on the stock seat. And I am long-time bicyclists with lots of multiday rides under my bellt, including a ride across country, so I have spent my time in saddles and I don't mind a little discomfort. A good seat is well worth the money. The bars are also very nice, but I think I would fare better with the stock bars than I would with the stock seat.

 

Sargent Seat

It is in the Mail. Ordered it last week. Can't wait. I get pressure against the inside of my leg and ass from the stock seat. I am always shifting around after few hours. I am 5'8" so I am sure the ZG ST windscreen will do well for me on the highway. I have a long commute to work. 75 miles. Albany NY to Poughkeepsie NY. NYS Thruway for about an Hour of it. I don't mind a free ride with wind for fun but sometimes during the routine commute a little time behind the screen will be nice. And like i said can't wait for the seat. Thanks again for all the info. Look forward to trading ride tales in the future.

Al

 

Feel stupid now, all your info was below your post. Glad we got to exchange some chatter. Al

 

No problem, Al. Hate to be the only one who feels stupid :smile:. I think you will like the screen, and you would probably like the bars, too.

 

I think they will trailer your bike across the Mackinac bridge if its too windy. Been across several times in a car or truck. Its awesome every time. The state park campground on the North end is pretty nice.
And yes, several years ago a car WAS blown off the bridge. It was a Yugo!

 

Gee, vintage, I'm glad I didn't know these things before hand. I did pick the early morning as the time to cross because I thought it would be less windy. You definitely feel out there when you are in the middle of that the bridge.

Is it always so buggy up there? I thought the first half of the lower penisula, even on 75, was great, but the bugs in the UP were annoying.