MolenaarD
Jun 17th, 2007, 3:50 pm
Just a quick note to review the performance of my 99LT on the greatest motorcycle adventure of my life. Bottom line up front - I don't even want to think about riding this distance, in this amount of time, on anything other than the LT. I know it can be done...but why would you? (Of course many of my friends have asked me the same question; they obviously do not appreciate the Joy of LT).
My primary goal was to ride from San Diego to Annapolis where I would be joined by my good friend. This friend is selling me a K75 and we thought it would be fun to ride the K75 back to San Diego with me on the LT. Since I did not have an unlimited amount of time for this trip I decided to save some time on the way TO Annapolis by completing an IBA 50cc Quest to Jacksonville and then enjoy a more leisurely return with my friend. And while I was at it, why not complete a BBG as the first leg of the 50cc Quest?
Gerti (my LT) performed flawlessly and I successfully completed the first leg (1500 miles) in about 22 hours. This put me just west of Beaumont, TX. After a refreshing sleep I continued on arriving in Jacksonville about 44 hours after leaving San Diego.
As most (if not all) of you realize, the speedo and odometer are significantly incorrect so the Garmin 2610 was a great addition; if not for navigation, just to have an accurate speed and distance reading (critical when passing Smokey and submitting documentation to the IBA).
The addition of a four-gallon fuel cell w/transfer pump allowed me to easily ride the maximum 350 miles between fuel stops required by the IBA (thank goodness my bladder cooperated).
My tank bag served double-duty holding a good supply of power bars and providing someplace convenient to attach my one-liter camelback (the one-liter has a waist strap that wraps right around the tank bag).
I can't say enough about PIAA driving lights. At highway speeds at night the stock headlight really doesn't reach as far as I feel comfortable with.
I attached my new XM Sportscaster radio to a Roady bracket on the clutch reservoir and found the positioning to be quite handy.
The Valentine 1 is an awesome piece of gear that does not give false alarms as far as I can tell (and it never seemed to fail to pick up on actual "bogies" either). This is not to say that I was breaking any land speed records mind you. I am convinced that slower and steady wins the race...but it is comforting to know that you are aware of your surroundings from a laser and radar perspective!
Gerti's odometer (albeit inaccurate) is now resting at 103K+ miles and after a little maintenance and some new rubber she'll be ready for CCR.
Regards,
Didi
1999 K1200LT (Gerti)
My primary goal was to ride from San Diego to Annapolis where I would be joined by my good friend. This friend is selling me a K75 and we thought it would be fun to ride the K75 back to San Diego with me on the LT. Since I did not have an unlimited amount of time for this trip I decided to save some time on the way TO Annapolis by completing an IBA 50cc Quest to Jacksonville and then enjoy a more leisurely return with my friend. And while I was at it, why not complete a BBG as the first leg of the 50cc Quest?
Gerti (my LT) performed flawlessly and I successfully completed the first leg (1500 miles) in about 22 hours. This put me just west of Beaumont, TX. After a refreshing sleep I continued on arriving in Jacksonville about 44 hours after leaving San Diego.
As most (if not all) of you realize, the speedo and odometer are significantly incorrect so the Garmin 2610 was a great addition; if not for navigation, just to have an accurate speed and distance reading (critical when passing Smokey and submitting documentation to the IBA).
The addition of a four-gallon fuel cell w/transfer pump allowed me to easily ride the maximum 350 miles between fuel stops required by the IBA (thank goodness my bladder cooperated).
My tank bag served double-duty holding a good supply of power bars and providing someplace convenient to attach my one-liter camelback (the one-liter has a waist strap that wraps right around the tank bag).
I can't say enough about PIAA driving lights. At highway speeds at night the stock headlight really doesn't reach as far as I feel comfortable with.
I attached my new XM Sportscaster radio to a Roady bracket on the clutch reservoir and found the positioning to be quite handy.
The Valentine 1 is an awesome piece of gear that does not give false alarms as far as I can tell (and it never seemed to fail to pick up on actual "bogies" either). This is not to say that I was breaking any land speed records mind you. I am convinced that slower and steady wins the race...but it is comforting to know that you are aware of your surroundings from a laser and radar perspective!
Gerti's odometer (albeit inaccurate) is now resting at 103K+ miles and after a little maintenance and some new rubber she'll be ready for CCR.
Regards,
Didi
1999 K1200LT (Gerti)