First road trip on my RSTD - Awesome!

[Dave77459]

I had my first road trip on my 2006 RSTD and it was awesome. I road with four other bikes (3 Harleys and a BMW K1200GT).

 

We started Friday morning from Houston, reaching Broken Bow, OK by late afternoon. Saturday we left early and road up through Arkansas to Missouri near Branson before returning to AR to spend the night at Mountain Home. Sunday we drove via Mount Magazine to Queen Wilhelmina State Park near Mena. Monday we drove home.

 

In all, I logged 1487 miles over the four days. The RSTD handled like a dream, even on the twisties. Certainly, the Harleys (Fat Bob, Road Glide, and Road King Classic) didn't out-corner me, although the BMW might have. ;-)

 

Observations:

 

* Arkansas is a great state to ride. We hit a few scenic byways that were fabulous. There was a rally in-state that choked the Pig Trail, but otherwise that was great. The roads were in great shape for our motorcycles.

 

* The weather was tremendous. Cool mornings, warm afternoons, clear blue skies. This was a great time of year for the ride.

 

* Gas was plentiful and reasonably priced. I've heard other parts of the country have issues, but it wasn't a problem on this trip.

 

* Lakeview Lodge in the Beavers Bend Resort of Broken Bow, OK was excellent. The sunrise over the reservoir was amazing.

 

* The Queen Wilhelmina Hotel on the Talemina Scenic Byway was comfortable and the views were excellent, but have dinner elsewhere.

 

* The RSTD averaged 37.4 mph, ranging between 31 in Houston rush hour traffic coming home to 43 going up and over Mt. Magazine.

 

* I found the transmission whine ignorable, thanks to the pipes on the other bikes. ;-) If I wanted to hear my bike at all, I had to be running before theirs started. LOL The only time I heard the whine was when I was leading and their noise was astern.

 

* The more annoying noise was my front tire. I think the front and the back need replacement soon, to save my sanity if for no other reason. They are the OEM Bridgestones with just 6000 miles on them.

 

* My biggest problem in the twisties was that the heavy bike coasted down onto the bike in front of me. I didn't bleed speed as much as they did. I had to brake more often as a result. :-(

 

* Logging 310-425 miles per day wasn't a problem until the last day. Standing still in rush hour traffic after riding 400 miles, heat from the engine cooking my legs, my rump suddenly became very sore. I have the stock seat, and will keep it while trying to avoid traffic in the future.

 

* The tall windscreen was very welcome. I am 5'-9" and it kept plenty of bugs from committing suicide on my helmet.

 

* My range was the shortest of the group. Usually I get 140 miles or so before hitting reserve, and no one seemed to mind stopping to let me tank up every 100 miles.

 

I'm sure I'll have more observations after I press Submit. But mainly, I just want to say that I am exceedingly happy with how the bike performed on the trip.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Very cool ride report.....none of the girly stuff about morning dew on the flowers or beautiful orange sunsets...

 

Now, what about a little background...its a 2006 and this is your first long ride? Did you buy that bike new in 2006? Or is it a recent purchase? I see that it has 6000 miles on the OEM tires...only 6000 miles in 2 years? Maybe you can improve that since you live around Houston...barring hurricanes, you can ride most of the year.

 

I can sometimes get around 160 to 180 miles on a tank and one time I saw 197! You know that reserve comes early, and you may still have a bit over a gallon in the tank.

 

Thanks for the easy-reading report...somebody once said...just the facts, m'aam!

 

 

 

 

[Venturous Randy]

Great post, Dave.

RandyA

[Dave77459]

Very cool ride report.....none of the girly stuff about morning dew on the flowers or beautiful orange sunsets...

 

Now, what about a little background...its a 2006 and this is your first long ride? Did you buy that bike new in 2006? Or is it a recent purchase? I see that it has 6000 miles on the OEM tires...only 6000 miles in 2 years? Maybe you can improve that since you live around Houston...barring hurricanes, you can ride most of the year.

 

I can sometimes get around 160 to 180 miles on a tank and one time I saw 197! You know that reserve comes early, and you may still have a bit over a gallon in the tank.

 

Thanks for the easy-reading report...somebody once said...just the facts, m'aam!

 

I bought the bike used about two months ago. The original owner's brother drove his bike into a bridge doing 100mph. After that, the owner wanted to forget motorcycling, which he did by forgetting he owned it except for weekly rides around the neighborhood to keep the bike runnable. Finally he sold it to me, along with ALL his gear. Helmets, jackets, ramps, everything. When I bought it, the bike had 2002 miles on it and had one little scuff on it.

 

It's run fine, but has run even better the more I ride it. My mileage crept up over the coarse of the trip. When I first got the bike, I ran out of gas at 125 miles! I *might* have been hitting the throttle hard at that point though. ;-)

 

BTW, the sunrises ARE amazing.

 

Great post, Dave.

RandyA

 

Thanks RandyA!

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I bought the bike used about two months ago. The original owner's brother drove his bike into a bridge doing 100mph. After that, the owner wanted to forget motorcycling, which he did by forgetting he owned it except for weekly rides around the neighborhood to keep the bike runnable.

 

BTW, the sunrises ARE amazing.

 

 

 

 

Always amazes me how some people will blame the BIKE for what the owner did...nobody does that with cars! Everyone has known of friends and relatives that get killed in cars....yet they dont say, hey, no more cars for me! ( and yes, I understand the emotion...but the logic escapes me)

 

Well anyway....I'm glad you got a nice ride and assorted stuff to enjoy.

 

And yeah, I get some amazing pictures of sunrises and sunsets...and even the occasional flower, butterfly, or bird...but dont tell anyone!

 

 

 

 

[Dave77459]

Always amazes me how some people will blame the BIKE for what the owner did...nobody does that with cars! Everyone has known of friends and relatives that get killed in cars....yet they dont say, hey, no more cars for me! ( and yes, I understand the emotion...but the logic escapes me)

 

Well anyway....I'm glad you got a nice ride and assorted stuff to enjoy.

 

And yeah, I get some amazing pictures of sunrises and sunsets...and even the occasional flower, butterfly, or bird...but dont tell anyone!

 

 

 

 

 

I don't blame the guy for wanting out after losing his brother. The death of a close sibling always has some emotional baggage, and if selling me his bike cheap helped him cope, I was glad to buy. He also said that he wanted the bike to go to someone who would enjoy it, which is a great sentiment. And I have enjoyed it.

 

As far as photos are concerned, I took a bunch of Roxie (my bike). Sometimes, flowers and such jumped between me and her. :-)

 

I have a collection of photos that I am posting on Flickr of my trip. I'm about 1/3 done, but they are here.

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/2893191927_95a2165c13_m.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2906551797_50bf66bf2b_m.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/2902738634_b016098325_m.jpg

[V7Goose]

Glad you had a good ride! Maybe we can go up there together some time - I know a bunch of those roads REALLY well.

 

Anyway, the tire noise you have is coming from the REAR, not the front. At 6,000 miles that crap tire is almost dead anyway, so dump it quick. You will find a FANTASTIC handling improvement from an Avon Venom on the rear, even with that ugly extra-wide stock Brickstone on the front. You have lots of life left in that front tire, and it really behaves OK with a Venom on the rear, so my suggestion is to save a few bucks and ride it out. However, you can't go wrong with a matched set, so if you do decide to change them both, hold onto that front for a few days and I'll ride down and bring it home for a spare.

 

Alternatively, just ride up here and we'll change the tires for you at no cost! Ride safe,

Goose

[Dave77459]

Glad you had a good ride! Maybe we can go up there together some time - I know a bunch of those roads REALLY well.

 

Anyway, the tire noise you have is coming from the REAR, not the front. At 6,000 miles that crap tire is almost dead anyway, so dump it quick. You will find a FANTASTIC handling improvement from an Avon Venom on the rear, even with that ugly extra-wide stock Brickstone on the front. You have lots of life left in that front tire, and it really behaves OK with a Venom on the rear, so my suggestion is to save a few bucks and ride it out. However, you can't go wrong with a matched set, so if you do decide to change them both, hold onto that front for a few days and I'll ride down and bring it home for a spare.

 

Alternatively, just ride up here and we'll change the tires for you at no cost! Ride safe,

Goose

 

Thanks for the tire input. I plan to change them out ASAP. As it happens, I need to be at Alliance Airport for the airshow next weekend. I see that you are not too far, and I have been working the wife to get her to ride up instead of being trapped in the cage. If you are serious and the weather looks amenable, and we can get a pair of Avons in time, maybe I'll try it.

[V7Goose]

Thanks for the tire input. I plan to change them out ASAP. As it happens, I need to be at Alliance Airport for the airshow next weekend. I see that you are not too far, and I have been working the wife to get her to ride up instead of being trapped in the cage. If you are serious and the weather looks amenable, and we can get a pair of Avons in time, maybe I'll try it.

Yes, I am quite serious. Just order the tires from SW Moto Tires and have them shipped to my address (sending PM with info) - they'll probably be here by Wednesday with standard free shipping. I love to help members here - looking forward to meeting you! Ride Safe,

Goose

 

Oh, BTW - I almost forgot the most important thing - don't forget to bring some beer! I don't charge friends to help out with this stuff, but I do like a cold one (or two) when getting hot and dirty and bench racing with friends.

[Mariner Fan]

I just checked out your Flickr pictures. You have a good eye for photography. Well done, and I enjoyed them....

 

Bob

[cecdoo]

Great story and some really great pics, Thanks for sharing. Craig

[Dave77459]

I would like to thank Goose for being so damn nice. As a follow up, I spent six hours with him yesterday, learning about my RSTD. I shipped the tires to his house as he offered, and we changed them out. The pic below is an action shot. :-)

 

I am ashamed of how worn my rear tire was. I am changing how I inspect my tires, because I never saw any cords, let alone the huge patch visible in the pic. Relying on a casual inspection of the 6" visible between fender and ground is insufficient.

 

I also got the Avons (150/90HB-15 on the rear, MT90HB-16 on the front) and they are superb. The increase in ride quality is amazing, as is the increased ease of handling. Turns on my bike are a pleasure like never before.

 

Anyways, thanks to Goose for being such a fantastic guy.

 

Dave

 

click for larger photo on Flickr.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/2938255528_4ca82c68b7_m.jpg