leroy

Agree with BigLenny's info. Be extremely watchful of the deer and other varmints. Kerr County has the highest concentration of deer in the US. Avoid early and late day light, aka, "deer light" and any night riding. I saw more dead deer and signs of dead deer, "red ice", than I have anywhere I have riden. I did see many live ones thinking about running into me. Also there are some open ranges which means cattle on the road and their deposits, "green ice". The weather can be tricky that time of year there so be prepared. The first time I was there was in March a few years ago. I camped a few nights in Llano River State Park. I had great weather but the day after getting home they had some cold wet and wet come in. Keep an eye on the fuel situation.

In 1970 I bought a '68 BSA Lightning 650 when I was 21. It ran great for that era. I really liked it. I had only one problem with it in the two years I owned it. The shifter return spring broke twice. First time was in heavy Cincinnati traffic. That was a real pain having to pull the shifter up after each time I down shifted. Usually on an up shift there was enough vibrations for it to return so I could catch the next gear. The last time was the day the new buyer was to pick it up. He still bought it as I told him where to buy one and how to fix it plus a rebate on the price.

Those were a fun ride back in my early days.

Here in Dallas, TX, HOV seems to translate to PASSING LANE, unless there is physical barrier preventing it. I wish I could execute those F'ers, they usually the most erratic drivers. As far as MCs in HOV I have never seen them restricted in all my travels. Many places seem to encourage their use. However, a couple of years ago I did read that a guy on a MC got a ticket for using the HOV on a bridge. I believe it was in NY. I don't remember if the ticket was later dropped. Or maybe it was one of those exemptions mentioned earlier.

Maybe I need to take my wife with me to the MC shop. NO TAPE DECK? Oh well, Harleys can't have everything.

I'm not usually a Harley fan but the Tri Glide is very pretty. Plus it is warrantied by HD. I think if I was to buy a new trike it'd be an HD for those two reasons. I am sure you will like it much better than you previous set up. I don't care what a person rides as long as they ride and they are not jerks. We are all family.

Smart man.

100% correct. If you question, "should I go on", you need to abort.

Sorry you didn't make it but that does not matter. You tried it and even if you never try again you gained very valuable knowledge. I still congratulate you for the effort.

Congrats on the ride. Welcome to the IBA. My first one taught me to plan better and I learned first hand how to recognize fatigue. Even if a person does not finish the SS1000 or if they never do another IBA ride the learning from an attempt is priceless. I know my limits now.

I use road atlas, paper maps, topi maps, knowledge of area, articles on area, gut feelings about roads that just look interesting. To rough out miles I use online Map Quest or AAA Trip Tics. I write routes and/or fuel stops on windshield and/or note card in water proof window on jacket sleeve. Yep, I'm old school. Makes trips interesting. I might add a Garmin Zumo 660, cheaper than the newest GPSs out, to use in cities.

New here to the RSV up grades to suspension but I was told by a respected member there was a better spring out there I just can't remember the brand. I did Race Tech on my VTX with fantastic results. I bought all the hardware and had the dealer install. I was too lazy. I was charged labor only as I furnished everything. I would check with the dealer first. Tell him you got the springs as a present and wanted to know if they would install and get an estimate. I don't think Race Tech makes them for the RSV as far as I know. Even if a better brand costs more the labor is the same. I believe Progressive is at the low end. You might send buttbutler@verizon.net a note to ask his opinion on which brand is better. Or go to the other site and ask Tank.

GAWildKat, that has been the story of my life. I have never had time and money at the same time, usually neither. Now I have all the time a man could ask for but my money printer broke down.

Leave them at home. Seriously, I carry my ins in my wallet. As far as registration, in my 52 years of driving and an adequate supply of tickets in a few different states I have never been asked for my registration. I never carried it until recently. Usually it is in a zip lock under my seat. Since I have the RSV now with hard bags and tail trunk I'll put a copy of each in the pocket of one of those areas. Maybe both in my wallet would be better. Some of the world travelers say that it is a good idea to have a copy on your person and one hidden on the motorcycle and maybe another in your luggage. Even a copy of your driver license stashed somewhere in case your wallet is stolen.

I finally finished with my light project on my almost new RSV. I had installed the triple play with LEDs in the signals plus brake light from Custom Dynamics a few months ago. Also Truck Lites #80220 replaced my PAR 36 passing lights a while ago. Last week, and I mean week because of interruptions, I was able to finally install my HID headlight from Xenon Depot and the Moto Lights LED Ultras on the forks. I think I'll head out before daylight tomorrow to test out the better lighting on some dark back roads.

Funny you mentioned your results of mixing regular unleaded with leaded premium. I remember when I was trying to keep a high compression Impala running after the higher octanes became harder to find. I happened to be reading a magazine, I believe it was Hot Rod, and they actually conducted a test of exactly what you were doing. Yes, they got the same results. I forget the number of points the mix raised the octane above premium but it sure did in their tests. So I started mixing the like you did. It worked. I knew one guy after the lead was gone at the pumps and he was running around 12 to 1, he would buy "for the track only" leaded racing gasoline that was above 100 octane. He filled a tank in the bed of his truck then back home put it in his car. It wasn't his daily driver of course.

I have been preaching these facts for years. Glad you posted it. Good info backed by testing. The higher octane retards the ignition of the fuel/air mix therefore as the report states it burns incompletely. I can understand an air cooled engine, even if lower compression, may require a higher octane in hot weather because they may run much hotter thus making it easier for pre-ignition (aka,knock) to take place which will destroy an engine over time. However, if there is a fuel management computer I would guess the computer would retard the spark so as not to allow "engine knock". Two of our cars' owner manuals recommend mid range but in the next sentence they state it will run fine on regular. Go figure. I am sure as the fellow in the video mentioned at a race track there may be a little difference in performance. I have driven both cars on the same 1000 mile road trips and experimented with only regular for the entire trip one time. Then the next time only mid range. No change in mileage. I do have an old pick up with 216,000 miles on it. It is so carboned up that if I run regular and accelerate very quickly, it will knock. I still run regular in it as any fast acceleration my lead to me walking home. It is approaching its last breath. I even had the tech at the Honda dealer try to tell me to run mid range in my Honda VTX. I asked why when the book states regular, 87 octane. He really did not have an answer. I know BMW liquid cooled motorcycle owner manuals state premium required. I really question if that is really needed. I am sure on a race track it might be of benefit. One thing that confuses the octane requirements are the octane ratings being used. In the US and I think Canada use the Pump Octane Number (PON) which is the average of the Research Octane Number (RON) and the Motor Octane Number (MON). MON is also known as the Anti-Knock Index (AKI). So if the owner manual states 91 octane required, is that PON, RON, or MON (AKI)? MON will be 8 to 10 points less than RON. So the PON would be 4 to 5 points lower then RON since PON is the average (MON + RON)/2 = PON. Europe just shows the RON. So perhaps, without doing any research, the Beemers octane requirement may be based on the European system of using RON. When translating BMW may have just skipped that part. Maybe? If they did then if a Beemer requires say 91 RON then 86 or 87 PON would be just about right. Or if require 93 then 88 or 89 would be about right. Some stations in the US offer 93 PON as their premium. One more part of octane requirement: If you have traveled to higher elevations say like Amarillo at only 3600 feet, not high by Colorado's Mt. Evans standard at 14,260 feet, but high enough so the regular there is as low as 85 to 86 PON. You might ask why? Higher elevations do not require as much anti knock formula. That is another subject. Also some states just have a lower minimum octane requirement thus cheaper. I do not know the "cut off" elevation for lower octane requirements but have heard that 2 points lower per 5000 feet. I have no proof. So at those elevations I do not run lower than 87 octane, maybe 86. Bottom line is as stated above, follow the owner's manual.

Not much savings on amps unless the 40 watts is for two. I appears it is for one. However, they should be bright. I believe the standard PAR 36s draw 36 watts each so that would be just under 3 amps each.

Heard the same BS at the Dallas International Motorcycle Show. I asked and the excuse was, Oh, they held back releasing it so as to tweek some things. Sure, and Yamaha is bringing back a two stroke with a kick starter but 1000cc.

I added a RIVCO to my 2012 RSV. Not cheap but seems well built. I did have to get a couple of longer bolts and I had a little trouble lining it all up. However, since I am hard headed I won the battle. After installing it I am not sure I need it but now I have it. If nothing else it will help in changing the oil since I do not have a MC jack. Maybe I should have bought a jack instead. Oh well, an excuse to buy something else.

Consider the source.

That wind speed is hell, just no other way of calling it. I have a DQ app on my phone but not all of them are on it. I haven't told her.

Each to their own. I covered the aspect of different riders' styles. There is nothing wrong with 100 mile between stops. Been there done that too. If it was that strong of a headwind maybe it was time to call it quits for the day or back off the throttle. Those conditions will wear a person out in a hurry. Been there done that too. I was beat after only a few hours and didn't care what the hotel cost. Don't tell my daughter that there are DQs at every rest stop in Indiana. We'll never get out of Indiana once we get there. The DQ is a great reason to stop. When she rides with me we don't miss many. I have been know to make an emergency DQ stop a time or two also.

I'll have to put a pencil to that one, after some research. Just roughing it out before actual experimentation assuming the speeds are actual, not indicated by the speedo as it is 8 to 10% off: At 80 mph for a 1000 mile ride and 30 mpg, 1000/30 = 33.3 gallons. Say at 30 mpg you run 5 gallons out of the tank before each fill and spend 20 minutes (long for IBA ride but short by some people's standards) at each fuel stop it would take 6.67 fuel stops rounded to 7 stops and 7 x 20 = 140 minutes = 2.3 hr for fuel stops. If a person ran a constant 80 mph for the 1000 miles, ride time would be 12.5 hours. So 12.5 hrs + 2.3 = 14.8 hrs to go the 1000 miles rounded to tenths. Maybe I should have ran the numbers at 28 mpg. Oh well, it might have made one more fuel stop and the total 15.2 hrs. At 65 mph for a 1000 mile ride and let's say 36 mpg, 1000/36 = 27.78 gallons. Say at 36 mpg you run 5 gallons out of the tank before each fill and spend 20 minutes at each fuel stop it would take 5.56 fuel stops rounded to 6 stops and 6 x 20 = 120 minutes = 2 hrs for fuel stops. If a person ran a constant 65 mph for the 1000 miles, ride time would be 15.4 hrs. So 15.4 + 2 = 17.4 hrs to go the 1000 miles rounded to the nearest tenth. Lets say at 65 mph for a 1000 mile ride and a person gets 40 mpg, 1000/40 = 25 gallons. Once again you run 5 gallons out of the tank before each fill and spend 20 minutes at each fuel stop it would take 5 stops and 5 x 20 = 100 minutes = 1.7 hours rounded to tenths. If a person ran a constant 65 mph for the 1000 miles, ride time would be 15.4 hrs. So 15.4 + 1.7 = 17.1 hrs to go the 1000 miles rounded to the nearest tenth. This is all hypothetical as we know a constant speed of 80 even in west Texas would be difficult but even a top speed of 65 would be slower at times also. If the person running 80 is fighting a strong wind the mileage could be even less. Also depending on the conditions, the rider's condition, and the comfort of the motorcycle there could be more fatigue at the higher speeds equaling more and/or longer stops. Also, riders take varied times at stops. So if a rider is one of those who must take off their helmet, take off their jacket, smoke a cigarette, stand around and BS plus the usual stuff done on a routine stop like pee, fuel, drink water, and maybe a quick snack out of the tank bag; his stops will be much longer. I based the 20 minutes on my longer stops when I am on an IBA ride. When I am doing a day ride with a buddy stopping and BSing is all part of the fun. On our ride last week we spent almost two hours over lunch and still got in a good ride. I personally don't like to go slow when I have some place to be except where road conditions dictate it or I am just admiring the scenery. That is what is so wonderful about us motorcycle riding folks. We are all different. We all have our style of riding. The motorcycle gives us time to be just ourselves. I guess that is why I don't care for club rides or group rides. My main riding buddy will not do interstates. I don't like them but at times I find them a necessary evil. So when I ride with him I know it will be a secondary roads only ride. He likes to stop more often than I do. That is fine with me as I am along to enjoy the time with a bud. Our longest trip together was over 4,000 miles through hot, rain, snow, and cold. I went at his pace. It ranks as one of the best trips I have been on and I have done several great ones.