Wed. June 6, flew into Eugene. Next day, Don Bennett, the now previous owner picked me up at the hotel and we drove to his home in Lowell to
inspect the 2010 Silver VAB (SN 00024) with 4500 miles I'd flown in to purchase. After some instruction and an enthusiastic thumbs up, the deal was done. Luckily, Delta saw fit to deliver my checked duffel with my optional equipment. Everything from the duffel and carry-on was stored in the panniers and top box, with all my clothing stowed in the CabinMax carry-on Rok Strapped to the passenger seat. Worked great. Called Progressive to get the insurance done and downloaded the insurance ID on my phone.
So on June 7 after only 1 1/2 hours at Don's house, I was off, learning the new bike and enjoying the great scenery on the Willamette Hwy toward Oakridge, a short 25 miles away for my first night. I had know idea when the deal would be done, so booked the first night close. Rode beyond Oakridge another 35 miles and back to get more seat time before I checked in to the AAA rated Cascade Motel. Pleasant, well maintained and very basic.
Off at a leisurely 7:30 the next morning, I headed for Crater Lake. Didn't realize how cold it would be, and only had my mesh jacket with thermal vest on. Pulled into the Rim Village Center and immediately went for coffee and a muffin in the cafe. Once thawed I purchased my obligatory National Park ball cap for Crater Lake.
Back to the bike and ready to roll, the starter button produced no action... Hmm, new battery, voltage and all the dash lights OK..
A couple of years ago, a tipover on my VStrom jostled the clutch interlock switch, rendering it inoperable. Starter would not function.
Had no wire with us, so a paper clip was found and used to jumper the 2 clutch switch leads to get things going. The switch on the NT was also disabled, likely from the bike sitting for years in the Oregon atmosphere. Note to self, and others, using stainless steel safety wire is not advised to make a jumper wire. It's not magnetic and that lack of FE evidently discourages electron flow. Using my VOM to measure resistance between the leads allowed the starter to activate and gave me the lesson re: SS wire. With an appropriate jumper I was on my way but decided to forgo the detour to Lassen after wasting an hour on my electrical lesson. Rolled into Susanville, CA about 4PM Fri, June 8 to the River Inn.
That evening looked at the weather forecast for the next leg to Bishop. High winds were expected most of the way down 395 to Bishop, building throughout the day. A bit unusual to have winds on 395 that far north. With that in mind got up early, had a granola bar breakfast and got away at 6:30.. Boogied as best I could, with intermittent gusty winds. Had about 4 butt pucker moments, but the wind effect was much more pronounced on the rider than the bike. I was impressed with it's stability, both in the gusting winds and it's lack of reaction to wind wakes of oncoming semis. It is much more stable than the VStrom. Got into the Bishop Travel Lodge just before 1PM. Settled in and had my one meal of the day mid afternoon at Jack's, a local diner nearby. Great burger and potato salad. Hungry I was.
South of Bishop, I was expecting much warmer weather, but looking at nest day's weather, it appeared I might get lucky with temps in the mid 80s. With that in mind I delayed my departure til about 8AM. From Bishop, the trip to Yucca (Yucka) Valley was uneventful and pretty boring the further South I rode. Rolled into the Best Western Joshua Tree about 2PM. Definitely the best hotel of the trip. A 12' Subway Cold Cut Combo made for lunch and dinner along with chips and a few tots of Jameson. Enjoyed a slack evening with Blade Runner 2049. Got to sleep rather late at 10 PM.
This morning, June 11, had a nice Best Western sausage & eggs breakfast, then made a leisurely departure at about 8AM for the short 170 mile ride home. The first hour, temps got into the mid 90s. but cooled off into the mid 80s as elevation increased on the Pines to Palms Highway (in my case palms to pines), a great set of twisties heading south and rising out of Palm Desert. Rolled into the homestead around 11....
Observations about the bike, and questions...
..The stock seat puts pressure on the inside of the upper thighs. Am hoping my current choice of a Sargents (from MC Larry) will relieve that irritation
..There is a definite whiff of fuel now and then, especially when in a crosswind and when the tank is fullest. There is an SSR spin on fuel cap system installed. Has anyone experienced fuel smell like this and found the issue.
..There are lowering pegs installed (not MC Larry) that I will remove. Nice pegs, but they (and it appears Larry's do also) move the foot rest area around 3/4" or so outboard. Makes using both levers very awkward to me. Luckily he still had stock pegs, that will be re-installed.
..The Cee Bailey plus 4 shield is a mixed bag. More turbulence than I'd expect at lower settings, but OK when top is just below eye level where it is probably designed to be. I just like a low shield at times.
..Enjoy the handling and engine. Drivetrain is a bit noisy, but I expected that. Shifting is smooth, but somewhat clunky (only noticed when riding to fetch food with no earplugs.
..I managed to break the left pannier rear latch tower. Thought I was being pretty gentle. Noticed it this morning as I was loading. got it closed with the front latch and gorilla taped the rear. Will epoxy it tomorrow and add some to the other latches. It still has the original Honda sticky goo on the grease points. I'm convinced that contributed to the issue. Will remove and apply silicone as suggested. Am going to order some Franzen external latches. Has anyone used the keyed latches? Combination style locks have a bad history with me, but may go that way.
..While on the pannier subject, the security straps on my lids are 2 different sizes. One side has 10" straps (right) and the other has 14" (left). If they should be different lengths, it seems to be they should be reversed to account for being opened on the side stand.
Think I've rambled on enough, but am really glad I got to make the trip. Enjoyed meeting with Don. Enjoyed the trip back and am looking forward to making some changes that will fit my bod and style.
inspect the 2010 Silver VAB (SN 00024) with 4500 miles I'd flown in to purchase. After some instruction and an enthusiastic thumbs up, the deal was done. Luckily, Delta saw fit to deliver my checked duffel with my optional equipment. Everything from the duffel and carry-on was stored in the panniers and top box, with all my clothing stowed in the CabinMax carry-on Rok Strapped to the passenger seat. Worked great. Called Progressive to get the insurance done and downloaded the insurance ID on my phone.
So on June 7 after only 1 1/2 hours at Don's house, I was off, learning the new bike and enjoying the great scenery on the Willamette Hwy toward Oakridge, a short 25 miles away for my first night. I had know idea when the deal would be done, so booked the first night close. Rode beyond Oakridge another 35 miles and back to get more seat time before I checked in to the AAA rated Cascade Motel. Pleasant, well maintained and very basic.
Off at a leisurely 7:30 the next morning, I headed for Crater Lake. Didn't realize how cold it would be, and only had my mesh jacket with thermal vest on. Pulled into the Rim Village Center and immediately went for coffee and a muffin in the cafe. Once thawed I purchased my obligatory National Park ball cap for Crater Lake.
Back to the bike and ready to roll, the starter button produced no action... Hmm, new battery, voltage and all the dash lights OK..
A couple of years ago, a tipover on my VStrom jostled the clutch interlock switch, rendering it inoperable. Starter would not function.
Had no wire with us, so a paper clip was found and used to jumper the 2 clutch switch leads to get things going. The switch on the NT was also disabled, likely from the bike sitting for years in the Oregon atmosphere. Note to self, and others, using stainless steel safety wire is not advised to make a jumper wire. It's not magnetic and that lack of FE evidently discourages electron flow. Using my VOM to measure resistance between the leads allowed the starter to activate and gave me the lesson re: SS wire. With an appropriate jumper I was on my way but decided to forgo the detour to Lassen after wasting an hour on my electrical lesson. Rolled into Susanville, CA about 4PM Fri, June 8 to the River Inn.
That evening looked at the weather forecast for the next leg to Bishop. High winds were expected most of the way down 395 to Bishop, building throughout the day. A bit unusual to have winds on 395 that far north. With that in mind got up early, had a granola bar breakfast and got away at 6:30.. Boogied as best I could, with intermittent gusty winds. Had about 4 butt pucker moments, but the wind effect was much more pronounced on the rider than the bike. I was impressed with it's stability, both in the gusting winds and it's lack of reaction to wind wakes of oncoming semis. It is much more stable than the VStrom. Got into the Bishop Travel Lodge just before 1PM. Settled in and had my one meal of the day mid afternoon at Jack's, a local diner nearby. Great burger and potato salad. Hungry I was.
South of Bishop, I was expecting much warmer weather, but looking at nest day's weather, it appeared I might get lucky with temps in the mid 80s. With that in mind I delayed my departure til about 8AM. From Bishop, the trip to Yucca (Yucka) Valley was uneventful and pretty boring the further South I rode. Rolled into the Best Western Joshua Tree about 2PM. Definitely the best hotel of the trip. A 12' Subway Cold Cut Combo made for lunch and dinner along with chips and a few tots of Jameson. Enjoyed a slack evening with Blade Runner 2049. Got to sleep rather late at 10 PM.
This morning, June 11, had a nice Best Western sausage & eggs breakfast, then made a leisurely departure at about 8AM for the short 170 mile ride home. The first hour, temps got into the mid 90s. but cooled off into the mid 80s as elevation increased on the Pines to Palms Highway (in my case palms to pines), a great set of twisties heading south and rising out of Palm Desert. Rolled into the homestead around 11....
Observations about the bike, and questions...
..The stock seat puts pressure on the inside of the upper thighs. Am hoping my current choice of a Sargents (from MC Larry) will relieve that irritation
..There is a definite whiff of fuel now and then, especially when in a crosswind and when the tank is fullest. There is an SSR spin on fuel cap system installed. Has anyone experienced fuel smell like this and found the issue.
..There are lowering pegs installed (not MC Larry) that I will remove. Nice pegs, but they (and it appears Larry's do also) move the foot rest area around 3/4" or so outboard. Makes using both levers very awkward to me. Luckily he still had stock pegs, that will be re-installed.
..The Cee Bailey plus 4 shield is a mixed bag. More turbulence than I'd expect at lower settings, but OK when top is just below eye level where it is probably designed to be. I just like a low shield at times.
..Enjoy the handling and engine. Drivetrain is a bit noisy, but I expected that. Shifting is smooth, but somewhat clunky (only noticed when riding to fetch food with no earplugs.
..I managed to break the left pannier rear latch tower. Thought I was being pretty gentle. Noticed it this morning as I was loading. got it closed with the front latch and gorilla taped the rear. Will epoxy it tomorrow and add some to the other latches. It still has the original Honda sticky goo on the grease points. I'm convinced that contributed to the issue. Will remove and apply silicone as suggested. Am going to order some Franzen external latches. Has anyone used the keyed latches? Combination style locks have a bad history with me, but may go that way.
..While on the pannier subject, the security straps on my lids are 2 different sizes. One side has 10" straps (right) and the other has 14" (left). If they should be different lengths, it seems to be they should be reversed to account for being opened on the side stand.
Think I've rambled on enough, but am really glad I got to make the trip. Enjoyed meeting with Don. Enjoyed the trip back and am looking forward to making some changes that will fit my bod and style.
It's not quiet.
