This thread might not be the best place for it, but I would like to read about your rides throughout the country on the GSXR. What challenges did it present riding a "sport bike" through that many states. Was it all one trip or multiple trips? Did you modify the bars and seat to have a more upright or comfortable position? Sounds like you yourself have proved the saying "You can tour on anything!".
My new acquisition has cruise control. I have "toured" without cruise control for years, but my first long highway trip using cruise made me place cruise control first on my want list for a touring motorcycle. I like it so much, I might even put a throttle lock on my little DR650.
There really were no challenges. Just lubing drive chain every day on vacations was kinda a PITA.
The only modifications I did to the GSXR were:
Early in it's life:
- braided brake lines
- frame sliders
- replaced stock windscreen with a sport-touring windscreen
- Kuryakyn LED volt meter
- 1.0 fork springs
Very late in it's life:
- Stebel Compact Nautilus air horn
- TUTORO chain oiler
I find the seating position of a sport bike with rear-sets and clip-ons to be comfortable.
The only reason I bought the taller windscreen. Is because the stock screen was actually shorter than my tankbag.
And being 6' 3"; the air flow off the stock screen hit me directly in the neck.
So when it rained; I would have water blowing up into my fullface helmet.
Before buying a house; and before the recession hit. I had a job with 4 weeks off every year.
I would take the three full weeks off in Sept after Labor Day, strap camping gear to my GSXR and go riding on a slightly planned vacation.
Planning amounted to which region of North America I wanted to ride and what sites I were in that region. Otherwise I just rode.
I averaged about 3,000 miles per week. Mostly because I knew these 3 week long vacations would not last forever. So I usually blasted through the central part of the U.S. and Canada without stopping.
And for the fourth week; whatever days I did not use for snow days from work over the Winter. I had to use before April.
So I used those remaining days to take a vacation in the last week of March. Usually in the South East U.S.
Here's a link to some photos:
http://trimmer.org/~eric/eric_mc_travels.html
Please forgive the bad web design. I'm not a web developer and I wrote it mostly using "vi".
Also forgive the slowness; it's on a PC sitting on my bedroom floor.
Sorry for side-tracking this thread.
Especially concerning travels not on an NT.
I wonder what these vacations would have been like if I had my Griso or NT back then.
--ET
ps. mods please move to another thread you feel is appropriate.