What a great trip! I left Richmond, VA on Wednesday at 5:30am and arrived outside of Fort Lauderdale around 9:30 that night, about 945 miles later. The NT was exceptional on the highways and performed the trip effortlessly. The weather was perfect with temperatures ranging from 45 to 82 degrees. It was good to see my family again as I only get down there a couple of times each year. We spent Thursday catching up and then went to a University of Miami football game Thursday night (unfortunately, they lost). Friday I took a quick detour into the Everglades to the Miccousuki casino. The drive to the casino is on a 2 lane road with nothing but the everglades on either side as far as you can see. Every tree along the way was standing without branches and charred from the wildfires over the past few years. This short jaunt was the most scenic part of the trip. The return trip started late Saturday morning in the rain, which followed me well into Georgia. My gear kept me completely dry and comfortable: Kilimanjaro jacket, First Gear pants, Alpinestar gloves. I decided to stop for the night just outside South of the Boarder in SC as I wanted to catch a football game on TV. The next morning I made the remainder of the trip home in rather cool weather, 37 degrees when I left SC and about 44 when I got home. I joined up with 2 riders in NC for about 150 miles during which we toured at speeds ranging from 80-95mph. The NT felt smooth at 95, but is beyond my comfort level as I do not want that kind of a ticket. The best piece of equipment that I brought on the trip was the GoCruise device. This allowed me to go endless miles with the ability to relax my right hand. With the grip puppies over the heated grips, the GoCruise never slipped and maintained speed perfectly. Again, my gear performed well. The only thing I would note is that the Kilimanjaro jacket needs a windproof liner in the cold weather. I used my Kuryakyn touring bag strapped to the passenger seat to carry the varied gear. This worked out great as it doubled as a perfect backrest. My Airhawk seat cushion made the ride easy with absolutely no discomfort at all (this same cushion did not work for me with the stock seat as it pushed me forward, but works well with the Corbin seat). The aftermarket heated grips were nice to have as well. My gas mileage was far less than I had been getting in mixed city/highway commuting. I finished the trip with 47 mpg. 2100 miles in total. I now feel confident that the bike is set up correctly for me as I feel as refreshed as the moment I left home. The NT now has 12,300 miles since I purchased it in January of this year and I feel it can handle as many miles as the Honda cages. I look forward to longer trips.
--Jeff
