• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

TwoWheelTalk

My new to me Yamaha Road Star Warrior
045bf7bb75f19fc63096e13f81937d22.jpg


Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
NICE! I thought I saw you posting about it on Instagram, you seem like your having the same problem I am with getting socked in with rain. I wanna get out on it in the evenings but just as I'm heading out a storm will blow in.
 
Riding in the rain sucks.........


...... until you realize how fun sliding the ass end around is.
 
Going to be making a 650 mile trip to Arizona next month. First long bike ride. Any advice??

Stay hydrated and fed. Plan your time for more frequent breaks than you would if you drove it. Set up your luggage so your bags make a makeshift backrest if you can.

Last long ride started as about a 450 mile route that ended up being 700 miles due to me doing more canyon runs than I expected trying to stay out of thunder storms. 8 hour trip ended up getting doubled.
 
I just noticed what you'll be riding. If you can swing it, look at a batwing fairing. Memphis Shades does a good budget one for all cruisers. If you do a shorter recurve windshield, you can still look over it but lessen the effects of the wind. YMMV. I'm 40 now and just can't take getting beat up by the wind anymore so a fairing is essential for me when riding more than an hour or so.
 
Weather gets crazy around that time as you know. So plan accordingly. Get a throttle lock. Get rain gear if you don't have any. Take a tire plug kit. 650 isn't super far by any means, if things go right. It's forever if things go wrong.
 
A water bottle holder (or camel back) so you can drink as you ride, an MSR bottle of fuel just in case, tire plugs, small bicycle pump, good rain gear, and extra gloves. Those are pretty key for long stints. You can carry tools too, but other than adjusting your shifter or replacing a fuse you'll probably be looking at your credit card to get you home if anything happens mechanically to the bike.

I also recommend ear plugs or some good quality ear buds that block ambient noise help a lot with the wind noise. It might not be that bad for a few hours of riding, but spend 8+ hours on the bike for multiple days and that wind noise starts to take its toll.

Plan your stops accordingly to maximize efficiency and to leave yourself room in the fuel tank in case you get worse than normal fuel economy on a stint. You'll also learn the sweet spot for yourself the more you ride. I can push 200 miles between stops on my bike, but I've found that if I stop every 120-150 miles my stops are faster and I'm less sore at the end of the day. I've also learned that 650 miles is about as far as I want to go in a day if I have multiple days of riding ahead of me. I can go further, but it wears on me that much more.

For comfort I love having a full fairing. My windscreen is just under my line of sight and keeps me in a relatively clean air bubble. It also helps a lot with keeping bugs from hitting me in the face.
 
Last edited:
And a Speed &Strength riding jacket.
Just clearing out all my old shit since it looks like I can't ride anymore.
 
I'm sorry man that sucks, one of my beats friends is the same way....doctors told him a couple more concussions and he could be wearing diapers the rest of his life 😳
 
Damn Mike that's a major bummer. I had no idea you had experienced head trauma and were having issues. Best wishes for the future!
 
Yeah been realizing some issues and did some (read: lots) of scans and tests. Turns out it's been an issue for a while but wasn't on the surface( lots of head bangs with bmx and motorcycle riding) The fight with the kids at chic fil a was a big blow that showed a lot of stuff (no good deed goes unpunished) Having to change jobs because they are pulling my med card for the time being(cdl). And eventually need out of the patch since the plan of action involves stuff the patch doesn't allow. Not tripping on it. Nothing I can do with it now ya know. Just gotta move up certain plans and change other ones. All good in the hood.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top