1moreroad

Had a coworker tell me about the "dangerous riding" when she saw a rider stand up. We realized she was talking about me. 😄

I haven't thought about this in years, but you're right. My Ninja 600 fairing bottom was scraped up and the headers just a little bit dented. Ha! @Butrzrulz - I put a hole an oil pan riding down a paved road. Errant rock put a hole in my FJ oil pan. No speed bump, no pot hole, no gravel or dirt. I had 100,000+ miles of street bike experience before the FJ with zero trip ending problems. These are delicate oil pans. An SWM skid plate costs roughly the same as an oil pan, so its value is up to you.

I did that early last week. Givi touring screen is back on, too. It was much appreciated the next morning when it was 50 degrees instead of the predicted 60 and I had minimal layers on. Nice quiet air for commuting, too.

I change tires just before I reach the wear bars and right before a big trip. I change tires maybe once a year and getting even another 1000 miles (not sure that I would) isn't worth me worrying about it. If I could get another 1000 miles per tire, it has added up to the cost of 1 tire since I bought the bike in 2015.

Just got back from a weekend in the Smokies (for class not vacation). No motorcycle but it rained anytime I wasn't in class, so I didn't miss it. If you're looking for cheap, basic lodging, consider the Nantahala Outdoor Center on 64 about halfway between Bryson City and 129 and Wayah Road. A 2 bunk room with a window AC, electrical plug, and shared bathhouse costs $40 per night. Basic basic basic but clean and cool. Bring your own linens and towel. Next cheapest hotel was $150/nt. The parking lot is a little steep, but there are flat spaces for motorcycles to park. On the way home I stopped at the Crash Pad in Southside Chattanooga. Excellent location with lots of dining options. A bunk bed in a nook in the hallway costs $38/nt and a private room (shared bathroom) costs $90. You can't stay in this location for less. Linens provided.

Figured out almost 20 years ago that A* fit me and never tried anything else. I have something similar to your last link but mine are a few years old. They're a little vented but just barely. I can easily wear them all day in the office, and I have plenty hiking experience in A* street boots walking into scenic areas maybe a mile at a time with no trouble.

Pashnit had a good LA to SF alternative. Don't know how that fits into your OR plans. https://web.archive.org/web/20051210125031/http://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/CoastalMtnRide.htm

@Wintersdark - At the end of the day, we all choose our own risk. If we were all about maximizing safety, none of us would ride motorcycles. That said, it is safer to clean and lube the chain by spinning the tire by hand. I have a friend who lost part of thumb by just trying to make a quick because what could happen? Something he had been doing for years without incident until there was an incident. And it's a lot harder to be a keyboard warrior like this telling someone 2000 miles away how to clean their chain if you're missing some fingertips!

I have almost subscribed to Road Runner many times. Never did. The routes seemed very good, but if you can't access them with the magazine, I'm not sure I would subscribe. Can you get the GPX file thru the app or do their routes only work with their app? That would be a deal breaker because, like you, I only use my phone for GPS as a backup.

Untrustworthy. Garmin will send me down unpaved roads here in Mississippi even if I select the Avoid Unpaved Roads. I have a little dirt experience and my usual riding buddy (on a Ninja 1000) started riding in India so he's used to many different surfaces. We just slow down and continue. @PhotoAl - it's always fun to crest a rise or go around a sharp corner at fun paved road speeds and discover unexpected gravel. 😳

We're just going to have rain here in Mississippi starting this afternoon. Then it will follow me out to the Smokies. I have a class in Bryson City this weekend. 2 years ago I rode the moto out, had great weather, and got to ride Wayah Road and the Dragon, etc. after class. This time I'm driving the truck and, best case, expect to get some wet hikes in.

Sounds like the carbs need cleaning. (yeah, not helpful, but man does this sounds exactly like the problem I have with my old hand me down leaf blower)

Posted this before. This was on a paved road. When you make the sump out of tin foil....

This Triumph Tiger Sport 850 looks familiar. Almost like I've seen it before. Maybe sitting in my garage? I'm not knocking it as a bike and, based on my friend's Street Triple, this could one day replace my FJ. But could they have copied the styling any more? The saddlebags look the same as the FJs!

Good point. I never removed anything except the shock itself.

I had the same problem. Use the video I posted earlier in the thread. The swing arm is actually carved out. If you raise the rear wheel high enough so that the mounting point is lined up with the swing arm, you can get a hand and a wrench in there. I couldn't get my torque wrenches in there so I just tightened it snug.

So sorry. He picked an awesome bike.

Replaced warrantied CCT about 7000 miles ago. Definitely a different sound. That's quieter, more localized, and didn't go away.

Yes, I agree. I've owned the bike for 6 years. I promise you that this was a whole other level of noisy. It sounded like rocks in a dryer. I also know that the bike hasn't sat for 3 weeks without riding it in years maybe ever, so I'm assuming an oil thing like @Clegg78 said unless anyone has other thoughts.

That's getting your money's worth!

Small update on the Ozarks. We rode across at the beginning of August. 1. I was surprised at how little traffic. We had clean runs of most roads including Pig Trail where I'm used to getting stuck behind a train. 2. I think the last time I went across northern AR west of Jasper was maybe 2017? They have done a LOT of paving. AR DOT really cleaned up 16. So much nicer riding. 3. I had to plan gas stops a little better, though, because some of the little stops went from all octanes 10 years ago to 87 only 5 years ago to closed in 2021.

Is your preload all the way cranked up? I'm well onto the edge of the tire before I even touch down peg feelers - not the pegs themselves - at the track even on the OE shock with stock ride height.

Rebalanced the front wheel. Cycle Gear put the wheel weights on the heaviest part of the wheel. 1st time that happened. Lesson learned: when I picked up the wheel, I noticed the weights were in a different location and fewer of them than every other tire change ever but I figured it was just the different tire (Dunlop Qualifier instead of Roadsmart) so I didn't say anything. Good news is that I really couldn't feel it until highway cruising speeds. Skidplate is a great place to lift the front end. Another reason to get one. I know people will put a jack under the headers, but I always worried about balancing the bike on a round pipe. She got a bath and a thorough cleaning of the filthy chain. I'm good about lubing on a schedule, but not cleaning. There was so much old lube around the front sprocket. Pre-clean, the chain would make a sound like crinkling paper as it rotated. All gone now. The chain is actually gold again and not gray. Chain is in good shape and moved the slack back from about 35 mm to 25 mm. About 2 mm variation total in 3 different places with my imperfect gauge. FWIW I got just over 20k miles on the OE chain. This chain has about 13k miles. Lastly - due to weather and my schedule, I started her up for the 1st time in 3 weeks. At first it sounded like a horrible bag of rocks. It was so bad, I shut it off and looked the bike over. Everything (oil, coolant, chain, etc.) looked ok so I started it back up. After a few minutes it settled down to the usual noisy in neutral. After a 20 minute ride it sounded absolutely normal. No power lost. Everything felt normal. (Water puddle in the pic is leftover from the car parked there after driving through summer thunderstorms. The puddle is not from the bike). Any ideas why so noisy? Oil level is good and < 2000 miles old. Ran errands on it and started/stopped it several times yesterday and it always sounded good.

I had to COMPLETELY rebalance the wheel. Not enough weight and totally wrong position. Hopefully this fixes the problem. I'll ride tomorrow. EDITED TO ADD: Took it out today and no more vibration after balancing the wheel myself.

But do you have any bubblegum?