Premium Member keithu Posted August 10, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 10, 2015 I decided to ride down to Nevada to visit my dad and step-mother who live near Virginia City, Nevada, just outside of Reno. I logged 1100 miles for the weekend and had a great ride. I left my home in Albany, Oregon Thursday afternoon and headed towards Klamath Falls. The ride was off to a smokey start. No, not that Smokey. The other kind of smokey: Some forest fires near Crater Lake filled the valley north of Klamath Falls with a thick haze. Riding along Klamath Lake I couldn't even see the mountains across the lake, so I pretended I was riding PCH instead. I found a crappy hotel and a great meal in Klamath Falls, and was up bright and early Friday morning. I started east on OR-140 towards Lakeview. It's road construction season, so here are your tax dollars at work: After breakfast in Lakeview, I headed south into California on US-395 for a few miles, and then southeast towards Gerlach, Nevada. The road through Gerlach is one of my favorites, with zero traffic and plenty of opportunity for stretching a bike's legs. But this road demands respect. There is no cell service and no room for error. Run off the road out here and you might sit in the ditch for weeks or months before someone finds you. This is open range country, and I put the FJ's ABS to the test when a calf wandered onto the road just as I approached. Before entering Gerlach I turned north for a visit to the Iron Butt memorial on Guru Lane. I have too many friends memorialized here. There was rain and standing water on the Black Rock Desert. It's hard to imagine how Burning Man will be possible in just a few weeks from now. I've never seen so much green here any time of year, much less August! Through Gerlach I continued south to Fernley. I found that the FJ-09 is pretty comfortable cruising up to 90-95mph, but any faster and there was way too much wind blast. Fuel economy fell off badly too, and I averaged just 31 mpg between Gerlach and Fernley. I badly need better wind protection. Yeah, right! I passed under I-80, rode south to US-50, and turned west. Near Dayton I turned off onto Six Mile Canyon Road, a rustic little ribbon of asphalt heading up to Virginia City. I arrived at my Dad's outside of town a little after 1:00pm and had a great stay. Saturday night we were visited by some of the local wild horses. Sunday I just wanted to blast straight home. It's 450 miles by the most direct route, which also happens to be pretty scenic. I dropped down Geiger Grade into Reno and rode northwest to Susanville, where I turned north onto CA-139. This road snakes up a mountainside with great views of Susanville below. CA-139 meanders north past Eagle Lake, which isn't much of a lake anymore. The shoreline used to approach the road, but now the lakebed is grazing land for horses, cattle, and antelope. Why didn't I stop to photograph the antelope herd?! Instead I stopped a few minutes later to snap this boring picture: Eventually CA-139 leads to Adin. There is a quaint old store in Adin with a great lunch counter, but it was only 10:30am when I passed through and was still full from a big breakfast. In Adin I turned left onto some farm roads - how did I find this route in the first place? - towards Lookout, and then north through the Modoc National Forest. I always love the smell of the trees through here. After rejoining CA-139, I continued north past Lava Beds National Park and Tule Lake. In 1872-73 the Modoc Indians fought a war against the US Army here, using the lava tubes to hide. In the 1940s, thousands of Japanese-Americans were imprisoned in a concentration camp near Tule Lake. This is a beautiful area with much dark history. The rest of the ride home was uneventful. My best economy was 52 mpg between Klamath Falls and Eugene, and I finished the 450 mile ride home in just over eight hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizin Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Great ride report man! And, xtra points for the Bernie Sanders sticker! Yamaha FZ-10 Forum Yamaha FZ-07 Forum Yamaha Ténéré 700 Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fanowater Posted August 19, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 19, 2015 Great ride report. I have ridden some of these roads and am riding more of them in a few weeks. Really inspiring. Cheers 2015 FJ-09 2006 Triumph Daytona 675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamahafjrider Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Looks like you had a great ride. Thanks for posting the pictures and the report. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minsis Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Very nice. I miss my home state! BTW what is that tank bag, looks like a really nice bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted August 23, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted August 23, 2015 The tank bag is a Wolfman Explorer. The shape is perfect for the FJ-09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fanowater Posted August 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 29, 2015 I'm loving that bottle holder. Thought is was a little goofy at first. Now I think it is genius. So does the tank bag help at all with buffeting? My first bike as a Yamaha Seca II and an Eclipse tank bag really helped the aerodynamics behind the fairing. I stopped using tank bags when I started hanging off sportbikes. Cheers 2015 FJ-09 2006 Triumph Daytona 675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted August 31, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted August 31, 2015 I actually have used the cupholder a couple of times now, once even for coffee! I don't think the tank bag affects wind flow or buffeting. I do need to get a wider, taller windshield though. It was telling to see how badly the fuel economy dropped off above 85mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fanowater Posted September 1, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 1, 2015 Well, I am leaving in 10 days for a 9 day ride to western Colorado and back and don't have a wind screen I can live with. Short screens cause a roar in my ears, tall screens seem to blur my vision from buffeting. The Yamaha screen mount doesn't seem strong enough for the big screens - they really vibrate. Having said that the Parabellum screens are really well made and give amazing coverage. I just can't seem to find a height that works for me.Getting quite stressed out about it too. Even tried going without the screen (not a good option). So now I am cutting the stock screen down and hoping to get some improvement. Btw, I was originally headed to Glacier NP, via some of the roads you just took, but fires in Oregon, Wash, Idaho and Glacier force me to head east from No. Cal. Cheers 2015 FJ-09 2006 Triumph Daytona 675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member peporter Posted September 1, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 1, 2015 Well, I am leaving in 10 days for a 9 day ride to western Colorado and back and don't have a wind screen I can live with. Short screens cause a roar in my ears, tall screens seem to blur my vision from buffeting. The Yamaha screen mount doesn't seem strong enough for the big screens - they really vibrate. Having said that the Parabellum screens are really well made and give amazing coverage. I just can't seem to find a height that works for me.Getting quite stressed out about it too. Even tried going without the screen (not a good option). So now I am cutting the stock screen down and hoping to get some improvement. Btw, I was originally headed to Glacier NP, via some of the roads you just took, but fires in Oregon, Wash, Idaho and Glacier force me to head east from No. Cal. Cheers I highly recommend the Madstad. It just works! Be sure and ask for the scalloped brackets, as they hold the winshield position wherever you set it. Got one on my bike, and really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fanowater Posted September 2, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 2, 2015 CheersI highly recommend the Madstad. It just works! Be sure and ask for the scalloped brackets, as they hold the winshield position wherever you set it. Got one on my bike, and really like it. Hi Peporter - I will try and track down the Madstad reviews on this site. 6'4" You are quite a bit taller than I am. I wonder if big guys have an easier time with screens on this bike.Cheers 2015 FJ-09 2006 Triumph Daytona 675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member peporter Posted September 2, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 2, 2015 I highly recommend the Madstad. It just works! Be sure and ask for the scalloped brackets, as they hold the winshield position wherever you set it. Got one on my bike, and really like it. Hi Peporter - I will try and track down the Madstad reviews on this site. 6'4" You are quite a bit taller than I am. I wonder if big guys have an easier time with screens on this bike.Cheers I'm doubting it. I tried a CalSci large first, and it was all wrong for me. It depended on the stock mounts which were inadequate for it. It got real flexy in the wind, which we have an ample supply of here in Oklahoma. The Madstad should be a versetile fit for shorter riders. I have the 22" screen, and you might be able to get away with one of the smaller ones. They are ultra adjustable, and you won't get beat up by the wind on a long trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member alejandro Posted September 2, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 2, 2015 I am 5'10", fairly typical male proportions, and am satisfied with the 24" Madstad. At its highest, I get minimal blast and only mild buffeting. At its lowest, I get good airflow for around town. I did a longer write-up in the windscreens section. As peporter mentions, def ask for the scalloped bracket. Also ask them to verify that the hardware is not installed backward before they ship to you. This seems to have happened more than a couple of times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fanowater Posted September 3, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 3, 2015 Peporter, Alejandro - thanks for the info. A friend, who has a madstad on his Tiger, is lending me a Puig visor to try out. If that doesn't solve this, Madstad here I come! Cheers 2015 FJ-09 2006 Triumph Daytona 675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member peporter Posted September 3, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 3, 2015 Peporter, Alejandro - thanks for the info. A friend, who has a madstad on his Tiger, is lending me a Puig visor to try out. If that doesn't solve this, Madstad here I come! Cheers What screen are you going to apply it to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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