angrygirafe Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Have you tried riding with a camelbak? I started doing that on multiday trips and it’s awesome. Much easier to stay hydrated sipping all day than waiting until stops to chug a water bottle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Day 2 is in the books, 450 miles, 10 hours of riding. Silverton, CO to Flagstaff, NM. It was a long and pretty damn hot day. Hit the Petrified Forest National Park, and some beautiful scenery on the way. even found some time to enjoy one of my favorite burgers anywhere - Blakes Lottaburger in Gallup, NM. The ride wasn't without issue... this was my first long cruise at high speeds on the new tires (high speeds being 85+Mph sustained). I noticed some vibration/resonance that would come and go every second or so. Right before I got to Flagstaff, I called a Yamaha shop to reserve a spot to come in when they open to get them to check the balance of the tires. It only manifests itself at 75+ but on any kind of rough road you wouldn't notice it. The pool table flat aspect of I-40 made it easy to detect these things. To the point I didn't want to go above 85Mph as it really gets noticeable and unnerving at that point. I probably felt it before but figured it was a bad patch of asphalt not the bike. Because of this I am changing up my plans and instead of Los Alamos NM tomorrow, I may stick around Flagstaff, and ride up to the grand Canyon and back once the bike is finished. Its only 80 Miles north. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 12 hours ago, angrygirafe said: Have you tried riding with a camelbak? I started doing that on multiday trips and it’s awesome. Much easier to stay hydrated sipping all day than waiting until stops to chug a water bottle. Yep I have one... I drank it all early in the ride on day 1 and forgot to refill it at one of my stops. Today I kept good track, pretty sure I drank close to 5L of water.. which was needed, it was hoooot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 2and3cylinders Posted September 16, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted September 16, 2020 Who mounted the tires on your rims didn't they balancing them I noticed you put the wheels on you need to get a front and rear Pitbull A static balancers worth its weight in gold I have an Nomar and they're balancer which is already paid for itself in 4 years doing two sets of tires a season plus friends Beautiful scenery looks like it'll be an interesting trip for you good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 9 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said: Who mounted the tires on your rims didn't they balancing them I noticed you put the wheels on you need to get a front and rear Pitbull A static balancers worth its weight in gold I have an Nomar and they're balancer which is already paid for itself in 4 years doing two sets of tires a season plus friends Beautiful scenery looks like it'll be an interesting trip for you good luck Yeah, the installer said he balanced them... but I am guessing he did not, or didnt do them properly. I am going to buy tools to do my own tire installs, and balancing coming up, but I've been holding off a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3banger Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Hey, if your heading to the canyon on 180 don’t miss a quick ride up snowbowl road, Fun little bit of twisties. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Wolf Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Clegg78 said: ... I called a Yamaha shop to reserve a spot to come in when they open to get them to check the balance of the tires. Maybe you could just put some "Ride-on" in the tires. It will balance the tires and protect against flats. I just got 2 bottles and will be putting them in this week myself. Supposed to work well, and not get all over the rim like "slime". Comes with valve core removal tool, you would just need compressed air after put it in. Mid-trip, that would be a lot faster than removing the wheels from bike to balance them. Edited September 16, 2020 by Lone Wolf 1 1980 Yamaha 850 Triple (sold). Too many bikes to list, FJ-09 is next on my list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3banger Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Also 89 south out of Flag through Sedona, Jerome, Prescott, Yarnell to Wickenburg was one of my favorite AZ ride. Finally my all time favorite motorcycle road is in eastern AZ, 191 from Clifton to Alpine AZ. Hope you have a great trip! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Update: Bike has been fixed, thanks to GO AZ Motorsports, they got me in right at opening, and balanced both wheels for cheap. Front was out of balance 60gm, rear 40gm! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 1moreroad Posted September 16, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted September 16, 2020 On 9/15/2020 at 10:39 AM, angrygirafe said: Have you tried riding with a camelbak? I started doing that on multiday trips and it’s awesome. Much easier to stay hydrated sipping all day than waiting until stops to chug a water bottle. I threw my Camelbak in my tank bag on my last hot trip (saw 104 on the temp gauge) and it was solo much better than on my back. Just stuck the bite valve out and pulled when I needed a drink. The tube is stiff enough tiger you could push it back in the bag. Wrapped it in a rain coat for protection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Fairly quick day today going up to the grand canyon from Flagstaff and back. Smoke rolled in today and filled the canyon, it was way worse by the time I left. I tested the wheels/bike with some high speed "test" and its a new bike. I am pretty sure the OE wheels/tires were unbalanced from the factory! There was a vibration I had from day 1, are gone. A nice shorter day, but still a bit sore from back to back riding, 3 days in, 1000+ miles done, and another close to 400 miles tomorrow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 14 hours ago, 3banger said: Hey, if your heading to the canyon on 180 don’t miss a quick ride up snowbowl road, Fun little bit of twisties. I almost did on the ride back, but there was a truck blocking the driveway and I was hungry (and thirsty for a beer) so i skipped it. I'll be back to flagstaff, I love this area. Also I brought like 10K$ in camera gear, and the grand canyon was covered in smoke... so I need to return when its not Smokey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 2and3cylinders Posted September 17, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted September 17, 2020 86 degrees and clear in Flagstaff 66 in Chicago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) So... the ride is over in the most dramatic of ways. I was cruising down one of the tribal roads in new mexico, after ~300 miles of just sublime riding.... hit some broken road work which on its own was not bad at all, but one dip had a rock in it that destroyed the sump protector and the "oil pan" on the bike. I didn't see the rock until too late, and even so I didn't think it was as big as it was I guess or it would just go off to the side. I didn't notice for probably 1/2-3/4 mile when I went to upshift and my boot slid off the shifter cause my boot was covered in oil. Killed the engine before the CEL/Oil Pressure light came on so its probably fine. But my ride is clearly done. I am SUPER lucky I noticed before any corners as the rear tire was covered in oil. I have a picture of the offending rock from the dash cam setup on the bike... the rear catches it flying in the air behind the bike after the hit. I spent 5 hours on the side of the road arguing with tow services, and insurance (my wife handled the insurance side but was having a phuck of a time getting them to do anything even though we have really full coverage plans with roadside assistance). I ended up using some sketch tow yard who came to get me in the dark of night. I am in Rio Rancho in a hotel and tomorrow I work on getting a Uhaul to get the bike back to CO so I can fix the damage (which should just be the "oil pan" part which is pretty cheap. Pending nothing else got damaged. In the end besides for cutting my trip short in the most dramatic and quite frankly 2020 ways possible... Before fixing the bike this is about $1200 in new expenses for the tow company + Uhaul. Fun! Edited September 18, 2020 by Clegg78 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 1moreroad Posted September 18, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted September 18, 2020 Glad you're safe especially stuck on the side of the road for 5 hours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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