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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> advice needed for a relatively new rider /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1219454739 Message started by nbatter on 08/22/08 at 18:25:39 |
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Title: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/22/08 at 18:25:39 hey guys, hope im posting this in the right category--feel free to move the post if not. anyways, im a new rider and just bought my first bike (2003 savage). in the past, ive driven on highways and gravel roads, and felt pretty confident. but now its time to go to school, which means a long haul ride. im pretty committed to taking the trip, and think i'm up to it. i have enough time to take it slow and hold up pretty well on long rides. also, im a slow and safe driver. however, im just hoping for some advice about how to prepare for the trip. ill be setting off in about 2 weeks, going from northern california to nebraska. first, should i take i-80, or stick to the smaller highways? or maybe skip the big mountains completely and go south? next, is there anything specific i should do or buy to prepare for the trip? anyways, thanks for your help. any insight would be extremely appreciated. i don't know too many riders, so im extremely excited to have discovered this community! nbatter |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by serowbot on 08/22/08 at 18:39:30 Fresh oil, clean air-filter, new spark plug, and then say goodbye to any sensation you've ever had in your butt. Ride safe and welcome, nbatter |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Rustbucket on 08/22/08 at 18:43:39 A pillow to sit on for that long haul :D I wish i could go on a nice ride like that.. So, do you have the resources to say, fix a flat tire in the middle of nowhere? I prefer the smaller roads over interstates, mainly because that 650 sounds like it's working hard to go 75 mph. I do some interstates around here but only 20 mile spurts. Have fun and bring bottled water and a cell phone. Where in NEB. are you goin? Forgot to add, Congrats on the bike purchase!!! :) |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/22/08 at 18:50:12 im shooting for 55mph most of the way, for the sake of both gas and the bike. i don't currently have a tire patch kit, but i'll look into getting one before i set off. i'll be winding out my trip in omaha, and will almost certainly stick to the small highways once im out of the mountains. and thanks for the tips, im taking notes! |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by aysrav on 08/22/08 at 18:55:11 We've had this discussion here before. I know that many will disagree, but IMHO, stay with the backroads. When it comes to a Savage/S40, especially for a newish rider, I would avoid the freeway. aysrav |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Rustbucket on 08/22/08 at 19:08:36 Tube patch kit you mean right? Can you patch that tube with no tools on the side of the road? I'm just giving you questions to ask yourself, I'd think about AAA if i was about to make a trip like that. Only because i suck at fixing bike flats.. Plus my luck would be that i'd get a flat.. Id bring a few tools along, also before you leave you might wanna check and tighten bolts up on your bike. Will you be doing night riding also? Spare headlight bulb! There again it'd be my luck... LOL |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Paladin. on 08/22/08 at 19:28:38 Last year I went to OKC for the GEEIA reunion, Superslabs out, mostly secondary roads back. It is considerably faster on the Interstates, but the traffic is measured at 100+ vehicles per mile. Return on US-60 CA-62 the traffic was about 5 miles per vehicle. The on-line mappers will give you gas station locations with phone numbers to call to verify that they are still doing business and what hours they will be open. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by photojoe on 08/22/08 at 19:30:09 I just ordered a compact jumper cable set here: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=36143. You could probably find something similar in your favorite auto parts store. A AAA RV policy is good insurance, and will pay for itself in one call. JC Whitney sells small tire irons made for MC's. In my tool bag I keep a spare spark plug, spare headlight bulb (yes, fragile), gaffer tape (don't need the whole roll), and as mentioned, enough tools to take care of loose nuts/bolts, and remove the seat, side covers. Yes, we take pre-caution for the unexpected, but most of the time we do spend up and running. Ditto on the butt comments. I feel it in just an hour of highway riding, but hey, just pull over once in a while. Well, you'll be stopping to get fuel every couple of hours anyway. Don't forget to post a trip report. Enjoy, and Have a great ride! |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Charon on 08/22/08 at 19:40:40 You might want to consider sticking to the Interstate (I-80), if for no other reason than that the fuel range on the Savage isn't very good and there are a lot of gas stations along the Interstate. Before you set out, look at the maps and figure a fuel stop every 100 miles. The Savage will run along at anything up to 70 or so, but at 70-75 mph it'll only get about 40 mpg. At 60 it'll get high 50s for mpg. You might look at the maps and see if surface roads parallel the Interstate part of the way. In Nebraska, for example, US30 runs along I-80 from the western State line to Grand Island, then US34 to Lincoln, then US6 to Omaha. In Wyoming you'll pretty much be stuck with I80. Personally, I think I would buy and carry one each inner tube for front and rear instead of bothering with a patch kit. In theory, one can pull the tube out the side and repair it without dismounting the wheel. However, remember the Savage doesn't have a center stand. I would carry the tube only so when my road service hauled me to the repair place, I'd have the tube on hand if they didn't. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by verslagen1 on 08/22/08 at 20:20:41 New to riding? You'll probably want to limit your days to 500 miles and at 55 that's 10 hours (gulp) Quite a shock if you've never done it before. And google your itinerary, set up for 100 mile stops, fill up, walk around, something to drink. once you figure you 100 miles steps, find the zip code for each and msn has a site to locate gas stations. You might concider a spare gas can, either 1 gal can or go to a sporting goods store and pick up a qt. can for stove fuel. 1 gal can straps to the sissy bar easily, qt. can can be dropped into a bag. Cell phone and a AAA deluxe RV/MC card will do the rest. Rear belt adjustment, we like it loose, reach in the middle of the bottom belt, if you can twist it 90° w/o breaking your wrist, that's the way we like it. I do the freeways daily, 70 ± abit all the way. Find somebody going your speed and hang with them. Got manual? get 2! owner manual is here somewhere, and pick up a clymers. Read the owners manual page by page. There's alot of things you need to know. Ask us if you don't understand. Tool kit? I hope it came with one. It's lousy and cheap, but it's better than a couple of sticks and a rock. Did they tune the backfires out? know how to change the oil? all the basics are in the clymers. Welcome to the club! |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/22/08 at 20:28:10 thanks for all this advice. i've already begun putting my tool kit together. the good news is i think i'm all set with AAA, but i will go to some cycle shops to get all these parts together. i've also bought the clymer service manual to bring with me incase things fall apart in the nevada desert. are there any simple things i should do to get the bike ready? a windsheild is my top priority right now. i'm pretty lanky, and more worried about my legs than my butt. should i do anything to the footrests? |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Jack_650 on 08/22/08 at 20:46:11 I've done a few 4k miles round trips on the Savage. It'll do it just fine, but the human body's another thing. Definitely get yourself some kind of cushion, our stock seat is atrocious. If nothing else do the seat mod that's talked about on here. Basically all you're doing is raising the front of the seat from 1-2 inches. It puts your weight back on the meat of your seat and not so much on the "jewelry". I have a gel pad that I put on my seat. It's not as effective as I would have liked, but it is a vast improvement. Move around on the seat BEFORE you start to get uncomfortable. Once you're hurtin' no position is ever really good. Adjust your shocks up a notch to stiffen the ride a bit. Bottoming out hurts after a while. The good news is is that a nights sleep fixes a lot. Get off the bike and move around once in a while. Find a Gatorade flavor you can handle warm as well as cold. Take a book as nothing helps fill a 15 minute bottom break like lying in the grass with a story. Get some decent rain gear if you don't have some already. Put it on over your riding gear if you start to get chilled at night or such as it's amazingly good at blocking the wind out and keeping the warmth in. Don't get hypnotized by the road. It's easy to start not seeing what's going on around you. You can't trust the other guy to do what's right. Enjoy the ride and take lots of pictures. I've driven a lot of the routes you'll be taking over the years and there's plenty of interest out there, even in the flat states. Those are some of my ideas after logging some serious long miles in a short time. Jack |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Skid Mark on 08/22/08 at 21:05:56 Be sure to get some miles under your belt before you do the long trip. Get out on the hiway for some short trips of an hour or so. Get used to how the bike feels and reacts. At first I found the bike to be twitchy at hiway speeds, but after a few good rides I grew accustomed to it and its quite comfortable now. It sounds like your going to have a trip to remember for a long time. :) |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by verslagen1 on 08/22/08 at 21:25:22 Let's check out the bike... How many miles? What mod's were done? What's the tread depth? Who did you buy from? dealer or private? |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/22/08 at 21:57:43 the bike has only had one previous owner, who barely used it. less than 2000 miles, everything runs fine and is in good condition (i brought a mechanic with me when i purchased). i've also got a 30 day warranty, so if anything goes wrong, it's covered. the bike is completely factory standard. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by verslagen1 on 08/22/08 at 22:12:13 I guess that means you got 5 year old tires with 2k on them. Your trip is 1500 to 2k. When you get there, it might be time for a rear tire. Check it over closely, look for any tiny cracks. You don't want them. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 08/23/08 at 07:50:28 What are your lodging plans? If you are staying in motels, figure out a way to load the bike so you can quickly remove your luggage and carry it into your room still packed. You don't want to lay in bed thinking every sound is someone stealing your goodies. You also don't want to spend 1/2 hour loading and unloading each time. Paladin has a video posted with instructions for building a really handy luggage bracket. If I do say so myself, I have set up a pretty good system as well, which isn't as attractive as his, but is reliable and doesn't require much in the way of expertise. I can load/unload the whole bike in less than a minute. If you're camping, well that's a different article entirely. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by verslagen1 on 08/23/08 at 07:54:24 Watch out for squirels, they lie. ;D |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/23/08 at 11:04:13 i definitely don't have the money for hotels after buying my bike and gear! the plan is to try and stay at KOA campgrounds--they seem to be spaced well along both interstate and highway routes, even if im taking it slow. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Jack_650 on 08/23/08 at 13:25:10 Doing the back roads you can often camp for free or cheap in small town city parks. You can also check online for free or cheap campgrounds. Camping primitive leaves a bit of want in personal hygiene though. There is a little known fact that truck drivers have known for ever. If you buy (usually) 50 gallons or more of fuel you can get a free shower at many, many truck stops. That's not the fact however. The fact is that anyone can just walk in and plop down around $5.00 (YMMV) and get to use the shower facilities too. They provide the towels and if you're at one of the higher end stations they're really quite nice. Every place I've ever stopped at, and I've driven a few over the road miles in my day, has been very good on the cleaning, etc. Just another little tidbit to consider if finances are a concern. Jack |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by aysrav on 08/23/08 at 14:27:26 OK, anyone have the link to the luggage rack video that Sandy mentioned? And Sandy, when are you going to post a video or pics for the one that you invented? aysrav |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 08/23/08 at 17:14:34 I'll go take some pics. Uploading video takes FOREVER on my computer. It's simple enough that three or four photos will get the point across. Back after a bit... |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by FreeSpirit on 08/23/08 at 17:56:02 727E7D6868796E1C0 wrote:
I love the KOA campgrounds! I use them whenever I travel,if I can find one. And they are nice and pretty much everywhere! And reasonably priced also. Always meet nice people there too 8-) |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 08/23/08 at 19:47:48 Posted some pictures of the loading of my bags in a thread entitled "Packing my daily luggage." I think that's what I called it, anyway. I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I can't remember the title of Paladin's thread offhand, but I believe it can be found in the Technical section. The title has "luggage bracket" in it, I think. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/23/08 at 21:37:47 that luggage setup looks pretty ideal sandy, i think ill try and rig up something similar. as for camping for free, this sounds awesome i just don't know how to pull it off. here in nebraska, if you pull up into town and pitch a tent in the park, the sheriff will be by pretty quick to wake you up. if you pull into a random feild, a farmer will be by to wake you up with a gun. id prefer not to pay koa fees and have some prearranged campsite next to vacationing families, but i also dont want to get arrested for tresspassing. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 08/23/08 at 22:00:44 I'll bet you dimes to doughnuts that if you pull in the yard, knock on Farmer Brown's door, and ask politely for permission to camp the night on his place, you will receive it more often than not. Just explain that you are trying to get to school on a budget, and making a bit of an adventure of it at the same time. It's the guy who presumes and just moves in that will get the bum's rush. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Windrider on 08/23/08 at 22:20:38 In terms of tire repair... http://www.slime.com/product_29_Power_Sport_Smart_Spair_(50001).html I first found out about this stuff from a Prince William Co. (Virginia) Motorcycle officer who stopped to help me when I had a flat in my rear tire. In fact, that tire hasn't lost even a pound of pressure since I put the slime in it, and a whole can of Fix-a-Flat ran out the same hole the slime fixed a year ago. I can speak from experience: yes, it works on tube tires. I carry this kit with me everywhere I ride. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Paladin. on 08/23/08 at 22:23:41 September, 2007: on the road in Arizona: http://paladin.savageriders.com/LA-OKC/RestStop-Flagstaff.jpg That's a 21" airline carry-on, lots of room for clothes, quick and easy on/off. The black bundle on the pillion is a sleeping bag wrapped in a tarp in case I decided I was too tired to ride any further. The thread where I describe the bracket: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1177262289 |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/23/08 at 22:31:09 Sometimes the "Slime" & or Fix-A-Flat will work on a tubed tire, But, I spent $16.00 keeping the thing aired up 40 miles, stopping to add stuff along the way. When I got home & parked it, it REally Unloaded! Spewing all kinds of slime & bubbles. It was an amazing, amuzing & kinda disgusting demonstration. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by mick on 08/23/08 at 22:58:18 I got mine with 2000 miles on it,it now has 12000 miles,no problem The seat issue ? don't worrie to much about it ,I have made several trips way over a hundred miles the seat is the last thing I think about, it seems to work fine for me. Try a few shorter runs just to see how the seat performs. Unlike cars we have t |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Bear_Rider on 08/23/08 at 23:11:43 nbatter, Before you set out on that LONG trip, try a shakedown trip of about 300 miles. Ride someplace about 150 miles out and then back. Find out if that saddle really fits you before you commit yourself to a LONG periot of pure torture. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Charon on 08/24/08 at 08:50:31 Speaking of flats, when I had my KLR 650 I picked up a piece of wire (I think) in the rear. When it went flat the bead unseated from the rim and turned. This tore the valve stem off the tube, and what would have been an easy tube repair meant a new tube. My road service took me and the bike to a dealership. The charge was about $60 to repair the bike, including labor and the tube. The mechanic told me he was unable to find whatever punctured the tube. On the way home it went flat again, and tore the valve stem off the tube again. I was close enough to home that I called and had my daughter bring my pickup to retrieve the bike. The wire he had been unable to find was still there and it got the new tube. When I got the bike home I removed the wheel and tire, and found the offending bit of wire. I left it in place, took the tire, wheel, and tube back to the dealership and explained, politely, to them that they could either fix it then and there or I was calling my credit card company to stop payment. It was a Sunday, but they fixed it. At no additional charge. That story is why I recommend carrying new tubes instead of a patch kit. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by nbatter on 08/24/08 at 17:15:52 is it wise to get highway pegs or floorboards? for me, one of the biggest issues of driving long distances are my legs. i've driven cross country by car and van multiple times in the past year. with a van, i can literally drive the whole day, only pulling over for gas, bathroom, and once i get too tired. with a car, however, my legs get a little cramped up. i think its essentially a posture issue. so far, bikes have been fine, but i was just wondering what the best setup was for tall riders going long distances. |
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Title: Re: advice needed for a relatively new rider Post by Paladin. on 08/24/08 at 18:25:51 After my OKC trip my legs/feet hurt as bad if not worse than my butt. I'll be working on installing floorboards 1Q09. |
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