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Message started by Scott1234 on 09/04/16 at 16:15:53

Title: Bike trip
Post by Scott1234 on 09/04/16 at 16:15:53

Hey all, I'm planning on a bike trip sometime within the next 1-2 years. If all goes to plan (which is rare) I'll be headed out west for an indefinite amount of time, perhaps moving somewhere else, I'm centered in CT at the moment. I was hoping to get some advice if anyone has any to give, criticisms or insults or whatever. At the moment I have a list of things I'd like to do to my bike (2012 s40, raptor petcock.)
So far -
- Chain tensioner, its down right now because of it. I'm at 14,000 mi it was cockeyed. Do you think its best to replace the chain as well as the tensioner mod to be safe?
- tires, oil and filter, vavle adjustment, clean carb
- New clutch just for the hell of it, mines fine but one less thing to worry about
- louder horns
- bags, lots of bags. For stuff
- A personal desire, I want to switch to the bullhorn bars simply for aesthetics, and more bar space for a good radio. If the power supply is capable of it I've heard it may not be. so that entails longer cables and what not
Any and all advice is welcome, even if its just how dumb I may be. If there is interest I'll post pictures of my bike maybe some info on my route and where I want to see. Thanks, Scott.

P.S. I'm casting a guardian bell from bronze for a friend, will the magic work if I make one for myself?

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by old.indian on 09/04/16 at 16:57:52

Chain Tensioner and head plug (Varsi"s). A "Nitrided" cam chain from Lancer (last longer and cheaper than OEM). Take a number for a 25 tooth front pulley from Dave. (9% decrease in RPM. ). 12" intruder 800 shocks (for a more comfortable ride) and a 140/90-15 rear tire. I got my Barret Heavy duty clutch kit (all new plates and stronger springs) from "super thumper". A decent wind shield and you should be ready to go... At 6' I find Ed L.'s 4" forward controls far more comfortable on a long day than the stock peg locations.
Check the café and "Bang for the Buck" for the mods I did on my '07 that is configured as a "backroads distance runner".

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Scott1234 on 09/04/16 at 17:30:32

I should have mentioned I replaced the headplug already with the newer version suzuki made, it seems to be working so far. Ill definitely look into the cam chain, thats not something I want to have to fix on the road. As for the front pulley and bigger tire, is there any way to correct for the change in speedo? I guess i could just memorize what speed on the speedo correlates to what speed on a gps. I'm 5'10", but I think more of it is in my legs than average, I feel kind of cramped on it sometimes. thanks for your help

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by old.indian on 09/04/16 at 19:49:03

Speedo corrections... Mine was dead on with the 140/90-15 tire, BUT everyone's' speed is slightly different. I've avoided tickets by adding 10% to the indicated MPH on the speedo (with the 25 tooth front pulley)....

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Kris01 on 09/04/16 at 20:55:15

282B23692E29232E2629470 wrote:

Speedo corrections... Mine was dead on with the 140/90-15 tire

Mine as well. I've checked it with a programmable bicycle speedo.

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Armen on 09/05/16 at 05:46:28

Hey Scott,
Gung-Ho on the trip!
I've set up a few bikes for around the country/around the world trips. One thing that makes life a bit easier is to standardize fasteners.
I change as many of the non-specialty, not highly stressed stuff to stainless allen bolts.
Two advantages:
A) the stuff doesn't rust in place. Put a light wipe of anti-seize or a drop of blue Loctite, and you are done.
b) Fewer tools to carry. There are a couple of very cool bicycle tools that have multiple allen wrenches built into one tool. 4, 5, 6, 8mm allens will pretty much cover everything.
I even change the Phillips head screws on the handlebar controls to allens.
Good luck on the trip :)
-Armen
PS Here is one I carry
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028N57SM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Dave on 09/05/16 at 06:43:10

I don't see any need to change the clutch plates.....the stock ones work just fine and last a very, very long time. Just don't pollute them with any oil additives or oil that has friction modifiers (car oils or those marked as Energy Efficient or Low Friction).

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/05/16 at 07:55:19

I'd wanna know the cam chain condition, have new, really good tires on,and have gear waiting for me,,
Yeah, havin Phun, riding down the road with icicles on my test icles,,, such Fun!

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by smokin_blue on 09/05/16 at 08:56:12

you are taking care of a lot of the mechanical basics which is key when hitting the road for a long trip. Purple Passion is the bike I am building for my wife. It was born out of the short comings we found on a 700 mile trip.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1453341892/0

4.2 gal tank mod
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1453431803/0#0

The basics of that build and things for you to consider are this....
1. I went mag rims so we could run tubeless tires. This allows for plug patching on the side of a road if necessary.
2. chain conversion so I could match the final gearing I wanted. My target was 10% higher gearing. part from the 16" mag rim and part from sprocket selection. Knocking down the revs makes for a little more comfortable cruising at speed.
3. more fuel...100-120 miles and you need to start looking for a gas station. The options I was was either an aluminum keg style aux tank which is a very viable option and has been done or a bigger tank. I ended up with a Vstar 650 tank at 4.2 gal.
4. windshield is nice to reduce fatigue.
5. consider a mechanical cruise control or throttle paddle at least.
6. I would upgrade the front brake. I am a fan of being able to stop. think about it if you plan to ride the mountains it could be some heavy wear on that stock front brake. I like 320mm rotors and 4 pot calipers.
7. we run vapor computers on all our 650s. The tach is not worth hooking up but having an acurate speedo with a trip meter, clock, total run time, total miles etc is very nice to have. Also with where we put it up under the bars you can see it nicely and not have to look down.

let me know if you have any questions of what we did.

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Scott1234 on 09/05/16 at 09:53:16

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm taking it to heart. The allen head is a good idea, when I jetted the carb a while back I used allen heads since the phillips ALWAYS strip. and I don't like the feeling of an impact driver on a carb, it seems delicate.
The front brake is something I didn't even consider, does anyone have any brands they recommend?
Chain conversion has been added to my list, I'll start fooling with ratios soon enough.
You know funny enough, there is an old broken vstar 650 in my garage right now, I was going to see if I could use the windshield but if its dead it might as well be an organ donor.
Thanks again fellas - Scott :D

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Armen on 09/05/16 at 14:02:46

I did the Kawi front pulley. Easy date if you have access to a lathe, or know someone who does. Nice to be able to keep the belt.

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Armen on 09/06/16 at 02:22:15

One of the things that spooks me about a long trip is getting a flat with tube-type tires. I sent my wheels to Woody's Wheel Works in Colorado for a tubeless conversion.
I'm using a different rim (18", aluminum). Not 100% percent sure if they can do the conversion on the stock rims. The variable is the style of shoulder used on the rim. They'll know.
Only $100 per wheel. Never buy another tube. Able to do a quick flat fix on the side of the road (use a plug to get you going, go to a shop and get a real patch done from the inside).

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/06/16 at 03:28:36

Amen, Armen

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Dave on 09/06/16 at 03:59:06

152529323277747572460 wrote:

T
The front brake is something I didn't even consider, does anyone have any brands they recommend?

If you want to keep the stock parts....the EBC Organic pads seem to work the best.

If you want an upgrade......this!
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1391549028

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by ohiomoto on 09/06/16 at 05:33:49

447768606B050 wrote:

An added bonus would be the rotational weight savings on the wheels.

I do my MTB wheels with Gorilla tape and Stan's NoTubes sealant (using non-tubeless tires even). I could do a pair of wheels for less than $20 and I am it would work with motorcycle wheels.

The sealant takes care of any leaks during installation and prevents most flats. If you do get a large tear on a MTB tire that won't seal, you just put a tube in until you can do a proper repair of replacement. I know it's been used in off road motorcycle applications.

Or maybe this stuff: http://www.ride-on.com/motorcycle-formula-mot.html

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Dave on 09/06/16 at 06:13:19

There is a kit made by Outex that can be used to make your spoked wheels tubeless. I have never done it.....don't know anything about it yet. You can buy it on eBay, or from online retailers.

http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~outex/tubelesskitenglishlist.htm

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by batman on 09/06/16 at 11:28:01

If you intend to travel using a credit/debit card it may be wise to inform your bank as some will trace your purchases across the country and assume your card is stolen and shut off access to your account. It's a good idea to keep a few hundred in your shoe, for those times cards are not taken or some low life steals your bike (you will have out of state plates!) so you at least have bus /plane to go on or go home.Most banks will try to call if you have a cellphone,but if your in the mts. or the middle of nowhere ?

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by BSTON on 09/06/16 at 13:40:39

If I were to take the savage on a long trip I would definitely look into changing the gearing to lower the RPMs a bit. I'd also pick up a throttle lock and a good pair of gloves with gel palms.

Depending on your route, more fuel would be very nice but that's not something that would just easily bolt right up to the bike.

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by batman on 09/06/16 at 16:03:50

You can use alum. water bottles like the kind sold on this site,fill with fuel ,screw in the top run a couple of turns of electrical tape around the top seam and toss in a saddle bag.If you forget to turn your petcock back to run from reserve after a fill up ,you'll have a second reserve.(beats pushing )the plastic in the tops of these tend to swell,(seal tighter,hard to remove, an impossible to reinsert,but wont leak)one time use only.(ask me how I know)

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by BSTON on 09/07/16 at 06:25:21

One thing that I thought of this morning that has made things nice on some long trips. I bring a wet rag in a baggie and a separate dry rag. At stops I clean off my helmet visor with the wet rag and then dry with the other. The little bit of moisture takes the bugs right off and using the second rag removes all of the water spots.

It's probably not as big of a deal if you have a windshield but it could be used on that instead of a helmet visor.

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by old.indian on 09/07/16 at 08:44:33

I have a 1.5 liter Primus fuel bottle (reusable and NO leaks) as well as a "Crampbuster" that I found on Amazon..
Since you have a while to plan, take a few weekend practice runs to decide what you actually need and how best to pack it. 8-)

Title: Re: Bike trip
Post by Scott1234 on 09/08/16 at 16:15:00

Thanks for all the advice everyone, no discrimination against the little stuff either. A pebble in your shoe is a small thing until you have to walk too far. Its going to be a while as a procure equipment and modify the bike so expect updates in the future, ill be sure to take pictures.