Tourer
Posts: 460
Centennial, CO | Well, I got out for a many miles trip over the last week. I left Denver on Saturday the 6th and rode for about 300 miles. Stayed the night in Pagosa Springs, CO and up and out around 9am. My dumb@ss forgot to put on sunscreen on Sunday so my 500 miles that day caused the wonderfully bad looking reverse raccoon face. It was embarrassing since I was to be at a tech conference all week. Oh well, how it goes.
I got into Vegas around 6 on Sunday evening and it was hotter than hell (107 degrees). But the bike performed flawlessly.
After a week in Vegas and riding a limited amount time there, I found that I needed to wear my gloves since my palms were so sweaty. But no biggie there. It actually was easier to ride and more comfy than I anticipated.
The following Saturday (13th) I was planning to leave at 6am and get a head start on the heat. Well, again, dumb@ss me set the clock for pm instead of AM. But hey...I was in Vegas so I should have KNOWN it was set to PM. LOL
I hit the road at 9am and topped off in North Las Vegas. Instead of heading east, I decided to head straight home (I was tired of being away) taking I-15 north to I-70 and I figured my fuel stops at 225 just in case. I pulled into Beaver UT with the idiot light SCREAMING at me to get fuel. I couldn't believe I was only getting about 35 mpg. Well, the bike performed so well in the twisties AND the wind that I didn't pay attention to my fuel economy while driving 90 most of the way. 
I fueled up in Beaver and put in 5.731 gallons of gas in the bike. Now, mind you, I was thanking the Good Lord above that I made it the gas station and then I REALLY thanked God when I realized that out of a 6 gallon tank, I used all but a 1/4 of a gallon. WOW!
I left Beaver and headed north to I-70 and on to my next two stops. Uneventful and somewhat boring since I have since this area a billion times while growing up.
I pulled into Clifton, CO around 6:15pm and was tired. But not beat up tired as I would have been on my 01 Kaw Vulcan Classic. I filled up, ate and changed out of my warm weather jacket into my leather jacket and headed on east towards Glenwood. When I got to Glenwood I had to stop for natures call and while there I decided to pick up a neck scarf as I realized then that I had left all of my cold weather gear (most of it anyway) at home. I put on my thinsulate gloves and chaps and topped off before hitting the road again.
I HAD to stop in Avon which is just before Vail and Vail pass to put on my heavier gloves (snowmobile gloves) as the temp is now starting to drop to the mid 40's. The heated grips helped but only enough to knock the cold down to cool so heavier gloves and I also put the liner in my jacket and hit the road again.
I rode over Vail pass at about 65mpg at 10:15 and believe it or not, 32 degrees showing on my thermometer. Now, I THINK my thermometer registers about 5 degrees high because while in Glenwood, the temp there showed 66 on the bike and 60 on all of the bank signs. If 3 of the bank signs were the same I felt comfortable calling it 60. So, I somewhat assume that even though it said 32 on the bike, I think it was probably closer to 28. BRRR! Either way...I KNEW it was cold!  The only thing that was truly cold on me though was my feet. And they were FROZEN! But not to the point of pain like I had experienced on my Kaw. I did have the windshield all the way up, the grips on and the seat warmer (thank God for this wonderful piece of technology!) both on low. The fog was pretty cool to see and the rain that comes along with it...but rain sux for the most part on ANY OTHER bike! This bike performed like a champ and kept me warm AND DRY!
I pulled through Silverthorne and up to the Eisenhower tunnel doing 65. I slowed to the limit as the cops can be bad up there. At 50 and going through the tunnel my face was feeling cramped by my modular full face. SO, I decided to let some air in. BIG mistake! I pulled the front back down and decided to get some air by lowering the windshield. OMG, the air that hit the back of my neck just about killed me! OOOOF...brrrr! It took me all of one second to raise the windshield right back up to the top and warmth! Oh...that motor doesn't move fast enough in a predicament like this. 
I rolled on into Denver and home at midnight. WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE!
I have NEVER put 800 miles on a bike in one day in my life. Especially straight through! I was never cramped or hurting. Just some boredom that you would expect on a long ride. I did ride so long that the battery on my MP3 player died about 10 minutes before I got to the local stations otherwise I would have pulled over and put in a new batt. But again...what a great riding bike and awesome experience.
I WILL do and iron butt and maybe even attempt the bun burner next year. I only had 200 miles to go to get my iron butt...NEXT TIME!
Edited by ElroyJ 2008-09-16 6:19 PM
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My Vegas Trip