11:00 AM local time the wheels rolled across the Colorado state line!
Yesterday was a particularly tough day-the heat was just brutal, 110+ degrees. Even going 80 mph + the sweat drips off your face inside the helmet. As I mentioned, we stopped at a beautiful 1880's hotel in Wilson, KS. Fortunately we left before breakfast this morning (not for the quality of the breakfast), when it was only in the high 80's. The air changed almost immediately after crossing the state line. It was drier, and cooler, making life a lot easier to deal with.
We are staying in a bedroom community of Denver at a friend's house, in a place called Englewood. It is beautiful pre-war house, built in the 1920's. The University of Denver is very close by, and the street names have that academic feel. A lot of the streets are named after US presidents, and officers as well. We happen to be staying on Lincoln Street. The hostess's mom would not let her buy the house on Sherman street.
Early in the morning we will head to Big Piney, WY to stay with some family of my dad's wife.
Some of the gearheads wanted a technical update-so all laymen can stop reading here.
What I can tell you is that I am extremely happy with how the Tiger has been performing. Having bought the motorcycle in February, it seemed like 6 months of ownership and prep would be enough, but alas, I do now hold the cardinal measure of 12 months ownership before any significant journey in high esteem. I am still learning about this motorcycle, every day.
Key modifications that are working well:
1) 19 tooth front sprocket: The Tiger 955i comes with an 18 tooth front sprocket standard. That is probably fine more most riders, but for such an extended highway journey, the 19 tooth sprocket drops the engine revolutions at 80 mph by approximately 600. This minimizes fatigue, and helps my mpg significantly. I am getting between 44 and 48 mpg, even carrying 150 lbs of gear. The Tiger does not even miss a beat in the power department. The Hinkley Triple is so smooth, and produces so much linear torque that the uptick in front sprocket does not even phase it. However, it makes the parking lots and traffic a bit interesting.
2) Laminar lip: Designed to create an air foil that sends the air up over the rider's head-it really works.
3) Wolfman gas tank panniers: Those crazy yellow bags you see over the gas tank are Wolfman panniers. They are 100% waterproof and allow you to put some weight over the front half of the bike to help avoid the chopper effect caused by excess rear luggage. I have my shop manual and some tools in them. The counter balance makes a tremendous difference, especially with crosswinds and buffeting from the big trucks. Daniel used a different pair last year on the GS-these are on loan from him, as he has two pair.
4) Gel grips: Your hands are on the bars 8-10 hours a day, you may as well be comfortable.
5) Suspension: I installed a new Hagon rear shock from
Dave Quinn Motorcycles, along with the upgraded spring that they offer. That combined with the upgraded forks done by
Traxxion Dynamics, produces a Tiger that is very well set up and handles like a champ. While I did not opt for the high end on either side, both the forks and the shock are very affordable. Given all the other mods I needed to invest in, the value equation was very important for me. I will probably have the guys at Traxxion do the service on the forks and the shock when it is time. Those guys do the majority of their business through the mail if you can believe that-from all over the world.
6) Seibel Air Horn: A must have-if you want the attention of the driver over the radio/cell phone or the latte.
7) Back brake pedal: The 2002 Tiger came with a pedal that has a series of grooves running front to back only-very slippery in the wet stuff. I put some grip tape on there, and some safety wire, but Steve put some rubber hosing on the tip which sounds a bit redneck but it really bites with my rubber boots. Also the lever needed some adjusting to eat up some slack. Boy does it bite now!
8) Oil/Radiator/Headlite covers: I did not pay the $400 Twisted Throttle wanted for all of these guards-instead I bought some from England for less than $75 for the two, and covered the headlights with the Aerostar protective film for $20. Will see how they all hold up through the trip.
9) Gas tank repair: Holding up strong! However, the vacuum lines appear to be blocked somehow-every time we stop for gas, the plastic tank takes a big breath. I have a sneaking suspicion that might be causing some periodic difficulties in starting sometime.
Mods that are not working so well:
1) Tank bag: I have a multi-purpose bag from Fieldsheer that is a real nice bag, but is somewhat cumbersome on the Tiger. I cannot tip it up high enough to see in the tank when filling. I relied on the automatic shut off today at a station in KS, and paid the price-spilled a gallon of gas. I was lucky-none on me or the seat. It had dried up in less than 10 minutes on the road in this heat.
2) Phone charger: I had one I bought 3 months ago that I was never happy with, and it has stopped working. I bought another today, and it seems solid.
4) The battery was replaced just before I bought the bike, and I am unsure as to the grade. I suspect it is a lower end item. I left my phone charging all nite to test it, and the bike started fine the next morning. However a 30 miles or so down the road, we pulled over for a few minutes and I left the flashers on, forgot I still had two big headlights burning, and then it would not crank. A few minutes later we proved my new jumper cables work. Somehow in the excitement, the big Tiger tipped over before I could get it back on the road. Good news-I used proper tactic to pick it up-backed up to the bike, handlebars cranked and all. Worked like a charm.
Adjustments:
1) Within 5 minutes of leaving the Atlanta McDonalds in the am, I realized that my handguards were hitting my tank panniers, and eating up probably 20% of the handlebar range. When we stopped at the HD dealer in Cartersville, I took the handguards off and pushed the handlebars forward a bit.
2) The tank panniers are great no doubt, but it is a delicate balance between leaving room for your knees and leaving room for your handlebars. I finally took a bunjee cord and strapped it from the top of the pannier to the newly installed crash bars to pull the front away from my knees an inch or so, and it works like a charm.
3) Convex mirrors: These are the small circular mirrors that stick on the factory mirrors, and allow you to see any blind spots. A must have.
Apologies to any non-motorheads that suffered through my monologue.
More tomorrow!
Curt
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