2020 Florida -> Alaska Again

My grandkids are coming in a few minutes from North Carolina for the Christmas holidays. Motorcycling goes on hold for a week. My buddy TC has my bike in his garage to tinker on while I play with my grandkids. It's nice to have great friends. He gave me the foot pegs off his Goldwing. Tim is retired and loves tinkering.

There’s a whole lot of wires running around there in that trunk! Be sure to take notes on how you wired it up so you can trouble shoot any issues that might pop up. You might want to label those wires, too.

JT

I really need to catch up. Put on the Soupy performance lowering kit. Lowered the suspension about 1 1/2 inches. Dropped the forks in the triple tree about an inch. Pulled the forks and put on the fork boots. Found room for the Aux battery in the Frunk (front trunk) and the smart solenoid based recharge system works like a champ. Tim took a look and suggested beefing up the rear spring/shock. Think I'll call Rich at Cogent Dynamic in Asheville who did the suspension on my V-Strom. Made adjustments to the Rox Risers .. back about 3/4 inch. Mounted RAM hardware for GPS and cell phone. Bolted on my Tusk side cases (5 bolts per case ... not coming loose) to my SW-Motech racks. Rita is pretty much ready to go. A few alterations and adjustments.

I have decided to extend my Alaska trip. I plan to start in Key West at the end of March. Adds 850 miles to my trip.

Changed the title of my plan. Starting from Key West on March 26th. I’ll stop in Tampa to visit with my sister. Then stop in Pensacola for a week. Then I’ll continue with my previous plan to my son’s in San Diego.

Key West to Pensacola leg.

Here is my new revised (1/8/19) coast to coast (Key West to San Diego) leg of my trip:
(* reservations have been made)


Leave on March 22, 2019

March
21) *Pensacola, FL

22) Perry KOA (252 miles)

23) *Sister in Tampa (166 miles)

24) Long Pine Key Campground Everglades NP (312 miles)

25) *Sigsbee Campground Key West, FL (Dry Camp) (140 miles)

26) *Sigsbee Campground Key West, FL (Dry Camp) This day starts my Key West to Alaska trip.

27) Midway Campground Big Cypress National Preserve (182 miles)

28) *Sister in Tampa (247 miles)

29) Perry KOA (166 miles)

30) *Pensacola, FL (252 miles)

April
08) *Pensacola, FL

09) *La Quinta Inn Lafayette North, . $58 (304 miles).

10) *Days Inn by Wyndham Shenandoah 29007 I-45 North The Woodlands TX 77381 $71 (Mike and Liz ). (250 miles)

11) *Sandra and Richard in New Braunfels, TX (200 miles)

12) *Del Rio, TX Motel6 $45 (232 miles) Via the Twisted Sisters

13) Rio Grande Village Campground Big Bend National Park $14 (260 miles)

14) Rio Grande Village Campground Big Bend National Park $14 Day ride TX-118 and TX-170

15) Fort Davis State Park Fort Davis, TX $20 (196 miles)

16) *La Quinta La Cruces Mesilla Valley (288 miles) Ride US-191 (The Devils Highway)

17) Luna Lake Campground, Alpine AZ (228 miles) $16 Rec.gov

18) *Blue Mist Motel Florence, AZ (269 miles) $71

19) *Arizona Inn & Suites 2655 South 4th Avenue, Yuma, AZ 85364 $50 (210 miles)

20) *Arizona Inn & Suites 2655 South 4th Avenue, Yuma, AZ 85364 $50 (210 miles)

21) *Son in San Diego (185 miles) Ride S2 to Borrego Springs and up the Montezuma Grade over the Sierras.

22) *Son in San Diego (two nights there)

Looks great.
One day I would like to do it in reverse.
Prudhoe Bay to Key West.
Then home up the West Coast.

I am going to adjust some of the stops between San Diego and Portland but here is my latest. I will store my bike at Pro Caliber for free after putting on a new set of tires. They will be open the day I need to pick up the bike. Hi-De-Ho offered to help me out but I'll have to schedule a stop after I leave Portland. I need to schedule the Portland to D2D leg with the input from two other riders who will be joining me. That task is next.

April

21) *Son San Diego, CA

22) *Son San Diego, CA Ride to the Mexico border

23) *Sycamore Canyon CG, Point Mugu State Park, CA (163 miles)

24) *Sycamore Canyon CG, Point Mugu State Park, CA Angeles Crest and Mulholland Drive

25) *Monterey Surf Inn (280 miles)

26) *Travelodge, Fort Bragg, CA (284 miles)

27) *Westward Inn Crescent City, CA Redwood National Park (217 miles)

28) *Westward Inn Crescent City, CA Redwood National Park

29) Cape Blanco State Park (91 miles) https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=44

30) Ecola State Park (260 miles) https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=136

May

1) *Rodeway Inn PDX Portland airport Via Astoria (128 miles)

2) Pro Caliber Motorsports 10703 NE Fourth Plain Rd | Vancouver, WA 98662 Leave PDX Portland 2:15 PM (Delta) Arrive in the morning, drop off the bike and Uber to PDX. (105 miles)

Son's College Graduation at the University of West Florida in Pensacola

MAY
26) PDX Return to Portland on Delta

Listed my scooter on Craigslist: Kymco Like 200i. Going to focus on my two motorcycles: NC750XD and VN-1700. Kymco was great but I am moving on and emptying space in a crowded garage.

https://pensacola.craigslist.org/mcy/d/pensacola-2015-kymco-200i-scooter/6791588875.html

Is that wise? There's a lot of nimrods out there...

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

Givi 20 inch windscreen



Piag Headlight cover



Radiator Cover (ebay)



Front fork boots

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

Fender Extender



SW-motech skid plate



Givi Engine Guards



Kuryakyn Highway Pegs

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

Wider used Goldwing foot pegs



Tank protector ebay)



Soupy Performance Lowering Link and Adjustable Kickstand with wide foot. Also, Honda (add on) centerstand (not pictured).



Russell Day Long Seat

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

SW-motech top case rack.



SW-motech side case racks.



Homemade flap to reduce grime into shock



Tusk 37 liter aluminium side cases

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

Battery tender junior lead wire. Also Gerbing heated gear cable (not visible but behind same panel)



Extension from aux battery for CPAP



Barkbusters and Oxford Heated grips



Oxford Heated grips (controler)

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

Ram-X cell phone mount



Garmin GPS



Kaoko Friction Throttle Control (poorman's cruise control)



Garage door opener

Tour of my NC750XD upgrades:

Aux battery mounted in floor of frunk



Smart solenoid switch for charging aux battery for CPAP



Plastic box to protect wiring while using the frunk.



Not shown is a Cogent Dynamics suspension that is being built for me and will be installed by the "factory" in Asheville ... Lord willing and it don't snow. I need the special suspension because of my big body and short legs.

Glad you decided on the suspension....it will make your ride much nicer and safer.

NC750XD upgrades:

Denali Sound Bomb Mini



This is my second one. The first one was defective and blew a fuse. Twisted Throttle sent me a new one and it works like a champ. Twice as loud as original. 113 dB A car almost changed lanes into me last year and my horn was too quiet. When you need a horn you need a train whistle. This is no train whistle but it’s loud.

Rox Risers

Also but not pictured are my Rox Risers for bring my handlebars up and back about an inch each way. More comfortable for me.

Tod is building my shock and fork cartridges now. I take Rita up on the 25th of January and leave her for a week. Cogent will install and adjust my suspension. She should be ready on February 1st. It can be expensive being fat with a super short inseam. Cogent fixed my DL650 now they will sprinkle their magic dust on Rita.