Still Wandering in Indiana

I am with you there, I've got some rusty joints. Had they known the magic of traveling with the eternal optimist and his Indian they would have missed the rain. Just ask Joel.

Hello all. I have been reading this post through for the past week and enjoying it immensely. I have recently (temporarily?) moved near the Indiana border and am having grat fun exploring the roads and areas between Paris Il. and Indianapolis, seen many of the things posted here. Thanks to all!

Have a weird work schedule for a few weeks so took the time to bop around the area on the KLX this afternoon before stopping for coffee.

Bought some good...lightly-used dirt boots off a former KLR rider as I start to get the right gear for dirt riding. First pair I've owned. He sold his bike to get back into racing micro midgets and is already regretting the decision. I felt bad for him, but bought the boots anyway. Nice pair of Alpinestar Tech 3 boots for a good price.

Shifting is a tad more difficult, but the added protection will be welcome on trails.

Turned out to be boot day. I had ordered some short boots as my summer riding boots are getting long in the tooth. The new ones arrived while I was out--so I put them on and took the Triumph around the neighborhood to try them out.

May be a bit warmer than the old ones, but I think they'll do.

Had the chance to spend about 90 minutes on the bike today after driving home from Chicago this afternoon. Bob (MondayDad) sent me a picture from his ride about mid-afternoon and if I hadn't been excited about getting the Triumph out I was after that. Cool shot of a new beaver dam down around Plainfield, Bob!

The roads were pretty empty north and west of Avon this afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful day for a ride.

It is inescapable that the season is winding down. The fields are either have been harvested or are about ready to be. Trees are beginning to turn and there a melancholy beauty to the day and to this day in particular--at least for me. As much as I was immersed in the moment I could feel what is coming. Winter is not far off and I'm not looking forward to leaving for work and arriving home after in the dark. Perhaps that awareness is what helps us appreciate the beauty of fall all the more.

Something about day just asked for something less than urgency--so I don't think I did more than 55-60 mph and much of the day I let the Triumph just burble along. I covered a lot of roads that I have ridden often. I hadn't been on some of them for a while, so it was a bit like saying hello to old friends.

I noticed that I am just a bit less than 100 miles from hitting the 6k mark on the bike. I'd have hit is easily had I not purchased the crazy-fun KLX in early spring. Pretty sure I'll hit the mark in the days left to ride and I am enjoying the bike as much as ever. Good thing...I can't see swinging a different bike any time soon.

One shot from today's ride (too busy riding to take shots.)

Cool! Love the pic.

As you would expect, Fall is further along in the Northland although this week was unseasonably warm and I commuted every day but Thursday (rain). The forecast for the weekend was sunny and mid-sixties.

Since the former shoe salesman turned CEO of HD shut down my nearest dealer, I took Elvis to a local independent shop to get a three hole oil change on Friday afternoon. Going back through my records, the primary and transmission oils had 10,000 miles on them while I had the engine oil changed before my trip out West (so it had a bit over 3,000 miles on it). The idea is to change them before putting the bike away for winter. I considered buying the stuff to do it myself but I've gotten out of doing my cars and this shop lived up to their excellent reputation.

I had planned on taking Mrs.RD for her last ride of the season but the winds were high and the sunny part of the forecast didn't materialize yesterday, but rain did in the afternoon - oh yea. We had less than an hour of sunny skies today but that was enough for me to ride to the school to get my three miles in and fill up the tank at the gas station. Aside from a potential warm sunny Fall day it could have very well been my last ride of the season.

You guys get your riding in while you can and be sure to post plenty of pictures. Elvis is going to sleep with nearly 21,000 miles on the clock. Even with Covid - it was a good riding season despite not getting down to Indiana.

Glad you got some riding in last week! Kept hoping you'd get down this way at some point--but maybe next summer

Nice accumulation of mileage in a few short years. HD makes some bikes for racking up the miles!

I also got out yesterday for longer ride than my normal 3 to 5 night a week rides.

Went up 231 toward CVille. Jumped on the "Indiana Dragon" (State Road 234) and headed west past Shades St. Park and past Kingman to the "Waterman Baptist Church" where I turned around. Back tracked a few miles then turned south down 41 to Rockville, then back to Greencastle. Ride time of about 2.5 hours and it was a beautiful day, if just a tad windy when headed west.

Found out helmets really matter. The HJC I recently purchased (drop down sun visor) doesn't handle the famous VStrom turbulence as well as the Arai I've been wearing the past 2 or 3 years. (I actually thought I'd fixed the turbulence but the Arai apparently has at least something to do with that feeling)

I'll tolerate it for the sun visor. Might have to come off a few $$ and buy the goofy Arai sunshade apparatus that attaches to the outside of the helmet. But convermed it may add back in some buffeting.

Also. The Strom celebrated 40,000 a week or two ago. If age/durability are my reasons to upgrade I think I'm stuck a while with the Strom. No end in sight on this thing

Nice reports guys!

Never heard of the Indiana Dragon. I'll have to look at 234 on the map and see if I recognize it.

That Strom is going to last far longer than you will. It is the Camry of motorcycles. You'll likely never have a significant problem with it in your lifetime.

Pretty sure the buffeting thing would do me in on the Strom.

Can't see how adding something into the system on the Arai could anything to help the situation...so is be concerned too.

Glad to see you jump back in on the thread. Been a bit!

+1

I was able to get rid of the buffeting on my Strom with a Madstad mount and the tallest screen Madstad offers (maybe 22"). I tilted it back a few degrees and it was buffet-free up to about 65mph. Above that the airflow would begin to collapse around the sides of the screen. Same thing happens to any windscreen if you go fast enough. The barn door on Elvis is good well above 70mph but I'm not a fan of running that fast. After adding the Madstad, the only buffeting I got on the Strom was from those square mirrors. I was in the process of locating the BMW GS style mirrors to replace them when I sold it.

Hi RD

I have the Madstad adjustable bracket and a Tall National Cycle "V Stream" (on the V Strom no less). I am thinking of sticking one of those adjustable "spoiler" windscreens on top of that but I think I need to do the mirror thing first.

It was pretty good in the Arai helmet where it was adjusted. I'm going to definitely do the mirrors now that I have a new helmet and things got a bit wonky again. There are a couple of things I suppose I didn't mention. First, I usually have a fairly sizeable tank bag on and I think it may redirect some of the turbulence that comes the sides of the tank.

More importantly, I go kinda "rapidly" at times - yesterday seemed a good time to be one of those times. But, if I'd have been on the super slab yesterday it wouldn't have been enjoyable at that speed - and with trucks adding turbulence. So it's still an issue even if I ride at a more appropriate pace.

And you're right - that lil tank of a motorcycle is likely to outlast me so long at it get's some TLC on schedule. (It would probably be ok even if not always on schedule but why be mean to such a kind machine ? And why risk it when your life depends on it!?)

I continue to flirt with other motorcycles but nothing ever (in my price range that I like - except old BMW R1100 RTs) out smooths or seems to have less drama (the Strom for sure beats BMWs on that) than the Strom.

Most likely scenario is to keep the Strom and buy something more long distance comfy just in case I don't like the new (to me) bike. Lots of possibilities!

I feel the Yamaha FJ-09 / Tracer GT and it's sweet 3 cylinder pulling on me as but that would probably be more of an upgrade/trade of the Strom because it's kinda like what a more sophisticated Strom would be. (That is, if we don't kid ourselves that the Strom ( 650) is a true ADV bike. )

Several cruisers also strike a cord - mostly Road Kings or those intended to emulate it. (Especially Kawasaki) but I could see a fairing model filling the bill too.

I better stop. Sorry to have commandeered Joel's thread :)

Joel won’t mind if we wax poetic about bike dreams.

I’m not sure how I feel about triples be they Yammies or Trumpets (as Joel called them). I just don’t get it... and I’m no fan of the top end whirring like a sewing machine. Unless you want to go really fast but don’t want an I4?

I just don’t ride fast anymore and a VTwin makes low speed riding so easy - there’s always enough torque. A boxer does the same in a lower Cg format.

I’ve asked myself what I would ride if Mrs.RD didn’t ride pillion and the answer varies widely. Some days I think it would be a new GW. Other days an RT. But I think the Road King is as comfortable as I’m going to get for my body. I wish it was 3db quieter but that’s really my only quibble... and the horn button being in an unnatural location.

My commute is 19 miles of 55mph two-lane that I stretch into 25-26 miles via other routes. Typically it takes 30-ish minutes - right at that point where, if a bike isn’t perfect fitting, you begin to notice. I’m sort of like Forrest Gump on Elvis - if I have the time and it’s a beautiful day I’ll just keep on going... or stop at the house and get right back on for 30-40-50-60 more miles.

I know the metric versions are superior in some ways but there’s an infinite number of accessories for a RK. Not that I want a tacky bike but sometimes that little extra makes it more functional, more aesthetically pleasing, or just more fun to own.

I never begrudge anyone’s bike choice - they’re all good as far as I’m concerned. There’s a group of younger riders out my way on Groms tearing it up as much as anyone can with 125cc. I’m not sure they aren’t having more fun than all of us.

Bike chatter is always welcome! Don't have the funds to indulge in buying them all, so talk will do!

Read the thread about MondayDad's son and friends on their Tractor Supply mini-bikes and you'll know it doesn't take a lot of money to have a lot of fun on two wheels!

A fresh outbreak of covid cases on campus had me back teaching from home. Saves me about 2 hours of driving time...some I turned some of the time into a ride.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vJOK9Emgdwq

The photos aren't great, but at least there are some.

Ok, three.

Of my bike.

At the same location.

But there are some. Didn't stay out long since the deer are mostly brain-addled with lust at this time of year and can't be trusted to stay out of the way.

Neither can commuters...though I doubt lust for anything other than getting home messes with their minds.

So there is a weird report.

We (me, my son David, and 4 mutual friends of his) took our scooters out for a ride last weekend. Went west out of Avon, eventually ending up south of Hazlewood on IN42, then to Monrovia, Wilbur, down to Pumpkinvine Hill road, big hill down to IN67, into and south out of Martinsville into the Forest, then turned right at the shelter house and rode along the south side of Lake Lemon (along the creek), winding around and eventually entering the west side of Nashville on Helmsburg Rd. We had so much fun as it is about the ride, not the bikes, when you're on scooters! A lot of people (guys, especially in trucks) who passed us were grinning at a couple of big guys on scooters so small that they looked like they'd disappear into their butt cracks plus a guy with a blonde mullet on a Zuma. David came up with the great idea of having a very portable sign made so that whenever we stop... gas station, forest turn off, whatever... he will put it out advertising "Scooter Show Today" on the roadside by our scooters. In the whole trip, I don't think we were able to coax a single Harley rider into waving back at us in spite of our best waving efforts! And we've come up with a lot of unique waves!! That, in itself, makes us all laugh. 6 scooters... 150 miles round trip... 900 total miles... we probably burned up a total of 8 gallons of gas.

@MondayDad: Maybe that explains why scooter riders don’t wave back at me - they are shocked a Harley rider, in ATGATT no less, waved at them!

Great report!

We have a warm forecast this week so Elvis will get a few more miles before going to sleep.

Bob,
Is that your Cannonball Run winning scooter? Can't tell if you have the screen on it or not.

No. The Cannonball scooter was an '86 Helix. It will cruise at 70 (75 in a draft) and this 80cc Elite is huffing at 45.

Bob

Yes they ll do that , slip stream like crag vetter did and the helix will do 80 mph at about the same mpg.