Went on my first out of town ride... had some learning moments and issues, maybe you more experienced riders can give some feedback...

It's all on my riding blog:

http://ridemagnumride.blogspot.com/

but will copy/paste here to make it easier... w/o pics thou:

1) I hate full face helmets, I know their safe and better for you but my face sweat so much my sunglasses fogged up, and once I had to pull over to wipe sweat from my eyes, but then when I got home I noticed all the bugs on the shield that would of been in my face, so I'm undecided on a half or full in the future..


2) I should always wear a long sleeve shirt at minimum, should invest in a nice motorcycle jacket but that would of been hot as hell, I was already hot with just a T-shirt on with a leather vest over it. 5 of the 6 hours of riding was cloudy, but I had 1 hour of Florida sunshine and got my arms burnt.

3) If you do a lot of highway driving, even with a pretty good sound system, really couldn't hear the music or voice commands from my GPS. I had the settings with all sound coming out of the speakers, may have to change that to in helmet speakers in the future.

4) Even thou my Harley has a nice hands free system, and/or all the controls on grips, it was still a little confusing to use stuff while riding, but that may just be inexperience, definitely need to learn to use the voice command system.

5) and finally, thou it was a good ride, but not very scenic, a lot of my time was spent on concentrating on what I was doing, what lane I was in, what part of the lane, road hazards, other drivers, what is that guy going to do, does he see me etc etc it was actually very tiring to ride, but again that's probably due to lack of experience and should get better in time, and more scenic openings.

Thanks for any tips, comments, feedback... next test will be to Key West end of July.

 

Taking a car would alleviate most of your problems. Sometimes riding isn't comfortable, get used to it.

 

Nice bike. You need cockpit time, plain and simple. Keep doing it.

A Tesla is an ipad with wheels and now Harley and others are trying to emulate that with their "infotainment". I think you need to hit the off button for at least 2-3 thousand miles. Focus on safety, technique and getting the right gear.

How many miles experience do you have?

 

1) Haven't worn a full face helmet for 30 years, since I stopped chasing corners on a sport bike. Maybe a good 3/4 helmet and protective eyewear would work better (I'm assuming you have a touring bike with a fairing based on your further comments).


2)I recommend an armored mesh jacket. Harley makes some, and the aftermarket has more. I find I'm more comfortable wearing the mesh jacket than just a t-shirt in hot weather. Wear it instead of the leather vest. Then again, it's summer in Florida. It's going to be uncomfortable to some degree whatever you do.


3)I don't have an infotainment system and never have, so I can't comment. Riding is engaging enough to "entertain" me all day. Besides, tunes just interfere with hearing and obeying the voices in my head.


4)We complain about distracted drivers all the time here. Nice to know that we can now drive as distracted as everybody else. Remember, riding is first and only priority, not fiddling with gadgets. The margin for error on a bike is razor thin, and the consequences of stupidity more severe.


5)Scenery is secondary to arriving safely. Such is life.

 

Congrats on your first ride, but maybe try to keep it simple?
I can't tell you much about riding in "tropical" conditions, other than you'll have to find the right balance between comfort and protection when it comes to riding gear.

 

It all gets better with time. I bought a good Shoei helmet and no longer have a problem with fog. The helmet should have venting to help with heat. But I guess a black helmet doesn't help.

 

Wearing a long sleeve shirt is actually cooler then a short sleeve imo. Long sleeve retains your sweat and the wind keeps you cooler. When I wear short sleeves (right now it's between 105-110 here) I feel much hotter then when I wear my long sleeves.

 

#1 - Keep the shield on your full helmet craked a bit, it will help with air flow and keep from fogging up your glasses. Some full helmets are hotter than others, maybe get a different one but Florida is hot and humid so it might not make a difference.

#2 - It was mentioned before, mesh jacket are better than short sleeves. It keeps the sun off your skin and lets air flow cool you down to certain degree.

#3 - Get the headset that goes on your helmet and plugs into your bike. There are a few different brands out there, Harley's are on the lower end of quality.

#4 - Need to learned the hands controls while you are stopped, they are pretty simple but can still be distracting when going from radio to nav.

#5 - That is just the way it is. Once in a while you just need to pull over and take the scenary in.

 

I few years ago i started using arm sleeves on hot days when I wasn't wearing a jacket. Keeps your arms from getting burned and they actually keeps you cooler. I also like them because I can easily take them off if I stop to eat or get to my destination without having to change from a long sleeve to a short sleeve shirt. They're cheap and work great.




If I'm wearing a full face on a hot day I just pop my shield off and wear sunglasses under the helmet. Keeps you cooler and still provides protection. Also, between the helmet and the sunglasses most of your face is covered so bugs aren't really an issue.

Whether you go with a full face, 3/4 shell, or even a half shell, invest in a good bluetooth system. They make them for all style helmets...even half shell. I have a Sena 10S and love it. Listening to your gps for directions is much better than looking down at the screen. It's like having a little angel on your shoulder telling you where to go. lol I'll look down at the screen occasionally but 95% of the time I'm just listening.

Learn where your controls are so it becomes second nature. I've been teaching a friend to ride and she's been having problems finding where everything is. I told her to sit on her bike in the garage, pretend she's riding and go through all the controls over and over until she's knows exactly where they are without looking.

Forget the scenery. Focus on where you're going and what's going on around you. Ride smart, not scared. Riding scared is not only not fun, it's more dangerous too. If you ride smart, you can still enjoy the ride and be safe. Anticipate what others might do and be prepared if they do. Always have an escape route and an idea what you will do.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

Thanks for the info and feedback... very new rider here, first bike was 3 years ago, Honda Shadow 750, learned on that, just retired and bought the HD for some heavy touring next year... like most of you said, I guess I'll get better and learn things in time.