4 day ride end of June- what to take?
#11
06-18-2018, 07:29 AM
Road Master
Zip Ties won't get you home...????????
Glad I had some when I needed them. I was on a solo cross-country ride on The Moonraker ('85 FXRS)... left the Grand Canyon about dawn on a Sunday morning, headed South for I-40 at Flagstaff, AZ then home to Georgia.
As I approached I-40, tried to downshift and found my shifter was dangling, leaving me no way to get out of 5th gear.. The ball joint on the end of the shifter linkage had broken.
Pulled the clutch handle in and coasted into the parking lot of a convenience store at the exit. Went in a got a half pint of Jack Daniels and an apple and sat on the curb enjoying my breakfast while figuring out what to do next.
I had a few nylon zip ties in the tool bag. It was easy enough to put 2 of them around the end of the linkage and the shifter-shaft in a "criss-cross" pattern. They held everything together nice and tight and got me back on the road. I didn't know how long they were going to last so I pulled into the first Truck Stop I saw and bought a pack of 100 more. Threw'em in the saddlebag and got back on the road. They were still unopened when I got back to Georgia.
Don't tell me zip ties won't get you home.
Glad I had some when I needed them. I was on a solo cross-country ride on The Moonraker ('85 FXRS)... left the Grand Canyon about dawn on a Sunday morning, headed South for I-40 at Flagstaff, AZ then home to Georgia.
As I approached I-40, tried to downshift and found my shifter was dangling, leaving me no way to get out of 5th gear.. The ball joint on the end of the shifter linkage had broken.
Pulled the clutch handle in and coasted into the parking lot of a convenience store at the exit. Went in a got a half pint of Jack Daniels and an apple and sat on the curb enjoying my breakfast while figuring out what to do next.
I had a few nylon zip ties in the tool bag. It was easy enough to put 2 of them around the end of the linkage and the shifter-shaft in a "criss-cross" pattern. They held everything together nice and tight and got me back on the road. I didn't know how long they were going to last so I pulled into the first Truck Stop I saw and bought a pack of 100 more. Threw'em in the saddlebag and got back on the road. They were still unopened when I got back to Georgia.
Don't tell me zip ties won't get you home.
Chapstick with spf, a small tube of aloe if I do not keep enough sunscreen on during the day and some corn starch just in case of some monkey butt.
Last edited by Grandslam; 06-18-2018 at 07:38 AM.
#12
06-18-2018, 10:10 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Sandy Eggo's North County
Posts: 14,595
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Zip Ties won't get you home...????????
Glad I had some when I needed them. I was on a solo cross-country ride on The Moonraker ('85 FXRS)... left the Grand Canyon about dawn on a Sunday morning, headed South for I-40 at Flagstaff, AZ then home to Georgia.
As I approached I-40, tried to downshift and found my shifter was dangling, leaving me no way to get out of 5th gear.. The ball joint on the end of the shifter linkage had broken.
Pulled the clutch handle in and coasted into the parking lot of a convenience store at the exit. Went in a got a half pint of Jack Daniels and an apple and sat on the curb enjoying my breakfast while figuring out what to do next.
I had a few nylon zip ties in the tool bag. It was easy enough to put 2 of them around the end of the linkage and the shifter-shaft in a "criss-cross" pattern. They held everything together nice and tight and got me back on the road. I didn't know how long they were going to last so I pulled into the first Truck Stop I saw and bought a pack of 100 more. Threw'em in the saddlebag and got back on the road. They were still unopened when I got back to Georgia.
Don't tell me zip ties won't get you home.
Glad I had some when I needed them. I was on a solo cross-country ride on The Moonraker ('85 FXRS)... left the Grand Canyon about dawn on a Sunday morning, headed South for I-40 at Flagstaff, AZ then home to Georgia.
As I approached I-40, tried to downshift and found my shifter was dangling, leaving me no way to get out of 5th gear.. The ball joint on the end of the shifter linkage had broken.
Pulled the clutch handle in and coasted into the parking lot of a convenience store at the exit. Went in a got a half pint of Jack Daniels and an apple and sat on the curb enjoying my breakfast while figuring out what to do next.
I had a few nylon zip ties in the tool bag. It was easy enough to put 2 of them around the end of the linkage and the shifter-shaft in a "criss-cross" pattern. They held everything together nice and tight and got me back on the road. I didn't know how long they were going to last so I pulled into the first Truck Stop I saw and bought a pack of 100 more. Threw'em in the saddlebag and got back on the road. They were still unopened when I got back to Georgia.
Don't tell me zip ties won't get you home.
Might want to get a stainless steel shift linkage from Landmark Mfg. They have real Heim joints. Not that garbage that HD passes off as shift linkage. When I get a new HD, it's the very first mod that gets done. (4 of 'em over the last 23 years, so far.)
#13
06-19-2018, 03:22 PM
#14
06-19-2018, 05:08 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
In hot weather I like Gold Bond Medicated powder, to prevent Monkey Butt. Or Zeasorb powder.
Anybody who asks why are you taking bandannas, doesn’t have much imagination. I use it to prevent my bald head from getting sunburnt, and as a liner to prevent my helmet from getting soaked with perspiration.
Good for drying rain off your seat, mask to protect your face from hail, etc..
Anybody who asks why are you taking bandannas, doesn’t have much imagination. I use it to prevent my bald head from getting sunburnt, and as a liner to prevent my helmet from getting soaked with perspiration.
Good for drying rain off your seat, mask to protect your face from hail, etc..
Last edited by Ron750; 06-19-2018 at 05:14 PM.
#15
06-24-2018, 07:39 PM
End of ride update:
I packed just what I needed to get through 4 days of riding and the trip was awesome. We stayed in an airbnb house that was centrally located in the area we concentrated our riding in. The ride there was right at 300 miles with about 400 miles of back roads riding and another 300 mile ride back home. Ate great food and road some of the best back roads I've ever ridden in 45+ years of biking. If you're ever in the area of the Texas Hill Country, South of Kerrville,
be sure to ride The Twisted Sisters highways.
Reviews on some new gear I picked up for this ride: Knowing it was going to be hot I got ahead of the game and it really paid off.
AirHawk seat pad - worth every penny.
Harley Davidson Mesh Jacket - one of the best gear purchases I've made in years. Perfect for hot weather. Disperses air evenly over the torso and arms and keeps the sun off your skin. I got the silver jacket with orange & black trim. Combined with the mesh gloves I already had I came home with no sunburn and rode comfortably. (extensive use of sunscreen on the face and neck-reapplied at every stop)
Harley Davidson Cooling Vest - (the new silver HyperKewl vest) - This vest made the 98 degree afternoon air feel like air conditioning. $60 bucks well spent!
KewlCloth head cover - Basically a doorag with the HyperKewl quilting, soak it and ride it dry. Keeps the head cool under the helmet. ( I wore a half helmet for the entire trip with goggles. )
My 3 friends all wore full face modular helmets and T shirts. After the first day of back roads, when we got back to the airbnb house, they all 3 got on line and started searching for cooling vests and head wraps. lol.
I made this trip on all new lubes and new rocker box gaskets & the RKC purred like a bobcat.
Oh yeah, almost forgot; Somewhere in the first 100 miles the heel came off my left boot and ended up on the highway somewhere. ( 8 yr old Harley Davidson brand lace up duty style boots with lug soles and heels.) I pulled into a Walmart and spent $40 bucks on a pair of leather/kordura side zip duty boots and was surprised to feel air on my feet (blowing through the kordura) while riding. They were cheap but performed great. I've already gotten my $40 bucks out of them!
We're going back in Oct to ride those roads again when the fall weather arrives.
I packed just what I needed to get through 4 days of riding and the trip was awesome. We stayed in an airbnb house that was centrally located in the area we concentrated our riding in. The ride there was right at 300 miles with about 400 miles of back roads riding and another 300 mile ride back home. Ate great food and road some of the best back roads I've ever ridden in 45+ years of biking. If you're ever in the area of the Texas Hill Country, South of Kerrville,
be sure to ride The Twisted Sisters highways.
Reviews on some new gear I picked up for this ride: Knowing it was going to be hot I got ahead of the game and it really paid off.
AirHawk seat pad - worth every penny.
Harley Davidson Mesh Jacket - one of the best gear purchases I've made in years. Perfect for hot weather. Disperses air evenly over the torso and arms and keeps the sun off your skin. I got the silver jacket with orange & black trim. Combined with the mesh gloves I already had I came home with no sunburn and rode comfortably. (extensive use of sunscreen on the face and neck-reapplied at every stop)
Harley Davidson Cooling Vest - (the new silver HyperKewl vest) - This vest made the 98 degree afternoon air feel like air conditioning. $60 bucks well spent!
KewlCloth head cover - Basically a doorag with the HyperKewl quilting, soak it and ride it dry. Keeps the head cool under the helmet. ( I wore a half helmet for the entire trip with goggles. )
My 3 friends all wore full face modular helmets and T shirts. After the first day of back roads, when we got back to the airbnb house, they all 3 got on line and started searching for cooling vests and head wraps. lol.
I made this trip on all new lubes and new rocker box gaskets & the RKC purred like a bobcat.
Oh yeah, almost forgot; Somewhere in the first 100 miles the heel came off my left boot and ended up on the highway somewhere. ( 8 yr old Harley Davidson brand lace up duty style boots with lug soles and heels.) I pulled into a Walmart and spent $40 bucks on a pair of leather/kordura side zip duty boots and was surprised to feel air on my feet (blowing through the kordura) while riding. They were cheap but performed great. I've already gotten my $40 bucks out of them!
We're going back in Oct to ride those roads again when the fall weather arrives.
Last edited by duoglider; 06-24-2018 at 07:48 PM.
#16
06-24-2018, 10:20 PM
#17
06-25-2018, 06:59 AM
Road Master
End of ride update:
I pulled into a Walmart and spent $40 bucks on a pair of leather/kordura side zip duty boots and was surprised to feel air on my feet (blowing through the kordura) while riding. They were cheap but performed great. I've already gotten my $40 bucks out of them!.....
I pulled into a Walmart and spent $40 bucks on a pair of leather/kordura side zip duty boots and was surprised to feel air on my feet (blowing through the kordura) while riding. They were cheap but performed great. I've already gotten my $40 bucks out of them!.....
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