Advice on freeway driving?
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
From: Mount Juliet, TN
My 883N was 500 miles under 50mph....I woulda been killed on the interstate at 50. I took the long way home and enjoyed every minute of it. Well, except when that bird decided to bomb me in the face...thank goodness for a full faced hat with shield almost all the way down.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 606
Likes: 2
Great tips below!
On a new bike, the hiway should be out.
Also, make sure you don't run out of gas, be sure how much gas you have when you leave, and figure 40 mpg to be safe.
If you HAVE to take the hiway, be sure to let off the gas every few minutes to suck some oil up to the top end of the motor.
I always broke my bikes in hard, lots of heavy throttle, but not allowing it to overheat or run steady speeds on a hiway.
Since its new, leave plenty of time and space and take it easy till you are used to the bike.
Enjoy!
Brett
On a new bike, the hiway should be out.
Also, make sure you don't run out of gas, be sure how much gas you have when you leave, and figure 40 mpg to be safe.
If you HAVE to take the hiway, be sure to let off the gas every few minutes to suck some oil up to the top end of the motor.
I always broke my bikes in hard, lots of heavy throttle, but not allowing it to overheat or run steady speeds on a hiway.
Since its new, leave plenty of time and space and take it easy till you are used to the bike.
Enjoy!
Brett
Ride it.
Highway Tips:
Always keep a good distance from the knucklehead in front of you.
Try to position yourself so you always have "an out" if **** hits the fan.....
(retread fly's off a truck, someone does something stupid)
Get it through your head now that texting and talking was not an issue the last time you rode but it is now.....
Concider everyone of them looking at their text messages, sending one, or talking on the phone. They are all out to kill you. Every last one of them. They may not mean to kill you but they are all out to kill you.
Other than that...........have a great ride and congrats on the bike.
Highway Tips:
Always keep a good distance from the knucklehead in front of you.
Try to position yourself so you always have "an out" if **** hits the fan.....
(retread fly's off a truck, someone does something stupid)
Get it through your head now that texting and talking was not an issue the last time you rode but it is now.....
Concider everyone of them looking at their text messages, sending one, or talking on the phone. They are all out to kill you. Every last one of them. They may not mean to kill you but they are all out to kill you.
Other than that...........have a great ride and congrats on the bike.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 618
Likes: 3
From: So. Cal
I couldn't agree more...the slab sucks. They should've named the Nightster the Backroad.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,927
Likes: 5
From: Midwest
I'd take the backroad, too, till you get used to things again. And the mofoco tells you not to hold any one speed for very long in the first 500 miles so you have a reason you can tell your friends.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 77
Likes: 1
From: Azle, TX
You may want to hold off picking it up until saturday morning due to the traffic being a bit lighter, or better yet, Sunday morning if your dealership is open. Get there early, find a big parking lot nearby to ride it around a bit and get familiar with the throttle, brakes, shifting, etc. Then head out and take the back roads home and enjoy the ride. Take your time and give yourself plenty of room and you'll be fine. You'll be grinning from ear to ear all the way home and asking yourself why you waited so long to get back on a bike.
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Joe Kucinski
Cruiser
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
From: Saukville, WI
All solid advice, if you've ridden before it'll come back. If your really worried find a friend to ride it home. I rode my buddy's Triumph from Chicago to Milwaukee because he just got his liscense and didn't want to deal with traffic his first day. And let me tell you there was alot, took an hour to get to the highway, all while riding on my nuts, not a comfy riding position. Good luck and take it safe with whatever you decide to do.
Deff take the backroads if you can.....everything Gliden said and do yourself a favor and keep an eye in the rear view mirrors. I do 32 miles each way to work on I-84 in CT through Hartford....nothing scares the **** out of you like a quick moving car passing you when you didn't expect it, or a truck. Two days ago I was in the middle left lane (number 3 lane) doing 70ish, and some *** hole was doing 100+ in his rice rocket up the right (number 1 lane) and scared the hell out of me. If he was in my lane he may or may not have seen me, I don't know, keep those eyes scanning the road in front of you for the *** hole that's texting, and keep an eye looking back so you don't have any surprises. Enjoy.
PS, if I could take the backroads to work, I would. Highway sucks!
PS, if I could take the backroads to work, I would. Highway sucks!