Just returned from a 7-day, 3K-mile trip up via the Natchez Trace to TN, across to NC, up to VA and MD, WV, KY, then back down the upper Trace from Nashville. That was a first for me in KY and that part of the Trace in TN. I had been on most of the other roads before and like before they didn't disappoint. Here are some notes:

NC & VA: Blue Ridge Parkway, excellent riding all the way from the bottom to the top. Don't bother with Skyline Drive above Roanoke, which is 100 miles at 35mph and a $15 entrance fee. We avoided it on this trip.

WV: Highway 219 is one of the best roads I've traveled, especially below Elkins. Scenic rolling hills and picture-post-card farmhouses with barns and silos. The enormous wind turbines on the mountain tops above Elkins were spectacular, and I had no idea how big these things were. These have been added since my last ride down this road in 2001.

SE KY: Look for 99 and 10, then further west 193. Great roads, but avoid 160. It's a remote backroad with a cement factory en route that leaves a coating of dust on the road left by trucks that is very slick. One scary slide on a switchback on dry pavement slowed us down on that road, but luckily no one came down. I can't imagine what that road would be like in the wet.

I have Garmin .GDB route files for anyone who is interested.

This gives me the opportunity to give an opinion on some of the things I've done to the bike that made the ride better. I've plugged them here before but I have some some added comments:

1. Dunlop Elite 3 tires: These tires really elicited my confidence early on. We were riding very aggressively most of the time on the twisty mountain roads and these tires were faultless in wet and dry. Very confidence-inspiring and these conditions were truly an acid test for tires, IMO. I'll give the E3's a 10/10 for both performance and durability. Truly awesome. The rear now has 15k on it with 4.5/32 of tread remaining, with 9.5/32 new where I'm measuring the tread. I think it may make it to 20k, double what I was getting on the D402's.

2. SE 255 cams: These cams in an otherwise stock TC96 are the perfect recipe for power in the mountains riding a heavy, loaded-down bike. I rarely used more than half-throttle on the entire trip, even up some very steep grades, as there was that much power on tap, and it is there where you are now, not after downshifting once or twice. Another 10/10 if you want power where you ride, not at 6200 rpms.

3. Fuel Moto Power Package: I must plug my favorite Stage 1 upgrade, as this package coupled with the SE255 cams are a great combo in a touring environment, and are a large percentage of the overall great performance I experienced on this trip. A week before the trip I changed to a 1.75" baffle in the right Jackpot muffler which lowered the noise a bit. The cams made the bike louder, as expected, and even with the smaller baffles could be a bit quieter for my taste. With a stock bike the 1.75" Jackpot baffles should be quiet enough for anyone, however.

4. Garmin Zumo: These devices aren't perfect, as anyone who owns one will testify, but their worth far outweighs their drawbacks. I programmed the trip on the computer in Mapsource and the Zumo took me from start to finish mostly without problems. A GPS will occasionally leave you puzzled as to where to turn and sometimes takes you down a road it shouldn't, then will change its mind, but overall I wouldn't want to be without it on a bike trip. Just the ability to navigate through a city to your motel destination is enough reason to use one, IMO. Those times when the turns get perplexing you always get corrected quickly after missing one, and only once or twice did it give me a bum steer. On two occasions it faultered and I had to recalculate the route on the road, never taking more than a few minutes, but overall it was an invaluable tool. I'll give it a 9/10.

5. Stabilizer: On a slightly negative note, I can attest that stabilizers on pre-'09 bikes do work, but are not 100% effective. They remove most of the waggling sensation in sweepers, but in the worst of the high-speed sweepers with uneven surfaces there is still some frame flex, most of which I suspect no stabilizer can fix. In summary, these devices do help but aren't a panacea. Apparently the only way to get rid of the waggling entirely is buy an '09 model.

6. Fork oil change. In this thread I outline how to easily change the fork oil in a non-cartridge fork. I used HD SE Heavy instead of the standard Type E, as it is heavier and provides a firmer, more controlled ride without being harsh. On this trip I encountered all types of roads, and I can say that bottoming is much reduced, handling better, and the ride no less comfortable. Some feel the SE Heavy firms the ride too much, but not for my kind of riding.

My mileage low was 41mpg on the last day hauling *** down I-55 going 75mph with a strong headwind. The high was 50mpg on the Natchez Trace at 50-55mph, averaging 46.6mpg for the entire trip. Not too bad overall, and about what I've gotten on all bike trips through the years. I have noticed that the addition of the SE255 cams didn't alter my mileage at all, or at least not measurably. One of my friends was riding an '08 RK, stock except for exhaust and no Stage 1, and I was right with him in mileage most of the way, a bit lower than him at slow speeds, higher at higher speeds. I gathered from that the batwing fairing is a tad more aerodynamic than the RK's windshield, and before this trip I had the opposite impression. Fuel metering shouldn't be much of a factor, as I'm running 14.5:1 in the cruise range with a PCV-AT while he was at 14.6:1 with his stock EFI setup.

All in all a great trip, but lots of rain--four out of seven days making us don the rain gear more often than we would've liked. One day was very bad, the first two hours of riding Monday on the Parkway being the worse I've ever encountered on a MC trip: 45°, rain, twisty mountain roads, and with low clouds and fog the visibility was often only a few feet. We gave up and took the interstate for the rest of the day, something that takes some really bad conditions for us to do. We always prefer the scenic backroads.

 

My progressive stabilizer stopped the rear wallow on my 07 but on long sweeping curves the forks still flex. I'm sure this is your problem as well and I bet the 09 models still run the same triple trees as the early bikes.

 

iclick
Glad you enjoyed your trip. Sounds like it would be a great ride. My wife and I want to ride the Natchez Trace, hopefully in the next month or so. Then maybe go on to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I just installed the Dyno Tuned Jackpots on my bike and have only had it out 1 time. They sounded pretty good. Bike is stock otherwise. We were hoping to take it for a ride tomorrow but as you know the weather here is probably not going to cooperate.

I wish Dunlop made the Elite 3 to fit 09 touring bikes as I'd really like to try something besides this D407F.

Anyway, glad you had a good time on your trip and maybe we can get together sometime for a ride since we're not that far away from each other.

 

Never thought about the forks being the source of the waggle on the long, high-speed sweepers. I've noticed that if I decrease the pressure on the handbars while counter-steering the waggle decreases, so what you suggest makes sense. I wish there was a fix, although I've never considered this a safety issue.

 

The Parkway is a better ride, but the Trace is obviously much closer. The bottom part of the Trace from Natchez to Jackson is nice, but redundant and a bit boring after a while. It gets better above Jackson, but the best section is between Tupelo and Nashville, IMO. Thus, it gets better the further north you go.

The Parkway is awesome from start to finish, with the curves less predictable than those on the Trace, and that makes it much more challenging. If I could snap my fingers at any time for a great bike ride the Parkway would be very high on my short list. Unfortunately, it is two days away for us.

You should feel a rather startling increase in performance, too.

The E3 is catching on quickly. I was at an inter-denominational (all brands) indy shop today, and was told that E3's are very popular with Gold Wing riders. It was originally created for GW's to address tire-wear problems, and has really caught on there. I've seen a huge increase in popularity among HD owners over the past year or two, also, and I now see why. It's unforunate there isn't an E3 size for '09's, but maybe Dunlop will develop one. However, I do wonder why they would make a tire available that lasts longer than another tire they also make (D407/408), which presently is the only tire that will fit a certain application ('09 FLH's). What would be the marketing wisdom in that? OTOH as other brands surface in that size maybe they'll try to be more competitive.

Are you in BR? Some friends meet at the HD shop nearly every Saturday morning at around 8:30am, rain (cage) or shine (bike). I drink coffee and watch my friends eat donuts.

 

I live in Denham. Right now I'm working a pipeline over in Port Allen and we're working Mon-Sat. I'll PM you in a few weeks after the job is over.

Edit: Yeah! There is more get up and go. Also the sound is REALLY good-that's the main reason I bought them. The extra pep is a really good bonus. Plus I can add the PCV and AC later if I want and have the entire package.

 

After reading a recent thread on changing the fork oil I've just added a #6 to my original comment list.

 

If you like RT219 in WV, PM me next time you're up this way and I'll show you some other routes you will enjoy. May not have many jobs here, but there are miles and miles of great bike rides.

 

Wow glad you had a good time and thanks for the great review of the trip and commentary.

Spectacular performance and treadwear on those E3's too!