Review of items used on my trip
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,373
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From: Northern Virginia
Review of items used on my trip
MY wife and I rode about 4946.5 miles in 2 weeks. Here is the order of the cities went to:
Fairfax, VA (home)
Franklin, MI
Mackinaw city, MI
Big Bay, MI (upper peninsula)
Duluth, MN
Grand Forks, ND
Medora, ND
Custer, SD
Sioux Falls, SD
Keokuk, IA
Pickerington, OH (where we stopped on the way home)
Fairfax, VA
In my signature you can see the set up we used to ride across the country. There are several things we used on the trip and I will give a grade and review of the items.
2006 RG - no mechanical breakdowns - A+
Uni-Go trailer - A - Great small trailer that you can roll into your hotel room when you are staying at the same place for several days.
HogTunes upgrade - A - I added the amp and rear speakers (J&M fronts were on the bike already). My wife had no problem hearing the stereo and the amp does make a big difference. I was able to hear the stereo fairly well even at 75+ mph.
XM satellite radio module on the HK radio - B+ - It was great to listen the same station all the way across the country. There are certain areas though where reception went in and out and I will never figure out why the volume level is not as loud as the regular radio or IPOD.
BlueAnt interphone wireless headset - B - They are easy to use and work well even when over a short distance. It was hard to for me to hear the wife when riding at 75mph. She wear a flip-up and I wear a 3/4 w/flip down face shield. The units recharge in an hour but they only last 5 hours max when on continuously.
Clearview oversize windshield - A - This was on the bike when I bought it. I like to look through the windshield so having the over size is fine. It definitely kept A LOT of bugs from hitting me.
Mustang Ultra touring seat - A - I had the same seat on my Ultra and I will put another one on my next touring bike.
Mustang wrap around backrest for tourpaks - A - Wife says it is comfortable and she likes the longer arm rests vs the HD one.
Avon tires - A - I won't run anything else. I rode a fair amount of rain and did not have any grip issues. I have 17k on the front and still have plenty of tread. I have 5k on the rear which replaced the one that had 12k on it.
HD King tourpak - A - It is detachable and I only use it when I need it. It is must when traveling across the country.
Floorboard extenders - A - Everyone should have them.
Extended shift levers - A - Combined with the floorboard extenders my left foot has tons of room. They work well even with lowers.
HD driver backrest - A - Had the unit on my Ultra and moved it to my RG. I will have one on my next touring bike as well.
Roll Bag by SAC - B+ - It is made to attach to the premium luggage rack and works well. I have this bag for 6-7 years now. The only complaint it that it could be bigger. So I will look into getting a bigger one.
Cannon PowerShot digital camera - A - Even though my wife and I don't know how to use most of the crap on it it takes get pictures. We bought this camera last year and choose it because it uses 2 AA batteries. We never had to worry about our camera dying on us and not being able to take pictures. We put a 2GB card it in.
Netbook computer - A - We downloaded the pictures daily and added taglines to know where they taken. Has WiFi and we had no problems getting a signal in any hotel room. The computer size is 8"x10"x1.5" and has 3 USB ports. We carried the unit in a small shoe box with a mouse (it has a touch pad) and power cords.
HD soft luggage - A - Made for the side bags and carries easily.
HID head lights - I bought mine from xenonlink.com and they work great. I had them for 10k miles.
Kuryakyn driving lights for the RG - B - They replace the turn signals and give you a driving light/turn signal combo. They look great but with the HIDs I don't use them. I had bought them before I decided to go to HIDs. I probably would have skipped them.
Wild 1s 508 handle bars - B+ - They were on the bike when I bought it. The pullback is great since I am short (5'7"). They don't get an A because they do have a wheelbarrow type feel. I am used to it so it is not a big issue for me but others may not care for it. They do look great.
HD hard lowers - A - I leave mine all year!
Any questions, reply to thead or PM me. We took over 1000 pictures. As soon as we sift through them and upload them to Snapfish I will post the link.
Fairfax, VA (home)
Franklin, MI
Mackinaw city, MI
Big Bay, MI (upper peninsula)
Duluth, MN
Grand Forks, ND
Medora, ND
Custer, SD
Sioux Falls, SD
Keokuk, IA
Pickerington, OH (where we stopped on the way home)
Fairfax, VA
In my signature you can see the set up we used to ride across the country. There are several things we used on the trip and I will give a grade and review of the items.
2006 RG - no mechanical breakdowns - A+
Uni-Go trailer - A - Great small trailer that you can roll into your hotel room when you are staying at the same place for several days.
HogTunes upgrade - A - I added the amp and rear speakers (J&M fronts were on the bike already). My wife had no problem hearing the stereo and the amp does make a big difference. I was able to hear the stereo fairly well even at 75+ mph.
XM satellite radio module on the HK radio - B+ - It was great to listen the same station all the way across the country. There are certain areas though where reception went in and out and I will never figure out why the volume level is not as loud as the regular radio or IPOD.
BlueAnt interphone wireless headset - B - They are easy to use and work well even when over a short distance. It was hard to for me to hear the wife when riding at 75mph. She wear a flip-up and I wear a 3/4 w/flip down face shield. The units recharge in an hour but they only last 5 hours max when on continuously.
Clearview oversize windshield - A - This was on the bike when I bought it. I like to look through the windshield so having the over size is fine. It definitely kept A LOT of bugs from hitting me.
Mustang Ultra touring seat - A - I had the same seat on my Ultra and I will put another one on my next touring bike.
Mustang wrap around backrest for tourpaks - A - Wife says it is comfortable and she likes the longer arm rests vs the HD one.
Avon tires - A - I won't run anything else. I rode a fair amount of rain and did not have any grip issues. I have 17k on the front and still have plenty of tread. I have 5k on the rear which replaced the one that had 12k on it.
HD King tourpak - A - It is detachable and I only use it when I need it. It is must when traveling across the country.
Floorboard extenders - A - Everyone should have them.
Extended shift levers - A - Combined with the floorboard extenders my left foot has tons of room. They work well even with lowers.
HD driver backrest - A - Had the unit on my Ultra and moved it to my RG. I will have one on my next touring bike as well.
Roll Bag by SAC - B+ - It is made to attach to the premium luggage rack and works well. I have this bag for 6-7 years now. The only complaint it that it could be bigger. So I will look into getting a bigger one.
Cannon PowerShot digital camera - A - Even though my wife and I don't know how to use most of the crap on it it takes get pictures. We bought this camera last year and choose it because it uses 2 AA batteries. We never had to worry about our camera dying on us and not being able to take pictures. We put a 2GB card it in.
Netbook computer - A - We downloaded the pictures daily and added taglines to know where they taken. Has WiFi and we had no problems getting a signal in any hotel room. The computer size is 8"x10"x1.5" and has 3 USB ports. We carried the unit in a small shoe box with a mouse (it has a touch pad) and power cords.
HD soft luggage - A - Made for the side bags and carries easily.
HID head lights - I bought mine from xenonlink.com and they work great. I had them for 10k miles.
Kuryakyn driving lights for the RG - B - They replace the turn signals and give you a driving light/turn signal combo. They look great but with the HIDs I don't use them. I had bought them before I decided to go to HIDs. I probably would have skipped them.
Wild 1s 508 handle bars - B+ - They were on the bike when I bought it. The pullback is great since I am short (5'7"). They don't get an A because they do have a wheelbarrow type feel. I am used to it so it is not a big issue for me but others may not care for it. They do look great.
HD hard lowers - A - I leave mine all year!
Any questions, reply to thead or PM me. We took over 1000 pictures. As soon as we sift through them and upload them to Snapfish I will post the link.
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