Cross country with the kid June 2015

minimacdoc said:
FJR is a whole different bike then mine, you have large fairings to hide behind to break the wind, large seat surface area, softer suspension (I've replaced stock with more aggressive suspension), more weight so wind is less of an issue, access to windscreens that actually do something.

Stock seat on my bike is sitting on a brick after 200km, new seat arrives soon so see how that turns out.

Don't need risers, its an upright seating position.

1000 miles is 8-9 gas tanks for me, and if theres issues with gas fill ups, its probably a bad idea, as I have to fill up nearly twice as often as my dad does.


Seems iffy, but doable.
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Good windscreens definitely make a huge difference. I have done 1000+ km days on my old Honda CB919, definitely was not the most comfortable and enjoyable riding I have ever done.

I have found the bead riders make a big difference, I use them on my GSA and love them.
I am planning on heading out west in June myself, not going as far as you guys are, will only have 2 weeks. That riding to the Rockies just looks soul crushing, the only thing I am not looking forward to.


If you have a Garmin GPS, using Basecamp for plotting out a trip is great. I cannot imagine trying to put together a large trip like that in Google earth.
 
It wasn't till recently (this past fall) that i started using a gps.
For me if you are doing a 400km day over 20 or 30 different roads then the gps is very helpful.
I did my whole trip last summer without gps....just a HD map magazine and my playbook.
I planned it all out using google maps....classic view cause I hate the new google maps.
For your Iron Butt its pretty easy...just stay on I90.
As far as doing the IB is concerned....its about the easiest route you can take.
Only 1 road to remember (I90)
Its flat straight and corn corn and more corn.
I've done I80 - I90 - and I94 about 6 times.
Once as an Iron Butt and the others were 1000km days.
All of them i did by myself except one (this past summer)
I had great weather for all of them.
Sunny warm and no wind all 6 times.
Theres nothing to see except like i said....corn.
To me this is the best way to get across this part of the mid west....just blaze it and get it over with.
I look at it like this....for most people it will take 3 days to get from here to Denver or from here to Yellowstone.
3 days.
They are your holidays....can you justify spending 6 days (return) of your holidays spent on I90?
I cant.
Let me know if you want a good 2 day route home from Sturgis / Rapid City area :)
 
Yeah - that's the question - that time spent on flat a boring.
It's not a problem for me - I work and travel anywhere there is an internet.

But kid has limited time

I don't plot by GPS. I run a general route and the TomTom Winding Roads provides the surprises and a few other apps provides the rest.

Google earth is way too slow - maps is fine and with terraine is okay as well.
I segment out our days on a calendar for a guideline. I have no interest in detailed plotting of routes.

I use the motorcycle roads websites to pick some highlights and other ride reports for a specific day.
I don't need to plot a winding route to Yellowstone say .....TomTom WR will do it and at any point I can say - take fastest and it switches with two screen touches.

Key destinations can be saved - Glacier Ntl Park for instance and at any point I can get an immediate route, fast or winding ( 3 levels ) and there are other avoidance options ...tolls, major highway etc.

But yeah 6 days at least and really its a week.
GF and I ended taking the train to and from Edmonton and renting a car for the BC/Alaska trip last summer and that worked really well.
We were rested when we got to Edmonton, well fed and relaxed.

Still thinking about flying kid and bike to Calgary maybe me too. But $$
 
Probably prefer here to Calgary tho Denver is a potential...how did you get prices?

That's not bad round trip and I can get flights on points.

I assume we have to get our bikes to the warehouse in Toronto by a certain date.

Thanks

If that is saving $150 a day in fuel, food and motel plus rider wear and tear....seems decent value.

Yknow this might fly - I have lots of points for this and can get a cheap motel near the bike warehouse. We can do carry on and have the rest in the panniers.

I'm going to check Calgary as well ...then no customs hassle tho I have a Nexus card

This is $729 round trip

6:35p 11:44p 3h 9m
Denver (DEN) to Toronto (YYZ)
Air Canada 1042
Economy / Coach (G)
Embraer 190
Bag fees
Estimated baggage fees charged by Air Canada
Carry on: No fee
1st checked bag: $25.00 - $29.00
2nd checked bag: $35.00 - $40.00
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Ready to ride a great area on Saturday morning ...how cool is that.

Actually $573 if we go with one stop.

6:26p - 9:51p
American Airlines
5h 25m
YYZ - DEN
1 stop
51m in ORD
American Airlines 4331 operated by Republic Airlines As American Eagle
Hide Flight Details
4 left at C$572 .72
roundtrip

Return price for 1 traveller, including taxes and fees: $572.72
6:26p 7:19p 1h 53m
Toronto (YYZ) to Chicago (ORD)
American Airlines 4331 operated by Republic Airlines As American Eagle
Economy / Coach (S)
Embraer 175
51m stop Chicago (ORD)
8:10p 9:51p 2h 41m
Chicago (ORD) to Denver (DEN)
American Airlines 1368
Economy / Coach (S)
Boeing 737-800

2,130 km
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ack
Flights are okay but the transport will not work.
Okay let's see what we can find to get the bikes there. Maybe Air Canada all the way. Liking this better as a concept.

Asked these guys for a quote.
http://www.tfxinternational.com/services/motorcycles

I like the no prep aspect. Really a roll on set up.

750-176.jpg


750-178.jpg


TFX-International_Main-Motorcycles-196.jpg


Also asked them for a separate quote.

Ship to Denver from Toronto

Then ship to Toronto from Calgary.

Sort of like hitch hiking for the bike :D
 
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Mac you can get prices in the Calendar tab
I like your thinking of home - Denver - Calgary - then home.
Not sure if My Trip will do that.
Dont know what to tell you about reviews...I know a couple guys have used them with no issues
 
Air Canada don't do cross border....emailing with them now - hope to have a final cost shortly - want it off my plate.

25 degrees and looking out the back door just now

Screen%2520Shot%25202015-03-07%2520at%2520Mar%252C%25207%2520%2520%2520%25202015%2520%2520%2520%25206.10.01%2520AM.jpg


Lovely tropical morning.

•••

MyTrip is way too limited....no flex in time or place.

$650 one way to Calgary ...getting Vancouver price ...

Thinking now fly our to one of them and then ride back - can't really call it cross country if we're flying half of it :D

That way we can drop down into the states and come back across with the wind - 3 days out of 24 is not so bad.

It's $650 to Vancouver - I think that's a go then.

Kenz says about $950 all in

•••

Leavin' on a jet plane. :D...Saturday June 6th leave 8 am - get in 9.30 am Vancouver
Zero out of pocket ( paid on points ) but it's cheap anyways $287 to Vancouver one way.

Too nice....fly out and get riding in the mountains right away.

Figure we'll do a week around BC, over to Jasper and Banff then head south to Glacier National Park and Beartooth/Yellowstone.

After that we'll see and then drift home with the wind.

If that transport price was more like $500 I'd do more often.

Will drop the bike off on the Thursday at Pearson.
 
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This quote came in late from a US carrier.

Hello David,
Thank you for your request. Here are some rates. If this makes sense to you try to schedule sooner than later to prevent any fuel increases.
The cost to ship your 2 bikes from Niagara Falls, NY to Denver, CO will be $1336.00. The return trip is the same amount. You can even save $70 off of each trip if you can receive the bikes at the carriers Denver warehouse and then return them when you are ready back to the same warehouse.
This is with an enclosed carrier that has been one of the long time leaders in motorcycle shipping. This price includes the use of our carrier’s custom motorcycle pallet with tie downs and enclosed trucking charges. They do require easy truck access at each location. This also comes with up to $15K transit protection at no extra cost.
Payment is with Credit Card…..charged after the unit is loaded.
Let us know if we can help schedule this for you.
Barry Eisen / 800-410-7499
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That works out to $750 cdn for each bike one way with full flexibility of dates but you have the hassle of getting a ride back from across the border each time and you have to allow for transit time

Air Canada looking good for in Canada jaunts.

$650 plus tax and some extras to Calgary or Vancouver and then head south -

If that same rate applies to Whitehorse - that's a great deal to get into Alaska turf but I'd think Calgary still makes more sense then ride north

•••

AFX came back with this

Thank you for your inquiry.

The cost of transport from Mississauga to Calgary will be $850.00CDN plus tax. This transport rate includes door to door, fully enclosed and fully insured service with a zero deductible. You may pack up to 200lbs of personal items in the vehicle. Insurance coverage is up to $250,000.00 CDN based on the actual cash value of your vehicle. An additional fee of $200.00 would be applicable if the vehicle is not operational (not applicable to motorcycles). Although we can transport non operational vehicles, it must roll and steer. All tires must be inflated and be capable of holding air.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks for posting the rates and companies... I likely want to do this next year, one way only, ride back.

That AFX offer sounds like the best deal, considering they come to your door and it is CDN$.

For the one to Denver, $668 USD is $843 at the moment, and yeah you would have to get back from Niagara Falls.... although Mega Bus runs a service from that area for a few bucks.

The Air Canada deal was what? $650, but add on $100 or two for the dangerous goods inspection, insurance etc, then you have to fly with Air Canada too (that may not matter if you have points), while Westjet might have cheaper rates/better times... and soon you are at the same amount as AFX but might have more hassles as it is flying rather than being driven.

Lots of things to consider... keep us updated.

Has anyone phone around to trucking companies?
I sent a bike to Vancouver about 6 years ago for around $300, but I had to source the crate and do all the prep work. That was with Fastfrate. I wonder if they offer the service with prep included though?
 
Air Canada is cheap ...$287 to Vancouver.

Too bad there is no Australia option.

Some cheap flights around to Syndey $1500 round trip from Vancouver and that's on Qantas ( much nicer to fly )
and there are always cheap flights to Vancouver.

then $1000 a week for a street triple

http://www.sydneymotorcyclehire.com.au/triumph_hire.html

You can get a DRZ400 for about $120 a day over a week.

So change it up ....do a little trail riding and some sport riding for variety.
 
First hiccup. SENA 20s failure - put up a thread to cover it. They have a fix so hoping they respond with a new set quickly

It does look like Sena has produced a new design to fix the problem but too early to tell

end of a long dismal thread ....my kid just emailed me ours had failed - and he's been using it for two days...

Good news guys... Finally. the latch appears to be fixed. I just got my RMA back and Sena sent me BRAND NEW UNITS. The latch is made from aluminum now like someone else said. That should fix my complaint (Broken latch and cover screws broken in plastic cover) I hope this works because I really like these units!!! Excited.



March 3, 2015, 7:29 PM
Robert Whitelaw
Glad to hear that the issue appears to have been remedied by a change to the latch. I have started having issues again with my replacement, but I did not want to swap it out till I heard there was a real solution in place. Sounds like it may be the time.

March 4, 2015, 10:49 AM
Thomashohl
Just a note on testing my units after Sena replaced both units with newer design. They work GREAT. All problems fixed. If you have these units and are having problems, send them back and get replacements. You worst be disappointed.

March 9, 2015, 1:35 PM
Steve Place
Can anyone verify the serial numbers of the affected base units? I purchased a dual kit new off amazon a month ago, serial 1409 (September 2014), and want to know if that was a fixed base unit, or if I should now send back my replacement which is unopened, for a refund to try and find in a retail store where I can see the serial number?

March 9, 2015, 3:03 PM
Felix Lugo
So it sounds like the base plate has been fixed by replacing the plastic latch by some kind of metal contraption. Was anything done to address the small plastic lip on the radio itself? I assume the metal part will now easily wear out that tiny lip that holds the radio unit in place. Once that goes, back to square one with the same problem. Can someone with a fixed unit confirm if the radio itself has been updated?

March 10, 2015, 9:31 AM
Thomashohl
150104374 is the serial on my replaced units.

I just received them about 2 weeks ago so they are very current. Also the groove appears to be deeper and the latch works perfectly now. Not sure about the FM reception issue because I never got the chance to use it on my old units but the new one works great. I'm very happy with my 20S now. I was really thinking I threw $500 away when I got the first one but now all is good.
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http://support.sena.com/entries/50209680-20S-does-not-lock-onto-its-base?page=2
Click to expand...
 
I was looking at the 20 but my SMH5 still works flawlessly and I don't want to be on a party chat with others while I'm riding so I'll wait till the 5 dies and the bugs are worked out of the 20 before taking the plunge.
 
minimacdoc said:
1000 Miles on this in a day?
2015-Yamaha-FZ8-EU-Midnight-Black-Studio-007.jpg

No way.:violent2:
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ive never ridden the FZ8 but it was a high competitor when i bought my last bike, but i really wanted a 600 SS.

really, it should be fine for long hauls, ive done about 700km straight with just stopping for gas and food on my 600rr.
ide love to have a streetfighter style bike next, but its just not going to happen. most likely a bagger.
 
Yeah - he had a SV650s first and ended up a pretzel on a long haul weekend while dad was ready for more ( all praise Russell Daylong )
Riding position on FZ-08 much more upright and he's adding seat and screen.

Won't be much on keeping up with him tho ....damn thing goes.
 
that should be a great trip, have fun and ride safe.

if the seat is really bothersome may want to invest in a corbin or some other seat. ive seen air seat pads that just sit on top of the oem seat(personally i would want it tied down somehow)
i have a corbin on my cbr, its a great seat but it also adds to the seat height a bit, which depending on the bike will add to the forward lean a little.

the sv650 just doesnt do it for me, neither does the fz07 and fz09. they both looked cool untill i saw them in person and actually sat on them. now i have no interest in them at all.
the FZ8 looks way more badass.
 
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He sat on the FZ-09 and preferred the FZ-08 as well.
Not sure which seat he is getting/got.
I was very pleased with the Sargent I got for the KLR in Australia.
Bit lower and surprising comfort given it looks like a flat board.
 
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