1500 Miles in 4 Days R3T

[McRocket]

I left SoCal for regions north. Rode up the coast to Monterey then through the Central Valley to the Feather River Canyon up to Bucks Lake (until the snow stopped me). Did a few side trips in the Plumas National Forest and then back down the canyon (75 miles of the most delectible two wheel riding in the world). Spent the night in Monterey and then rode the infamous Hwy 1 through Big Sur, Santa Barbara, Ventura, through the pass to Malibu fininsing up in San Clemente.

I only had 2 small problems. I completely overheated my rear brake trying to road race a couple of BMW's just south of Big Sur. I held my own for a couple of miles but all of a sudden, my rear brake went right to the bottom...nothing there. I am not sure what happened, but they came back after a stop for gas and a breather.

The second problem was a high speed wobble (65-70mph) but only when I removed my hands from the bars.

I averaged 35 mpg but ran the bike hard. Almost all hwy miles were at 80mph. I had the bike fully packed and she still handled smooth and stable.

I am thinking about adding a batwing fairing with sound system. I am concerned about how it will affect the handling. Any comments?

Anyway it was a great ride and I would be more than happy to share the route if any one is interested.

 

[TriumPhil]

Those are awesome roads on a fantastic route. As a graduate of Cal State, Chico I had the great pleasure of having equally monumental riding in my, then, "backyard". Your brief writeup brought back some great memories of me and my CL 350 and 750 F blasting in and around the Sierras!

As Jim Morrison sang, "Keeps your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel!"

Dig it!:

YouTube - The Doors + Lyrics - Roadhouse blues ???? ????

 

[albertaduke]

I completely overheated my rear brake trying to road race a couple of BMW's



you mean to say while roadracing on twisties you applied enough rear brakes that it overheated . what did you use you front brakes for? I used to race in my younger years on tracks and the first lesson learned from instructors about braking was front brake usage 90%, rear 10% and mostly used to slide ,and control parralell front slide
I cannot fathom using rear brakes at higher speed since it would lock up very easily particularly when riding solo and hard to feel when it happens, and at speed would not slow you down much exception being control an outside slide in a turn ,
i need to understand because the fundamentals in braking a moving object with wheel is the same for all. please enlighten me..

 

[xhdskip]

I always thought it was 70% front and 30% rear.
Its always worked for me.
My brakes did get hot once though,
riding down the tail of the dragon.
I was riding it like a harley, instead of letting the motor do the work
going through the twistys.
A real good guy turned me onto the fact that I "couldn't" ride it like a harley,
its not, doesn't run like one, or act like one.
Totally different ride, and the motor could, and should be doing the work for me on the twistys.
I tried it his way and the second time down was alot more enjoyable.
Brake didn't get hot either.

 

[laraza]

Why are you taking your hands off the bars at 65-70? (just because you can doesn't count )

 

[scot in exile]

Why are you taking your hands off the bars at 65-70? (just because you can doesn't count )

65-70mph does not count as high speed that is cruising along looking at the scenery and checking out the females speed, and keep your bloody hands on the bars.

 

[tdragger]

Well, when you're picking your nose with your left and you need a little reinforcement with the right, you might have to take your hands off the bars for a sec.

Seriously, a shake at that speed would most likely indicate loose steering head bearings. Check the torque or have a shop do it.

 

[GPMAZ]

Agree that shake at 65 is not right.

Also agree, stop using that rear brake. The rear brake is fine for low speed maneuvering and used lightly to settle the bike and scrub speed when leaned over. Otherwise, there's a reason there are two discs on the front. That's where the majority of your braking capability lies. Relying too much on the rear brake will render it useless in short order.

 

[albertaduke]

I always thought it was 70% front and 30% rear.



Skip you are right about 70 and 30 on the street but on the race track it was 90 -10
now that was 40 years ago but I think it still apply today on the racetrack

 

[ROCKETHEAD]

high speed wobble? are you on the re-called tires? check your tire presure. mine wobbled and they had to replace the tires since they delaminated on the inside. should be 38-40psi up front and 42-44psi in back. you will be lucky to get more than 5-6k miles on a set on the r3t. i am on my 3rd set with only 12.5k miles on the bike.