To answer the most common question: “Where are you going?” I put up the Route Overview Page on this site. It has the latest route map, and lists some of the highlights we plan to visit along the way. I will continue to update it if anything changes before the trip.
It was a mere seven weeks (and one day) since I ordered the Timoteo textile pants (in all-black) from Teiz Motorsports, until I found a box waiting for me on my front doorstep. Teiz manufactures their products in Pakistan, and ships them in bulk to the United States, which is one of the reasons this relatively new start-up company can sell quality products at a fraction of the cost of its closest competition. Their Lombard one-piece suit I bought last year easily stacks up against products from Aerostitch in function, at a quarter of the price of Aerostitch’s top-of-the-line suits. Being a relatively new company, though, the main question with Teiz’s products is whether their durability will stack up against the elite competition. But, I found their build quality and functionality to be way beyond the sticker-price on the Lombard suit. So, was it worth the wait?
Since the VFR is currently down to sort out electrical issues (more on that soon), a full ride review of the pants will have to wait. I do have some initial impressions right out of the box, though.
The Large size pants are still a bit snug on my (honestly) 34″ waist. Part of the snugness comes directly from the pants’ main features. The pants come with two zip-out full length liners: a thermal liner, and a waterproof liner (which resembles a two-pronged condom). Also, a rain gusset adds a little bulk behind the fly, but looks like it would keep a hurricane from entering your crotch. I am actively trying to slim down a little before the trip, so I don’t anticipate out-growing the pants anytime soon; I just won’t plan on layering-up under these pants, but rather relying on the included liners to keep me warm and dry.
The legs fit just fine. Considering my short inseam (31″), there’s not much bunching of the material due to length. The ankle gussets fit perfectly over my Frank Thomas boots, and the calves are snug but not confining. Going to an Extra-Large for the waist would prove to be too long in the leg, though. A custom order would be necessary if I were planning to pack on a few more pounds.
The lack of a thigh pocket is a disappointment. The Lombard suit has plenty of pockets, and so I was hoping for more than just the two little zippered front hip pockets on the Timoteo pants. They are big enough for some cash, and the bike keys when off the bike, but definitely not a wallet or anything bulky. I’ll have to rely on the plethora of pockets on my Joe Rocket jacket.
Ventilation is sparse; only a zippered vent on each hip, with mesh interior. With the CE-approved armor in the shins and knees, the hips are probably the only other area of the pants that will be in the breeze, so I guess there’s not many options when it comes to ventilating pants short of a full mesh. Without the liners, the pants seem thin enough for some hot weather use. I’ll take a ride soon in the summer heat to see how well the Timoteo pants will fare if we see extreme heat on the southwest portion of our trip.
So, were they worth the wait? A full day’s ride will tell much more than just trying them on in my bedroom. But, if the quality is as good as the Teiz Lombard suit I bought last year, I’ll be more than satisfied with the Timoteo pants.
Vacation times have been approved, and the time-frame for MotoTour 2010 has been set: Saturday, September 18th to Saturday, October 16th.
The whole site is moving to the MotoTour2010 Facebook page. This will allow Todd and I to make easier updates via our smartphones, as well as expedite uploads of photos and video while we’re on the road. Follow us there for more frequent updates. I will leave this site up for now, and update it with the highlights of our trip after we return. Thanks for following our adventures!
Or, “Wow, this season went by fast!”
I learned not to turn my back on Todd when there is a water faucet right over my head.
Before this past season, I had never been camping with a motorcycle. In fact, I hadn’t been camping at all since I was a kid - at least not without an M-16 or M-249 in my hands and an 80-lb ruck sack on my back. Come to think of it, even as a kid, I only went camping in a uniform. But, with the prospect of spending an entire month on the road next year, Todd and I knew that the only reasonable way to afford our loop of the country would be to camp as much as possible, avoiding the extravagant cost of hotel rooms. After all, most nights all we need is a soft place to sleep, not luxuries like room service and cable tv. So, we decided that this motorcycling season we would camp as often as possible on our weekend rides, to learn how it’s done and what equipment is needed to get it done right.
A year ago, I had planned on taking the Bandit for a long weekend journey across Route 6 in PA (a trip I actually took this summer on the VFR). I picked up a small 2-man tent - it was labeled as 5′x6′ Junior Tent, capable of sleeping 2 – and practiced setting it up in my living room while watching “Long Way Down.” For our first trip this year I strapped that small tent, along with a sleeping bag, onto the rear seat of the VFR on top of a flat cooler I picked up from Wal-Mart. The short but wide insulated soft-sided cooler seemed perfect for keeping a low center of gravity while providing a flat platform for other items on top. Some included Tupperware-style containers inside the cooler helped support the weight of the tent and sleeping bag on top. A bungee net held another small waterproof bag on top, full of other camping gear: tent stakes, string, LED lantern, citronella candle, glow sticks, lighter, and Therma-Rest pad. My camping pillow got stuffed in the small trunk with my clothes.
Haphazard packing on the first camping trip.
The individual items - the tent, sleeping bag, and waterproof bag, as well as a cheap tarp - looked none too secure on the back seat, between me and the tail trunk. Yet, with enough straps in place and two or three bungee nets on top of it all, all mounted to varying points on the bike’s tail and rear rack, it seemed like it wasn’t going anywhere. And so, Todd and I set off for our first moto-camping weekend, eventually meeting up with Darek and attending the Sport-Touring.Net annual Burger Run in Clearfield, PA. Later, i would pick up a large water-resistant compression sack at Dick’s Sporting Goods (around $12) and found that it was much easier to secure one bag to the back seat than several smaller items - the bag filled with most of my camping gear only required two bungee straps to keep it secured across the passenger seat and saddlebags.
I started off the season with almost no luggage for the VFR. I picked up a Givi rear rack from Twisted Throttle, and transplanted my old Givi E35 Flow case that I used to mount on the Bandit. The Flow is only 20 liters (if that) of secured water-resistant storage, but it was lockable, waterproof and better than mounting a smaller soft bag on the tail. I packed the tail trunk with a few changes of socks and underwear (each day’s worth in a separate 1-gallon ziplock bag, as I have done for years, for keeping them organized and waterroof), along with my electronics: digital camera, video camera, cell phone charger, etc. Later in the season, I sprang for the Givi side racks, a pair of E42 side cases, and (on Darek’s recommendation) a J.C. Whitney version of Givi’s E350 tail case which required slight modification to mount to the Givi M5 base plate. The full case set-up currently provides much more storage than I need for the average weekend trip, and should be more than adequate for the month-long trek.
Virginia trip with the new Givi luggage setup.
One problem I encountered from the additional weight of the loaded luggage went unnoticed for a while. More than a few pounds of gear loaded into the high-mounted tail trunk would relieve the front wheel of some weight, making the front end of the VFR slightly prone to headshake if ridden aggressively. The problem never really manifested itself that way, since I usually took it easy when the bike was loaded – essentially in “touring mode” both physically and mentally. I realized the “problem” when I tried to sit up, both hands off the handlebars at one point to rest my wrists; the front began to almost oscillate, kind of like when the front tire wears funny and the tread becomes scalloped. I had originally thought that was the case, as some types of sport tires tend to scallop as they wear down when mounted on a relatively heavy bike. After all, most sport tires were designed with ~400-lb sport bikes in mind, not 500+ pound bikes loaded with gear. But, I checked the tread on the front Shinko tire several times and really didn’t notice any unusual wear, not like the obvious scallops on the Michelin Macadam 90X tires that were oem on my Bandit1200 eight years ago. I realized it was caused by weight in the tail trunk when I spent a recent weekend riding up to Lake George with only the side cases mounted and packed, and not the tail trunk – the bike was rock-steady, even no-handed. The new Michelin Pilot Road tires may have helped a little, as did the new front brake rotors, but it appears the weight of the gear in the tail trunk had the most impact on the stability of the front end.
My aim in packing the hard cases is to pack the tail trunk with the items I would usually want inside the tent or in the hotel room, so I only have to take the one case and my tank bag rather than unload things from all of the cases or make multiple trips to bring them all with me. Things like underwear, toiletries, sneakers and my electronics need to be close at hand in the morning, while such things as tools and camping gear can stay locked on the bike. I may have to rethink what I pack in the tail, though, to reduce the weight that is mounted so far up from the bike’s center of gravity.
The VFR seemed a bit sluggish loaded up, at first. Bumping the tire pressure up to the recommended 42psi in the rear (from the recommended 38psi for the bike unloaded) made a noticeable difference, both in handling and fuel economy (about 2mpg on average) and I would assume in tire wear in the long-term. I’m short in stature so I kept the preload relatively low so I can be more confident backing the bike up when it’s loaded, even though cranking in more preload might help a little with handling. As I said, I’m not riding the VFR like a race bike when it’s loaded, so I opted for parking-lot confidence over high-speed cornering clearance. I did dial-in a little less compression-damping, though, to take some abruptness out of the rear end. Adding Heli-bars made the VFR quite comfortable, although I am considering adding a Throttlemeister or similar throttle-lock in order to rest my throttle hand on long stretches of highway.
My tiny "2-person" tent on the right.
Our first camp site of the season was on the edge of Harrisburg, where we arrived well after dark. The first challenge presented itself immediately: setting up camp in the dark. The tent area was not far from the main RV site, so there was some ambient lighting, once our eyes adjusted. Still, Todd used his LED headband lamp, and I tried out my ear-mounted single-LED spotlight. Both worked well, although Todd’s larger lamp was capable of casting a wider beam, my little spotlight was enough to see directly where I was looking but not the periphery. Todd was confident enough in his BMW’s battery to run his large Hella lamps long enough to get the tents situated. Having previously familiarized ourselves with how our tents went together, the dark setup went surprisingly well, even if I couldn’t quite tell which color tent pole was going in which color sleeve for a few minutes there. By the time I had my tent set up, Todd was already gathering twigs for a small campfire and making fun of the size (or lack thereof) of my tent.
I had bought my 5′x6′ tent for $19 at Wal-Mart with the assumption that my 5′7″ frame would fit nicely lengthwise, with room on the side for my gear. Somehow, I must have grown a few inches because my head and feet were touching the far ends of the tent at the same time. I fell asleep as curled-up as my sleeping bag would allow, in order to give the illusion of more room in the tent. Following this trip, I picked up another similar tent from Wal-Mart, this one 9′x12′, but packed was not much larger than the previous one and only a pound or two heavier.
The new tent at the FooteRest campground.
Most experienced campers online offer advice along the lines of “you get what you pay for,” insisting that only expensive tents will hold up to regular use, especially in harsh weather. My new $29 Wal-Mart tent, in my opinion, looks like it will hold up to the worst weather that I would want to camp in with a motorcycle – we’re not ascending Mount Kilimanjaro, after all. If the weather gets too bad for this tent, I’ll already be in a hotel room. And if the tent does fail in the field, replacing it would require only a stop at the next Wal-Mart and another $29. For my use, I think the “cheap” tents will be fine, as long as I don’t unnecessarily abuse or neglect it.
One way to prolong the life of such “cheap” tents is the use of a tarp underneath, as a “footprint.” On our first trip, I brought a heavy $7 Wal-Mart tarp. It worked well as a vapor barrier, keeping the ground’s moisture from seeping in through the tent floor, but it was relatively bulky and had to be packed on top of everything else on the back seat. I later picked up a thinner 10′x12′ woodland camo tarp from Harbor Freight for around $10. The thinner tarp is lighter and folds smaller, allowing more flexibility as to where it’s packed on the bike. I found that the tarp also keeps the bottom of the tent clean when packing it up. Following a night of camping in my friend Satish’s back yard (he has cats in the house and I’m highly allergic), I dragged the tent off of the tarp and folded it up in his drieveway. The dew that was picked up as I crossed the yard caused some unseen sand on the driveway to cling to the bottom of the tent as I folded it up, and later needed to be hosed-off when I got home. Had I folded the tent on the tarp, only the bottom of the tarp would need to be cleaned - easily done by just shaking it out.
One of the most important things I was eager to learn about moto-camping was what NOT to bring. Some things that seem like a good idea ahead of time might never be used, and therefore take up valuable space and weight on the bike. Also, reusable items are more desirable than items that need to be replenished. For example, the citronella candles worked only marginally for keeping mosquitos away, whereas I recently read that most flying bugs avoid wind, such as would be caused by a fan. Maybe it would be better to pack a small battery-powered fan and sit in front of that at the camp site to keep the bugs at bay than to burn candles that need to be replaced when they run out. After all, rechargeable batteries can be renewed from the bike as we ride, as opposed to stopping somewhere to buy new citronella candles every so often.
Small items not originally considered made their way into my gear bag later in the season. Such multi-purpose items as string, a pocket knife, electrical tape and duct tape take up a very small space, weigh nearly nothing, and have a multitude of purposes, most of which can’t even be predicted until the situation presents itself. If space is available, extra bungee cords and nets can easily be stuffed in the corners of the saddlebags. I also added a pair of crank-powered mini LED flashlights. If every battery I have goes dead, I can still have light (and therefore set up camp) with just a little bit of cranking. I’ve been told there are similar items for charging cell phones by crank, but that may be overkill as I will most likely keep the phone charging from the bike every day, and turn it off when not in use to conserve the phone’s battery.
Other items could just be smaller. While I don’t see the need for an expensive tent, I will end up spending a good amount of money on a sleeping bag that is thinner and packs smaller, yet retains the same insulating qualities as the bulky one I have. With a smaller bag, I should be able to cram ALL of my camping gear into the compression bag across the passenger seat, leaving the hard cases free to store tools, clothing and electronics safely away from the weather and would-be thieves. The money spent on the ¾-length Therma-Rest pad that was on closeout at REI was worth every penny, as opposed to strapping a large roll-up pad somewhere on the bike and letting it get wet in the rain while riding. My main goal is to pack small and light enough that I can get everything in out of the weather, either in the hard Givi cases, or in the nearly-waterproof compression sack.
Some things Todd and I have yet to deal with, like cooking. It’s been said that camping day after day is just fine so long as you have a hot meal before going to sleep. I know Todd picked up a nice camp stove a while back and has brought it on at least one trip, but we have yet to cook in camp. Either we’re too lazy, or we’re just not sure enough what to do that we have been reluctant to try it. I have been watching online videos and reading forum posts about what to bring, how to cook it, etc. It seems the main consensus is to buy the meat fresh each day, on the way to the campsite, in order to avoid having to keep it frozen one day to the next. Other items, such as bread and some vegetables can be packed for a few days at a time, and such things as seasoning can be packed indefinitely. But the meat can go bad quickly, especially if the weather is warm. So far we’ve been okay with foods such as granola bars, pita bread and some fruit, but I think we need to give cooking a try before this season is over. The worst that could happen is we waste a few bucks on some food that we end up not eating. I’ll bring some granola bars just in case.
We also have yet to set up camp or spend the night in camp in the rain. I picked up a 10’x10’ canopy with mesh sides for keeping out the bugs. We have yet to use it, or even practice setting it up, but we’re expecting it to come in handy for setting up camp in the rain. The plan is to set up the canopy first, then use it as cover to set up our tents, moving it around the site as necessary. Then we can either cover the area between our tents (so we can emerge from each tent without getting wet) or move the canopy over the bikes to cover them for the night and to pack up in the morning. Even in dry weather, we could use the canopy with its mesh walls to cover our eating area to keep the flying bugs out. Depending on how well it works, we may consider packing up a second one for multiple uses.
The cockpit is getting cluttered - SPOT tracker and Garmin Streetpilot2720.
Other things are still being worked-out, like on-bike communications. Financial issues have had me on-hold as far as picking up an in-helmet system for the bike, such as the AutoCom (which Todd already has on his BMW) or the StarCom which I have also been researching. Todd snagged us a pair of Kenwood 2-way radios on eBay, with an optimal range of ~6 miles which should be more than enough for bike-to-bike communication, as well as off the bike around camp should one of us wander off to explore or gather firewood.
I recently picked up a Garmin 2820 GPS (to replace my aging 2720), which, once connected to an on-bike comm system, will allow me access to my cell phone via Bluetooth. Emergency calls will be at my fingertips without even having to stop. Todd and I are both running a SPOT Tracker as well, with its emergency call service available should something go wrong outside of our usual cell phone coverage areas.
With camping, packing, and communications coming along, this coming winter’s focus for me will be on setting the bike up properly. Comfort and reliability will be paramount with our mechanical steeds. That means new suspension bits, some kind of throttle lock, maybe a more comfortable seat (or just the right seat pad), and some additional lighting. I’ve already upgraded the VFR’s electrical system with a new regulator/rectifier and the VFRness to dissipate some of the electrical heat buildup inherent in the oem charging system, as well as adding a fused distribution panel under the seat. A 12v outlet now resides under the seat, and an extension cord plugged into it and running up the back of the fuel tank provides power in the tank bag. Powerlet outlets provide 12v power with plugs that lock securely into the outlets and are essentially waterproof and I may add a few of those over the winter: one up front to run power into the tank bag, and one out back to put power in the hard cases (for running lights or charging items within).
Photo by BEARMTNPHOTO.com
I will also need to find the right sport-touring tires that will give me the grip I want and still last as long as possible. The total four-week trip is so far estimated at nine thousand miles total, which means over 300 miles a day on average – easily done when one considers that a few 600-mile days on open highway will leave time for getting off the bikes here and there. With New Orleans being on our agenda for around the 3/4 mark of the trip (mileage-wise), I’m hoping the tires I use will last that far. Getting the bikes serviced and new tires mounted will be more than enough incentive to spend an extra day or two in the Big Easy.
The preparation for our trip is definitely a learning process. Sure, we could just wait until next September, load up the bikes with what we think we’ll need, and head west and be okay. We’re a pair of smart guys, and we could figure things out on the road. We could pick up items we need along the way or dispose of things we brought but don’t need, learning as we go on the actual trip. But, when we go, I don’t want to be focused on the logistics of the ride – I want to be able to relax and enjoy it, knowing we have what we need, and we know what needs to be done and how to do it. Setting out armed with experience and knowledge and the right gear from the start will make our vacation more of a vacation and less of a chore.
Besides, all this preparation and practice is a great excuse to go riding every weekend! I’ll continue to share my learned lessons here as we progress to the actual trip in September/October 2010. The dates have yet to be firmed-up, but we should have them in stone by January, which is when I have to put in my 2010 vacation schedule for approval at work. In the meantime, we still have plenty of time left in this motorcycling season, depending on how mild October is going to be this year. We’re already planning a loose trip to south-western PA and maybe into West Virginia for the 3-day Columbus Day weekend. Anyone can follow our adventures on our individual SPOT Shared Pages.
Additional photos by Todd and Darek.
Anytime I go on a motorcycle forum there are always these niffy maps people have as part of their signatures; you’ve probably seen them before on other forums. If not they’re maps of the US (I assume they have them from other countries) and if you’ve ridden in a particular state, that state is filled in with a color. I went ahead and did mine:
As you can see it’s pretty I have a lot of work to do. I’ve been riding for at least 6 years and have only managed to have hit 4 states! Lame. This trip will definitely liven up my map.
Wanna make your own? Go here
Anywho…. Based the hope/assumption that we will be doing 75% camping, and at least some in unapproved areas (ie back roads/fields), I figure there will will be at least one or two occasions where fresh water will not be readily available. So I was trying to think up ideas for how to carry additional water and fuel. I came across the PegPacker. Unfortunately the guys over at BestRestProducts.com couldn’t tell me if it would fit my K75. And with the threat of a restocking fee if it didn’t, I headed to the garage to see what I could do on my own. ~$15 in materials and 4 hours later I had come up with this:
Quality is definitely DIY and my welding capability is non-existent but a couple of test rides prove that it’ll hold. I’m in the process of making one for the other side that will be for the gasoline. I’m using Scepter 1 1/4gal jugs and I’m hoping that will be plenty. If Jeff has some room between his front pegs and saddle bags i’ll slap together a pair for him as well and we should be good to go! Speaking of pegs, I was worried that adding these would not give me any free space to move around, but thankfully that’s not the case.
So I spent the better part of 8 hours Sunday and about 4 hours last night running what felt like a couple hundred feet of wiring onto my bike. I was on a mission to add a second fuse box that will be dedicated to my accessories.
Before now, I had an individual lead from the battery to each accessories relay. It was a mess and looked even worse. At that point I only had three pieces of Farkle (Definition- Farkle: Motorcycle accessories intended to increase the function of a motorcycle. These are the opposite of those intended to glamorize (Antonym- see Bling.). F.ancy A.ccessory R.eally K.ool & L.ikely E.xpensive.). Those three were:
1. Heated grips
2. Fog lights
3. Wiring for Hella 500 driving lights (yup! Big ass lights)
Since I was adding a hardwire for my AutoCom unit and Garmin GPS, it was going to be an utter mess; not that I could even attach anything more to the + battery post. If that weren’t enough, I plan to add a heated seat at a later date. My next issue is going to be all the relays I am using; there are a bunch!
My solution was to utilize a second fuse box. I ended up getting the perfect one off of eBay. It started its life in a 1985 Honda Sabre VF700 and was perfect. It has 7 slots, 5 of which share the same power feed. This was great because it immediately cut down on the number of wires I needed to deal with. It was also slender and fit perfectly in my under seat storage.
Some slight modification, bolts/nuts, and solder and it’s installed. Since I am a HUGE advocate of an “OEM look” I like to frequent the local junkyard for bits a piece to use on my projects. I stopped over Sunday and cut off some OEM spec wire harnesses. I don’t know exactly which make/model I pulled it out of but it is pretty beefy and uses a rubber seal to keep the water out. In addition to that, a nice cosmetic touch I add was wire loom. If you don’t know, wire loom is flexible plastic tubing used to organize wires. They sell it at home theater places and office product stores for $$$$. What I realized is that every car in the entire junkyard is littered with it. Sure it’s dirty but you can usually get it from there pretty cheap. So I snagged a bunch and use it where I want to tidy up projects. It also helps protect the new wires from the elements.
I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. I tested each piece and they all power on. My only concern right now is whether the wiring gauge I used is sufficient. And it is because of that concern that I will likely redo some of the wiring with a thicker gauge. It is really just the leads for my Hella 500s that is a concern. At 55 watts each they are pulling ~9.2amps on the 12volt system. I’ll have to check to see which gauge I need in order to carry that amperage. The guides that I’ve seen (http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm) state that I can use 18 gauge wire for 10 amps. If that’s the case then I’m all good. I guess I’ll know if I have an electrical fire (I’ll do my best to get pics if that’s the case).
This site is dedicated to chronicling the efforts of two motorcyclists in their preparations for a four-week trip around the United States, set to start in September 2010. The two intrepid riders will kick-off the trip with a one-day highway run from their homes to Chicago, with the real back road trip starting the next day. The route will take them in a loop around the United States, past many national and historical landmarks as well as lesser-known sites. Riding, eating and camping will be the only itinerary for most days.
This blog will serve as a public journal of how two seasoned riders (but novice campers) learn along the way to their epic whirlwind motorcycle tour of the USA. Here, preparations will be documented: motorcycle setup, acquiring equipment, local camping trips, and route planning. Online research will be shared, and local camping trips will be documented to show the processes of trial and error. With any luck, once the trip is under way, the riders will continue to update this site from the road, with updates on location and weather conditions, as well as photos and video blogs.
Join us as we learn how to transform a weekend hobby of motorcycle sport-touring into a means to see the country from a unique perspective. Share our experiences as we learn from others as well as from our own mistakes. Ride along with us as we explore new roads, see new places and meet new and interesting people along the way.
Join us on Moto Tour 2010.