So do I need a bigger bike?

Got rid of the RoadKing Classic and the Goldwing both could never get excited about pushing 800 lbs to the corner coffee shop...
just one block away from the house....

No doubt those bikes were better on the open roads, but a lot can be said about a bike that is easier to ride in town and handles better.

Yup, yup, I agree with the two posts above.

Loved my Victory Cross Roads, the best heavy cruiser I could have wished for. Wonderful bike once under power ... but when not under power, it weighed every bit of 800 pounds ... and eventually I got tired of that.

The CTX700 has brought the FUN back to my riding. Sometimes I wish for more power, or a little more mass under my @ss ... but that's the same sort of thinking that caused me to work my way up to an 800-pound heavy cruiser.

"Flicker" does everything I need, and darned near everything I want.

Woodswoman said:

Yup, yup, I agree with the two posts above.

Loved my Victory Cross Roads, the best heavy cruiser I could have wished for. Wonderful bike once under power ... but when not under power, it weighed every bit of 800 pounds ... and eventually I got tired of that.

The CTX700 has brought the FUN back to my riding. Sometimes I wish for more power, or a little more mass under my @ss ... but that's the same sort of thinking that caused me to work my way up to an 800-pound heavy cruiser.

"Flicker" does everything I need, and darned near everything I want.

Click to expand...

I agree with Woodswoman completely. Ivwish, SOMETIMES, for more power and weight on the road. But then I look at it and ho, nahhh. For what I do that would be stupid as my only ride. Now if I used an mc exclusively, AND I frequently went cross country, I'd probably have 2 bikes.

A friend rode his GS450 Suzuki to and from Tulsa to San Francisco several times. I don't go back as far as Bob does but I remember when a 350-500 was a full-size bike suitable for going anywhere you wanted to go (and with a passenger too) and you had to be a "real rider" to handle a 650.

Oh wait, the Honda is a 670, we must all be "real riders" here.

cheers,
Michael

Steven said:

Yep, when you stay in motels you don't need to bring much. I can't afford that so I bought camping gear. One problem I had was getting a sleeping bag. Most of the down bags were too confining so I went with synthetic which doesn't pack down so well. It will be a lot of luggage but it will work out. My new seat will be built in a couple of months and with a few more dodads I'll be ready to go.

You're right, the perfect sized bike depends on a persons needs.

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Yes Steven. I know what you mean. I have done a lot of bike voyages with camping. I have a good Eureka Timberline two man strong tent and some decent other camping gear, like a propane mini stove that uses a blow torch mini tank, like for soldering copper pipes. These 9 or 10 LED six volt flashlights provide 'lots' of light and the battery seems to always be more than enough for a two week trip. I use those small six pack sized coolers. Things like that. I use blankets instead of a bag. I work the blankets in where ever I can.

On a two week voyage from Rural Central Pennsylvania Amish country to South Florida a few years back, during the Summer, we hit a 'lot' of rain, heavy rain. That is when I stopped at a big boating/fishing super store in Greenville, South Carolina and discovered 'dry bags'. I bought three or four big dry bags and a smaller clear one. These dry bags changed my method of motorcycle travelling.

If you don't know about dry bags, you can even buy them now at places like Wallmart. The sell by names like 'Blue Seal'. They are a medium weight canvas material saturated with a rubberized finish treatment. They have long tops of the bags that roll down and lock closed with nylon straps and nylon push/snap buckles in such a way that they are completely waterproof. The stuff inside never gets wet. They are totally waterproof. I take them canoeing now.

Dry bags, if you have never heard of them, can 'save the day' or week. You can pack all your stuff that must stay dry in the dry bags and not worry so much about how you pack things that can get totally wet.

Have lots of fun bike touring and camping. A person like you probably has known about the glories of 'dry bags' for years, but I thought I would mention them in case someone hasn't heard of them. They can make all the difference in the World.

I recently discovered the dry bags after a little research and bought two of them. They are very wide, which I needed, and hang over my side bags, but that's okay. I bought a Eureka 3XT tent because it was on sale ($90) and it's a decent tent. I left it outside for about two weeks and it stayed dry and handled the wind pretty well.

I have a top case (55 liter) and two side bags, but all of them are too small for my tent and my sleeping pad. The top case will be used for my helmet and camera gear so that is all used up. The side cases will store extra gas. tire repair stuff, an air pump, plus extra clothes to keep warm and dry for easy access. That leaves no room for anything else. Each of my dry bags are 110 liters but one of them contains just the camping gear minus the sleeping bag. It's funny that years ago when I traveled I carried very few things, now I don't have enough room, what gives?

Thank you!

I'd like to se a picture of that bike loaded up.

I found out about the hazards of deep gravel roads pulling into my gravel driveway. Tended to the deep gravel already. Moved it to the other side and scraped down to rhea solid packed surface below. Obviously great attention must be paid on any gravel surfaces.

Deep gravel, deep sand and don't forget mud.

Steven said:

Deep gravel, deep sand and don't forget mud.

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Yeah. When I dropped the bike in the deep gravel I was real lucky I didn't do some real damage. Like breaking the main fairing and other small expensive pieces. I learned my lesson early. Beware of unexpected hazards.

Not sure of your weight Duffy, but my wife is only 110lbs and I have had to replace her rear shock after about 61k miles. It was toast! That rubber piece is supposed to look like a doughnut. We pack pretty light and stay in hotels. I'm sure you are well under the carrying capacity for the bike, but just throwing it out there if you plan on a lot of travel in the future.

Steven said:

I recently discovered the dry bags after a little research and bought two of them. They are very wide, which I needed, and hang over my side bags, but that's okay. I bought a Eureka 3XT tent because it was on sale ($90) and it's a decent tent. I left it outside for about two weeks and it stayed dry and handled the wind pretty well.

I have a top case (55 liter) and two side bags, but all of them are too small for my tent and my sleeping pad. The top case will be used for my helmet and camera gear so that is all used up. The side cases will store extra gas. tire repair stuff, an air pump, plus extra clothes to keep warm and dry for easy access. That leaves no room for anything else. Each of my dry bags are 110 liters but one of them contains just the camping gear minus the sleeping bag. It's funny that years ago when I traveled I carried very few things, now I don't have enough room, what gives?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

I used to go on long trips with my BMW all loaded like that. 3 50 liter Givi hard boxes, two saddle boxes and a trunk with luggage rack. It would barely sit on the sidestand. It was fun though. I also had a Eureka 3xt. Best tent I ever owned. Do they have any more of them? My son returned it to my porch and my 185 lb Newfoundland thought it was a nice dog toy. Destruction. We just paid $400 for a big roomy Eureka 'Titan' B stock at the Erika tent factory and outlet in Binghamton, New York. Brand new tent. Huge. Not for the bike. For regular camping.

Thumper said:

Not sure of your weight Duffy, but my wife is only 110lbs and I have had to replace her rear shock after about 61k miles. It was toast! That rubber piece is supposed to look like a doughnut. We pack pretty light and stay in hotels. I'm sure you are well under the carrying capacity for the bike, but just throwing it out there if you plan on a lot of travel in the future.

Click to expand...

I weigh 200. I will have to look at that mono shock. Did you have it cranked up for maximum weight? I used to keep my BMW on light for ride comfort except when really loaded up for a long camping run.

How about a center stand. I want to put one on.

I never adjusted the shock as she liked the ride as is.

Center stand is out there on some website, but I can't remember which one. When I got hers, I had to get one made for a NC700S (not X) from overseas. Now, there might be one made for it so you will have to research.

That's the one I got too. It's a little tall and makes it a little hard to raise for some people, but it's a perfect height when changing the rear tire.

Steven said:

That's the one I got too. It's a little tall and makes it a little hard to raise for some people, but it's a perfect height when changing the rear tire.

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Did you have to put a 2 x 4 in there like the one I read about?

@duffy
you roll the rear wheel on the 2X4, then it comes up easier on the centerstand

Duffy said:

I used to go on long trips with my BMW all loaded like that. 3 50 liter Givi hard boxes, two saddle boxes and a trunk with luggage rack. It would barely sit on the sidestand. It was fun though. I also had a Eureka 3xt. Best tent I ever owned. Do they have any more of them? My son returned it to my porch and my 185 lb Newfoundland thought it was a nice dog toy. Destruction. We just paid $400 for a big roomy Eureka 'Titan' B stock at the Erika tent factory and outlet in Binghamton, New York. Brand new tent. Huge. Not for the bike. For regular camping.

Click to expand...

I just checked on the availability of the 3XT and they no longer have them. That was the only place that I could find that even carried them. The 2XT can still be had. I've only owned one other tent ( a long time ago) and it was very basic. No mesh, no bug screens, and no rain cover. It was very cramped inside. It was a two person tent, barely.

Duffy said:

Did you have to put a 2 x 4 in there like the one I read about?

Click to expand...

No, I didn't use a 2x4. I'm big enough that I just lift the bike using the passenger grab rails.

This is what I call minimalist camping...

Steven said:

I just checked on the availability of the 3XT and they no longer have them. That was the only place that I could find that even carried them. The 2XT can still be had. I've only owned one other tent ( a long time ago) and it was very basic. No mesh, no bug screens, and no rain cover. It was very cramped inside. It was a two person tent, barely.




No, I didn't use a 2x4. I'm big enough that I just lift the bike using the passenger grab rails.

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Take care of that tent. I have had many, many tents and that 3XT was the best tent I ever owned. I would love to get another one. I have a two person Eureka Timberline and it is nothing like the powerful endurance and strength of the 3XT with the pole sleeves and dome design. We just bought an expensive big Eureka Titan for regular camping. Plus I have a big camping trailer that is really nice.



What oil filter and oil do you use? And do I have to change the clutch oil filter at 25 miles too? Oh yeah, what type and size oil filter wrench do you use? I like the ratchet type but don't know what size to use. Thanks for the info. Raining around here.