First "long" trip in 45 years!


sti491

Member
So me and my 2 Amigo's (son Jake and friend Tim) went on a whopping 450 mile ride to Little Switzerland, NC to ride the Diamondback loop and tour the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). I had only done a 200 mile trip previously, on my stock seat. I walked like John Wayne for 3 days. After modding my seat with memory foam and adding a Sheepskin (in separate posts), this ride was like night and day. The ol' butt feels just fine! HIGHLY recommend a sheepskin for longer rides.

Diamondback is a shorter ride for us from Greensboro/High Point than TOD, which is south of Diamondback. The loop is very technical and tight, a challenge for anyone. Cruising the BRP is outstanding... and we were fortunate to hit extremely light traffic. The BRP is best done at a mild 50mph, enjoying the scenery and sweepers at a leisurely pace. We had plently of spirited romps as well.

We only had one near incident, fortunately when we were traveling the speed limit at about 45mph on the BRP. Tim was in front, me second. I always look ahead of the rider on front of me, and kinda see the rider in my closer up peripheral. He is leaned over at the apex of a corner, I'm maybe 3-4 bike lengths behind him when a HUGE doe lumbers right in front of him coming out of dense woods. I think I saw it before him, hard to say. He made a little jiggle on the bike as he no time to react, and fortunately didn't stand the bike up (he had no time to do much of anything), really other than a nanosecond of a reaction he kept going and the deer, which paused for the slightness second just crossed the road... about 3-4 feet in front of him! He probably missed the rear end of the doe by 2ft. From my perspective the deer was taller than the bike with him leaned over w/clip ons. That was pretty scary!

The scenery on the northern end of the BRP is outstanding. We were on the part between Boone and Mt. Mitchel. Little Switzerland is a 100 year old resort that caters to bikers and sports car clubs, as well as anyone looking for a mountain getaway. It is reasonable and very, very nice. I am looking forward to taking my Sport-Touring Fizzer on longer adventures now!
 

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arnie

New Member
Looks like the three of you had a great time! I doubt my bike, with the clip-on’s, could do over 100mi without giving my wrists trouble. I think I might put on the original handlebars for the first time since I’ve owed the bike. The leaned over position looks cooler/more sporty, but i’m discovering that comfort overrides looks every time you ride. I bought my bike with the Yamaha gel comfort seat already on, so i’m not sure how much of a difference it makes compared to stock, but it seems like it cuts vibration and would keep my butt happy for a few hundred miles.

Has anybody had experience with those presumably cheap deer whistles on a car/truck/motorcycle? I couldn’t imagine them having a huge impact on the rate of accidents involving deer, but I could be wrong. At any rate, it’s a challenge living in Pennsylvania and avoiding all the deer no matter the vehicle.
 

sti491

Member
I don't think a deer whistle works... it wold not have helped Tim nearly hitting that deer. It was just terrible timing as it lumbered across the road right in front of him. I went with ROX 1" up and back bar risers using stock handle bar. Since you have a gel seat already, try addding a $60 sheepskin from Alaska Leather. Increadible difference in comfort!
 



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