Ride Report: My first Saddlesore 1000-Texas Tour-56k warning

[thedude]

My dad started talking about the IBA several months ago. After some background information I realized that I was interested in what it was all about, I love riding a motorcycle and to me, it's more about the journey than the destination.

After some debate, we decided to plan two routes, one that would provide a saddlesore 1000, and one that would provide a bunburner 1500. We chose a turn off point that would allow us plenty of time to decide which one to finish on. Oh yeah, did I mention that we wanted to complete both inside the state lines? Yes, Texas is a big place...

Here is the route we ended up taking...



Both start and finish was Corsicana, TX.

We decided to leave at ~5am and travel the southern portion first. Both my dad and his friend were very experienced long haul truckers and they thought that IH10 at night would be dangerous due to the abundance of deer in South Texas.

I rode to my parents house from Huntsville TX (about 140 miles) and slept there the night before the ride. After going to bed at 9pm, I awoke at 330AM and decided to go ahead and get up to eat breakfast instead of tossing and turning until the scheduled 4am wakeup time.

After a quick shower we were ready to rock! Our starting point was at a gas station about 20 miles from my parents house, so at 445am we loaded up and headed to town.

That's me and my vulcan 900 classic at 506am. Notice the smile, you'll see less of those in the future!




The ride from Corsicana to Austin was uneventful. It was cool and there was little traffic due to it being an early weekend morning. I did learn how nice a backrest is, for the trip I would be carrying a duffel bag on the pillion and it doubled as a nice backrest. I'll be investigating retrofitting a true backrest after this ride.

We made our first stop in Austin, about 150-160 miles later. We were limited to that distance due to my dad's friend's 4 gallon fuel tank.

After Austin it became apparent that we were riding into rain. As we pulled into San Antonio it did begin to rain. My dad and I didn't prepare for rain...we just figured we'd buy rain gear if we needed it...MISTAKE!!! Luckily I saw a billboard advertising a yamaha dealership at the next exit, wow! what luck!!! When we pulled into the dealership parking lot we noticed that it was closed, but it would be opening at 9am. We parked the bikes at the front of the shop and stood in the rain talking. It was 8:45am. I noticed movement in the store and realized that there were employees inside who appeared to be having a meeting of some sort...they let us stand in the rain! Wow. I got a little irritated at this so we decided to hell with it and rode on.

Before the next entrance ramp I saw a Honda dealership, we whipped in there and even though they weren't open they let us in and sold us two rainsuits. WOOHOO!

We donned our new rainsuits and jumped back on the interstate.

Within 2 miles it stopped raining.lol

Because SA was a 'corner' on our circular route, we needed to obtain a fuel receipt somewhere on loop 1604 or close to it. We stopped just off 1604 on IH10, filled up, removed the rainsuits and ate a McDonalds breakfast sandwich.

As we pulled out of SA we were feeling good, despite the delay due to us being unprepared, we were making good time. That would soon change...*cue ominous music*

Just outside of SA there is a town called Boerne, TX. Somewhere along that stretch of IH10 there was a sign that said Welfare, I know this because at that point it started raining again. lol

My dad was in the lead and he quickly took the next exit so we could once again don our raingear. As we scrubbed speed exiting the freeway I suddenly realized that we were going too fast on the exit ramp...at the end there was a 90 degree right turn onto the service road! Within milliseconds of that thought my dad locked the rear tire of his new heritage softail classic. He began fishtailing wildly.

I would like to say I saw the whole wreck but I didn't. Obviously I was in trouble too. I tried to apply more brakes, but quickly locked my back tire too. I had a little more time to react than my dad and decided that the better of my two options was to unlock the rear wheel and try to keep it upright when I inevitably went into the ditch. I caught flashes of my dad continuing the fishtailing into the muddy ditch until eventually the bike went over, caught on the left handlebar end and pirouetted to a stop facing the opposite direction of travel. My dad was thrown and slid a ways but by the time I was able to stop he was standing by the bike looking disgusted. I quickly jumped off my bike and helped him pick up the beautiful HD. After a quick damage check we saw that the only real damage was a bent set of bars and a broken clutch lever.

Before we could get out of the ditch we had to straighten the bars, but I assure you, the bar end was touching the first bend!







We ended up having to straighten and tighten the handlebars as well as reattach the windshield which caused us to lose about an hour. Notice in the picture that the clutch lever broke off leaving about 2 fingers width of material to clutch with! This was at mile ~300!!! Not only that, but even after straightening the bars as much as possible, the left side was still about 2 inches lower than the right, not a comfortable riding position!

Here's a pic of the offending exit ramp. While we were doing repairs, 3 cars exited the freeway there. Of the 3 cars, 2 slid off the ramp into the ditch just like we did...that puppy was slick!!!



Of course, by this point it had stopped raining!

As a side note:

My father and his friend are both very experienced motorcyclists. I am fairly experienced. It's obvious in retrospect that we were traveling too fast for the conditions, but the one thing I learned through this is that it is very easy to get into trouble VERY QUICKLY. Respect the road and your bikes folks.

After the incident the weather improved dramatically. It made for a VERY pleasant ride into west Texas. One thing I didn't realize though, the speed limit changes to 80MPH once you leave the populated areas. Combine this, nice hilly terrain and nice sweeping turns and you have the ingrediants for a nice ride! I thoroughly enjoyed that leg of the trip.





Our route had us turning north at Fort Stockton TX. This road was horrible. Long, straight, flat and boring! Nothing to look at but sagebrush, cacti and rocks! Thankfully it was only 50 miles or so to Pecos, then I'll get some relief...

Wrong!

The one nice thing about IH20 is the continuation of 80MPH speed limits, otherwise it's long flat and boring, but at least you can soak up the miles.

Here is a picture of us eating a disgusting cheeseburger at the Dairy Queen in Big Spring TX, we were all pretty wore out by this point.



The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful, DFW traffic can be hairy even at 11pm! We got our final receipt at 109am making our total trip time a touch over 20 hours. That's a long time to be on a bike!

I learned that I need more comfort equipment to ride long distance on the vulcan:

lower fairings
engine guard/crash guards
highway pegs
driver backrest
bigger saddlebags
throttle lock
a better seat would be nice
a light bar for improved night lighting

Otherwise the bike performed well. The engine revs a little high at the higher interstate speeds, but never was out of breath. I would have loved an extra gear on the top end provided the little engine could lug it.

My butt was very sore and I had to change postions about every 30-40 miles. Unfortunately my knees were hurting as well as everything else making every position change a contest over which body part could scream the loudest!

I definately plan on doing more endurance riding in the future. I had a great time despite the minor inconveniences. I've forgotten a ton of small details, like the fact that I lost my earplugs in Sonora TX, making me half deaf by the time I got home.

The pain is quickly forgotten, the good memories live forever!

[thedude]

[cow900]

Wow it sounds like you had a great time, except the accident. I was wondering how the 900 would do on a trip like this! (now I know!!!)

[thedude]

Originally Posted by cow900

Wow it sounds like you had a great time, except the accident. I was wondering how the 900 would do on a trip like this! (now I know!!!)

It did fine. It kept up with a carbuerated HD softail and my dad's FI softail with no problems. They probably had a little more top end. Somewhere in the wilds of Texas a girl on a sportbike and a guy on a custom chopper flew by us like we were standing still. Keep in mind we were probably running 82-83MPH. We all gassed it to see if we could keep up for a little bit but we were foolish for even trying!

My vulcan ran out of steam at about 100MPH (105-110 indicated). I had more throttle to give but I wasn't keen on running at WOT for very long. Eventually I slowed her back down to a more sedate 88-90MPH (roughly actual-~95MPH indicated) and caught up with my group in a few miles. The HD's didn't have much more than the vulcan and the two rabbits easily walked away from them!

The one thing I forgot to mention on my desired equipment list is a set of more upright bars. I dislike the 'beach bars' on the vulcan. I prefer a more upright arm posture that would be more comfortable leaning back. I found that the most comfortable position for my lower body (sitting up into the tank leaning way back onto my duffle bag) was the worst for my upper body because of the bar position being too far forward for my arms. Sitting upright is fine...

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, look at the picture of my dad's HD handlebars, notice how wide the vulcan's bars are compared to the height of the softail's. That's what I want.

[Billy D.]

WOW, thats a good ride! And IMO, your right,it's not the destination,but the journey. You will most likely, remember this trip for a long time! CONGRATS!

[thedude]

Originally Posted by Billy D.

WOW, thats a good ride! And IMO, your right,it's not the destination,but the journey. You will most likely, remember this trip for a long time! CONGRATS!

I've found that what we're talking about is a common trait among motorcyclists. The average person looked at me blankly when I told them what I was doing that weekend. Even more so when you figure I rode close to 1500 miles including the trip to and from the starting point. I could have almost made a bunburner 1500 out of it, but I'll save that for another day.

Most people it seems can't wait to get the journey over with, with me, I can't wait to get back on the road once I get to my destination!

One other thing to note:

This trip was special also due to it being done with my dad. In preparation for the trip we were talking about riding. He mentioned that one of his best memories was when I was about 5 years old he and I rode up to the gas station to fill up our bikes with gas. I was on a Honda minitrail 50 and he was on his HD rigid chopper. The funny thing is that just that morning I was thinking about that same ride. I remember going through a corner with both bikes leaned over and feeling like I was a big man! He couldn't believe that I remembered that. Hah! I guess that's when my obsession started with bikes!

I want to do this again, but honestly I want to do it again with my dad, that's what made the entire experience the best. I'll cherish that.

[Tod]

Nice write up. I know exactly what you're describing about the exit ramps.

Those types of ramps are all over central and south TX and they're dangerous as hell in the rain.

Glad you made it, even with the mishaps.

[trikebubble]

Interesting read. And you guys are lucky no doubt. Too bad about the spill on what seemd like an otherwise great ride.

I always keep a set of Vise-Grips in my saddlebag on long trips. They can come in very handy replacing broken levers, shifters, etc..

Thanks for all the pictures too.

[Depmodeche]

Wow! I'm glad your Pop is alright and that you didn't go down too! It can happen in the blink of an eye.

Just imagine how many of those Bunburners you can do when you get your bike set up exactly how you like it, espcially with those lowers and backrest (and you carry five sets of extra ear plugs).

Do I see a 48/8 in your future?

Great story... (had my heart racing though).

Dep

[BigJohn]

Excellent write up. Glad you three made it without any other hurts. Those Hill Country roads are slicker than snot on a brass door knob in the wet. Should'a reminded you of that.

Ah, good old Welfare. Unfortunately, you missed the sign to Comfort. Really, Comfort is next to Welfare. I always got a kick out of that.

[Tod]

Comfort is actually a nice sleepy little town.

We used to go tubing/canoeing there when I was younger.

[jukief]

Thanks so much for telling us all about your trip. You did great. All those obstacles, and I probably would have given up and headed home. Good for you! Sounds like a great time, despite the problems.

It's really too bad about your dad's beautiful bike getting banged up.

[vulcan500rider]

Originally Posted by thedude

This trip was special also due to it being done with my dad. I want to do this again, but honestly I want to do it again with my dad, that's what made the entire experience the best. I'll cherish that.

You're both very lucky to have each other.

[Commuter]

Great trip report, thanks for sharing your experience and the pics. I can't believe your Dad went down on the Harley and it was still rideable! Or that he even wanted to! Guess thats the difference between a real motorcycle rider and the yuppie Harley rider.

Can't wait to hear about the next trip!

[thedude]

Originally Posted by Commuter

Great trip report, thanks for sharing your experience and the pics. I can't believe your Dad went down on the Harley and it was still rideable! Or that he even wanted to! Guess thats the difference between a real motorcycle rider and the yuppie Harley rider.

Yeah, my dad's a rider from way back. I knew he was fine when he was standing up. Had he still been on the ground by the time I got stopped I would have been scared.

Regarding the vicegrips, I have already added a pair to my mental checklist, along with 4 extra pairs of earplugs!

Regarding Comfort TX and its proximity to Welfare...I didn't miss the sign or the comedic value, I only forgot to mention it in the story!

[thedude]

Originally Posted by Depmodeche

Just imagine how many of those Bunburners you can do when you get your bike set up exactly how you like it, espcially with those lowers and backrest (and you carry five sets of extra ear plugs).

Do I see a 48/8 in your future?

Dep

I think you're right. I know now that the key to LD riding is comfort and I have a ways to go before I can truly be a LD rider.

No 48/8 in my future, at least not for a substantial number of years! I have a 2 year old son at home and I won't leave my family alone for more than a day or so.

A bunburner 1500 will be next then probably a SS2k.

The LD ride that captures my attention the most is the 50CC and the 100CC. I'll probably ride them one day, there's just something extremely cool about getting water and sand from each side of the continent after riding there!

[2WheelFun]

Excellent report and great pics to match!

All accidents suck but when you can walk/ride away from one you've done something right!

Your list looks complete. One additional item you might want to consider for added comfort is an Airhawk seat cushion. I have a Mustang seat on my 1500 but still felt some discomfort on longer rides. The Airhawk cushion literally has made riding long distance a real joy.

[thedude]

Originally Posted by whistle clean

One additional item you might want to consider for added comfort is an Airhawk seat cushion. I have a Mustang seat on my 1500 but still felt some discomfort on longer rides. The Airhawk cushion literally has made riding long distance a real joy.

I saw someone talking about it yesterday and tracked down the manufacturer's website to read up on them. The testimonials sound great but I guess the decision would come down to whether or not a seat cushion is worth $200?

I was looking at the custom seats and they start not much higher than that...although I did read someone who said that the portability is good for going bike to bike...

[greatgrandpa]

You can get that next gear. Scootworks sells what they call an overdrive pulley. It replaces your front pulley. The OME pulley is 32 tooth and the Scootworks pulley is 34 tooth. This will reduce your final drive ratio from 2.0625:1 to 1.941:1. This yields a 5.9% reduction in final drive ratio. I installed this on my 2007 900 LT, have only taken a 200 trip so far. Did not notice any loss of power. After installing it iaw Kawasaki manual and Scootworks instructions, there was a noise from the belt area. Removed both pulley covers and found the belt riding against the outside flange of the front pulley. Adjusted the rear wheel to allow the belt to just ride inside the pulley flange. Also reduced the belt tension just a little from the manufactures recommendations. No more belt noise.