Yesterday we returned from a 5 day, 1200 mile tour of West Virginia. What a great place to ride. I know the mileage tally is low but 90% of the roads we were on were twisty as hell. What a blast. A few thoughts on my first trip on the Connie.
The good:
My bike turned 79,000 miles on this trip, and a large majority of the 1200 miles we did were at ridiculously high RPM's. Flirting with the red line, pinning the throttle coming out of curves, slamming TCro's new shift linkage up and down, the Connie never broke a sweat. I have no idea how long (if ever) it's been since this bike has been wrung out like this, but it performed admirably. Not one issue.
The fairing. This one is actually good and bad. We got caught in a short yet strong rain storm and we didn't really have a good spot to pull over for rain gear so we just pressed on. I was riding with a V-Strom and a HD ElectraGlide Classic, and those guys were soaked. I took a little water through my mesh pants around the thighs, but other than that I was good as long as we kept moving. I actually got the most wet when we stopped at a gas station as there wasn't room under the canopy when we first pulled in.
This is the first bike I've toured on that my head was out of the wind. What a relief. Looking through a windscreen takes some getting used to, but now it's all good. Also, having music, mainly Sirius radio on a bike might be the greatest thing ever. I don't know if I can ever go back. Now I really want real cruise control!
Fuel capacity is great. Those other guys always needed gas when I could've gone quite a ways further. Gotta love that.
GIVI luggage is absolutely awesome. Huge capacity, waterproof, and easy on/off at hotels.
Progressive shock and Race Tech forks worked GREAT. Excellent upgrade!!!
The bad:
The seat was rough. I use an early model stock seat (the taller and flatter one) which feels fine for short distances, but the long haul, no way. I'm gonna get with Russell at some point and have him make me a good one. That stocker was killing me!
The heat. Most of the ride it was 85+ degrees, and the Connie was really roasting me on some of those mountain roads. Granted, I had it up above 8000 rpms most of the time so that couldn't have helped. I use those heat shields that a member on here makes and I'm sure that helped some. I was wearing some Firstgear mesh pants with basketball shorts underneath, and at the end of one particularly long twisty day, my right shin looked like it had been sunburned. I ended up cutting the toe off an old sock and using that to cover that section of my leg between my boot and knee to protect it from the heat. There's just no two ways about it, the Connie can get HOT. However, in the rain, the fairing was awesome. Guess you can't have it all.
The brakes. Something weird happens with my front brakes I've noticed. Sometimes, when I squeeze the lever, it goes way in before firming up, like nearly to the grip. But if I let it go real quick and squeeze again, it gets firmer and firmer each time. The third or fourth time I do this, it gets really firm and engages right away. Any idea what the cause could be? I have stock calipers, braided lines and some aftermarket pads and levers. What is the current status on changing out the calipers? Aren't there some that bolt right up? Adapters?
Overall I enjoyed the job the Connie did. The heat sucked, but it was a damn hot day and I neglected to bring my mesh jacket (stupid!). The brakes are a bit unsettling though. I need to get that figured out.
I'll get some pictures posted later today.
