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|  | Topic : Long haul ride and test. |  |
| | | fasteddy | | Chaac |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/10/2008 | | Posts | : | 963 | | Location | : | Wisconsin, United States |
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| | Posted : 25 Sep 2010 - 22:34 Post title : Long haul ride and test. | | | I got back this past Tuesday from what for some would be a long tour for others just a good warm up ride. I went from home to Upstate New York for the NorEast Triumph Rally. I teamed up with Big Jack (from the site here) in Indiana and had a great ride through some wonderful country. Now this ride covers a number of topics and I'll stay away from the ride aspect in here but comment on a couple of items and how they performed.
I have the Triumph tubed fender rack. My concern with this at first when I was considering it for my bike was it's stability as previous experience dictated it is far better to have a stable platform to keep the load safe for a long haul, or even a short trip for that matter.
I used the Dowco Overnight Bag which has an internal frame structure allowing you to stack things on it securely (formerly Willie & Max MCS 200 now owned by DOWCO) and the small roll bag which has no frame. The tubed fender rack performed flawlessly easily supporting securely my stack of gear, which also included my laptop.
The DOWCO Overnight Bag really looks nice on the TBird but it is a little tight for a trip if you like lots of clothes, however, between the two bags I carried enough clothes and my tool kit and gear bag and I did the seven days on the road just fine without stinking. Can be done. I did have to get creative and use the Chase Harper Water Proof bags, (more on that later) in which I kept my warm top and rain gear and used it as a back rest which was a real nice thing to do for comfort on the hard days (566 miles) and even the short day (260 miles) With just these small bags I was able to bring what I needed for the whole week. Cramped for the clothes yes, but functional.
I used Saddlemen accessory straps to double secure things like the lap top but the straps that come with the DOWCO/Willie & Max bag work superbly to keep everything secure.
The Chase Harper Water Proof Bags are a must. I have yet to see anything that is "water proof" in terms of luggage and when your on a long haul these bags will keep your stuff dry. I placed my computer in one as well as my clothing inside the Overnight bag and the roll bag. In fairness, I did place a plastic bag over it all, just to be safe but I also kept my warm coat (as mentioned) and used that as a back rest and it was exposed directly to the rain and it kept it completely dry. And yes, I did ride in lost of rain.
Again, the National Flyscreen performed very well at taking the pressure off the chest, even in high winds, but sucks as a fly screen. Though it would be nice to keep the bugs off my visor, the low profile minimalist look is functional for the more important aspect of fatigue on a long haul. It certainly did the job there.
So what else...Oh, be careful, my rain jacket buttons, though rubberized, scratched the soft black paint. Not a bad thing because it just made it a certainty that I am getting a custom pain job this winter! Black Pearl..with maybe a white pearl swirl? Maybe, that was my original plan but I fell in love with jet black more than I thought I would.
So, that is my assessment of these products. Not saying they are better or worse than others, just performed really well for me. Oh, no matter how careful you are about hanging a rain jacket over the bars so it does not touch the header pipe...? Bring duct tape!
End of this ride was 2464 miles total.
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| | Post edited by fasteddy on 25 Sep 2010 - 22:40 |
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| | | KingOfFleece | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 30/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 304 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Sep 2010 - 00:41 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: fasteddy) | | | hey ed,
how'd your seat cover work out?
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| | | daz | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,709 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Sep 2010 - 00:58 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: fasteddy) | | |
fasteddy wrote:
Oh, no matter how careful you are about hanging a rain jacket over the bars so it does not touch the header pipe...? Bring duct tape!
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My god, you're an hour too late with your advice !!! I just got back from getting dinner and brought my backpack to carry it. I hung the backpack over the bars when i walked in ! Yes, i rode home using ONE strap over one shoulder because the other strap was now a blob of melted nylon clumped onto my header .......arrrrrrg !
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | fasteddy | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 16/10/2008 | | Posts | : | 963 | | Location | : | Wisconsin, United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Sep 2010 - 02:12 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: KingOfFleece) | | | Forgot about the seat cover, it worked great. This was the second time I have used it in the rain, but this was the first time I started out with it wet because I left it on the bike at the hotel on the way home because it was pouring rain, I didn't get a wet butt because the material in the cover doesn't hold water, couple hours later took the rain gear off (when I was sure the blue sky wasn't a trick) and the material was totally dry, so, it did better than I was expecting.
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| | | DizzE | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,141 | | Location | : | Sunnyvale, CA, United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Sep 2010 - 14:47 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: daz) | | |
daz wrote:
fasteddy wrote:
Oh, no matter how careful you are about hanging a rain jacket over the bars so it does not touch the header pipe...? Bring duct tape!
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My god, you're an hour too late with your advice !!! I just got back from getting dinner and brought my backpack to carry it. I hung the backpack over the bars when i walked in ! Yes, i rode home using ONE strap over one shoulder because the other strap was now a blob of melted nylon clumped onto my header .......arrrrrrg !
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Yeah, I did this one with borrowed gear. I now own the mesh jacket with burn hole and I spent quality time with his
VTX1300c. What get this goo off is Oven Cleaner.
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| | | DizzE | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,141 | | Location | : | Sunnyvale, CA, United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Sep 2010 - 14:57 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: fasteddy) | | |
fasteddy wrote:
The DOWCO Overnight Bag really looks nice on the TBird but it is a little tight .The Chase Harper Water Proof Bags are a must. I have yet to see anything that is "water proof" in terms of luggage End of this ride was 2464 miles total.
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eddy, I was a little suprised you went out without side bags and only an Overnight....light packing for 7 days.
About "waterproof" The only thing I've ever been successful with is Dry Bags. We use them boating. But they are heavy.
Oh,and tough job, reviewing gear for us. But, someone has to do it.
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Sep 2010 - 15:06 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: DizzE) | | |
DizzE wrote:
eddy, I was a little suprised you went out without side bags and only an Overnight....light packing for 7 days.
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yeah, but do you see all the stuff around the overnight bag? I'm not sure Eddy could find the overnight bag under all the stuff 
I wish I would have frequented the rides section of this forum - I have time this summer and would have loved to have tagged along, but didn't realize you and Jack were going. Maybe next time.
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| | | fasteddy | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 16/10/2008 | | Posts | : | 963 | | Location | : | Wisconsin, United States |
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| | Posted : 27 Sep 2010 - 03:04 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: EnGage) | | | Yea, I waited too long on deciding which bags I was going to test and the Easy Brackets were back ordered and didn't get in until after I left on the trip so I didn't have any mounts. The brackets I was going to put on my bike I ended up shipping off to someone else. Besides it gave me the opportunity to really test making the trip with a more judicious approach to packing. And yes, the use of a bungee net does extend options, which by the way I hooked to the bungee spools mounted for and aft. They worked very well too.
I have a couple o sets of Hardstreet on the way to mount and test.
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| | Post edited by fasteddy on 27 Sep 2010 - 03:26 |
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| | | Birdy68 | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,352 | | Location | : | Bad Zurzach, Aargau, Switzerland |
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| | Posted : 27 Sep 2010 - 08:12 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: EnGage) | | | EnGage wrote:
... yeah, but do you see all the stuff around the overnight bag? I'm not sure Eddy could find the overnight bag under all the stuff... |
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That's just what I thought to myself - 'where's the overnight bag in that lot...!?'
So Eddy, How did the larger lamp work out?
And how was the 'Bird in your opinion for such a long/short* trip?
Wasn't that your first 'proper' trip as such with your 'Bird?
(* delete as appropriate)
| Birdy68
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Leave the pork pies for now - get the sausage rolls while they're hot!
 -x-  -x- 
more info at Fuelly.com
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| | | DizzE | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,141 | | Location | : | Sunnyvale, CA, United States |
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| | Posted : 28 Sep 2010 - 00:49 Post title : Re: Long haul ride and test. (Re: fasteddy) | | |
fasteddy wrote:
The brackets I was going to put on my bike I ended up shipping off to someone else. |
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...that's eddy, for ya.  
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