|  | Topic : Shakedown cruise |  |
| | | telebass | | Set |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 15/10/2010 | | Posts | : | 111 | | Location | : | Maine, United States |
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| | Posted : 17 Jun 2011 - 23:49 Post title : Shakedown cruise | | | We rode from northern Massachusetts to midcoast Maine and back last weekend. Let me tell ya, it rained. We learned some stuff about stuff in the rain. Our gear had never been tested in a real rainy ride.
My Joe Rocket jacket - welded seam zippers, looked like it was a winner but it completely failed. The outer fabric is not water repellent at all and the liner too. The good news is that I stayed fairly warm for the first hour of getting soaked.
My wife's Joe Rocket overpants, same sort of outer fabric, but the liner is waterproof. Same as her Firstgear jacket, she stayed dry, but the wet outer fabric gets wet and cold.
Gloves - both of us have cold weather gloves that have served us well - I've got a pair of Gerickes, she a Triumph glove, but they soaked in the rain and became useless - particularly once you've removed your hand and can't get the fingers back in through the collapsed sticky liner material. Without heated grips this would have been a disaster in itself.
Helmets - my wife's wonderful Shark Evoline was foggy and she could not de-fog it without letting a lot of rain directly into her face. My new Nolan N90 was fantastic. We switched off to see if the different wind patterns in the bikes could make the difference in wearability but the Nolan is just a better rain helmet.
Boots - my Tourmaster Solutions did great. Wife's boots - can't remember what they were (yes, were) but they just absolutely filled and her feet went squish squish. This made for an unhappy lady.
We stopped at Street Cycles in Falmouth Link (show some love), dried out for a few, and spent some money on some new gear. This made the remaining hour and half of the ride a great deal more enjoyable, but hey, I gotta say, a bad day riding is better than a good day at work.
For cargo, we picked up a couple of dry bags at a sporting goods shop - Sea to Summit "Big River" dry bags - and these proved to live up to their name. The saddle bags on the SE leak along the trailing edge enough to mess with your stuff it isn't bagged. The Tiger panniers, of course, are awesome and dry as a bone. My Saddlemen trunk bag, or tombstone bag, also did great, which was a bit of a surprise. The main compartment stayed dry but the side pockets soaked through - not a surprise.
One last thing - the T-bird ABS. I was cruising down an offramp onto a wide open street in Portland when I looked up and saw a red light that was about to be a rear-view event. Now, I had taken the MSF Experienced Rider Course the week prior and learned the feel of the ABS in panic braking exercises for the first time. So when I did my calculations, I decided to stop - because I knew exactly what to expect - even though the road was soaking wet. In a couple of seconds, I was sheepishly stepping my machine back to the stop line. Safe. I highly recommend the MSF ERC, and cheers to ABS! 
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2010 Thunderbird SE
2010 Tiger ABS
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Jun 2011 - 03:58 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: telebass) | | | Funny you should mention the ABS system on the SE model.Just last night around 10 pm,I encountered a motorist who didn't know where he was goin and decided, at the last possible moment, to hang a quick left on a poorly lit back road.The problem was, he had to stop because of on coming traffic.No directional and no indication what so ever that he was gonna do this,not to mention a real hard braking action on his part.I actually smelled the burning rubber from locking up his wheels.So here I am be boopin along alittle ways behind this guy goin approximately 50 mph,the same speed he was traveling at,when I suddenly realized that this guy ain't movin anymore and there ain't no room to around him on the right.The good news was that I had approximately ten car lenghts between us.So I grabbed a hand full of front brake and stood on the rear brake to avoid tagging him.Well,in all my years of runnin two wheelers,I have to say that this is the first time I came to a complete controlled and quick panic stop without hitting anything, locking up the tires,and, having room to spare.I couldn't believe just how quick this machine stopped.And there was no brake pulsing,no tire dragging,and no brake fade.She just STOPPED! Of course there was also an unpleasant arroma comin from the seat of my britches at this point.lol But the bottom line is that she stopped on a dime and with room to spare.Very impressive.This is the first machine I have ever owned with ABS.But I also believe the distance between myself and the vehicle I was following played a role in avoiding an unpleasant incident.So this definitely says somethin about ABS,atleast the system that Triumph uses.Well done Triumph.  Dave!!!
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| | | telebass | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 15/10/2010 | | Posts | : | 111 | | Location | : | Maine, United States |
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| | Posted : 18 Jun 2011 - 10:59 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: davetac1) | | | Very impressive!
In one of the ERC tests, the bird stopped in 22 feet where the course called for 29. I don't know how they calculate the 29 but the instructors were impressed with the brakes from the beginning.
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2010 Thunderbird SE
2010 Tiger ABS
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| | Post edited by telebass on 18 Jun 2011 - 11:08 |
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| | | curtis41 | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 28/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 191 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 25 Oct 2011 - 17:17 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: telebass) | | | About the ABS brakes. I have them on my SE and recommend that if folks get ONE option, please let that option be ABS brakes. They don't do much in gravel or sand, but on pavement, concrete and especially wet roads, they shine. I specialized some time ago in locking up the rear wheel and sliding with grace. The ABS brakes are worth the extra cost. I will not be without them any more. They do not correct for following too closely or other clown movements, but at times, they can save your bacon.
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| | | Leethal | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 6,485 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 26 Oct 2011 - 11:47 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: telebass) | | | Best thing to wear under your bike gloves is a cheap pair of rubber dishwashing gloves, in pink of course
That's a Mick Doohan tip.
| Experience is something you get just after you needed it 
1600,Foran Razorbacks, Meerkat bypass, Dyno tune, real headlight,plenty of chrome,switchblade pegs, Hagon Nitro shocks & Ikon progressive fork springs etc. Scorpion Western Low handlebars. PH adjustable fork caps.
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Oct 2011 - 21:25 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: Leethal) | | | I have a complete set of Gerbing's lectric clothing,jacket liner,pants,gloves and socks, and have worn them in cold wet weather many times over the last 10 or 12 years.I stay DRY and TOASTY WARM from top to bottom.Since buyin my Gerbing set of lectric clothing,the coldest temps I driven in to date is -5*F,but only because those temps mixed with rain form this thing called "ICE".So needless to say,I try to avoid those type of conditions,if possible.lol lol But if the temps are in the 30's or higher in WET weather,NO PROBLEM. Dave!!!
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| | | zolti | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 23/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,127 | | Location | : | newcastle , United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 27 Oct 2011 - 07:23 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: Leethal) | | |
Leethal wrote:
Best thing to wear under your bike gloves is a cheap pair of rubber dishwashing gloves, in pink of course
That's a Mick Doohan tip. |
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do you re-talc yours after use or just get a new pair?,
ps do you have to break them in while watching tv? 
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| | | Leethal | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 24/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 6,485 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 27 Oct 2011 - 11:46 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: zolti) | | |
zolti wrote:
Leethal wrote:
Best thing to wear under your bike gloves is a cheap pair of rubber dishwashing gloves, in pink of course
That's a Mick Doohan tip. |
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do you re-talc yours after use or just get a new pair?,
ps do you have to break them in while watching tv? |
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No mate, use them for the f##king dishes
| Experience is something you get just after you needed it
1600,Foran Razorbacks, Meerkat bypass, Dyno tune, real headlight,plenty of chrome,switchblade pegs, Hagon Nitro shocks & Ikon progressive fork springs etc. Scorpion Western Low handlebars. PH adjustable fork caps.
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| | | KingOfFleece | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 30/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 304 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 28 Oct 2011 - 00:50 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: Leethal) | | | fast eddy can get you waterproof saddlebag covers-they work great. As for ALL raingear, as you learned, it needs to be tested prior to a ride as most items sold as waterproof are not.
The best teacher for me was riding with guys who ride 20-30000 miles a year! and seeing how and what they use. They cut thru the marketing and bullcrap real fast.
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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 Oct 2011 - 14:02 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: curtis41) | | | curtis41 wrote:
About the ABS brakes. I have them on my SE and recommend that if folks get ONE option, please let that option be ABS brakes. They don't do much in gravel or sand, but on pavement, concrete and especially wet roads, they shine. I specialized some time ago in locking up the rear wheel and sliding with grace. The ABS brakes are worth the extra cost. I will not be without them any more. They do not correct for following too closely or other clown movements, but at times, they can save your bacon. |
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ABS, my kind of thing. Panic all I want, No problems. Clamping the brakes and sliding is not something that I do well. Unfortunately,
they don't work in samd and gravel. But, they should, right? The few times I almost lost it this summer, (outside of the accelerate in a hidden gravel
turn incident) was sliding at a stop, in sand on pavement, of just few a inches...and maybe down hill slightly. Just enough to get all the weight coming
up over one shoulder or the other. Good thing I swing that kettlebell. Have to stop with leg and arm on the down side.
You'd think the ABS would not lock up in that situation.
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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 Oct 2011 - 14:06 Post title : Re: Shakedown cruise (Re: zolti) | | |
zolti wrote:
Leethal wrote:
Best thing to wear under your bike gloves is a cheap pair of rubber dishwashing gloves, in pink of course
That's a Mick Doohan tip. |
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do you re-talc yours after use or just get a new pair?,
ps do you have to break them in while watching tv? |
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I used those surgical rubber gloves, Purple, under the deerskin. That worked well, and are disposable.
I got away with quickly putting them over my thin highway gloves.
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