my first long ride, and only ONE thing broke!

Well, i decided it was finally time for a big ride. I came prepared with ALL my tools in a backpack, just in case. But, somehow, it went off without a hitch (pretty much). Thanks again to everyone on this site. Ol' Thunder would NOT be roadworthy if it weren't for you!

5 hours, 1 National Park, 200 miles, 2- 12,000ft passes, anywhere from 25 to 85 mph

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&g ... 43&t=p&z=9

Took 36 up to Estes Park from Boulder, checked for any signs of overheating, all looked well! By this point the strange noise I had been hearing for a while now was getting worse, but it had gotten loud enough that i could finally tell it was coming from the instrument cluster, i figured it must have been my speedometer cable.

Continued on Trail Ridge Road all the way through Rocky Mountain National Park, and hit 12,000ft elevation. Ol' Thunder seemed to have a little less power up there, probably because of the lack of oxygen/enriched mixture? But this was barely noticeable.

Made my way down the continental divide to the beautiful Grand Lake, then filled up in Granby, anxious to see my mileage so far. Driving around town, i've only been getting 30mpg, but today on state highway: first 120 miles: 2.37 gallons.....that's 50mpg, sweet!

By this point my speedometer had failed entirely, so my odometer stopped logging miles. BUT the ride from Granby back to Boulder is 97 miles according to Google, and i finished it using only 1.6 gallons!

THATS 60 MPG! hell yeah! way better than i thought i could ever get from a 750.

I also sustained a nice red glow on the tops of my hands, meh.

Oh, and i mastered the left handed biker salute.

Time to pull the plugs and make sure she's not running too lean! (i'm pretty sure shes not though...)

What a successful morning! Had a blast, gained some invaluable expereince - AND - i finally figured out what that annoying high-pitched whine was!

 

great ,

Getting the bike ready myself for a cross state jaunt to a motorcycle swap meet in seymore wisconsin next month.

 

That's exciting! It's always a great day when you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Congrats!

 

awesome
that whine is annoying i think only to us haha

 

You should have a good idea of how well that bike was tuned just from putting that exciting ride in the bank.

If it was behaving like a thoroughbred its because your sweat and blood got it there.

There ain't much of a better feeling than doing the open road on a bike you tuned-up all by your lonesome self and have it charging down the road not missing a beat even a little bit.

Congratulations, Man!
Nice run.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm sure you feel great having been out there on the bike eating-up miles of highway.

I feel good for you just knowing you did it.

Fix the speedo! : )

 

ust a question that high pitched whine you have.

was it the cam chain or the wife?

 

The "Whine" is the signature sound of Yamaha Shaft Drives.

All throughout the power band until the engine drowns-out the whistle; the Middle Gear Assembly lets everyone know your saddled-up on a Yamaha Shaftie.

It is probably most prominent on the 700~750 Virago's, because there isn't much Engine Casing surrounding the Middies on the XV-Series.

Personally, I kind of like it. Especially, when you throw-on the power in second and get-on the bike good.
It blends with the howl of the Intake to make for a Machine sound that reminds me of open-wheeled Formula Cars speeding by.

 

this is all true about the shaft drive whine...
although i kinda like that noise though, i might describe it as more of a healthy harmony, its kinda like a choir of angels singing your bike down the highway...

The "whine" i was referring to was actually the speedometer cable twisting itself up into a ball, shortly before it snapped! I am excited about that because at first i thought the noise was coming from the front wheel bearings, which would have been unsafe. But a speedo cable is about as cheap and easy as it gets to fix. Phew!

 

oh and to answer Flash's question, no wife yet...but i'm looking forward to a long future with my XJ, so i KNOW i'll be hearing that "high-pitched whine" sometime.

For now though, my girlfriend LOVES Ol' Thunder.
I guess i'm pretty lucky!

 

Cheap and easy FTW!!!

 

The more comfortable you get with the dependability of these bikes the more long rides you want to take. My 1800+ mile ride last month can attest to.
Glad you had a good time. The speedo is trival.

The Buff

 

amen great buffalo! just took my 650 from central california up to everette, washington this last month too! little over 2k miles round trip, and i loved every mile!

 

was the weather kind, b-b?

 

absolutely beautiful till the last day when i got the opportunity to break in the new rainsuit for the first six hours! definitely a memorable trip! i'm officially jealous of the oregon landscapes!

 

I agree, with all it took to get HER on the road, I was skeptical of a long trip.
I took HER for a 952 mile six state trip,with out a hitch.
Met Kaos and his ol' lady from these boards for a couple hour ride in Maine.
The XJ doesn't like the rain, not as much pep, runs with a deeper tone.

 

I have to get a new seat. It would take me a mounth to do that trip. I only ride mine to work and back and after 50 miles my back side says only 5 more miles to go.

 

yeah, during that trip i realized how badly i need a new seat too! :wink: i'm planning on pulling off my seat cover and putting new foam down, custom carved to me!

if only i can find some of that foam that corbin uses!

 

The seat thing is a great issue on these bikes and the smallish frame platform, especially for us over 5'10".

I'm 6'1" and have many orthopedic issues with my back, hips, knees, shoulders etc. I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a change to a longer legged bike for long rides come spring. I have ridden a BMW GS, Buell Ulysses, Triumph Tiger and couple others in the past couple of weeks and find those bikes much more comfortable for the long haul. I kind of like the dirt capabilities of these bikes as well. I think the GS is a bit rich for me though.

Anyway....I will continue to ride the XJ for a long time time to come for those shorter rides. I just think it rocks.

 

The "whine" i was referring to was actually the speedometer cable twisting itself up into a ball, shortly before it snapped!


wOW.. Your lucky that thing didnt come up outta there and beat you like
the SLINKY FROM HELL...

AWESOME RIDE!

 

my first long ride, and only ONE thing broke!


Thats pretty encouraging, its kind of a scary thought to me to hop on a
23 year old bike and zoom off to god knows where....im afraid some 10 cent piece of plastic will break and leave me road stranded in the middle
of no where...LOL