My Trip

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3B43

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Got back on Tuesday, from my 8 day 'jaunt' through N/E Oregon, Idaho, Montana, & Washington. A total of 2850 miles . . . . I spent the first night in Bend, OR and then to a friends place, about 50 miles up Hwy 395 from Hwy 26. From there, I headed through Baker City and onto McCall Idaho, where i spent the night. South from McCall to Hwy 24 and then through Stanley and onto Missoula Montana. From there, I headed up to Sandpoint and onto Why 20 through the northern part of Washington and the Cascades. Other then it being 'cool' in the morning (mid 30's!!!), the ride was GREAT! Come on, what else could the trip be?

I spent 7 days on the bike, as I spent 2 nites at my friends place, and averaged 400+ miles/day. Now, I've made some changes to the bike to make it more 'comfortable' for touring: Ohlin shock, Russell Day Long seat, 1.5" higher bars, to help my wrist (work injury) and a modified Cee Bailey wind screen. Tires . . . Michelin PR2's, which are the best tires I've ever had on the bike (I've had two sets of PP 2CT's & a set of 023's).

The only issue I've got w/the bike for 'touring' is the bags---I was using soft bags, which are a slight PIA for being on the road for 7 days and I'll be ordering Givi V35's this winter. Its a great bike and I"m already looking at where I'll be going next year, but . . . at the moment, I'm changing things around for track day, at Thunder Hill, in 2 weeks. Slapping on a set of Q2's, changing the windscreen, and putting the stock bars back on!
 
Did you hit any snow country in Montana? When you get up in the snow you know you've been to Montana and it's beautiful. No matter what else you do on a bike, when you're up in the mountains cutting the curves and see snow at the sides of the road you understand "the Highway to Heaven".
 
I took a load of pics . . . I just don't know how to download them on a computer! Last year, my trip took me to Glacier National Park and the weather difference between late July and late Aug/early Sept was BIG!!! On my way out of Missoula, my temp gauge hit 30!!!! for about 30 minutes!! Leaving McCall, the temp gauge was 36-38 for 2+ hours! One of the gear up grades/research will be warmer GLOVES! I've got some name brand 'cold weather' gloves, but they didn't cut it at those temps . . . not sure any gloves would!

My ride from McCall to Stanley and Hamilton was simply GORGEOUS along those rivers!!! Next year I may hit the same route, but once I get to Stanley, head south to Sun Valley and then south into eastern Utah! Got all winter to look/study maps and do some research.

Bike Wise: Guys, I've ridden several of my buddy's bikes, including a '09 Concours, '06 FJR, and a '09 BMW GS (also a R1 and Gixxer, but they don't count as 400/mile touring bikes!!!) and the way I have my bike set up (seat, Ohlin, Modified windscreen, and higher bars) the ONLY thing I need to add is the Givi V35's! My FZ1 is a very comfortable bike for touring AND handles/feels great! Don't think I'd take a Concours/FJR to a track day!

Now, I get the ECU reflashed . . . . .
 
Lonerider59 said:
Did you hit any snow country in Montana? When you get up in the snow you know you've been to Montana and it's beautiful. No matter what else you do on a bike, when you're up in the mountains cutting the curves and see snow at the sides of the road you understand "the Highway to Heaven".
Click to expand...

When your front tire is cutting a fresh track in the snow, you know you're in the mountains.
 
I didn't hit any snow, but did not head into Sun Valley, due to weather reports saying the snow level was gonna be below the pass heading into the town. As I mentioned, next year I may head the same direction, but go into Sun Valley and then south into Utah . . . but I'll do it a few weeks earlier due to weather conditions. At one point, the temp gauge went to 30 and I was concerned about frost/icy patches on the road. Prefer to ride in warmer conditions so ice isn't a concern!
 
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