There’s a popular saying amongst those of us who love long
distance motorcycling: “If I have to explain it, you won’t understand.” That
could very well be my theme song as even I surprise myself with the craziness of
this hobby.
I’ve now owned a KTM 1290 Super Adventure for just shy of
two months. The bike is almost there. I really don’t care about style, what
matters to me is comfort and safety. So the day after I bought the bike I
called Russell Day Long seats to ask about the next available ride-in seat
build date they had available. More on that later. For the time being the first
order of business was making the bike comfortable and tall guy friendly.
Thus far I’ve added a set of 2” Rox Risers (to raise the handlebars
so I’m not bent over forward as much), widened the mirrors (so I can see past
my shoulders), added Pivot Pegz (to get a little bit more legroom), and
replaced the stock windshield with a Madstad windshield and bracket (to get the
wind off my face and over my helmet where it belongs). I also added some cheesy
and virtually useless highway pegs that mount on the crash bars. I hate them
but it is the best I can do until I add a skid plate and a bolt on Enduro
Guardian highway peg bar. That will need to wait.
On the safety and convenience side of things, I’ve wired in
my GPS mount, an extra power supply, and a set of Cyclops auxiliary lights. I
changed out the stock headlights for some extra intense Cyclops LED bulbs. I’m
not thrilled with the new lights but they are much better than stock. I put a
screen on top of the radiator for peace of mind. I added a sidestand enlarger
which is an absolute must given the puny bottom to the stock kickstand, and a
KTM tank bag. I love tank bags on bikes but the KTM mounting system isn’t
nearly as nice as the GIVI mount. But I have it now so I will use it. And,
after noticing that the tank bag rubs on the tank, I added some plastic tank
protectors under it.
Like I said, the bike is almost there.
All of the reviews and ride stories that I’ve read have said
that the hard cases that come with the KTM are trash. The latches are
irritatingly difficult to close and the boxes break or fall off if the bike
goes down on a trail. That doesn’t sound good. I’m going to give them a chance
before I decide whether to replace them with something more substantial (and
expensive) or with a set of large soft bags that I would only use on trips.
That can wait.
What can’t wait is a Russell Day Long seat.
I already have well over 2300 miles on the bike and I have
learned that anything beyond 30 miles on the stock seat is torture. It is not
at all comfortable and even worse because I know the difference that a RDL seat
makes. Now I could just make a mail in appointment, send my seat in with
pictures and measurements and hope for the best. But I can’t do that. Given the
option of showing up and having a seat custom built just for me, having a
chance to test sit it before it is finished, I just have to do it.
So I gotta run an errand.
As mentioned above, I called RDL about their next available
date, turned out to be November 20th. I did a quick check of the
church calendar and realized that the 22nd would be a great day to
miss, so I nabbed the date and put it on the calendar. The plan is to leave on and
ride the 2100 miles to Shasta Lake, CA. I hope to visit my aunt and uncle in
Mesquite, NV, on the way. The seat will be built on Friday and then I’ll have a
couple of extra days to get home.
I’ve given some thought to perhaps putting the bike on a
trailer to save it from putting 4500 miles on it (and my body from the first
2100 of those). But that would mean putting the miles on my 2005 Expedition,
not to mention driving down the highway drooling over the roads I would rather
see from my motorcycle seat. So I finally decided that this little errand would
not only result in a new seat, it would also be the first long distance test of
the bike. And it will be a doozy.
I’ll add the report when its done. As usual, the tracker will be fired up for Kelley's peace of mind.
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