A stock Harley is too cramped for me so I've added some things along the way to make it more comfortable:
- Before I left the dealership when I got my bike, I replaced the seat with a Harley Tall Boy seat...and if I had the money I would replace THAT with a Russell Day Long custom built seat but that will have to wait. For now I have an extra cushion that gives me a bit more padding and a little extra leg room.
- I added highway pegs and extensions to the floor boards for a little more leg room.
- The stock handlebars left my hands at my knees so I added ape hangars. They are the single most helpful change I made.
- The stock lighting system is horrible so I added a HID light kit to replace the head light and riding lights.
- I haven't had great luck with air shocks so I replaced them with the gas shocks that Harley adds to the CVO bikes. They ride like butter.
And I added a couple of new things for this upcoming ride:
- For this ride I added a Harley GPS. I'm not interested in using the GPS for route planning but it is great for the speedometer, the trip statistics, and finding things (like rest areas, gas stations, and motels) on the road. I've also discovered it is a great for unplanned weekend rides - I can just head down roads I've never ridden, get completely lost, then plug in "Home" and I have my route and estimated time of getting there. Great addition.
- For my wife I added a GPS tracker, hardwired into the bike. With a phone call I can turn it on for a trip and off once I get home. My wife, family, and friends can log into a website and see where I am. Even though it doesn't leave a ghost trail to where I've ridden that day, I much prefer it to the Spot tracker system. It is more trustworthy, I don't have to worry about batteries, and I don't have to touch a thing.
- Harley runs Dunlop tires and I haven't had any problems with them but I have heard good things about Michelin Commander II's so I'll change both tires before leaving. Also the normal "full oil change, go through the whole bike, and shock me with the bill at the end" service.
Preparing for long trips is an opportunity to address issues that came up on the last trip. You have to prepare for everything (hot, cold, rain, etc.) and you only have so much room on the bike so you have to plan carefully what you are going to take. I had a few things in mind that will hopefully be helpful this time around:
- On long trips I use a nice T-Bag that doubles as a backrest and I use a tank bag that holds food (apples, beef jerky, cough drops, and energy bars), a 70 oz. Camelbak water bag, and a clear view cover for my route cards.
- I bought the best waterproof boots I could find. Sidi On Road's came highly recommended.
- My rain gear isn't the greatest so I got a new jacket. I'll use my old pants. A lot of people buy expensive riding suits with heated suits, vests, gloves, pants, and socks. I can't afford that kind of stuff and I prefer to be at least a little old school. So I'll bring my leather chaps, jacket, and vest.
- I bring several pairs of gloves. Nothing works for long in the rain so it is helpful to have some changes. I bought two pairs of snowmobile gloves this winter in North Dakota - they are great in the cold but...like I said...nothing works for long in the rain.
- What I am really excited about is the stuff that I bought from LDComfort. They sell Drymax socks that came in XXL as well as riding shorts, tights, and shirts, that keep you warm when you keep them covered and cool when you keep them damp. I've been wearing their stuff for a few weeks now and I love them.
- I bring very few clothes. One extra pair of jeans. One pair of shorts for the pool. A pair of slippers to get to the pool. I'll wash stuff out in motel rooms - another good reason to wear LDComfort stuff. And I'll bring my beloved CPAP sleep machine.
- I'll bring two helmets. I have a light Kevlar helmet that I prefer but I'll also bring a modular full face helmet that is awesome in the cold and rain. I keep RainEx spray on the bike for the windshield and the helmet visor and it works great.
- I bring two pairs of sunglasses and two pairs of clears for at night. I buy my glasses in the fishing departments of sporting goods stores so I can get glasses with built in readers. That way I can see my route sheets and read the news in cafes without bringing reading glasses. Those little things make all the difference to me.
Writing ride reports on a blog is new to me. I'm going to try it this time because so many people have contributed to making this ride possible. I've practiced adding reports using my phone and iPad so I'll try and keep that up. I'll also bring a wireless keyboard because typing on an iPad gets old in a paragraph.
I have plenty of creature comforts on my bike. Electric cruise control, heated hand grips, AM/FM/CD radio with a weather band. I usually wear earplugs for my phone or i-Pod to listen to music, books, or podcasts. I plan on taking all my pictures with my phone or iPad. The pictures are good enough for me and it makes it easy to add them to daily ride reports. I'll be experimenting with that stuff the whole time.
I'm a little bit concerned about servicing my bike on the road. Harley dealers are great about getting people in and out when they are on trips but I also have memories of wasted days when that isn't what happened. With a full service and new tires at the start I am confident that I can go at least 5000 miles without a service stop. Since I run full synthetic oil I can do farther that I used to. I've read that guys will put as many as 10,000 miles on their oil on a trip like the one I'm planning but I'm not OK with that. My plan now is to figure out about where I'll be, call ahead from the road the day before, make an appointment so they are ready for me, and change the oil twice on the trip. I hope nothing else goes wrong.
Last summer, riding home from Sturgis, I had some electrical problems caused by the guys who installed my new handlebars. I spent a day without cruise control. Even in the old days I used to add throttle locks to all my bikes. I find it miserable to have to hold a steady speed with no freedom to move your right hand. If anything like that happens on this trip, I'll stop and get it fixed pronto and just adjust by route or my stops to make up for lost time.
I'll service my bike a couple of weeks before I leave. I don't believe in adding anything at the last minute and I like some time to make sure all systems are go before leaving. Make a plan and follow the plan. Even a ride halfway around the world becomes a pretty simple, one day at a time, kind of adventure.
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