What's the weakest link in stopping you from riding longer?

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MCT said:
I've been retired 12 years so what stops me from riding...boring roads when I have been used to great roads in the past. A recent ride was 513 kms of back roads in one shot without taking a break thanks to a comfortable motorcycle with plenty of range.
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If I have a long ride, I only stop for fuel , and try to keep those stops to 15 minutes.

I find taking long breaks make me tired as the ride goes on. I can go about 400km (range of bikes) before needing fuel if I’m riding at licence safe speeds — 800km is a comfortable day for me.
 
I was rear ended by the Buckhorn Sand & Gravel Company three weeks ago and haven't been on a bike since... So... thanks for ******* my back, head, shoulders, ribs, and my August up you ******* ****.
 
MCT said:
what stops me from riding...boring roads
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Preach brother...!
My local roads are boring as phuk, so my day rides are....Well, boring.
Oh sure... there's cedar road and snake road nearby, but both are only 5-10 minutes of mild fun.
 
mimico_polak said:
For me…the cold is the worst. Starts with the fingers and toes and then keeps going and going until I’m shivering and can’t even focus on the task at hand.

Used to be able to ride below 10C but now…no way I can’t even be bothered to gear up if it’s a 5C morning and a 10C day.

Heated grips help but they don’t fix the issue completely.
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You should consider getting an electric vest, you don’t even need one with sleeves, just the vest is fine. As long as you keep your core temperature warm your hands and feet should stay warm. I had one and it was a game changer. I could ride all day at 4-5 degrees Celsius. I rode 10 hours
straight to Louisville, Kentucky with temperature between 1-5 degrees Celsius without a problem. I think I payed $120 and took 15 minutes to install.
 
Getting older. Knees, butt, and shoulders hurt at different times, in different amounts, depending on the ride and its length.
 
Bobo said:
You should consider getting an electric vest, you don’t even need one with sleeves, just the vest is fine. As long as you keep your core temperature warm your hands and feet should stay warm. I had one and it was a game changer. I could ride all day at 4-5 degrees Celsius. I rode 10 hours
straight to Louisville, Kentucky with temperature between 1-5 degrees Celsius without a problem. I think I payed $120 and took 15 minutes to install.
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Your comment made me dig through my garage…turns out I have a vest laying around from many years ago!

EDIT: I've actually also got one of Jimmy's Heated Up vests....and battery...but can't find the damn charger :( It would come in awesome handy for an upcoming fishing trip up north.
 
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Lightcycle, I used to get sore wrists and hands, similar to the start of carpal tunnel, and still do at times. I have large hands, and gripping the handles feels like gripping a pencil sometimes. That was the cause for me. I stretched a silicone grip over the existing one, and that helped quite a bit, although it still feels a little small. Maybe that'll help you a little?
FYI, I know what carpal feels like because I've had a mild, recurring case back when I worked at Blue BIrd in the 90s and early 2000s as a riveter. Not fun since it effect everything you do with your hands. Mine was only in the right hand, which happens to be the throttle hand.

My but gets sore on long rides, but that's minor. If it becomes a problem, I have a gel pad I can slip under the seat upholstery.

My back, despite two herniated disks also acquired at Blue Bird, from which I have recovered to about 97%, should never be a problem because of my bike choice. Most people seem to hate the Katana, but that is the perfect bike for me because it allows me to sit in a variety of positions where I can either learn on the bars, taking weight off my back when needed, I can sit straight, or I can hunch back. It has to do with my long reach combined with the seat height, the handlebar height, and the distance between them. It also has a high seat which is well suited for my long legs.
 
WestBrantKid said:
Lightcycle, I used to get sore wrists and hands, similar to the start of carpal tunnel, and still do at times. I have large hands, and gripping the handles feels like gripping a pencil sometimes. That was the cause for me. I stretched a silicone grip over the existing one, and that helped quite a bit, although it still feels a little small. Maybe that'll help you a little?
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Thanks, I'm actually on the opposite end of the spectrum, I wear XS gloves, Euro Size 6...

I bought a set of aftermarket grips for my enduro, they're called PIllow-Top Grips. Made with gel-like substance and it's supposed to isolate the vibrations. You'd think with a name like that, it would have done the trick, but alas, no relief... :(
 
WestBrantKid said:
Lightcycle, I used to get sore wrists and hands, similar to the start of carpal tunnel, and still do at times. I have large hands, and gripping the handles feels like gripping a pencil sometimes. That was the cause for me. I stretched a silicone grip over the existing one, and that helped quite a bit, although it still feels a little small. Maybe that'll help you a little?
FYI, I know what carpal feels like because I've had a mild, recurring case back when I worked at Blue BIrd in the 90s and early 2000s as a riveter. Not fun since it effect everything you do with your hands. Mine was only in the right hand, which happens to be the throttle hand.

My but gets sore on long rides, but that's minor. If it becomes a problem, I have a gel pad I can slip under the seat upholstery.

My back, despite two herniated disks also acquired at Blue Bird, from which I have recovered to about 97%, should never be a problem because of my bike choice. Most people seem to hate the Katana, but that is the perfect bike for me because it allows me to sit in a variety of positions where I can either learn on the bars, taking weight off my back when needed, I can sit straight, or I can hunch back. It has to do with my long reach combined with the seat height, the handlebar height, and the distance between them. It also has a high seat which is well suited for my long legs.
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Have you ever tried the Grip Puppies?

Grip Puppy Comfort Grips - Anti-Vibration Handlebar Foam Overgrips

Grip Puppy Comfort Grips - The Original and The Best! : Amazon.ca: Sports & Outdoors
www.amazon.ca


These work great
 
mimico_polak said:
Your comment made me dig through my garage…turns out I have a vest laying around from many years ago!

EDIT: I've actually also got one of Jimmy's Heated Up vests....and battery...but can't find the damn charger :( It would come in awesome handy for an upcoming fishing trip up north.
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What does the charge port look like? Is battery marked with voltage, chemistry, etc? If you have some information, charging it with a bench power supply is pretty simple.
 
WestBrantKid said:
I have not, but although they look like they would address the issue, they also look like they'd go flat very quickly. If they were cheap I'd try them, but that kind of foam doesn't last long.
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I had them on a previous bike and they kept their form for the 3 years and 90k I put on that bike. I used them on a KLR which I found too buzzy in the handlebars for highway riding. I also parked that bike outdoors with a cover on it only in the winter months.
 
Bobo said:
You should consider getting an electric vest, you don’t even need one with sleeves, just the vest is fine. As long as you keep your core temperature warm your hands and feet should stay warm. I had one and it was a game changer. I could ride all day at 4-5 degrees Celsius. I rode 10 hours
straight to Louisville, Kentucky with temperature between 1-5 degrees Celsius without a problem. I think I payed $120 and took 15 minutes to install.
Click to expand...

Depends on your circulation. My hands and feet always seem to be cold, even when driving a car with good climate control. When my body finally couldn't take riding in the cold anymore, even at 10 C, I started with a FiRed Up vest but got tired of the battery always running out on me as well as my back sweating from the non-breathable material (and then getting cold once the battery died). After that I got a full-sleeved plug-in jacket liner and that to me was the game changer. It was a Venture with heated sleeves and neck, plus handlebar mountable remote heat controller. I was amazed, until I got used to it and started getting picky and noticed I kept cycling through the 3 pre-set heat levels to keep a comfortable temperature. The zipper eventually broke and GP Bikes was supposed to replace it, but the distributor was taking too long. So they gave me a store credit that I used on a new (unheated) jacket and decided to try a Warm N Safe liner with rheostat heat controller and that was perfect.

For my hands, same issue with the FiRed Up heated glove liners I bought with my vest - battery didn't last long enough. When I got the Warm N Safe liner, I also got their heated gloves and never had cold hands again. Now all I need is a set of good wired heated insoles to keep my toes warm.
 
Mad Mike said:
I can go about 400km (range of bikes) before needing fuel if I’m riding at licence safe speeds — 800km is a comfortable day for me.
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On an FJR or GL? I looked at an FJR a very long time ago when they first came out but didn't it have a 25 or 30 liter tank and fuel injection for good mileage. The GL 1000 would be carburetted so it will likely be less efficient.

I usually get to know my gas tanks by mentally recording what I just drove and how many liters it took when I filled it and then just doing some simple math based on the size of the gas tank for a run-till-dry mileage and the back it off a bit.

800 km is doable even today but a friend I ride with the odd time, 400 km is a max. Why I ride alone! And gone are the days when I would do 1500 kms a day to the EAA in Oshkosh, WI or in 2 days on a Yamaha XT350 that I did the first year going there. I then bought the BMW; one day thereafter. Those days are not happening anymore.
 
mimico_polak said:
Used to be able to ride below 10C but now…no way I can’t even be bothered to gear up if it’s a 5C morning and a 10C day.
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You ought to try -23C back in the days when I was a teen going to work at the bike shop in Montreal taking corners like a dirt tracker on snow covered roads. It took forever for my knees to warm up when I got home. Still no arthritis at my old age though; must be the beer or the Drambuie. :ROFLMAO:

Not back then but later I bought a Widder heated vest and over a decade later when it failed, a Gerbings heated jacket liner. Worth it for long rides.

I remember going for a ride in November. It was mid-single C digits and I thought I'd go for a short 100 km ride. I thought I had run into salt on the roads, but it was frost where there was a shadow from the trees. Well it ended up being 549 kms by the time I got back home. The nice smell of wood burning fireplaces in the country and the best part, NOT A SINGLE BUG that had the guts to make an appearance. :ROFLMAO:
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