The Fall Loop - 03 Oct 2020 | GTAMotorcycle.com

The Fall Loop - 03 Oct 2020

kurtrules

Well-known member
The ride was supposed to be done on the 4th Oct 2020, as I had an appointment on the 3rd. But it got cancelled, and I thought why waste a day. Moreover, the 4th was supposedly rainy.

Though I did start a bit later then I normally do, I planned to make full use of the time at hand. The initial idea was a loop through Algonquin, however the delay in departure shortened that loop. I left home around 9, after a heavy breakfast.

The new route -

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It was cold. I had no heated gear. I never had the need for explicit heating from where I spent my days riding. But gone are those days, and what hit me was the stark reality of riding at 7-10 degrees C, all throughout the day with a wind blast from the feeble windshield of the 650. So I layered up!

Life was good for while, but then I felt the incessant need for another layer, which I promptly added beneath my mesh riding jacket. Luckily I carried a spare liner. The lower half of the body also was well covered; my old Drystars with the warm liner, came to rescue.

No problems with the chill hereon

Rattlesnake Point, Burlington

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Somewhere on the backroads to Barrie:

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I did come across a stretch of Gravel road between highway 50 and 27 called "Concession Road". Traction Control was an issue here, so was fiddling with it to turn it off, but I couldn't do that on the go (can you do that on the v-strom?), so went at crossing the road at gentle pace. It was a small stretch anyway.

Snaking my way through the country roads, I crossed Barrie, and hit the Ont 11. Ah yes, I could ride on this one - it was exempt from the restrictions the MTO had imposed on my license.

Crossed Gravenhurst and took the exit for the 118. Nice smooth pavement all the way till Haliburton
Somewhere on the way:

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Had a quick lunch at a pizzeria in Haliburton and then started again towards Buckhorn.

Enroute:

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On a side road:

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Both the 118, and the 507+3 were good to ride on. Sans any traffic and quite serene. I did not good the last few kms till Buckhorn and turned right at Flynns' Corner

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Thereafter, an uneventful ride back to Burlington.

All in all, an enjoyable day and quite a refreshing ride to start off my touring days, here in Canada!
 
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very nice, how are you liking the v strom so far?

How many layers did you have to put on till the cold was no longer an issue? ?
 
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Looks like a nice ride.
BTW, it was 2C up here on Saturday morning with frost covering everything until the sun finally came up. If you want to ride later into the season you are going to need another jacket! A mesh jacket is great in the summer, but not nearly enough for an early ride on a Fall morning. I have a Joe Rocket textile jacket with a zip in liner that has full length sleeves. It's perfect for Spring and Fall riding. Warm in the morning and as it warms up you can remove the liner. I've never used heated gear because if it's that cold there is likely ice on the roads and I'll be in my car.
 
very nice, how are you liking the v strom so far?

Oh I am having fun. Enjoying the low end grunt, and that linear power band. There is always some extra, available on tap. I thought it would be intimidating coming from a Cbr250, but on the contrary it's quite easy to ride. I have read stories about it being top heavy and all - TBH, I don't find it that; have had no issues in stop & go traffic.

Wish the brakes were better though, the rear ones suck - and the ABS was switchable.

How many layers did you have to put on till the cold was no longer an issue? ?

4 + the mesh jacket.
 
Looks like a nice ride.
BTW, it was 2C up here on Saturday morning with frost covering everything until the sun finally came up. If you want to ride later into the season you are going to need another jacket! A mesh jacket is great in the summer, but not nearly enough for an early ride on a Fall morning. I have a Joe Rocket textile jacket with a zip in liner that has full length sleeves. It's perfect for Spring and Fall riding. Warm in the morning and as it warms up you can remove the liner. I've never used heated gear because if it's that cold there is likely ice on the roads and I'll be in my car.

Yes, I would need another jacket. The gear on me is from another era - old. But it will do the job in summers, just not in this weather. I was lucky I had a few old liners lying around that I could use on this ride.

I also have a leather joe rocket jacket, but that thing is so heavy that it has been hanging in closet ever since I bought it.
 
Wish the brakes were better though, the rear ones suck - and the ABS was switchable.
Look into changing the pads out if you need more stopping power then consider steel lines.

Likely you can only disable traction control at a stop (if it's even an option on this bike).
 
Traction control can be changed while riding, you just have to ensure throttle is closed for it to allow the change. Abs can be turned off by pulling the fuse.
Glad you had a good ride
 
Sweet ride and report, I wish I got out, hopefully the colors stay around for a few more days.

As for brake pads, I had a similar issue on the T7, switched to sintered pads, and they bits a lot better, however they squeak when pressed hard now :(
 
Sweet ride and report, I wish I got out, hopefully the colors stay around for a few more days.

As for brake pads, I had a similar issue on the T7, switched to sintered pads, and they bits a lot better, however they squeak when pressed hard now :(

did you put them on recently? Maybe its a break in thing, although I have also heard sintered pads in general are just always noisy and loud
 
did you put them on recently? Maybe its a break in thing, although I have also heard sintered pads in general are just always noisy and loud

I had put them on before my trip, at close to 14k on them, they squeak a little less, however once warmed up, they squeak a lot more, they are Brembo's, I'll try EBC next time. I may put on a new rotor too, I heard harder pads eat the rotor more, so better to use softer pads and replace them more frequently. Was my first pad change, took 5mins, very simple
 
I had ebc sintered pads before they were squeaky and noisy too

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk
 
Your rain gear makes a good last ditch layer. It kept me warm up north when I had the good sense to leave my electric vest at home. As He Who Must Be Obeyed says if it's not July or August pack the vest just in case.
 

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