Life at 14,067

Foothills Parkway

So, just thought I'd interject a little "side" blog in between ride documentation.  The title of this post is where I'm at, mileage wise.  I've owned my bike for 1 year and 2 1/2 months.  We have a few "big" rides planned this month, so maybe I'll be at 15K by 8-1.  Thought I'd share a few gems I've picked up during my time on the bike, and also update the Scout Sixty at 14,000 miles!

I don't spend hours cleaning my bike, but I never let her go dirty either!

1.  I ALWAYS prefer long sleeves when riding, especially in the summer.  I'd like to find some nice ATV jersey type clothes for the REALLY hot days.  Those w/ just a sports bra are nice.  Downfall is they DO blow around a lot, and on a longer ride, that can irritate my neck a little.  I was digging the 1/4 zip dri fit long sleeved shirts, but I've discovered that whether they're zipped or not, the wind blows them into my neck and it's VERY irritating.  My way favorite way of riding on a hotter day is a dri fit tank top w/ the bra built in, and my mesh jacket.  The mesh jacket is just perfect; it's heavy so it doesn't blow UP, it's perforated so the wind flows right through it and it doesn't flap around my arms/body/neck, and it has a small mock collar so my neck doesn't get sunburned at ALL.  The downfall to the mesh jacket is that it's heavier than a jersey, so on those really hot and humid days I feel like I'm suffocating when sitting still.  Moving down the road is fine, but if we stop to get water or walk around, when I go to put the jacket back on, it actually sticks to the sweat on my arms and it's uncomfortably hot.

2.  I always prefer to wear gloves when riding.  I've tried going naked handed, and I've tried the fingerless gloves.  I found a nice pair of Fly riding gloves that are nice and stretchy and lightweight enough that my hands don't sweat in them on a hot day.  I prefer the padding in the knuckles to keep the vibration in my hands down, plus I have seen a pic of a lady that had a super slow speed fall take off the top part of her index finger WITH THE GLOVES!  I'd' hate to know how badly she would have been injured with NO or fingerless ones.  Safety first!

All the gear, even in summer

3.  A full face helmet is hot.  There's just no getting around it.  But after seeing a facebook friend dealing with a busted nose/mouth after a slow speed fall on gravel ... full face it is!  I may invest in a modular in the future so I can drink water on the quick.  I also may just invest in a camelback water pack, but I hate wearing a backpack if I don't have to.

4.  Anyone without many thousands of miles under their belt should definitely get out and ride solo.  To me, solo means just me and the bike, no friends/riding partners.  It's a GREAT chance to work out any biomechanical problems you may be dealing with, and it's great practice working on reading the road on your own.  Many less experienced riders do ride in front of their riding partner, but I prefer riding in the back.  I find that I spend a lot of time watching the hubs' lane positioning and his lines through the curves instead of riding my own.  If you've followed my blog at all, you know I've suffered w/ a little bit of jerkiness and a lack of smoothness on mainly my left hand curves.  I've worked out that it was a combination of not seeing well over the top of my new windshield, and today I realized that I lean differently to the left, which is contributing to the jerky curves.  I have a fairly pronounced scoliosis S curve in my back, and it's easy to curve my back to the left as I go right, but I STILL curve my back left as I go left and it's messing w/ my trajectory.  Riding solo gives me the chance to go a little slower and play with lean angles, counter steering, and sitting up vs sitting back, etc.  I feel like I have figured out a few things this week!  I've ridden approximately 240 solo miles since Monday, and I'm READY for whatever we choose to do this weekend!

The lake next to the Tail of the Dragon

5.  The Scout.  Oh, how I love my Khaleesi!  I'm excited and proud to say I've gotten to test out the "heavyweight" bikes now, and I can definitely give some updates to my "A beginner's view on the Indian Scout".
     A.  The size.  I have absolutely gotten myself into what I consider 'worst case' scenarios while out riding here in E. TN and the surrounding areas.  Steep stop signs with off camber hills, gravel, pot holes, debris, traffic lights on steep hills, etc.  I have been SO grateful that I can flatfoot my bike, and if I have a bit of a hard stop I haven't dropped it (since that one time when it still had the drive out tag!).  The size and weight of the Chieftan scares me.  It feels exceptionally heavy when wedging into a tight spot that's not flat (pulled into a pulloff on our last demo ride) and if it's on the slightest incline towards the kickstand, I can NOT heft it off.  I'm sure that will come with time, but in the 3 times I've ridden the Chieftan, I've had to have help picking it up twice.
    B.  The reachability of everything.  I have a small reach.  My hands are not big and my legs are not long.  I have NO problems with the clutch, the shift/brake lever, or the turn signals.  I just have standard everything.  I demo'd a Scout set up w/ reduced reach, and the ONLY thing I liked was the reduced reach handlebars!  I am dying for a set of those. I think they will be soooo much more comfortable.  I hated the reduced seat and foot controls, the seat pushed me up on the gas tank, and the foot controls were so tight I felt like I kept missing the brake lever.  LOVED the reduced reach seat on the Chieftan.  I still can't flatfoot the bike, but it does drop me down closer and push me more towards the tank, which on THAT one, is good.  It puts more of a bend to me knee when riding, which I don't necessarily need, but you can't be too picky!  The kickstand on Khaleesi is just right, it's intuitively there.  I have not been able to put down or up the kickstands on ANY of the big bikes I've tried.  I've ridden 3 Chieftans, and 2 Springfields.  Every time, someone has had to get it for me.  I just can NOT reach it, no matter how hard I try!
    C.  Long term comfort.  My comfort zone is 200-300 mile stretches at the time.  My back and butt get very tired.  The Mustang solo seat for me IS more comfortable than the stock seat on the 'lady parts', but it puts more pressure on my seat bones.  My old gel pad I bought for the MIL's Shadow passenger pillion has worked well with the Mustang seat, no hot spots on my seat bones.  It puts more pressure back on the 'lady parts', but not nearly as bad as the stock seat.  Maybe a Corbin seat would be better, I don't know ... or the narrow seat from Indian.  Unfortunately, I don't have an unlimited budget to just buy things to throw on it.  Maybe some day!  My back is sooo tired b/c of the forward positioning.  David has rotated the bars back and that's helped, but I can't wait to ride w/ the RR, where I can sit up totally straight.  If my arms were longer, that would be better, but again ... short.
    D.  The windshield.  That dang stock windshield is HORRIBLE!  A waste of $449 in my opinion.  The buffeting was so bad, it made the bike feel unstable at higher interstate speeds.  I have 2 different full face helmets, and the buffeting was just as bad for both, so NOT the helmet!  I switched to the Freedom Shield and it has made a world of difference.  The bike is steady, stable, and I can even ride now w/ my Indian face shield on my Indian helmet up w/out being 'rigged' to stay up.  W/ the stock shield, the faceshield on my Indian helmet would crash shut at speeds above 30 mph.  Now, I can ride on the interstate at 80+ mph and the helmet shield stays up on its own.  I even got so desperate for it to stop, I took off my windshield and rode w/ a naked bike.  Never again!  Even though I love the look, the wind got up under my helmet and lifted it up to the point that I felt like I was being hanged.  No bueno!
    E.  Reliability.  I've replaced both stock tires, and had 2 oil changes.  So far, so good!  No issues at all to speak of.  I hate to jinx anything, but all stock parts have performed just as expected, very pleased!
    F.  Performance.  STILL love the bike like whoa.  I have been up and down the Tail of the Dragon literally too many times to count any more.  We've done the Cherohala Skyway about 4 or 5 times, the Blue Ridge Parkway 3 or so times, the Rattler 4 or 5 times, the Devil's Triangle in its entirety twice, etc.  I've ridden so many named roads, it's crazy!  That bike is a dream through this terrain.  Power to spare, plenty of get up and go for the high speed roads, and handles switchback turns with ease.  I can negotiate crazy steep roads without a care in the world b/c David taught me the 'clutch sweet spot' trick, and I love only having 5 gears vs. 6 b/c it's less decision making!  Haven't run out of gas despite the lack of a fuel gauge b/c I keep an eye on the tripodometer.  I've done as long as 150 miles between fuel stops, but tend to let 120 be the max distance.  I have had problems starting it if I'm at 120 miles, or if the low fuel light is on b/c of the way the fuel injection works, but I was told a trick to try next time that happens.  (un)Fortunately, I haven't had the starting problem since I was told the trick b/c I've kept it gassed up as much as possible, lol!

New 2018 bandana

I don't know what else I can say!  I'm proud of ever mile I've ridden.  Hoping that we can swing getting David his Chieftan before the year is up, and that he will trust me to take it on a ride to work on a Tuesday.  Maybe I can get him to switch w/ me for that day so he can help me with the kickstand, lol!  I also will 100% own a Chieftan, but right now that's in the "someday" category.  Let's just say w/in 10 years!  I will never trade or sell Khaleesi, she's mine forever.  I will keep her in the family for the rest of my days.  Just have floorboards, the RR bars, and the Maverick Krusher slip on exhaust pipes left to get for her.  She currently has an updated LED headlight from Eagle lights, the Mustang solo seat, and the Freedom windshield.  I look forward to the experience I gain w/ every mile I ride, and I pray it's always safe and uneventful!  Thanks for reading :)

Game changer for those of us with no saddlebags!!