zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 29, 2006 07:59 PM
Touring 3000 miles on the ZX
Well all let me tell you we have one hell of a touring machine. I made it to every location promised last week and completed it in 3.5 days. I left at 3AM Friday and headed to Deals Gap. Weather did not look as though it would work in my favor but anything can happen in the 7 hours, Right?? Here I am crossing my first state Georgia on I-75.
I've never been a fan of riding in Atlanta but it was not too bad all things considered, stuck in traffic maybe 30 mins. Then I rode up I-985 to US 23 to Franklin, NC. In Franklin I hit a moderate rainstorm but a pretty hard rain at both ends of the storm. The ZX never showed any signs of problems in the rain. NOTE; Wave rotors cool very well in air even better in the rain and so make sure to give yourself plenty of room for stopping error. Think of it like this, the front brakes will work just like the rear brake, yea that bad. I still think state road 28 between Franklin and Lauada is every bit as challenging as the Gap, maybe more so because the road is not as nice or marked as well as the Gap. Getting used to mountain roads without pressure of other riders is a good thing for this Florida-Boy.
Here a Pic of my tire for those of you who doubt I can ride (he-he).
Also a note that at 1200 feet the FI seemed to have a slight delay and it did not seem to be any different at 4000 feet.
I made it about 70 miles east of Nashville when again the weather started looking rough, I figured I'd pack it in for the night.
Saturday I started towards Land between the Lakes in Kentucky and the St. Louis Arch. The Land between the Lakes is beautiful but coming from Deals Gap well felt a little blah. Still riding the Mid-West was enjoyed, a lot fewer crazy drivers.
St. Louis was a hoot that Arch amazes me every time I see it. It was Hot and the 14 heated up pretty good but traffic in the mid-west is nothing like back east. People are very nice and understand out-of staters, love riding out there. Looking at the Arch from a engineering point one word that wants to keep me out of there "Creep". I did not go inside, there was an hour wait just to get inside the mall and I needed to make my way to Virginia Beach, Va. or 1000 miles East on I-64.
Kept singing east bound and down in my head...OK only for 5 maybe 600 miles. On the way I tried a little experiment, you see in Ky the only fuel one station had was 87 Oct. The result was 45 MPG and the engine seemed to run quieter, so in Illinois I tried another tank and I'll be dammed if I did not get better MPG again. Am I screwing up the engine? I don't think so, but I am currently asking Kawasaki. BTW I would guess my MPG was always between 41-45 I have not really done the fine tooth come thing yet. I did hit about 110 MPH following a trucker thru W. Va. that whole Deer thing scared the hell out of me. I figured it the trucker hit the deer that would get the thing out of my way Right? Stopped in Charleston, W.Va. because there were no hotel rooms west of there, another reason not to travel on a holiday Weekend.
Sunday Morning: When I got to Richmond; Traffic was well "Back East" again. How quickly I got used to enjoying the ride, how hard it is to re-adjust. Made it to Virginia Beach, Va. About 3:30 PM. Remember I lost an hour so I'd say it took a total of 23 hours from St. Louis. I left at 5PM and I did see another ZX-14 on hwy 58. It was kind of cool watching other bikers do a double take when riding on the hwys; I know I did a double take on a Black ZX-14 about 6PM Sunday. Finally this morning I woke up at 2 AM so I could be home by 1PM. Storms here have been pretty bad so I wanted to beat them.
Here is a picture of SOB at night. Signs say they are opened 24 hours...It was closed but the lights were pretty. (rolling eyes).
I covered a little over 3000 miles and the bike was perfect. This will be the last time I ride on a Holiday weekend. Cops were everywhere. The worst was US 58, 55 MPH and in 73 miles there were 4 set-ups and at least 6 Hi-way patrol with pull-overs No Shit. Georgia was no better although at least I could run 80-85 (73-78 GPS MPH).
Rob
  
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swft
Needs a life
Full throttle!
Posts: One MEEEEEELLION
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posted May 29, 2006 08:07 PM
Fucking awesome thread! Thanks!
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FasterThanStink
Pro
Posts: 1218
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posted May 29, 2006 09:17 PM
Wow! Thanks for posting this. It looks like you had a great ride on awesome bike. 
____________
Speed has never killed anyone,
suddenly becoming stationary...
That's what gets you.
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havabusa12r
Expert Class
Posts: 425
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posted May 29, 2006 09:17 PM
Cool pics!
I thought your sign says open 24 hours? YES, but not in a ROW.
Stephen Wright?
____________
(68 Yam 175 2-stroke)
(99 Copper Busa) (99 Duc 900 SS full fairing) (00 MV Agusta F4S) (02 Aprilia RSV Mille) (02 ZX 12r CTB) (03 KTM 950 Adv)
(04 Yam R1) (05 LE Busa) (07 ZX 14)
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ZXLNT
Needs a job
Kawpuke Extraordinare
Posts: 2853
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posted May 29, 2006 09:40 PM
Awesome trip. Just wondering does it still have the hesitation below 5K or so when warmed up???
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 30, 2006 01:28 AM
quote:
Awesome trip. Just wondering does it still have the hesitation below 5K or so when warmed up???
No hesitation at sea level, just above say 1200 feet of elevation. My VFR was Horrible above 3000 feet, so I've become ultra sensative to this. Keep in mind 103HP vs. 197HP. It's really not that bad I'm just trying to notice small differences. The hesitation did not seem to have a RPM at deals Gap about 2000-3000 feet it was there even above 5K.
Rob
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JimBob
Parking Attendant
Posts: 22
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posted May 30, 2006 04:04 AM
 Edited By: JimBob on 30 May 2006 05:34
>> Well all let me tell you we have one hell of a touring machine. <<
Something I wanted to hear! Looks like you had a good time.
How was the overall comfort? Were the ZX's ergonomics well suited for long distance travel? Are there any mods to the ergonomics you'd like to make before you do another LD trip?
How did the stock seat perform and how many hours before butt ache set in... or did it?
>> NOTE; Wave rotors cool very well in air even better in the rain and so make sure to give yourself plenty of room for stopping error. Think of it like this, the front brakes will work just like the rear brake, yea that bad. <<
Could you elaborate on this? This does not sound good.
>> Still riding the Mid-West was enjoyed <<
Last year while on a 4000 mile tour around the Rockies & South Dakota, I decided to return via Nebraska & Kansas to get back to Texas. Didn't have time to head back south through the Rockies and sure as hell didn't want to take the interstate through Denver, so instead, from the Black Hills of SD I headed south on smaller roads (state & federal highways) through Nebraska & Kansas. Some of the scenery I saw in Western Nebraska surprised me. Because I'd never ridden through the mid-west before, I found the scenery beautiful in its own way. I'm use to travelling through whatever mountains are near so the change of scenery was something I was curious about. I found it pretty cool to zip along the road at dusk, surrounded by wheat and corn fields as far as the eye could see and watch my shadow play over the fields.
One of the main highways I took was 83 which runs from Canada all the way to South Texas. This road is in excellent shape and you can do some serious time on it. The traffic is very light and I didn't see one cop until I hit the Texas border. For one hell of a long way it was just me and my Valentine One.... :-).
>> On the way I tried a little experiment, you see in Ky the only fuel one station had was 87 Oct. The result was 45 MPG and the engine seemed to run quieter, so in Illinois I tried another tank and I'll be dammed if I did not get better MPG again. <<
45 MPG is a pretty good average. What speeds were you running to average this? Also, was this average calculated or was this guesstimated from looking at the MPG meter from time to time?
>> I covered a little over 3000 miles and the bike was perfect. <<
Just what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the trip report!
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JimBob
Parking Attendant
Posts: 22
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posted May 30, 2006 04:14 AM
>> Cops were everywhere. <<
One word... Valentine One ( http://www.valentine1.com/ )... don't leave home without it.
I have had all my bikes set up to mount a radar detector. On my VFR, I had the V-1 mounted to the windshield with a little device I got from Cycle Gagets ( http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=SBRM ). The V-1 has WAY more than payed for itself.
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 30, 2006 04:40 AM
Edited By: zx61114 on 30 May 2006 05:45
quote:
>> Well all let me tell you we have one hell of a touring machine. <<
Something I wanted to hear! Looks like you had a good time.
How was the overall comfort? Were the ZX's ergonomics well suited for long distance travel? Are there any mods to the ergonomics you'd like to make before you do another LD trip? I'LL CAP TO ANSWER. NO I'M NOT PISSED OFF. KEEP IN MIND I'M 5 FOOT 4 INCHES TALL SO A SHORTER BIKE WOULD BE HELPFUL. NO JUST KIDDING, ALTHOUGH I'LL BET THE BIKE HAS LOWERED IT SELF CLOSE TO 1/2 INCH SINCE NEW. I CAN TELL THE FORK OIL IS STARTING TO FAIL. I'LL CHANGE HER OUT AT 10,000 MILES. I MIGHT CONSIDER A BIGGER FRONT FAIRING. MINE WORKS FINE FOR ME, BUT IF I WERE A BIGGER GUY I'M THINKING THAT I'D BE BEATEN UP PRETTY GOOD WITH THE STOCK ONE.
How did the stock seat perform and how many hours before butt ache set in... or did it? THE SEAT IS ALWAYS THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT. I WOULD RATE THE SEAT BETTER THAN AVG BUT I LIKE THE LOOK OF THE STOCK SEAT. I RODE ABOUT 400 MILES BEFORE I STARTED TO WANT TO TAKE A BRAKE EVERY 75 MILES OR SO. AGAIN I WEIGH 155 LBS.
>> NOTE; Wave rotors cool very well in air even better in the rain and so make sure to give yourself plenty of room for stopping error. Think of it like this, the front brakes will work just like the rear brake, yea that bad. <<
Could you elaborate on this? This does not sound good. THE BRAKE PADS WORK BETTER HOT, IN THE RAIN I'M GUESSING THEY COOLED VERY WELL. THE BRAKES STILL WORK AS YOU KNOW IT BUT THE FIRST 100 FT THEY ARE WARMING UP TO SPEC AND HAVE THE FEEL OF THE REAR BRAKE. ONCE WARM/HOT THEY ARE FINE. MAYBE IT'S JUST MY BIKE BUT IT DID HAPPEN MORE THAN A COUPLE OF TIMES. I WAS RIDING VERY CAREFUL FIRST TIME IN RAIN SO MAYBE I GAVE THE BRAKES MORE TIME TO COOL OFF??
>> Still riding the Mid-West was enjoyed <<
Last year while on a 4000 mile tour around the Rockies & South Dakotat, I decided to return via Nebraska & Kansas to get back to Texas. Didn't have time to head back south through the Rockies and sure as hell didn't want to take the interstate through Denver, so instead, from the Black Hills of SD I headed south on smaller roads (state & federal highways) through Nebraska & Kansas. Some of the scenery I saw in Western Nebraska surprised me. Because I'd never ridden through the mid-west before, I found the scenery beautiful in its own way. I'm use to travelling through whatever mountains are near so the change of scenery was something I was curious about. I found it pretty cool to zip along the road at dusk, surrounded by wheat and corn fields as far as the eye could see and watch my shadow play over the fields. DITTO. I WONDER IF YOU SING AS WELL....I DO.
One of the main highways I took was 83 which runs from Canada all the way to South Texas. This road is in excellent shape and you can do some serious time on it. The traffic is very light and I didn't see one cop until I hit the Texas border. For one hell of a long way it was just me and my Valentine One.... :-).
>> On the way I tried a little experiment, you see in Ky the only fuel one station had was 87 Oct. The result was 45 MPG and the engine seemed to run quieter, so in Illinois I tried another tank and I'll be dammed if I did not get better MPG again. <<
If the 14 is like a lot of newer bikes, it has a knock sensor that will allow to compensate. VERY GOOD TO KNOW. I SHOULD ALSO POINT OUT MANY FUEL STATIONS USE GASAHOL AND I DID NOT FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE IN PERFORMANCE.
45 MPG is a pretty good average. What speeds were you running to average this? Also, was this average calculated or was this guesstimated from looking at the MPG meter from time to time?
I RODE LIKE A PUSS. I WOULD KEEP IT ABOUT 10-15 MPH ABOVE THE LIMIT OR 7-12 MPH ABOVE PER GPS. THERE WERE COPS EVERYWHERE. I SUSPECT THE 14 LOOKS MORE CONSERVATIVE WITH BAGS ON HER. I WILL NEVER RIDE DURING A HOLIDAY AGAIN. I NEED TO GATHER MY GAS SLIPS AND FIGURE IT OUT. IF I WERE TO GUESS IN SOME PLACES I WAS GETTING A LITTLE CLOSER TO 48 MPG THAN AVERAGE MPG SUGGESTED.
>> I covered a little over 3000 miles and the bike was perfect. <<
Just what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the trip report!
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Jack69
Novice Class
Posts: 50
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posted May 30, 2006 05:04 AM
Thanks for the write up. Sounds like you had a blast.
I live up in the north west corner of South Carolina and frequent Hwy 28, 178, 215 and 64. There are some very nice roads in the area.
I picked up a blue ZX-14 on Friday and put 750 miles on it over the weekend. I sold my last bike and kept the Throttlemeister for the 14. Sure enough it went right on.
Did you find the seat to be ass numbing after 90 minutes or so? I sure did. I even wore LD Comfort Wear shorts and it still seemed to be painful. I'll need a new Corbin seat with about an additional 1.5" of height added to it.
Oh, BTW, Heli-Bars makes a riser for less than a hundred bucks. It only adds .800" up and .400" back. A small change but I figure with the taller seat I'll need it just to stay even or close to it.
Congrats on your new bike, they sure are sweet.
____________
'03 Mille Silver - ZX-14 Blue
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Jack69
Novice Class
Posts: 50
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posted May 30, 2006 05:07 AM
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you. Did you tighten up the rear suspension before assulting the twisties? My bike was very soft out of the crate. I turned the preload collar on the rear shock up one full turn just to get a little firmness. I brought up the rebound dampening a lot and that also helped a great deal. I now have less than 1/2" strips on the rear 190.
____________
'03 Mille Silver - ZX-14 Blue
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 30, 2006 08:49 AM
quote:
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you. Did you tighten up the rear suspension before assulting the twisties? My bike was very soft out of the crate. I turned the preload collar on the rear shock up one full turn just to get a little firmness. I brought up the rebound dampening a lot and that also helped a great deal. I now have less than 1/2" strips on the rear 190.
Great question, I thought the shock was pretty hard out of the crate (remember schmuck-o weight is 155 lbs). At Deals Gap my ZX crossed 3000 miles, and things still seemed pretty stable. My opinion shocks are good for about 30-32,000 miles. Fork oil is good for 10,000 miles and as I was returning home (Norfork has roads that are pretty rough) and I started thinking things were getting a little soft. I kind of like the softer side of things at about 4500 miles and remember ashe was pretty sore by this time.
Answer: If I were to start a trip in the twisties today, Yes I would in fact firm the adjust at least 1/2 turn.
Rob
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havabusa12r
Expert Class
Posts: 425
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posted May 30, 2006 09:48 AM
quote:
>> Cops were everywhere. <<
One word... Valentine One ( http://www.valentine1.com/ )... don't leave home without it.
I have had all my bikes set up to mount a radar detector. On my VFR, I had the V-1 mounted to the windshield with a little device I got from Cycle Gagets ( http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=SBRM ). The V-1 has WAY more than payed for itself.
Watch out, Fish is now pimping foe BEL!
:-)
____________
(68 Yam 175 2-stroke)
(99 Copper Busa) (99 Duc 900 SS full fairing) (00 MV Agusta F4S) (02 Aprilia RSV Mille) (02 ZX 12r CTB) (03 KTM 950 Adv)
(04 Yam R1) (05 LE Busa) (07 ZX 14)
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vmaxwayne
Expert Class
Posts: 228
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posted May 30, 2006 09:48 AM
I notice the saddle bags. How did you keep them from scratching the surfaces around the sides of the tail section??
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 30, 2006 06:18 PM
Edited By: zx61114 on 30 May 2006 19:21
quote:
I notice the saddle bags. How did you keep them from scratching the surfaces around the sides of the tail section??
Another great question. I had to wait until I pulled everything off to see how well the bike did.
Under the bags I used clear tape to more or less protect the paint. Note the sloppy tape job, it's done like that on purpose. I tried being neat and found that the bags can rub thru 3 layers of tape pretty easy. Sloppy tape jobs are easier to take off and provides a cushion-like protection. After pulling off the tape everything looks perfect. and WD-40 aids the sticky part left from the tape.
I also wanted to show one of the down sides of using WD-40 on the chain.
Nothing like baked on WD-40. I cleaned it up with an SOS pad looks good as new.
Rob
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted May 31, 2006 05:04 PM
re: protecting fairings from bags, next time try mac-tac (i think?). it's a fairly thick plastic with light adhesive on one side, usually used on kitchen shelves or something i think? i saw fish & princesskiwi use it and it worked great. available at most hardware stores.
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blitzkrieg
Needs a job
Road kill = Free lunch.
Posts: 2044
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posted May 31, 2006 06:18 PM
Nice thread.
I'm not sure how WD40 is attributable for the mess down below but I assume you were just spraying loosely around the countershaft sprocket while on the road and not worrying about keeping things super clean?
Geez, think of the mess is you'd have been using PJ-1 or Bel-Ray! That shit gets EVERYWHERE.
I've got a '86 IT-600 I've been working on for a few years here and there and I'm still cleaning old PJ-1 off the swingarm crevices after four iterations. LOL
JimBob - you are correct. There are some pretty cool roads in Nebraska (not a lot and you gotta know where to look) but they are there. 
____________
"BTW....You need to get a girlfriend who's last name isn't .jpg"
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted June 01, 2006 11:43 AM
Blitzkrieg,
I waxed up the pipe prior to leaving. After I was home I just used a little SOS pad and the baked on WD40 came right off. Your right PJ-1 and Chain Wax would have been worse. Apply: I'd put the bike up on the centerstand and spray at about 5 o'clock on the rear sprocket. I've only adjusted my chain once.
Rob
5,411 miles
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ZX11D
Zone Head
Internet Police
Posts: 674
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posted June 01, 2006 04:27 PM
Rob, good story and pics. Seems like the new 14 has now taken place of the VFR, for good.
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted June 01, 2006 05:42 PM
Edited By: zx61114 on 1 Jun 2006 18:45
I still have both bikes. It cost me 245 dollars a year to insure the VFR and it holds a very special place in my heart. I've had people offer to buy it. One guy offered me like 2000 dollars. I looked at him like a deer in headlights and I said, "You realize wrecked VFR's are going for 2000 dollars on ebay. Hell at least mine runs, and most importaint !! It's in one piece." Some people, like 83,000 miles is a bad thing on a modern motorcycle. I rode almost 500 miles on the VFR last month so it still get ridden.
Rob
VFR 83,719 miles
ZX-14 5,436 miles
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