Tweet
This past Sunday, I went with group on my first long (for me) distance ride (204 miles round trip). We went from Lockhart to the greater Burton metropolitan area, through Brenham, and a bunch of other small Texas communities (like Smithville and Rosanky) before arriving back home. The bike brand breakdown was 4 Goldwings of various vintage, 3 Harleys, 1 Honda Shadow 750, a Yamaha VStar 650, and me on the '05 RedKat 600. I had an absolute blast! It was good going with a bunch of cruisers/touring bikes the first time out, as the pace was relaxed. We did hit some good twisties on the way to Burton and I made a few observations.
- Those Goldwings can CORNER for their size and weight. They were carrying much more entry speed into the corners than I was, but I had less trouble keeping a steady speed and catching up on the exits.
- The Kat, for its value, made a great touring mount. It was nice and stable, and didn't move as much as the others, despite the funky winds we encountered.
- Cagers, for lack of a better term, suck. There were a number of cars that kept cutting us off and breaking up our staggered formation. A couple of times, they would break into the group to make a turn and slam on the brakes w/o turnsignals. What fun.
- I caught air once, outside of Bastrop. Apparently, someone with the highway department put about 10 times the amount of asphalt required to repair a pothole, and it made a very inconvenient ramp for the Kat. Thank God I grew up riding dirtbikes. Kept the front end steady, got my butt up off the seat and landed straight.
- I gotta get some gel grips. There was a small vibration in the bars that ended up making the last 40 miles painful on my hands and wrists. I was using my back and abs for torso support (thanks for that info md86), but they still went numb. Could be too tight of a grip. I'll work on that.
- A little lean on the bike goes a long way. Found myself taking too tight a line in some of the sweepers, and had to adjust. Surprised at how little I touched the brakes going into the corners. Engine braking and gear selection took care of that, I guess.
- Got to ride on gravel, new roads, old roads and every surface in between. Great learning experience.
- I gotta buy a digital camera. We went to the remains of the original Baylor University building and saw some housing from that era (1830s), and I didn't take a single damn pic. D'OH
!
All in all, it was a fun time. We're going again next month, and I can't wait. All of the comments about the Kat were positive from the group I went with, even from the die hard Harley guys. The guy I rode in the back with (hard core Harley guy) had good things to say. I caught a little harassment from the cashier at the last fuel stop we made who said, "I only ride Harleys." I said, "gee, that's great," and went about my business. I guess some will never learn...
- Those Goldwings can CORNER for their size and weight. They were carrying much more entry speed into the corners than I was, but I had less trouble keeping a steady speed and catching up on the exits.
- The Kat, for its value, made a great touring mount. It was nice and stable, and didn't move as much as the others, despite the funky winds we encountered.
- Cagers, for lack of a better term, suck. There were a number of cars that kept cutting us off and breaking up our staggered formation. A couple of times, they would break into the group to make a turn and slam on the brakes w/o turnsignals. What fun.
- I caught air once, outside of Bastrop. Apparently, someone with the highway department put about 10 times the amount of asphalt required to repair a pothole, and it made a very inconvenient ramp for the Kat. Thank God I grew up riding dirtbikes. Kept the front end steady, got my butt up off the seat and landed straight.
- I gotta get some gel grips. There was a small vibration in the bars that ended up making the last 40 miles painful on my hands and wrists. I was using my back and abs for torso support (thanks for that info md86), but they still went numb. Could be too tight of a grip. I'll work on that.
- A little lean on the bike goes a long way. Found myself taking too tight a line in some of the sweepers, and had to adjust. Surprised at how little I touched the brakes going into the corners. Engine braking and gear selection took care of that, I guess.
- Got to ride on gravel, new roads, old roads and every surface in between. Great learning experience.
- I gotta buy a digital camera. We went to the remains of the original Baylor University building and saw some housing from that era (1830s), and I didn't take a single damn pic. D'OH
!All in all, it was a fun time. We're going again next month, and I can't wait. All of the comments about the Kat were positive from the group I went with, even from the die hard Harley guys. The guy I rode in the back with (hard core Harley guy) had good things to say. I caught a little harassment from the cashier at the last fuel stop we made who said, "I only ride Harleys." I said, "gee, that's great," and went about my business. I guess some will never learn...
Comment