New Member - Fly n Ride Suggestions

[Moto_Geek]

Hey Everyone,

New to this forum, and found it because I recently acquired a 1995 Katana 600. It is in Northern California at a friends house. It's bone stock, except for the lowering link, and I will be flying from Montana to California to pick it up in ten days. I've ridden plenty of dirt when I was younger, and street for a couple years in the late 90's and early 00's. I was looking at getting back into street and my friend made me a deal I couldn't pass up on this bike. It has low mileage and is all (minus the lowering link) original, runs great, I just have to fly out and put some new tires on it before riding it home. Sent my friend the cash and he's having some new tires put on it for me at the local shop.



I'm flying in to Northern Cali Saturday May 18th. I've got to change out the lowering link and put the original back in (I'm 6'1" and 250LBS, lowering kit not needed), change the oil, and attach my gear. I've ridding CB750's and SV650's, so I'm fairly familiar with street riding. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with the Spiegler LSL Handlebar Riser kit? I ordered one to take with me, thinking it would be a good fit if I didn't like the lean? I can return it if the bike is comfortable for me, but the ride home is 1200 miles, and I plan on touring a lot with the bike this summer, so I thought it might be worth it.

Also, what kids of tools are you all carrying with you on your rides? I can't change my own tire, so I don't need those tools, but what hand tools do you carry?

I plan on riding it locally for three days before heading out. This will give me some time to get used to the bike, and see if there are any issues my friend may have overlooked. From there, I'll either ride the coast all the way to Washington and cut across to Montana, or weave all over Nevada for a few days before heading north to Montana.

Glad to have this website to refer to. The information here is great. Thanks to anyone that responds.

Moto_Geek

[Kreylyn]

Hey Everyone,

New to this forum, and found it because I recently acquired a 1995 Katana 600. It is in Northern California at a friends house. It's bone stock, except for the lowering link, and I will be flying from Montana to California to pick it up in ten days. I've ridden plenty of dirt when I was younger, and street for a couple years in the late 90's and early 00's. I was looking at getting back into street and my friend made me a deal I couldn't pass up on this bike. It has low mileage and is all (minus the lowering link) original, runs great, I just have to fly out and put some new tires on it before riding it home. Sent my friend the cash and he's having some new tires put on it for me at the local shop. I have a family member who works for Fly Racing, so I've gotten a jacket, gloves, helmet, tank bag, and 40L saddle bags.



I'm flying in to Northern Cali Saturday May 18th. I've got to change out the lowering link and put the original back in (I'm 6'1" and 250LBS, lowering kit not needed), change the oil, and attach my gear. I've ridding CB750's and SV650's, so I'm fairly familiar with street riding. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with the Spiegler LSL Handlebar Riser kit? I ordered one to take with me, thinking it would be a good fit if I didn't like the lean? I can return it if the bike is comfortable for me, but the ride home is 1200 miles, and I plan on touring a lot with the bike this summer, so I thought it might be worth it.

Also, what kids of tools are you all carrying with you on your rides? I can't change my own tire, so I don't need those tools, but what hand tools do you carry?

I plan on riding it locally for three days before heading out. This will give me some time to get used to the bike, and see if there are any issues my friend may have overlooked. From there, I'll either ride the coast all the way to Washington and cut across to Montana, or weave all over Nevada for a few days before heading north to Montana.

Glad to have this website to refer to. The information here is great. Thanks to anyone that responds.

Moto_Geek

Sounds to me like you already know the basics to look for.

Things that are specific to that model bike... The stock suspension kinda sucks.... a lot. You shouldn't find the positioning of the bars and such very uncomfortable. It's not bad at all actually. The bigger issue will be the seat not being the best designed for long distance riding. If your touring a lot, then consider having the front seat redone. And new springs/emulators for the front, and a replacement rear shock to resolve the suspension issues.

Krey

[KatanaGSX92]

Welcome to KR!

[woobie]

Welcome to KR, sounds like you have a great trip home ahead of you.

[muddyman184]

Welcome to KR

[greentreena]

May I suggest a throttle lock. I sure make use of mine on long trips.

[astevens54]

Welcome to KR.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[steves]

Get a pair of bicycle shorts with gel in the butt. You'll thank me later.

[crazycraven420]

Also, what kids of tools are you all carrying with you on your rides? I can't change my own tire, so I don't need those tools, but what hand tools do you carry?

Moto_Geek

I carry pretty much anything i need to work on my bike i had one time where my master link failed on my chain an i ended up pushing my Kat uphill for 2 miles...it took me about 4 hours so yea i keep a variety of tools. Some of the first ones i can think of are 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 mm wrenches and 10, 12, 14 mm sockets for a 3/8 drive as well as the 3/8 drive with a couple extensions. A set of allen keys are a must or you wont even get your plastics off. A screwdriver with multiple tips/bits, a crescent wrench, needlenose vicegrips, needlenose pliers, a couple various cotter pins, electrical tape (had a short that blew a fuse on my way home in the dark...another not fun experience), fuses, wire cutters, a small LED flashlight, a drink (you get thirsty when "shit happens") an maybe even a granola bar or something, a spare headlight bulb, tail light bulb, a clip style master link, thread locker blue, 4 spark plugs (lightly used just for backups), spark plug socket, a razor knife, i also carry 2 bolts that hold the rear caliper to the bracket (had them come loose once too lol), a pair of gloves just for haha's and last but not least...zip ties.
Now this is my personal preferance from past experiences but i would recommend the hand tools (sockets, wrenches, allen key set, electrical tape, knife and whatever you feel comfortable carrying for your trip. I carry this list of stuff at all times in one part of my backpack an it has yet to bother me for my commuting or extended trips unless the backpack is extremely full. The crap i carry weighs about 8-10 lbs

[crazycraven420]

Get a pair of bicycle shorts with gel in the butt. You'll thank me later.

Thats a great idea!

Oh and with a trip that long you should bring a can of chain lube an maybe a quart of oil..in the end you may not have room for clothes

[Slofuze]

All good advice above......... add zipties (not sure 's what they're called there). I had an off last summer in a gravel parking lot on Cape Breton Island and broke off a fairing tab. The ziptie stopped the fairing vibration I was hearing.

[crazycraven420]

and last but not least...zip ties.

zip ties are like duct tape...only cleaner

[Wild-Bill]

First of all, welcome.

Then, in no particular order...
1. Zip ties are awesome.
2. For the toolkit, a lot of those tools can be covered by a Leatherman (spring for a real one) and a multi-point screwdriver handle with some metric allen-head bits thrown in. I've got a little short one (from the Lowes bargain bin) that stores the bits inside the handle. One of the bits is a 1/4" socket driver bit and I've got a few metric sockets in my kit, too.
3. A spare headlight bulb is a good thing to have if you're like me and liable to keep riding long after auto-parts stores shut down for the night. If you're OK with quitting for the night by 9:00 or 10:00 then it's just an H4 bulb that you can pick up at any local auto parts store.
4. A spare master link isn't going to do you any good. Lube the chain (Bring along a can of lube and a rag to treat the chain every night during the trip to avoid problems.) but if your chain breaks it's going to take more than a master link to get you in the road again. If nothing else, the clutch push-rod is liable to break when the chain comes whipping off the front sprocket. You can avoid any of those sorts of problems by just getting religious about checking your chain before the trip and lubing it nightly. The rag is for wiping off any excess lube.
5. A quart of oil isn't that silly of an idea. Motorcycle specific oil (look for "JASO-MA" on the label) can be had from Autozone but you're not going to find it at the gas station.
6. The most incredibly useful items I carry with me have turned out to be a cell phone and a credit card. I've burned out headlights (as the sun was going down!), found myself way too tired to keep riding before I got to where I thought I'd spend the night and gotten stranded with a burned up clutch. In the first case, I stopped by a grocery store, asked for directions to the nearest parts store (no bike shops in that town) and got a ride to the nearest parts store from the checker's boyfriend who had a buddy who worked there and a key to re-open the store. (Man, people are awesome! That was 1992 and I still remember Denton TX as a place where folks are willing to help out a stranger.) In the second case, I stopped at the next motel I came to and got some sleep before continuing and in the third case, I used my cell phone to call a buddy who picked up my trailer from the storage lot and came to get me.

Touring on a bike is the single most wonderful thing I've ever done. There's just something about being on your own on two wheels that makes the entire trip an adventure. I've never done a trip over 1,000 miles that didn't have something go wrong but no matter what happened, I always came away with either my faith in mankind restored, my confidence in my own abilities increased or my love of riding reinforced.

[Moto_Geek]

Thank you all for your great advice and the welcome. Each one of those items has been placed on my list to pack. Now I've got to figure out how to fit that, my camping gear, and other "unsafe" items into my checked bag so I can get it there. I've got a large backpack, think backpack you'd carry if you were spending days in the woods, that I will be taking everything not TSA approved and checking it to carry under the plane. If I get this all together in time, I may even send a package with this stuff to my friends house so I don't have to carry it on the plane. I plan on carrying my laptop backpack and my saddlebags as carryons onto the plane. Hopefully they'll let me slide with the helmet, because that will technically put me over the limit on how many personal items I'm allowed.
I was also recommended ear plugs by someone else (wind noise causes fatigue?), and I will take them. But I have a nice pair of ear bud headphones that are fitted and block out a lot of noise, so I'll be carrying those for the long stretches of road where I might find myself needing some music.
I downloaded the service manual from his site and will store it on my smartphone and probably print a paper copy to put in my tank bag.
As a side note, does anyone in "deer" country use deer whistles on their bike? I live in Montana and don't generally use deer whistles on my cars, but when I'm in the cage I likely won't be killed by a deer crossing my path. That's obviously a bit more likely on the bike, so I was curious.

Moto_Geek

[crazycraven420]

2. For the toolkit, a lot of those tools can be covered by a Leatherman (spring for a real one) and a multi-point screwdriver handle with some metric allen-head bits thrown in. I've got a little short one (from the Lowes bargain bin) that stores the bits inside the handle. One of the bits is a 1/4" socket driver bit and I've got a few metric sockets in my kit, too.

4. A spare master link isn't going to do you any good. Lube the chain (Bring along a can of lube and a rag to treat the chain every night during the trip to avoid problems.) but if your chain breaks it's going to take more than a master link to get you in the road again. If nothing else, the clutch push-rod is liable to break when the chain comes whipping off the front sprocket. You can avoid any of those sorts of problems by just getting religious about checking your chain before the trip and lubing it nightly. The rag is for wiping off any excess lube.

#2..thats a good way to keep it neat an condensed, good point

#4..your right Bill, I forgot to mention that. If you look directly above the long extension in the pic I posted youll see a clutch pushrod, right by the master link.
The day I had my chain fly off I had just lubed my chain an got 2 miles before the clip style master link failed. Now I use the rivet type with a clip style as backup. An yes it took out the pushrod in its path, I actually think its almost impossible for it NOT to break when the chain comes off lol.