First long trip

[axelpkt]

Last weekend took my first long trip on the Kat. Rode from Rochester to Long Island and back for Father's day weekend. The one thing I learned from the whole trip, leave the damn backpack at home, my back still hates me for that. If it doesn't fit in my saddle bags or the tail bag it isn't coming. But other than that, the Kat was awesome, great ride and comfortable (and getting between 45-50 mpg didn't hurt).

The best part of the trip was, before I left I told my parents I was going to ride down, and my dad tried to talk me out of it. He was saying how he has taken long rides before and they suck, and then says but if you do ride down I won't mind cuz I want to ride it. After that I here the distinct sound of my mom hitting my dad . But after riding the Kat, the old man really liked it, which was a big step up from when I bought it 2 years ago and he said I was an idiot for buying it lol.

[KAT TOY]

even us old farts can change our position on occasion. glad you had a good trip.

[5forty2]

So when is your dad buying a kat and joining the forum?

J/k, glad you had a good ride.

[axelpkt]

So when is your dad buying a kat and joining the forum?

He most likely not be buying a Kat lol, he said it was a little too big for him. But he has been itching to get a bike for the last few years. Almost had him convinced to get a BMW S1000RR

[Wild-Bill]

even us old farts can change our position on occasion. glad you had a good trip.

Doesn't mean he changed his mind. There's that whole dad thing. I worry about my son but every now and then I really miss being his age.

Glad to hear you had a good trip, too. About the the time I really figured out how to tour comfortably it was too late and I had kids and I couldn't go touring anymore. Now, 12 years later I'm hoping to take the oldest with me for a meet at PAKat's sometime this summer. (When his kid-concerns are ironed out.)

[professa_riddler]

Sounds like a great trip, next time you come to the island hit me up. I'm in the city but frequent nassau county.

[turboer]

I could not even talk my Dad into taking my Kat for a spin! Poor guy....freaks him out having his son riding around on a motorcycle , but he loves to see me so he puts up with it! Put a lot of his worries to rest when I got my all my gear!

[landofsong]

Which way did you go?
I take a ride down to Putnam Valley once a year from Buffalo. 90 to Batavia, 39/63(i think) to 390, then onto 17 all the way to the Hudson. The Catskills are beautiful - always raining there though.
I have some saddle bags, tank bag, and a shad top case (46liter) - beats a backpack.

glad you enjoyed the ride.

[iaskwhynot]

I live in NYC and would love to know the route you took. I have yet to take a good long trip so I envy your great weekend. If you are near the city again let me know and lets ride.

[axelpkt]

I took the thruway the whole way, mostly because I didn't know how often I was going to need/want to stop. It was boring, but there were plenty of places where I could stop and stretch.

[landofsong]

Try hooking up with rte 17 next time, it really is an enjoyable ride. Plenty of places to gas up (you will have to get off rte17 to do so for the most part - take a gps unit).
A couple of yrs ago, i rode home from Albany on the 90 - it was boring, which led to me getting very tired. Long, straight highway riding is difficult to do.

[alchemist007]

cool, im planning on doing my first long trip in a couple weeks. from dc to boston, im visiting a friend near boston,