Sport Bikes banner

My FZ6 trip 2,000 mi in 10 days

4K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  kangaroooski 
#1 ·
I got back from my bike trip last week. I did a little over 2,000 miles in 10 days. I was all over Washington, Idaho and Montana. I saw a lot of beautiful country, some of which I had seen before, much of which I hadn't.

Overall the temperature was pretty hot with a few days over 100 degrees. I hit a couple thunderstorms with some hard rain. Since my itinerary was open, I tried to avoid storms by stopping where I was or just changing direction and going another way.

For packing, I used soft saddlebags that attached to each other by velcro straps under the grab rails and seat. I then bungeed a cheap duffle bag to the back seat. It may not have looked the best but it all worked well. I had to pack full rain gear (which I needed), summer clothes (which I needed) and warm clothes (which I needed).

The bike performed perfectly. I even took it over a mountain pass dirt road. I did a lot of cruising at 100+ mph and the FZ6 handled it easily. My top speed that I noticed was 137 mph way out in the middle of Montana somewhere.

Some days I did a couple hundred miles or more, some days I did none. I did a little over 650 miles my last day coming home. My only complaints were:

bugs - had to stop every 150 miles or so to clean the face shield on my helmet

wind noise - on my last day my ears were ringing pretty bad.

wrist pain - maybe a throttle rocker or something like that would help or maybe I'm just too old for this stuff

deer on the roads - if your out in the mornings BE CAREFUL. I came real close to hitting one once and pretty close a number of times.

If I do this right attached are some pics from the trip:
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#5 ·
Ahhh...sometimes I wonder why I left the Northwest.

Question: What seat pad is that?

Comment: I highly recommend wearing earplugs. Sustained riding can cause permanenet hearing loss. I resisted wearing them at first but now I find it much more comfortable/pleasant to ride with them.
 
#6 ·
MikeC said:
Comment: I highly recommend wearing earplugs. Sustained riding can cause permanenet hearing loss. I resisted wearing them at first but now I find it much more comfortable/pleasant to ride with them.
I ride with an Mini Disc player and recently bought Sony Fontopia® Headphones They are a cross between an earplug and a headphone. They virtually eliminate all road noise and are super comfortable. Plus they sound awesome, loads of low end too for such a small driver.
 
#10 ·
I notice wind noise most if I am not sitting upright enough getting the windshield buffet under the helmet is very loud. When I sit up more the buffet goes under the helmet and only hits my chest making it a lot less noisey in the bucket.
I am looking for the headphones that mount inside the helmet like these http://www.jmcorp.com/ so there is nothing going into my ear like those buds. I also have an Arai and I think there will be plenty of space for them.
 
#11 ·
I wish I had 10 days to tour the north west!

Ear plugs have become a must for me on any ride over 30 minutes, and the throttlerocker is great if you can find a way to keep it from slowly slipping ever lower. I took a blown bicycle tube and cut out a part with the most ridges, and it stays pretty much in one place. Hey the are only ten dollars!
 
#12 ·
Hey BfromB - got any more pics to post? Come on now - 2000 miles and 5 pics...don't be shy.

Just giving u a hard time - I like lookin'.

I'm heading for the mountains of Colorado Friday. Unfortunately, it won't be on my bike. Plan on exploring several 14k+ peaks (and catching as many trout as possible) in a week.
 
#16 ·
Sounds like a fun trip- nice pics! Question that I've been wondering in general, what did you do for securing your bike overnight? Did you take it into a hotel room with you? Just a generalized question as I've never taken a bike on any overnight trip....but I'm thinking about it with my fizzer. :D
 
#17 · (Edited)
Sweet trip!!! Sounds like a blast. Those pics are great, the one with the waterfall is breathtaking. Thanks for sharring with all of us.

My summer trip this year is going to be a loop around the Great Lake Huron, which includes 3 large bridges (Bluewater, Sault Ste. Marie, Big Mac) and a 2 hr ferry ride. I will post pics once I am back.

I also use the Koss "the Plug" earphones, the work great! I did a modification to mine which includes mounting foam type earplugs to the earphone. I get no windnoise, only music. Which is good and bad, depending how you look at it.


whoops, sorry I didn't realize that the trip was taken last summer.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top