Still sorting things out. 2 weeks from today, we'll be on the road and although I feel like I'm fairly prepared, I had a few things left to do and I wanted to do another "test pack" just to make sure that I really had the space that I thought I had. I spent a lot of time re-doing all of my GPS directions and tank bag maps this past week. I had done them using Mapquest, but the Mapquest app just doesn't work well on my phone at all, and causes issues with my bluetooth headset in my helmet as a result. So I re-did everything, which took hours, but I believe will make my navigation much better for the trip. I have picked restaurants for each night, and printed maps for the state parks and other locations that we'll be stopping at along the way.
The first order of business was to change my oil and clean my air filter. Changing the oil went flawlessly. I always buy the kit that has the new crush washers in it, as re-using misformed crush washers can cause the fragile engine case to split as the washers can get cone shaped and forced into the case can cause a costly engine case split, especially if you get a little too happy with the amount of torque that you put on the drain plug bolts. All good though - new oil, filter, crush rings, and o-rings in the filter compartment. The oil that came out really didn't look bad at all, with 1,400 miles on it. This is a good thing since I'll be asking this oil to last 2,000 miles before I can get home and change it again. Well within the recommended interval, but lots of guys change every 1,000 miles.
As far as the air filter, however, I'm sure it is the original foam filter. It's fine to clean and re-oil these, but at 15 years old, this one had seen it's last day as it ripped in a couple of places while I was cleaning it. I did some quick research and found that lots of the thumpertalk.com (one of the really exceptional forums that I frequent) guys like the Twin Air brand replacement filter elements. So a quick check on Amazon and I found they on Amazon prime, I ordered on last night, and believe it or not, it was delivered TODAY! I love Amazon prime! This one did not come pre-oiled, so a few sprays with the FAB-1 filter oil, and a careful stretch around the filter cage and I was back in the air filtration business (you can see in the photos below that the filter is NOT installed....had the side cover off and was doing my test packing before the filter was delivered.)
So what did my test packing reveal? Well, basically......I can't bring as much crap as I thought that I could. In the first photo below, I have the Wolfman dry duffel stacked on top of my top box, because it was just too full to put on the seat and still have anywhere to sit. But with 24 pounds of crap (yes, I weighed it) that high, on top of an already somewhat heavy top box, it's just too much weight for the rack, and too high for my center of gravity. Something had to give. Time for plan B.
Plan B - Unpack some of the really unnecessary stuff. By getting rid of some extra shirts, hiking boots, and a USB battery charger (this is redundant, as I have charging capabilities, a laptop, and a spare phone battery still packed), I was able to cut the weight of the pack from 24 pounds to 14 pounds, and also made it thin enough to pack in front of my top box. This will be less weight, put it down lower and over the seat instead of the rack, and also provide me with a makeshift backrest. The other way just was NOT going to work. Picture 2 is how the bike will look when I roll out of Elgin.
The only items still left on my list are to lube my chain (which I'll do every evening) and on Monday the anti-vibration inserts that I bought should arrive. These install in the ends of the handlebars and REALLY cut down on handlebar vibration. They're designed by the guy that invented similar items for use in helicopter controls. Lots of bikers SWEAR by them. The bar vibration on the bike isn't bad, but the last time I did a lot of highway miles, my hands were tingling when I got done. Every advantage that I can take for this long trip will be explored. I keep going over in my head what I've missed, and the reality of it is, I can't think of ONE thing that I expect to go wrong or that I've overlooked. I believe the bike is up to the task. Anything COULD happen....the damn thing could break down at the end of my street when I leave, but I don't have any nagging feeling like, "I really should have looked at THIS before I go". I feel pretty good about how the bike it set up.
Picture 1 - Not gonna' happen:
Picture 2 - This'll work:
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