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Fear & Loathing in Austin, TX

12K views 43 replies 21 participants last post by  DNFDOUG 
#1 · (Edited)
Just got back from my 2000 mile trek to Austin, TX and back from Nashville, TN. As the title suggests, I encountered one of the most harrowing rides of my life.

On the way back from Austin, we stopped just south of Dallas on Sunday night after the MotoGP. The following morning we rode under cloud cover for a couple of hours until the sky dropped out. We found ourselves in the middle of a massive thunderstorm with 30-40 mph winds. We were on the open plains and there was not an exit or bridge to be found for miles. The temperature dipped down to 40 degrees, so our wet hands began to freeze up. Just when hypothermia set in, the sky unloaded with marble size sleet coming down in sheets. At this point it was totally unsafe to pull over. We had to ride in flooding conditions at a slow pace until we could find an exit to pull over a couple of miles down the road. I have ridden in tornado conditions, but this had to be the worst. We were not prepared for cold weather in addition to rain. My only concern was keeping my wife's spirits up as she was trying to hold on for dear life. We reached a motel 10 miles down the road. We were shivering so hard the lady at check-in was totally scared of us. Four hours later and dry gear, we followed the cold storm for two days until we arrived home. Lesson learned, never leave home without waterproof, winter gloves.

The good news:

My bike performed flawlessly. The MRA Touring Screen made the 2000 mile adventure a breeze. The Zeta handguards were a lifesaver on the open road doing 70 - 80 mph. Texas backroad highways have a posed 70 mph speed. Sweet. The interstates are 75 and one toll road was 80 mph posted. The Seat Concepts seat was good for about two hours until it started working me over. I consistently made 120 miles a tank before my reserve came on in standard mode. The Michelin Pilot Road 4's show very little wear after 2000 miles, handled fabulous through the Ozarks, and saved my ass in the torrential downpour as they did on my wife's R6S Yamaha. I set the GPR stabilizer on 7 clicks on the road, and the bike tracked like it was on rails. My cheap FZ6 knockoff rubber footpegs kept the vibration to a minimum through my feet. Lastly, my waterproof technique that I shared on another post on the cager Garmin worked like a champ. If it made it though that storm, it will make it anywhere. It saved my ass many times

The Circuit of the America's facility was fantastic. I spotted an Orange FZ-09 in the Geico motorcycle parking with the factory windscreen and factory radiator guards. On the way home as I was refueling at a gas station, a guy from Wichita, KS on a Graphite FZ-09, VIN number 5, pulled up beside me. His name was Brian, and he could not believe all of the mods that I have done to my bike. I told him that we would love to have him on our forum, that we have all benefitted from each other observations, and have found ways to make our bikes unbelievable.

The bad news.

In my quest to pack light, I left out some essential items. I should have ridden in my one piece suit and brought better rain and cold weather gear. My new rain suit arrived at the house one day after I left for the trip. I always carry a fleece lined sweatshirt and rain gloves, but gave the gloves to my wife as she was suffering immensely, and I left the sweatshirt at home. When I replaced my levers with the Mad Hornets and replaced my lines with steel and pads with HH compound, I did not file off my brake light trigger. I thought the light was working from a garage test but on the road the brake lever travel was not enough to trigger the light. Fortunately, with Sena SMH10 communicators, I confirmed it with my wife, so I had to use the back brake to alert motorists that I was braking. I solved that problem as soon as I got home. Thanks to triplethreat for that tidbit of information.

In summary, the FZ-09 can be made into and adventure bike with a minimal amount of effort. The only thing that I would change would be to go to a plusher seat option. I can swap out the windscreen for a more aggressive one for daily use to return the bike to a naked standard. I plan on using this bike for many more weekend rides than I I have taken on my previous motorcycles. I am totally pleased with my purchase and with the mods that I have done so far.

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#2 ·
Oh man. I know the storm you're talking about because it hit right when I was pulling up to the airport. Long story short I end up with canceled flights and no bags in Houston overnight.

On the other side, COTA was awesome. I'll summarize later.

Glad to hear the 09 made a good adv bike. I envy that you made the trek on 2 wheels.
 
#4 ·
Wow sounds like quite an adventure there. Awesome I bet, aside from mother nature's fury. How much higher and upright is the r6s' riding position compared the r6?
 
#5 ·
My wife will never make a haul like that again on her bike. The R6S is almost exactly like the 2005 R6, with the exception of right side up forks. Clip-on handlebars, and a plank of a seat. Luckily, she has a tight ass. I threw a Zero Gravity touring screen on her bike just prior to leaving, but it was minimal at best. When I had my CBR, we made some 4 day rides but nothing like this. My master plan was to have her sick of that bike so that she would want an FZ sooner than later, but she is a holdout for an all black bike, whatever the brand. She liked the Ducati Hypermotard until she sat on it and noticed how wide it was. She commented that we could have two FZ's for the price of the Ducati. How true. Heading in the right direction. She thought that the new Honda's looked cheap, and that the spec's of the 500 and 700 left her wanting more.
 
#6 ·
Nice write up Doug. Glad you guys had some fun and also very glad that you made it home safely...just a little worse for the wear. You two are troopers for sure.
 
#11 ·
Try some medical exam gloves to keep your hands dry in the rain... Also, Tusk makes grip heaters that work great!
 
#12 ·
I rarely get caught in cold rain. My wife is an Occupational Therapist and has boxes of medical gloves. We were in the sticks with nary a Walgreens in site. The thought did cross my mind. I will stick a few pairs in my bag for sure. I plan on getting a spare seat for road trips. I cannot cope with strapping something ugly to my bike like a sheepskin cover.
 
#18 ·
v2Bob, so the seat concepts seat is not as nice as everyone says. From reading the forums the seat concepts seat is the best currently in stock. is there a better seat in stock? I want a puig taller windscreen would work ok up to 80mps. I think it looks better than the more upright screens. I know it is not available yet but I am ready to wait. what the rear rack that mount behind the rear seat.
you seem to like upgrades so I am hoping that you might have a few ideas as to what you think might work.
Thanks Lee
lross78550
 
#23 ·
She is riding an inline four with 110 hp that is light with a razor sharp handling package. No offense, but the FZ-07 hardly fits the bill. She had no problem with my CBR954RR. She needs more motor than her current bike to keep up with us when we twist the grip, just better ergonomics.
 
#21 ·
Nice report! Got the shivers just reading it.
 
#22 ·
Sorry, but with the title of this thread, this is all I can think of...

Text Font Clip art Illustration


I have an Alaska Leather sheepskin pad that I purchased for my FZ6, but threw it on the FZ-09 and snapped a couple pics so folks could see what it looks like on the bike. (not trying to derail Doug's ride report, just as a PSA)





Sorry Mother Nature made the trip a little more challenging than you would have liked, Doug.... but it makes for a great story! Yellow Font
 
#24 ·
Just got back from my 2000 mile trek to Austin, TX and back from Nashville, TN. As the title suggests, I encountered one of the most harrowing rides of my life.

On the way back from Austin, we stopped just south of Dallas on Sunday night after the MotoGP. The following morning we rode under cloud cover for a couple of hours until the sky dropped out. We found ourselves in the middle of a massive thunderstorm with 30-40 mph winds. We were on the open plains and there was not an exit or bridge to be found for miles. The temperature dipped down to 40 degrees, so our wet hands began to freeze up. Just when hypothermia set in, the sky unloaded with marble size sleet coming down in sheets. At this point it was totally unsafe to pull over. We had to ride in flooding conditions at a slow pace until we could find an exit to pull over a couple of miles down the road. I have ridden in tornado conditions, but this had to be the worst. We were not prepared for cold weather in addition to rain. My only concern was keeping my wife's spirits up as she was trying to hold on for dear life. We reached a motel 10 miles down the road. We were shivering so hard the lady at check-in was totally scared of us. Four hours later and dry gear, we followed the cold storm for two days until we arrived home. Lesson learned, never leave home without waterproof, winter gloves.

The good news:

My bike performed flawlessly. The MRA Touring Screen made the 2000 mile adventure a breeze. The Zeta handguards were a lifesaver on the open road doing 70 - 80 mph. Texas backroad highways have a posed 70 mph speed. Sweet. The interstates are 75 and one toll road was 80 mph posted. The Seat Concepts seat was good for about two hours until it started working me over. I consistently made 120 miles a tank before my reserve came on in standard mode. The Michelin Pilot Road 4's show very little wear after 2000 miles, handled fabulous through the Ozarks, and saved my ass in the torrential downpour as they did on my wife's R6S Yamaha. I set the GPR stabilizer on 7 clicks on the road, and the bike tracked like it was on rails. My cheap FZ6 knockoff rubber footpegs kept the vibration to a minimum through my feet. Lastly, my waterproof technique that I shared on another post on the cager Garmin worked like a champ. If it made it though that storm, it will make it anywhere. It saved my ass many times

The Circuit of the America's facility was fantastic. I spotted an Orange FZ-09 in the Geico motorcycle parking with the factory windscreen and factory radiator guards. On the way home as I was refueling at a gas station, a guy from Wichita, KS on a Graphite FZ-09, VIN number 5, pulled up beside me. His name was Brian, and he could not believe all of the mods that I have done to my bike. I told him that we would love to have him on our forum, that we have all benefitted from each other observations, and have found ways to make our bikes unbelievable.

The bad news.

In my quest to pack light, I left out some essential items. I should have ridden in my one piece suit and brought better rain and cold weather gear. My new rain suit arrived at the house one day after I left for the trip. I always carry a fleece lined sweatshirt and rain gloves, but gave the gloves to my wife as she was suffering immensely, and I left the sweatshirt at home. When I replaced my levers with the Mad Hornets and replaced my lines with steel and pads with HH compound, I did not file off my brake light trigger. I thought the light was working from a garage test but on the road the brake lever travel was not enough to trigger the light. Fortunately, with Sena SMH10 communicators, I confirmed it with my wife, so I had to use the back brake to alert motorists that I was braking. I solved that problem as soon as I got home. Thanks to triplethreat for that tidbit of information.

In summary, the FZ-09 can be made into and adventure bike with a minimal amount of effort. The only thing that I would change would be to go to a plusher seat option. I can swap out the windscreen for a more aggressive one for daily use to return the bike to a naked standard. I plan on using this bike for many more weekend rides than I I have taken on my previous motorcycles. I am totally pleased with my purchase and with the mods that I have done so far.

View attachment 4424 View attachment 4425 View attachment 4426
Interestingly, one trick I learned from an older British biker is that if you're caught out on a bike and get cold, one good, fast, and cheap remedy is to buy a newspaper from a gas station and zip it between your jacket an shirt. Wind doesn't penetrate newspaper. It's also a great insulator.

Just a tip
 
#27 ·
I bet you he stole this from the movie "day after tomorrow"


Doug, not sure if she wants new but the 2013 ninja 1000s are all black, good power and more upright riding position. A few months ago I saw a left over going for 8k.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
 
#33 ·
Great ride report Doug. I believe most of us have had at least one trip that we felt lucky to have survived. For sure cold, windy and wet is the worst. Appreciated the reviews
of the screen, pegs and damper, as I intend to use the FZ for sport-touring. A real shame about the seat. I just dropped close to $200 for the SC seat upgrade and with a
nine hundred mile, three day weekend twisty trip coming up, i'm a bit worried that those nine hour days will have me hurting after the first day. And lastly, it's great to hear the
Pilot Road 4's worked for you. If they worked for you in Arkansas, they should be good for me.

Glad you and your honey made it back unscathed and you had a chance to see the bike boys play at the GP.
~fish
 
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