| Author | Message | ||
     Paochow |
I just completed a 3200 mi two-up trip out through Arizona to the California, up the coast, and then back through Central Nevada, S Utah, and New Mexico. The biggest surprise to me aside from the comfort on the bike for my wife and I was the power gains at low altitude. I usually ride about 4300ft on up, so the front wheel popping up in second coming out of a corner scared the crap out of me. Forget hammering it in first gear with a passenger and full luggage, as I had to hit the rear brake to make my wife stop smacking me. Top speed runs through the barren low desert were equally impressive, showing 122mph on the GPS (125 indicated), two up with full bags. By the time I had worked my way back to some 9000 ft passes, it felt like I had a rag stuck in the intake. You sea level guys sure have the power advantage.  Aside from the power gains, I reinforced my theory that gas mileage exponentially decreases with speed. 80-85mph netted 45 mpg, whereas constant 95mph with a strong head wind ran the tank dry in 148 mi, showing a whopping 34 mpg. (Thank god for MSR fuel bottles.) I've had similar experiences with my DRZ, so I guess those dirt bike aerodynamics come into play at speed. Comfort was excellent, my wife and I were fine even after a few 700mi+ days. I'm convince the bead rider also helped out here as 400 mi days w/o it have left me with monkey butt. A throttle rocker and vista cruise helped me relax my right arm. The Factory bags worked very well, holding all our clothes and being easy to remove at the hotel each night. They did make lane splitting in CA slightly nerve racking for my wife, but the Uly fit between the cars, although sometimes reportedly by inches. WARNING: SHAMELESS DISPLAY OF AFFECTION TO AN INANIMATE OBJECT. All in all, I'm very pleased with my orange beast. It handled temps from 45 to 105, and didn't complain about being ridden for hours on end without a break. It hauled us up mountains, through forests, and across deserts, and still brings a grin to my face after every section of twisties. Here are a few pics from the trip..            (Message edited by paochow on June 02, 2007) | ||
| Paochow |
BTW: Spotted a (slower) black Uly on highway 50 in NV on 5/31. Stuck waiting at a construction zone. Anyone on here? | ||
| Alchemy |
Paochow, Nice pictures. Must have been a great ride. Your bike looks immaculate in the pictures. It reminds me how few bugs there are in some areas of California. Did you find the Uly seat getting warm on those long rides. I guess the beads probably helped a lot now that I think about it. | ||
| Maximum |
Nice ride, but you missed out on Colorado! So many nice roads to ride, so little time. | ||
| Thunderbox |
Yes you lose 3% power for every 1000ft of elevation. No beating physics. So at 4300ft you are down about 13% or just over 13 HP. Substantial lose. | ||
| Billg |
That was probably me in NV. I started a week ago in NJ and am now in North CA. The Uly is awesome on adventure rides! Bill | ||
| Reepicheep |
Wow! Great shots! | ||
| Paochow |
That was probably me in NV. I started a week ago in NJ and am now in North CA. The Uly is awesome on adventure rides! Bill Wow those black Uly's may be slower, but they have the endurance.  | ||
| Hooliken |
I am green with the envy. Beautiful pics bro. I got to show some newby literbike riders some tail light on my mountain Friday on my "slower" (I prefer stealthy) black Uly. I stopped and a store on the backside of the mountain and they come pulling in with there sneakers and tanktops and one of them says. "I didn't think Buells were that fast!" I proceeded to explain that the bike is only one part of the equation. | ||
| M2nc |
Great story and pics. I showed Ulywife your story trying to talk into longer rides, but I still have some convincing to do. She did great in the VA/NC mountains last weekend but that was a day ride from my In-law's place for about 175 miles. You are right about the lower altitude power advantages. I found out that you can not open up the throttle on a Uly at sea-level with my daughter on the back. Lifted the front wheel going to meet the grand-parents, which of course was the first thing she told them when we got there. | ||
| Paochow |
Great story and pics. I showed Ulywife your story trying to talk into longer rides, but I still have some convincing to do. She did great in the VA/NC mountains last weekend but that was a day ride from my In-law's place for about 175 miles. My wife says that a gel backrest would be her sole request for a similar trip. Getting earplug headphones and a 12V charger for her Ipod made the long days much more enjoyable. She's not completely convinced with regard to the comfort of the beaded seat cover, but I'm sold on it for long street trips. She did take some great shots while moving no less, here are a few more...       } | ||
| Us_uly |
Looks like fun. Thanks for the pics. | ||
| Packdog |
Wow, looks like you had a beautiful trip! I know this is off topic, but what make/model is the carbon fiber helmet in the pics? | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
What was your gas mileage? | ||
| Paochow |
I know this is off topic, but what make/model is the carbon fiber helmet in the pics? Its an HJC AC-12 Carbon. Gorgeous, lightweight,comfortable helmet, that was a steal at $275 NIB off of ebay. I had an Arai Signet GT and a Shoei Hornet previously, and was surprised at how the quality of the Korean lids has almost matched the Japanese. What was your gas mileage? I didn't keep track of it over the entire trip, rather just calculated it in my head, after each stop. I usually was in the 42-48MPG range, with the exception of the mid 30's rating during high speed running and 54MPG over a slow 100+mi twisty section up the coast. |
