interstate riding

[quasi]

I don't know how people do it. every time I ride the interstate, afterwards I feel like I've been in a fight and lost! hopped on the interstate at Waynesburg Pa today and run home to Morgantown WV. 30 miles of highway, wore me out.

[tnhoover]

I love to ride the interstate unless it's bumper to bumper. Move to left and open the throttle. Nothing like it!!!

[MisterP]

I used to avoid highways due to vibration and head buffeting. The combination of Doc Humphrey's vibration damper and a F4 tall and wide windshield made the difference for me. I just did 2800 miles to SpyderFest and back.

[jmatera]

I have an RS and feel the some way but I do find that is I lean forward and lower my head a little it helps. I guess it works because the RS rider position is more like a sport bike than a cruiser like the RT. Feels great to open that throttle but I still feel like I take a beating on the highway.

[Mazo EMS2]

I avoid the big road on the Spyder simply because I like to look around and enjoy the scenery, and I don't like to feel "pushed". If I gotta make time, I'll take it, otherwise I prefer the other highways or county roads

[SpyderCruiser]

I used to avoid highways due to vibration and head buffeting. The combination of Doc Humphrey's vibration damper and a F4 tall and wide windshield made the difference for me. I just did 2800 miles to SpyderFest and back.

I have the same setup on my Spyder. How many Miles do you ride in one day? Trying to decide if Meg and I should drive straight through or Stop at a motel on the way to Valcourt.

[Y Rider]

Have you had a laser alignment? It made a big difference on my 2011 RTL running highway speeds. It used to dart around on me and after an hour or so of that I would be ready to pull over to rest. nojoke

[SpyderAnn01]

I love the interstate highways but I may be spoiled because they are pretty nice in the west, unlike some of the highways in the east. On our trip home from Spyderfest, via North Carolina we had to ride the last 1000 miles at 60 mph because Joe's fuel pump was acting up. That did make me a bit crazy as I usually like to set the cruise around 80 mph. I did manage to get 45 mpg while towing my loaded trailer but I'd rather have made it home a day earlier.

[jaybird1]

I don't know how people do it. every time I ride the interstate, afterwards I feel like I've been in a fight and lost! hopped on the interstate at Waynesburg Pa today and run home to Morgantown WV. 30 miles of highway, wore me out.

I drive a total of 75 miles on interstate going to and from work. I leave earlier than rush hour in the morning and try to leave a little before shift change in the evening. I actually enjoy it, I try to stay in the center lane to have an escape route.

[Chupaca]

Not fond of the interstates but use them when time is an issue. We ryde hundreds of miles a day and don't feel worse for wear but if your not relaxed on those road the stress factor will wear you down...:lecturef_smilie:

[Bam Bam and Pebbles]

I would rather ride the Interstates myself. There is some nice scenery on some of them, and I don't have to worry about crossroads, driveways, traffic lights, dogs, and gravel or tree limbs in the road. Either way you have to worry about idiots on the road with you, so I will take the quicker way all the time. All depends on your comfort level.

[RSedle]

Just did the trip from Clarksburg to Erie last month on the 15 RTS Not bad 500 Mi just a little cold at night. It is a much more comfortable ride then the 13 FJR or the 99 Honda Goldwing ever were on that stretch of interstate 79:thumbup:

[JayBros]

Interstates serve one purpose for me, to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Otherwise I prefer backroads or older U.S. highways.

[quasi]

Have you had a laser alignment? It made a big difference on my 2011 RTL running highway speeds. It used to dart around on me and after an hour or so of that I would be ready to pull over to rest. nojoke

yeah, had it aligned back in dec 2015 right after I bought it. made a difference but not sure it was aligned as well as it could be. probably could stand to be checked. who knows. according to the gauge I have the air pressures are good. going to search for a good quality digital gauge and try it. I do get a lot of buffeting so I might order a set of the deflectors that attach to the ones just behind the windshield and see what happens. i installed the oversize windshield with vents last year. bike is supposed to have Rons sway bar, although the nylon links haven't been swapped out for the billet ones. I do tend to ride in one side of the lane or the other instead of the center. maybe that's the problem. roads around here are junk so it's hard to tell.

[Bob Denman]

:D Interstates are great for getting somewhere quickly...
But if I'm not in a hurry to be someplace: the secondary roads are where the best riding is gonna take place! :yes:

[Brentc]

I don't know how people do it. every time I ride the interstate, afterwards I feel like I've been in a fight and lost! hopped on the interstate at Waynesburg Pa today and run home to Morgantown WV. 30 miles of highway, wore me out.

What is it about expressway that's beating you up? Traffic, weather, bike handling?

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Some folks don't like the monotony of an unchanging landscape... :shocked:
Others don't like the wind buffeting from the Big-Rigs...

Which one is it; that gets to you? :dontknow:

[quasi]

big rigs for the most part. I get around them as fast as possible. they're thick as bugs on a bumper around here. scenery around here is about the same, either straight up or straight down! :)

[Jheck]

My first cross crountry trip from Connecticut to Wyoming, Colorado, and back in 1977 on a Yamaha SX 650 was all on interstates. When i got home about all I could remember was Buffalo somewhere in Kansas. My second trip out there in 1979 was done on a 1979 Vespa P200E. 3 and 1/2 weeks roughly 6000 miles round trip, all secondary highways and back roads. Lots and lots of memories! Meet lots of people that couldn't believe I was doing this on a scooter. Lots of home cooked meals, slept in back yards, guest rooms, and hay fields, campgrounds. Trip of a life time! Now i only take Interstates if i have to or am in a hurry. Remember those days before GPS. When everyone knew how to read a map. More convenient now, but seemed to have a lot more fun when we were lost half the time.

[Bob Denman]

big rigs for the most part. I get around them as fast as possible. they're thick as bugs on a bumper around here. scenery around here is about the same, either straight up or straight down! :)

Try to set your speed so that you're not catching them, and they're not catching you! :thumbup:

[JayBros]

I don't mind the wind buffeting my upper torso on the interstates. Yes, over time it adds to the fatigue of a long day on the Spyder but with the light touch on the bars, laser alignment and Ron bar it tracks true and I'm not fighting the handling of the machine. I believe physical conditioning is one of the keys to keeping fresh on long riding days. Like quasi, I get past the semis as fast as possible but that's just basic motorcycle safety.

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Stay away from them; as best you can! :2thumbs:

[Pirate looks at --]

For me the interstates are the easiest riding we do. As Spyder Ann said we have some fine highways out in the west, very little traffic and multi lane much of the time. Really allows me to relax. We just completed an Iron Butt, all on State Freeways and Interstates and we were more pumped than tired at the end of 19 hours. Try to relax, remember every is going the same direction, nad keep an eye on your mirrors.

[Tango]

Interstates serve one purpose for me, to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Otherwise I prefer backroads or older U.S. highways.


That's how we feel also. :thumbup: Tom :spyder:

[AY4B]

I love my California scientific extra wide, tall windshield. Ever since I got it, the wind buffeting is not an issue.

[MisterP]

I have the same setup on my Spyder. How many Miles do you ride in one day? Trying to decide if Meg and I should drive straight through or Stop at a motel on the way to Valcourt.

I have a bad back with nerve damage. I find 400-450 miles per day with a few minute stop about every hour works best for me. My Ultimate seat helped some, but it is what it is. When I went to SpyderFest from south Florida I first went to Baton Rouge and spent a few days with a friend. I was prepared to go home if I didn't feel I could do the trip.

[ruralgirl]

I won't touch an interstate these days, even in my pickup truck. EVER. I used to love the freeways; even made money hauling horses when I was a college student, but now, everything east of the Mississippi is bumper-to-bumper, even at night. The ratio of semis to cars is higher than ever, the number of drivers holding a damned cell phone to their skulls is unbelievable, and when there's an accident, you're suddenly trapped with no way out for who knows how long. I'd rather hook a team of Belgians to a covered wagon and plod down dirt roads than set tire on today's multiple-laners. (But, luckily, now I can do it on my Spyder instead ... minus the covered wagon.)

[ES44AC]

Interstates are my least favorite mode of travel on any motorcycle. If the traffic is moderate it's ok, but if it's bumper to bumper I hit the back roads. Work Zones are very dangerous for us, because people aren't paying attention very well.

I do interstate travel very often because of the ease of getting from place to place. I40,I77,421 and 52 are around my general area.