2,000 miles in 2 months

[SportsterDoc]

Riding in the Spring Mountains this morning was nice.
Pleasant above 7,000 feet.
Although no wild horses to be seen at Lee Meadows.
Reset fuel stats for Extraterrestrial trip last Monday.
Averaged 34.1 MPG
Today's trip upped the average to 35.1
Today's tank was 113 miles/2.85 gallons = 39.63 MPG...relaxing trip...and no hurry to return to heat and haze in Las Vegas Valley.
Climbing from ~3K feet to 7K feet (Kyle Canyon) at a median speed of 63 MPH and back, then climbing from ~3K feet to over 8K feet (Lee Canyon) and back.
NDOT stated Mahogany Fire 98% contained and that Deer Creek Road should reopen, probably Thursday.

Purchased Ryker 7 May

 

[ARtraveler]

2000 in 2 is good mileage. Many do not hit 12K in a year. With limited riding seasons in some areas, 6K is actually pretty good.

It is good to hear from someone who rides. :bowdown: :firstplace:

 

[Navydad]

Good for you. I'm glad to see you riding and enjoying. Way too many machines wind up as nothing more than expensive butt jewelry and garage decorations. I ride about 25K a year with 10K of that on the Spyder.

 

[SportsterDoc]

My 2012 Triumph did not make the 1,000 mile a month club, but that was pre-retirement.
It spent the first few months at my SoCal shop and I was only there 4 days, every 2 weeks.

The four after the Triumph did make the 1,000 mile a month club.
The CB1100 was over 12,500 miles in 10 months.

The Ryker may not make it July and August, due to family activities and heat.

Trips to Utah (Cedar Breaks, Duck Creek, Bryce Canyon, Zion), Death Valley and central Arizona are planned for September on.

 

[Navydad]

Very nice Triumph. I like the European bikes. Put 100,000 miles on a 2004 BMW RT. Traded it for a 2014 Triumph Trophy which we put 70,000 miles on. It was a great touring machine. I now have the Moto Guzzi for my solo tourer and we use the Spyder RT for two up journeys. Pictures of grandkids and motorcycles never get oldhyea:

View attachment 182989 View attachment 182990 View attachment 182991 View attachment 182992

 

[SportsterDoc]

The 5.8 gallon tank on my V7II was great for touring and the shaft drive was very smooth.
Probably would still have it, but for fueling issues:
a. Warm starts, still needed warming up to avoid hesitation and its dry clutch did not like feathering
b. Intermittent dying at idle speed

ECU was remapped once...helped a, some.

 

[Navydad]

I removed the oxygen sensors, and the catalytic converters are gone from the exhausts. Starts great and can be ridden immediately with NONE of the surging or hesitation that was there before. I lost about two miles per gallon because the bike runs a bit richer, but still getting close to 45 MPG. According to my oil temp gauge the bike is running about 25 degrees cooler which I like as these engines run hot. I have just over 10,000 miles on it and I did the mods about 5000 miles ago. The dry clutch is a bit touchy, but I love being able to choose from a wider range of motor oils because I don't have a wet clutch to worry about. The engine oil doesn't lose viscosity or get as dirty between changes because it isn't exposed to the shearing that bikes with the engine and transmission in one unit suffer from. The six speed transmission on this bike is without a doubt the slickest shifting transmission I have had on any bike, European, Japanese, American, or Canadian. I really like the Guzzi.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Smart move on the 02 sensors.
I suspected that the heated units were the issue on mine.
I used 10W60 Motoul in the engine. It did fine at temps up to 116 F, here...and only took 2 quarts.

But, there was another problem, with the engine not idling without throttle.
Did it the first time on the top of Lee Canyon (8,000+ feet) and I thought an intake leak.
Tightened clamps on the throttle body rubber and seemed to be a cure.

Rode it 300 miles to central Arizona and the problem reoccurred going through Jerome on 89A over Mingus Mountain.
It was annoying giving rides to grandkids and having to baby the throttle.

Cleared up on the way home, so I traded it on the XT250.

Nonetheless, my praise to the hilt on the Sportster forum was not withdrawn:

http://xlforum.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2006185&page=4

Same post on WildGuzzi.com, but think log-in is necessary to read.

 

[Navydad]

I like the 20 things listed and agree with all of them. I have a riding buddy that has two Sportsters, one is set up to go fast through the twisties and it is a very nice machine with great handling. The other one is set up as a sidecar rig. He also enjoys an occasional ride on my "Italian Sportster." :thumbup: Lots of chatter about the expense of keeping a BMW, Triumph, and Guzzis on the road, but none of my European bikes were as expensive to keep on the road as my Goldwings were. Most parts were cheaper and the time it takes for repairs were much less. I enjoy doing all of my own work and I always hated working on my Wings. Too much unnecessary complexity in my opinion. We know what they say about opinions though don't we?