First LONG ride 1770 miles from Thursday-Sunday.

[Jaxfann]

I started out at 7am on Thursday, left PA (29 degrees) and headed south. Stopped for the day at 570 miles in Sweetwater, TN. Got up Friday morning, headed south via a scenic route to Ft Benning, GA (270 miles, much warmer out!). Visited with my daughter and her Army friends on Friday and Saturday, rode around Columbus and Ft Benning area, visited museums, etc. Tehn got up at 430 am Sunday and rode pretty much straight thru 840 miles home. Sundays ride was brutal, 2 straight hours of pouring rain and 41 degrees around Atlanta, then never above 50 degrees and scattered rain showers thru TN and Southern VA. Dropped into the 40's, then 30's as I headed further north, then low 30's and snow showers to home. I am still cold!
So, how'd the Ryker do? Awesome! Equipped with the Shad saddlebag, factory windscreen, handguards and heated grips it never missed a beat. I stopped every 150 miles for 5 gallons of fuel. Moving speed was almost always between 75-90 mph except thru the miserable Atlanta weather. Changed gloves 3 times, most of my clothing once, (soaked thru in a couple spots during GA run). What really helped was moving my handlebars every 150 miles to a different position and moving my foot position about every 450 miles. It shifted my body weight around to keep fatigue at bay. The only parts of my body that really wore out were my hands. I was wearing 2 pairs of gloves and I struggled to hold the throttle on near the end. My neck was a bit sore as well. I played music thru my Senna into my helmet for sanity, and I knocked down a couple of 5 hour energy shots to stay awake from VA on north. I rode like a idiot thru the snow because I just wanted it to end near home!
What would I change? For sure some kind of cruise control. Also, I should have taken my snowmobile suit to wear ( it was just so big and bulky to store!). A better pair of sunglasses. Smaller ear plugs. I wish they made a Shad bag for the left side. That's about it. I am 5'6" so the windshield was perfect. The headlights were awesome with LaMonsters LED bulbs. I never felt squirrley or out of control even at speeds approaching 100 mph. It did great in the heavy rain, occasionally crappy pavement, around a ton of 18 wheelers, etc.. It did great! Now I think I will quit riding it for a week or so.... lol!

What a great endorsement for a great machine!

 

[Zoot]

Glad to hear it was comfortable cruising at Interstate speeds...

 

[Haphazard72]

Heated handgrips? Have I missed something? Wasn’t aware there were any available

 

[MDLNB]

Heated handgrips? Have I missed something? Wasn’t aware there were any available

If the handlebars are 7/8" which is a standard size, then why wouldn't anything that fits a motorcycle fit the Ryker? They make all kinds of grips that should fit, unless I am mistaken in the Ryker handlebars being any different than any other motorcycle. I believe the standards are basically 1" and 7/8", unless again I am mistaken. I could be wrong, and it would not be the first time. I have even thought of putting different handlebars on my machine so that I can sit more upright. Perhaps something with an 8" rise to them.