More bike stuff

I hooked up a hard-wire power connection for the GPS. This means I won't need to change batteries every day. Instead, it will run directly off the bike battery.

The bike goes to Gumby's Monday afternoon for a scheduled maintenance, general look-over and an oil/filter change. He will have as long as he needs to do the work. I know I don't like to be rushed or pressured so I like to give others all the time they need.

New mods on the bike

I put a couple new mods on the bike in prep for the trip. The first is one I've wanted for a long time...a throttle lock. This is a clamping device that holds the throttle in position so you can take your hand off and shake it out or adjust your mirror or whatever. I tried it out just going up and down my road and it works great!

The second is a luggage rack on top of my top case. This gives me one more place to put lightweight stuff. I figure it will be a good place to put my ground pad and sleeping bag (in case I can't find a motel one night.)

The bike is coming along nicely. I might replace the battery before I leave...haven't decided for sure yet. The one in there now is the original that came with the bike when it was new in March of 2007. It's a maintenance-free battery and I've never had any trouble with it. But, it is almost two years old.

I also want to have the local bike shop take a look at it and do any necessary maintenance before I leave. There's a great little shop just down the street called Gumby's. He's a really nice guy and he has tons of experience.

This is the bike I'll be taking on the journey. (You can click on the pic to see a full-size version.) It's a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic with a few additions like a Mustang touring seat, Leatherlyke saddlebags and a cheap JC Whitney top case.

I thought about taking my '83 Honda GL650 but I think the Vulcan is a bit better suited for this trip. The main reason I didn't want to take the GL650 is because of it's age. It's getting to that age where some parts are hard to find. I was afraid if I had a mechanical breakdown on the trip, I would have a hard time finding a shop willing to work on it. Many shops won't work on bikes over 20 years old.

The Vulcan has a bit more cargo room, it has a bigger gas tank and it gets slightly better gas mileage on the freeway. The Honda is great as a commuter and it rips up the twisties on the weekends but I don't think I'll be doing much ripping on this trip.

Trip Preparation

Last year when I went on my Saddlesore 1000 Iron Butt ride, I did a fair amount of trip prep and I carried quite a bit with me. Much of that was because I would be going through two wildly different weather conditions. Here in Albuquerque the weather was still rather chilly so I had to wear winter gear when we left. Once we hit Amarillo the weather had warmed up very nicely and it was time to switch to summer gear. That lasted until we got to El Paso at 10 PM when it was again time to put the winter gear back on. Boots, overalls, Biker Paws, balaclava, etc.

This trip will be much the same. Luckily, I'll have more cargo carrying capacity this time so it should be easier to stow the extra gear. However, this trip will be two weeks so I'll be carrying more to last the whole trip. Hmm. methinks I'll be doing laundry along the way.

Gulf Coast Ride

I plan to ride from Albuquerque to Key West on my Vulcan 900. I'll be leaving on Feb 22 and hope to blog here each evening before I turn in for the night. If I have time to take pics during the day, I'll try to get a couple of those posted here each day too. Hopefully I'll have high-speed internet access available.

My itinerary is posted at this other site.