| Author | Message | ||
     Dtaylor |
A friend and I took 8 days for a little road trip to WV/VA -- he on his 1200GSA and me on my Uly. We both kitted our bikes with TKC80s beforehand, as we were no strangers to the awesome fire roads in the Appalachians. I installed TKC80's about 1800km before the trip, as I was eager to see how they handled in general. The handled very well on pavement, albeit noisier than regular street tires. Those 1800km were mostly pavement and quite spirited, and the rear tire was a testament to that, showing at least 20% wear before the start of the trip. Day 1: Headed fairly directly to Canaan Valley, about 900km. It rained much of the way down. Arrived at 7pm, just missing a weather system that had taken down a power pole that fed our lodgings and surrounding area. We were damp, tired, and sore, and were simply happy to have beds. Power was restored that night. We stayed at the Canaan Village Inn -- highly recommended. Friendly and welcoming to grubby motorcyclists like ourselves. Lots of good food nearby and a 24 hour gas station across the street. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g58999-d24 16930-Reviews-Canaan_Village_Inn-Davis_West_Virgin ia.html Day 2: Canaan Loop Road: http://goo.gl/maps/AcPLG Fun and challenging, especially after all the rain. Lots of mud and some stream crossings. Took in the races at Elkins Raceway that night. First river crossing on the loop road. Pretty easy, although the descent to the water was quite steep. Second river crossing on the loop road. A bit deeper and swifter, especially in the middle. Day 3: Drive belt broke in the morning in the parking lot. Was about to head down the road for a pre-ride breakfast. Put it into gear, and nothing. While my brain was processing the anomaly, my buddy Gary pointed to the belt that had been squirted out the back of the bike. I had a spare belt -- the original 2008 "D" revision, which had a little under 20,000km on it. The broken belt was an "F" revision, and had maybe 20,000km on it. I've decided to give up wheelies in favour of belt life. Feeling a little vulnerable without a spare belt, I called around to local dealers, but everyone reported it would be a seven-day wait for a replacement belt. I called American Sport Bike and had one shipped to Niagara Falls, NY to pick up on my way home to Ontario.  Then a few days worth of this:  And this:  And this. Can't remember where this was, but I'd taken the windscreen off for a couple of days -- didn't want to catch it in the face while standing on the pegs. Don't ask how I know about that!  Similar stuff last year in Kentucky, but only with D616's: Post trip notes: I ran the TKC's a total of 4517km (just shy of 3000 miles). Not surprisingly, the front showed very little wear, and the rear was worn nearly to the wear bars. We were riding a fair mix of tarmac and fire roads. As the rear approached 50% wear, its grip in the dirty stuff was noticeably diminished. Mid-trip rear:  Mid-trip front:  The spare belt got me through the lion's share of the trip, and home. Three days after returning, it broke on my way to work -- I coasted into the parking lot and installed my 2nd spare belt -- a slightly chewed up belt I scored off of a wrecked 2006 Uly. The brand new belt and D616's have since been put on the bike, and I'll be ordering another belt soon, for peace of mind. Changed the engine oil and checked the primary for signs of water intrusion. It was all good! All in all, an awesome trip -- incredibly nice people, roads, hiking and rafting. It *is* good to be alive!      (Message edited by dtaylor on June 27, 2013) | ||
| Dougm |
Very nice. One of my new favorite places to visit. Though, I skipped the loop road on my Uly! D  | ||
| Reepicheep |
Those were some pretty technical descents for a big bike, nice job! I like the belts on street bikes, but if you are going to be doing a lot of that stuff, a chain conversion is probably in order... | ||
| Dtaylor |
I wish I were as close to it as you, Doug. Your picture prompted me to look up the Purple Fiddle. It's now on my list of places to stay while adventuring. Thanks! Safe journeys! |
