Northern IL/Southern WI riders??

paper · Sep 6, 2010

Anyone?? Bueller?? Bueller?? Bueller??

I'm in the Beloit area and wander to the SW corner of WI on a regular basis, for curvey roads, great scenery, and the next favorite breakfast location..

Anybody else??:don'tknow:

Red Wazp · Sep 6, 2010

Well if I was closer I'd ride southwestern Wi anytime. I was back there last fall on a rented wing with some FJR boys. Those alphabet roads make for some mighty fine riding.

I did see a few of these 1 HP jobs too.

This was early Sunday morning along the Mississippi at a brisk pace.

Hope you find some riding friends.

paper · Sep 6, 2010

Amish road apples... They're a hazzard when riding on Sunday mornings..

And yeah, the alphabet roads are the way to go.. Not a lot of traffic (if any), seldom patrolled, and well...

If I must..

Anyway, I've got a lot of riding friends, but was hoping to make a few FZ6 riding friends, too.

Yamma~Tiger · Dec 12, 2010

Whats up Man?... I live on the west side of Madison.

paper · Dec 12, 2010

Yamma~Tiger said:
Whats up Man?... I live on the west side of Madison.

You don't reply until right before the first blizzard of the season??

Anyway, welcome to the site and it's nice to have someone local on here, rather than the normal Cali-Euro-Oz group. :thumbup: (don't worry, they never come in here because they don't want to read about snow)

The closest I'm getting to riding my FZ6 is the fact that I'm bringing it in the house to change out handlebars and do some other work to it during the winter.

WIyamirider · Dec 12, 2010

So much for the "blizzard", at least over by me.:thumbdown: Guess the snowmobile will have until next weekend.

I live in the Waukesha area, but I work down in Janesville. I'm always up for a short road trip to find some good riding roads.

And yes, alphabet roads are usually a good bet for some decent riding. County Road D is one right by me that I frequent quite a bit. There's a couple of good ones that I know of in the Waukesha/North Prairie/Eagle area. One of the things I really want to do this summer is get out and do a lot more road exploring.

paper · Dec 12, 2010

Welcome to you, too!! :welcome:

Having ridden southern Wisconsin for (I'm old) 25+ years, all I can say is that when you ride to Janesville, you're still 45 minutes from the real riding in Wisconsin. :thumbup:

Basically, once West of Monroe, pick a NorthWesterly direction and have a blast!! From there to LaCrosse, any country road in between there is going to have cool scenery and fantastic curves!! Wander into the LaCrosse area and then enjoy the ride back down the river, on either side, before wandering back east to home.

It's a day ride you won't forget..:thumbup:

WIyamirider · Dec 12, 2010

Thanks! I've been gleaning info from the site since May when I got my FZ6, but I've just never posted before. I only have about 5 years/20k miles under my belt, so I have a lot more roads to explore.

I've heard that the backroads trip up to LaCrosse is a good ride, even from cagers. I've been to LaCrosse before, but never with the bike. I'll definitely put it on the road trip list for next season.

paper · Dec 12, 2010

Don't forget to hit the Mindoro Cut, just northeast of LaCrosse and a ride through Wildcat Mountain..

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHA2xe26QB0]YouTube - Mindoro Cut[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8BA8HQlZTY]YouTube - Wildcat Mtn.[/ame]

Yamma~Tiger · Dec 14, 2010

I never realized that Wisconsin had so many miles beautiful roads.... But then again Im only 21.... cant wait for spring...

DefyInertia · Dec 14, 2010

I used to camp at Blue Mound and ride the ABC stuff with a friend that lives in Madison.

:thumbup:

Yamma~Tiger · Dec 14, 2010

paper said:
You don't reply until right before the first blizzard of the season??

Anyway, welcome to the site and it's nice to have someone local on here, rather than the normal Cali-Euro-Oz group. :thumbup: (don't worry, they never come in here because they don't want to read about snow)

The closest I'm getting to riding my FZ6 is the fact that I'm bringing it in the house to change out handlebars and do some other work to it during the winter.

Do you have any pics of your bike.....

paper · Dec 15, 2010

Yamma~Tiger said:
Do you have any pics of your bike.....

Click my "garage" below my name and avatar. :thumbup:

And here's a pic of it's first trip last year, up to a Moto Guzzi Rally in Minnesota.

I'm not a fan of the top box, but when I need the storage, it's a pretty nice thing to have. I found the bike used, over north of West Bend.

Yamma~Tiger · Dec 19, 2010

beautiful.... We have the same bike, except mine is red.... just ordered the DR403 belly pan with mounting hardware for $80 on ebay. cant wait to get it painted and on the bike. Is that the stock seat you have? How do u still put up with it... looks like you do quite a bit of riding... at least a lot more than me. I bought my bike in Appleton and had to ride it to Madison. My rear end was NOT happy when I got home.

paper · Dec 19, 2010

Yeah, that's the stocker seat. For me, it's not bad, but not great. I'm shopping my options right now, and chances are I'll have the seat done for me by Russell or Sargent.

I don't like the seat if I'm wearing just jeans, but I actually don't find it that bad if I'm wearing real riding gear. My regular riding pants are Aerostich Darien Jeans, and for some reason they increase comfort when doing long rides.

I know how you feel about the seat.. The stock seat on my KLR650 was AWFUL and the first ride over 20 minutes had me looking for a replacement.

A lot of what's comfortable is related to your riding style, position, and body shape. I'm 6' tall, but have a long torso and "regular" length legs. One of my friends still has the stock seat on his KLR and is comfortable with it.. So, what's torture for one guy can be just fine for the next.

As far as the amount of riding, I average 15,000 or so miles a year between the bikes. I travel for work almost weekly, so the bikes sit until the weekends. I wish I could use a bike for my work, but I'm typically hauling a big suitcase, 60#'s of tools, and a 120v Tig welding set up.. Barely enough room in my car for all the crap, let alone on a bike.

Yamma~Tiger · Dec 19, 2010

Riding pants huh? never t've been looking at the Top saddelery seat. but at $450... Idk. maybe I could find a used one. I've herd good things about sargent too.

paper · Dec 19, 2010

Yamma~Tiger said:
Riding pants huh? never t've been looking at the Top saddelery seat. but at $450... Idk. maybe I could find a used one. I've herd good things about sargent too.

By riding pants, I mean protective gear. I'm not going to get on a gear soapbox, but it's gear that's made to protect you in case of a fall. The Aerostich stuff is made in Duluth, protects you from a fall, and doubles as rain gear since it's Goretex..

Anyway, I never heard of Top Saddlery until I got on this forum. I'm sure it's better than stock, but to get real comfort I'd suggest you look into seat makers that make a seat to fit you. Russell, Mayer, and others actually build a seat on your seat pan to fit you. They'll take your measurements, photos of you in different positions, and build a seat that you can ride all day long in comfort.

When you have a comfortable seat, you can think about the ride, rather than your butt. :thumbup:

Corbin's a big player, too.. They have AWFUL customer service and the seat quality is lacking, while the price isn't.. They're as expensive as Sargent, uncomfortable, hard, and if you have an issue with the seat, just pull your wallet out because it's going to cost you.. I was burnt by them once and I know others who have been burnt too.. I'd rather be uncomfortable than give them a dime..

One other thing to think about is the fact that a local upholstry place in Madison can cut in new foam on your factory seat for less than $100.. Check around at some of the shops and see if they're interested in the work. Seat recovering is very easy, since the cover's just stapled onto the plastic. Trimming out foam and replacing it with better quality and supporting foam only requires gluing it in and trimming it with an electric knife before tossing the cover on and stapling it back into place.

Yamma~Tiger · Dec 19, 2010

paper said:
By riding pants, I mean protective gear. I'm not going to get on a gear soapbox, but it's gear that's made to protect you in case of a fall. The Aerostich stuff is made in Duluth, protects you from a fall, and doubles as rain gear since it's Goretex..

Anyway, I never heard of Top Saddlery until I got on this forum. I'm sure it's better than stock, but to get real comfort I'd suggest you look into seat makers that make a seat to fit you. Russell, Mayer, and others actually build a seat on your seat pan to fit you. They'll take your measurements, photos of you in different positions, and build a seat that you can ride all day long in comfort.

When you have a comfortable seat, you can think about the ride, rather than your butt. :thumbup:

Corbin's a big player, too.. They have AWFUL customer service and the seat quality is lacking, while the price isn't.. They're as expensive as Sargent, uncomfortable, hard, and if you have an issue with the seat, just pull your wallet out because it's going to cost you.. I was burnt by them once and I know others who have been burnt too.. I'd rather be uncomfortable than give them a dime..

One other thing to think about is the fact that a local upholstry place in Madison can cut in new foam on your factory seat for less than $100.. Check around at some of the shops and see if they're interested in the work. Seat recovering is very easy, since the cover's just stapled onto the plastic. Trimming out foam and replacing it with better quality and supporting foam only requires gluing it in and trimming it with an electric knife before tossing the cover on and stapling it back into place.

Thanks man. I know the importance of riding gear. I hav everything except riding pants. But I'm gonna try and get my hands on a pair. As for the seat I'm either gonna go with Sargent, unless I can Find a used T.S. for cheap. The seat dosent bother me that much because I usually ride to school which is 30 minutes from where I live everyday, but I'm really looking to get into the touring scene next season.

paper · Dec 20, 2010

Yamma~Tiger said:
I'm really looking to get into the touring scene next season.

Part of it will just be basically breaking in your rear end for longer times in the saddle. My first couple longer rides of the season aren't the most comfortable no matter what bike I'm on.. By late May, I'm feeling much better, though.

Again, I'm not trying to be preachy on the riding gear thing.. Wear what you're comfortable with. I ride to the post office, 5 blocks from me, typically without any protective gear. I know I shouldn't, but it's a 2 minute ride at 25mph and no traffic.

Check out NewEnough.com for discounted gear. If you see something you like, let me know. I've got a 10% off coupon I can email to you.:thumbup:

paper · Mar 13, 2011

Ok.. Temps are almost there..
Now we just need a couple good days of rain to get the salt off the roads AND keep them from dumping salt brine on the bridges.. :spank:

I'm being patient, but I'm getting the itch, BAD!!

Northern IL/Southern WI riders??

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