novcadetshotz
Junior Member
Ladies and Gents,
I've been around for a while, but haven't really added too much of value to the forum. Time to change that! How best to do it??? Two words; RIDE REPORT!
Below is a pretty lengthy (novel style… damn) ride report / gear review from my recent trip to Deal’s Gap. It’s a long read, but I sure had fun writing it (memories!) I have many .. many .. many pictures, and I’ll work them in to the reading
.
It Begins
I just got back from a trip I’ve been dying to take for years now; I rode to the The Gap and areas surrounding, and took the long way there and back. I took one week off of work, plus a weekend on either side, and joined up with two of my Uncle’s and a family friend for a little bit of sight-seeing moto-style.
The Plan:
Disappear from the face of the Earth and “get lost” everyday on our way to Deals Gap (Blue Ridge Parkway being the only “highway” we’d ever take. )Take our time riding down that way to see the sights and experience the unspoiled roads of the Smokey’s from the Mason-Dixon on down. Hotels were a must, the guys I was traveling with have “had their fill of camping.” We wanted to enjoy our ride on The Dragon, so we planned our trip to put us there Monday / Tuesday-ish for a couple of days of mid-week riding (less traffic, less police, less overall congestion). Ride The Dragon for a couple of days and turn back North to head for home (taking our sweet time ).
View attachment 20972
Pre-Trip:
Before leaving work on Friday, I sifted through various out-of-office E-mail replies, thinking I could be witty; my favorite was: “I will be out of the office for two weeks for medical purposes; upon my return, please refer to me as ‘Margaret’ instead of ‘Ben.’ Thank you for your cooperation.” Eventually the “I feel like keeping my job” instinct kicked in and I went with something more formal… damn my need of employment, it would have been hilarious to follow through on..
To carry all of my crap, I used the following:
View attachment 20976
-Marsee 15L magnetic tank bag (I will NEVER leave home without this again .. if you don’t have it, buy it!). NewEnough.com has them for ~ $45ish.
View attachment 20974
-Axio tail bag w/ cargo net (perfect size to hold all of my rain gear. Also keeps rain gear within easy reach!)
View attachment 20973
-GIVI expandable soft bags (This trip has definitely made my mind up about getting hardbags. I will be getting a full setup, but not until my next bike [almost came home on a brand new VFR800!])
View attachment 20975
-2x 15L “Sea Line” waterproof bags (clothes were in here since my GIVI bags aren’t waterproof)
Packing List:
Everyone has their own versions of the packing lists, here’s what I took for my 7 day, couple k mile “fun-run.”
On Me:
-AGV Sport Perforated Leather Jacket
-NFORZA Leather pants
- ICON short-gloves
- Craft Rx6 helmet
- Setup Boots
-Icon Field Armor Vest
On the Bike:
-Guardian Bell (special thanks to the GF for not only remembering, but for getting one that is 100% me!)
-RAM-MOUNT GPS mount for Garmin Nuvi 350
-12v waterproof accessory socket
-Crampbuster
AXIO Tailbag:
-1 pc. Tour Master Elite II rain suit
- Tour Master Deluxe rain over boots
- Tour Master Dri-Mesh rain gloves
GIVI Softbag (left side):
-1 pair jeans
-6 pair boxer-briefs
-5 T-shirts
-1 pair flip flops
-1 baseball cap
-10 pair socks
-1 set “camp clothes” (mesh shorts, comfy lounge pants, comfy shirt, awesome comfy boxers)
-Small towel (to dry off seat in the AM)
-2 liters of water
-Random road snacks
-Copious quantities of chewing gum (I set my jaw and clench my teeth when I ride, chewing gum helps me not do that.)
GIVI Softbag (right side):
-Tire plug kit (+ slime kit .. $19.99 @ wal-mart .. get one .. it includes a compressor)
-Tool kit (10x ea. Large and small zip ties, 5x ea. large and small Ziplocs, 50ft parachute cord, multi-tool, combat knife, socket set, wrenches, needle nosed pliers, wire cutters, ~25ft red wire, ~25ft black wire, screwdriver w/ multiple heads, allen-wrench set, electrical tape, fuses, duct tape, WD-40, random assortment of screws / nuts / bolts, flashlight, lighter, first aid kit, rubber bands, 2x road flares)
-1 qt. extra oil (don’t ask..)
-Chain cleaner + chain lube
-4x shop towels (for chain)
-“Grunge Brush”
-Xena disc-lock
-Cable lock
-Elastic tie downs
-Large mesh bag (for take-home goodies!)
Marsee Tank Bag:
-small pump bottle w/ soapy water + microfiber towel (for visor cleaning)
-kickstand pad
-Spare clear visor (mirrored was default .. just something to switch to at night)
-Shooting glasses (nice to have under the helmet so I can ride with the visor up)
-Sunglasses
-Ipod
-Earplugs
-Garmin Nuvi 350
-Casio Exilim camera
-Cell phone
-Wallet
OK! So! Now we’re gassed up and ready to go! Onwards to day 1!
I've been around for a while, but haven't really added too much of value to the forum. Time to change that! How best to do it??? Two words; RIDE REPORT!
Below is a pretty lengthy (novel style… damn) ride report / gear review from my recent trip to Deal’s Gap. It’s a long read, but I sure had fun writing it (memories!) I have many .. many .. many pictures, and I’ll work them in to the reading
. It Begins
I just got back from a trip I’ve been dying to take for years now; I rode to the The Gap and areas surrounding, and took the long way there and back. I took one week off of work, plus a weekend on either side, and joined up with two of my Uncle’s and a family friend for a little bit of sight-seeing moto-style.
The Plan:
Disappear from the face of the Earth and “get lost” everyday on our way to Deals Gap (Blue Ridge Parkway being the only “highway” we’d ever take. )Take our time riding down that way to see the sights and experience the unspoiled roads of the Smokey’s from the Mason-Dixon on down. Hotels were a must, the guys I was traveling with have “had their fill of camping.” We wanted to enjoy our ride on The Dragon, so we planned our trip to put us there Monday / Tuesday-ish for a couple of days of mid-week riding (less traffic, less police, less overall congestion). Ride The Dragon for a couple of days and turn back North to head for home (taking our sweet time
). View attachment 20972
Pre-Trip:
Before leaving work on Friday, I sifted through various out-of-office E-mail replies, thinking I could be witty; my favorite was: “I will be out of the office for two weeks for medical purposes; upon my return, please refer to me as ‘Margaret’ instead of ‘Ben.’ Thank you for your cooperation.” Eventually the “I feel like keeping my job” instinct kicked in and I went with something more formal… damn my need of employment, it would have been hilarious to follow through on..
To carry all of my crap, I used the following:
View attachment 20976
-Marsee 15L magnetic tank bag (I will NEVER leave home without this again .. if you don’t have it, buy it!). NewEnough.com has them for ~ $45ish.
View attachment 20974
-Axio tail bag w/ cargo net (perfect size to hold all of my rain gear. Also keeps rain gear within easy reach!)
View attachment 20973
-GIVI expandable soft bags (This trip has definitely made my mind up about getting hardbags. I will be getting a full setup, but not until my next bike [almost came home on a brand new VFR800!])
View attachment 20975
-2x 15L “Sea Line” waterproof bags (clothes were in here since my GIVI bags aren’t waterproof)
Packing List:
Everyone has their own versions of the packing lists, here’s what I took for my 7 day, couple k mile “fun-run.”
On Me:
-AGV Sport Perforated Leather Jacket
-NFORZA Leather pants
- ICON short-gloves
- Craft Rx6 helmet
- Setup Boots
-Icon Field Armor Vest
On the Bike:
-Guardian Bell (special thanks to the GF for not only remembering, but for getting one that is 100% me!)
-RAM-MOUNT GPS mount for Garmin Nuvi 350
-12v waterproof accessory socket
-Crampbuster
AXIO Tailbag:
-1 pc. Tour Master Elite II rain suit
- Tour Master Deluxe rain over boots
- Tour Master Dri-Mesh rain gloves
GIVI Softbag (left side):
-1 pair jeans
-6 pair boxer-briefs
-5 T-shirts
-1 pair flip flops
-1 baseball cap
-10 pair socks
-1 set “camp clothes” (mesh shorts, comfy lounge pants, comfy shirt, awesome comfy boxers)
-Small towel (to dry off seat in the AM)
-2 liters of water
-Random road snacks
-Copious quantities of chewing gum (I set my jaw and clench my teeth when I ride, chewing gum helps me not do that.)
GIVI Softbag (right side):
-Tire plug kit (+ slime kit .. $19.99 @ wal-mart .. get one .. it includes a compressor)
-Tool kit (10x ea. Large and small zip ties, 5x ea. large and small Ziplocs, 50ft parachute cord, multi-tool, combat knife, socket set, wrenches, needle nosed pliers, wire cutters, ~25ft red wire, ~25ft black wire, screwdriver w/ multiple heads, allen-wrench set, electrical tape, fuses, duct tape, WD-40, random assortment of screws / nuts / bolts, flashlight, lighter, first aid kit, rubber bands, 2x road flares)
-1 qt. extra oil (don’t ask..)
-Chain cleaner + chain lube
-4x shop towels (for chain)
-“Grunge Brush”
-Xena disc-lock
-Cable lock
-Elastic tie downs
-Large mesh bag (for take-home goodies!)
Marsee Tank Bag:
-small pump bottle w/ soapy water + microfiber towel (for visor cleaning)
-kickstand pad
-Spare clear visor (mirrored was default .. just something to switch to at night)
-Shooting glasses (nice to have under the helmet so I can ride with the visor up)
-Sunglasses
-Ipod
-Earplugs
-Garmin Nuvi 350
-Casio Exilim camera
-Cell phone
-Wallet
OK! So! Now we’re gassed up and ready to go! Onwards to day 1!
