PapaC
New Member
My first long road trip with the NC. Well, actually, my first long road trip on a motorcycle 
First off, let me just say I live in a beautiful state. The scenery was fabulous. I went on a giant loop from my home town of Bonney Lake. First, north to highway 2, then east across Stevens pass to the Bavarian themed town of Leavenworth. Meandered around for a while, then ate Bratwurst, with lemonade, and explored back roads on the bike. Next it was up to Lake Wenatchee state park where I camped for the night. Quite peaceful. Dinner, coffee, then read a good book by the fire till dark. Next morning on the road at 8. Rode east, then north to Lake Chelan. Toured the lake, and had coffee in the town of Chelan. I next backtracked to Hwy 97, went south over Blewett pass. I90 a short ways to Ellensburg where I had lunch. Then south on 82 through the sage desert to Yakima. I next turned west on 12, over White pass, around the south side of Mt Rainier, then back up to home.
Ok, a few thoughts; day 2 was too much. I didn't realize it would be as much time as it ended up. Problem was, a commitment came up for last night that I had to be home for, so I ended up pushing to get home. I needed to get off the bike more, but couldn't. It could have/should have been a three day instead of two.
The NC was flawless. Just purred like a kitten the whole trip. Performance wise, a happy non-issue. I used 9.4 gallons of gas for the trip which worked out to exactly 65 mpg. I experienced moderate wind over Blewett pass, and through the Yakima valley, but had no problem with that, or semi truck wash. I carry my lightweight backpacking gear, so everything I needed fit nicely in the Givi 21 side cases, and 35L dry bag. As for me, my limit was about 150 miles before I had to get off, even if just for a short break. 100 miles, even better if I had the time. Like I said, day two I exceeded that, and I paid for it. Lesson learned. Comfort wise, the Shad seat was not bad. My main concern was my back and legs. Previously I had experienced pain in my shoulder blade area after riding. I did install eBay bar risers to see if that would help, but here's the thing; NEWSFLASH! The NC is an upright bike. If I ride it using the correct posture, keeping my arms relaxed, like I had a ten pound weight hanging off my elbows, and not try to slouch like I'm on a cruiser, it feels much better! The only issue with that is a small increase in helmet buffeting. I can see one of those clip on visors in my future for long rides. I also used a Crampbuster on the throttle grip. As for my legs, no problem there either. I'm a 30" inseam, and I came through fine, never really feeling I needed highway pegs.
Bell Star helmet with Panavision was awesome, and I wore my Joe Rocket classic 92 leather jacket, and Pheonix Ion air pants every mile, even with temps in the high 80's. As long as I was moving, I didn't overheat.
So with a few adjustments, I can't wait to do the next one. Much more to see. As all of you here know, it's a great way to see the world. Now if you're still reading this long post, your reward is a few pictures-
First stop, for a breakfast sandwich, and coffee
Bavarian village of Leavenworth
My campsite at Lk Wenatchee
Good stuff
Lake Chelan
Did I mention I like coffee?!
What every motorcyclist loves to see! This is on Chumstick Hwy between Leavenworth and Lk Wenatchee. It's approx 14 miles of sweeps, and twisties with a couple hairpins thrown in. It was so much fun I ran it twice! If your in the area, it's not to be missed.
And finally, just a few nice scenery shots. I could have taken many more, but time, or safety wouldn't allow.
First off, let me just say I live in a beautiful state. The scenery was fabulous. I went on a giant loop from my home town of Bonney Lake. First, north to highway 2, then east across Stevens pass to the Bavarian themed town of Leavenworth. Meandered around for a while, then ate Bratwurst, with lemonade, and explored back roads on the bike. Next it was up to Lake Wenatchee state park where I camped for the night. Quite peaceful. Dinner, coffee, then read a good book by the fire till dark. Next morning on the road at 8. Rode east, then north to Lake Chelan. Toured the lake, and had coffee in the town of Chelan. I next backtracked to Hwy 97, went south over Blewett pass. I90 a short ways to Ellensburg where I had lunch. Then south on 82 through the sage desert to Yakima. I next turned west on 12, over White pass, around the south side of Mt Rainier, then back up to home. Ok, a few thoughts; day 2 was too much. I didn't realize it would be as much time as it ended up. Problem was, a commitment came up for last night that I had to be home for, so I ended up pushing to get home. I needed to get off the bike more, but couldn't. It could have/should have been a three day instead of two.
The NC was flawless. Just purred like a kitten the whole trip. Performance wise, a happy non-issue. I used 9.4 gallons of gas for the trip which worked out to exactly 65 mpg. I experienced moderate wind over Blewett pass, and through the Yakima valley, but had no problem with that, or semi truck wash. I carry my lightweight backpacking gear, so everything I needed fit nicely in the Givi 21 side cases, and 35L dry bag. As for me, my limit was about 150 miles before I had to get off, even if just for a short break. 100 miles, even better if I had the time. Like I said, day two I exceeded that, and I paid for it. Lesson learned. Comfort wise, the Shad seat was not bad. My main concern was my back and legs. Previously I had experienced pain in my shoulder blade area after riding. I did install eBay bar risers to see if that would help, but here's the thing; NEWSFLASH! The NC is an upright bike. If I ride it using the correct posture, keeping my arms relaxed, like I had a ten pound weight hanging off my elbows, and not try to slouch like I'm on a cruiser, it feels much better! The only issue with that is a small increase in helmet buffeting. I can see one of those clip on visors in my future for long rides. I also used a Crampbuster on the throttle grip. As for my legs, no problem there either. I'm a 30" inseam, and I came through fine, never really feeling I needed highway pegs.
Bell Star helmet with Panavision was awesome, and I wore my Joe Rocket classic 92 leather jacket, and Pheonix Ion air pants every mile, even with temps in the high 80's. As long as I was moving, I didn't overheat.
So with a few adjustments, I can't wait to do the next one. Much more to see. As all of you here know, it's a great way to see the world. Now if you're still reading this long post, your reward is a few pictures-
First stop, for a breakfast sandwich, and coffee
Bavarian village of Leavenworth
My campsite at Lk Wenatchee
Good stuff
Lake Chelan
Did I mention I like coffee?!
What every motorcyclist loves to see! This is on Chumstick Hwy between Leavenworth and Lk Wenatchee. It's approx 14 miles of sweeps, and twisties with a couple hairpins thrown in. It was so much fun I ran it twice! If your in the area, it's not to be missed.
And finally, just a few nice scenery shots. I could have taken many more, but time, or safety wouldn't allow.
