2018: What did you do to/with your NC700 today?

[potter0o]

Do the threads on that nut go through such that a longish bolt could be used to push the filter off?

Yes they do. I'm thinking about using a different tool to get the filter off and just use this to put it on. It seems like the metal on the top is bending so If i use it half as much hopefully I can get more life out of it. I think I have an old car filter tool that may fit...finding it will be another issue..

 

[frozenpoet]

SKYLINE DRIVE... A bit more than I bargained for, 438 miles yesterday. I should have checked the maps more carefully!

From Baltimore I picked up 70 west to Frederick and 340 south to Front Royal, 115 miles in nearly 3 hours. Route 340 has traffic lights and towns (Berryville, I think, was having a community yard sale...). We finally made the northern end of Skyline Drive about 10:30 AM. It had taken so long to get to Front Royal that I despaired of doing the complete Drive, my armchair plan.

It was a great pleasure to start on Skyline. Perfect surface, leaves not yet out on the roadside woods. The 35 mph limit was no burden; I had no particular wish to go any faster. Nearly all of the turns, except maybe a couple of tight hairpins, could be executed at 35. There were quite a few bicyclists, no impediment unless there was also oncoming traffic.

Here's just a shot along the a typical section of the Drive. Didn't need all three Givi boxes, but I wanted to check them out in anticipation of summer touring.View attachment 36022

I stopped for lunch at the Skyland area, about 42 miles down the 105-mile Drive, and a fellow rider snapped this one... pardon the "helmet hair"! View attachment 36023

An idea of the appealing views is suggested by one I snapped at one of the 75 "scenic overlooks." Not sure which one this is. View attachment 36024

It was 2:45 PM when I reached the southern terminus at Rockfish Gap... hmmm, over 200 miles from home. What do I do now? My "armchair" plan was to head west over to 340 and take it north, all the way back to Frederick, but I remembered all those traffic lights and towns and chose I-64 west to I-81 at Staunton VA. In a couple of hours I was refueling in Winchester, where I picked up Rt. 7 east to 340 at Berryville, then north to Harpers Ferry and Frederick. Home 6:45 PM. (BTW, 78 mpg at that Winchester fill-up. All that 30-35 mph riding, even in 4th gear, was great for the fuel economy.)

Beautiful weather, mid-70F I think, clear skies, no real traffic until the usual insane dash on I-70 approaching Baltimore. Nearly every trailhead parking area along Skyline Drive was filled to overflowing --- great to see so many people enjoying the woods on this gorgeous day.

Running around my stomping grounds. Front Royal is horrible for traffic lights. Yesterday I did 522 in Front royal to 211, over the mountain in Sperryville into Luray, then over the other mountain to New Market back to 81 then home.

What's the price of skyland drive now? I heard they were going to jack the rates up.

 

[werdigo]

Running around my stomping grounds. Front Royal is horrible for traffic lights. Yesterday I did 522 in Front royal to 211, over the mountain in Sperryville into Luray, then over the other mountain to New Market back to 81 then home.

What's the price of skyland drive now? I heard they were going to jack the rates up.

Think it's $20... but I followed some advice months ago to get a lifetime Senior National Park pass and, amazingly, remembered to bring it.

 

[potter0o]

Finally got off my but and did the majority of the outstanding maintenance today. Weather is supposed to be better this coming week. It's not super motivating to test out a new rear tire and rear brakes in the rain.

 

[Red Rider]

Finally got off my but and did the majority of the outstanding maintenance today. Weather is supposed to be better this coming week. It's not super motivating to test out a new rear tire and rear brakes in the rain.

View attachment 36028

I always did have a thing for white motorcycles. Wish we had that one here.

 

[Deckyon]

Wind Therepy - 04/13/2018

Well, this past Friday, April 13, I decided that after I got all my required items taken care of I would hit the road for a nice trip. I mapped out where I wanted to go on Furkot and hit the road. It turned out to be a great day, with temps that only just approached the upper 70's (I think 78 was the high). The short story was to ride to Rabbit Hash, KY and get some BBQ, then on to Aurora, IN for a drink at Great Crescent Brewery and on down to Madison, IN and a milkshake at Hinkle's and then head towards home and depending on the time stop at another microbrewery.

Well, the BBQ place isnt open for the season yet, so I got a creme soda from the General Store. Tasted a few nice beers at Great Crescent (not full pints, mind you) and headed back down the road towards Madison. Once at Hinkle's I grabbed a couple burgers (slider sized) and some fries and a milkshake. Between getting started later than I wanted to and getting stuck doing a detour due to a bridge being out in Vevay, IN, when I left Madison I decided to forgo the final brewery tasting and head towards the house via the new bridge. On the way home, I stopped at the wine store and grabbed a couple bottles for the weekend and then went to the house.

All in all, it was 211 miles over a leisurely 6 hours (including stops).

Here is the tracking from the route I rode: Wind Therapy via Spot

 

[670cc]

Started my riding week at the site that would have been Hillbilly Hangout.



The campground hosts are really nice. Thanks to Bug Dr. for recommending this place. I “cheated” and trailered my bike here, but I have a nice comfy place to stay for the week.



Today I did the required stop for lunch at Oark Cafe. As usual, the food was delicious. I also had good conversation there with a couple on a VStrom 1000, who happened to be camping in the same campground as I am.



There were some wonderful roads to and from lunch. All in all, it was a perfect motorcycling day!

 

[Rapturee]

Today I was able to get a few things done to the bike i have been wanting to do. I stopped by our local flower/plant shop and scored a nice black plastic flower pot for free. Which i cut and made into a nice rear shock protector, see pic. I also took a few minutes and raised the front of my factory seat, lets see if that rides better. I also scored a nice pair of HD highway pegs from a buddy of my sons, they were free. However after a frustrating 30 minutes of trying to make them fit(they are a little too small for the NC frame tubes) So i'll have to find a different way to mount the pegs.

 

[davidc83]

This past Friday, I was off work and rode northwest and west from my house in southern Indiana. Weather was perfect except for the 40mph wind. I heard on the news that a wood processing plant in Mitchell was on fire and since I was riding in that direction, I directed the bike towards Mitchell.


Army helicopter was dropping water onto the fire. I also saw a plane drop water onto the fire-that was amazing, sorry no pic of that one as I was still riding.
The State Police would not allow anyone to get closer-all the roads to the area was blocked a mile from the fire. Schools were closed in Mitchell on Friday due to the smoke. The smoke could be seen and smelled for dozens of miles to the northeast. I was on the north east side of Bedford Indiana (at least 10 miles away) and could smell and see the smoke. I rode mostly back country roads, staying off the 2 and 4 lane highways as much as possible.
Fun day of riding.

Saturday's ride to the last moonburger run ride was a washout; nope, nada, not going to ride in monsoon weather and cool/cold temps to get a hamburger.
Realized I could not have rode over to it anyways as I had cords showing on the Kenda 671 rear tire which had not been showing before the previous day of riding.
I have a new rear tire on order-going to try the Shinko Raven tire-at least it has treads in the middle with wear indicators...
I got 8000 miles out of the Kenda 671 which isn't bad for a <$90 tire but the center of the tire has no treads, thus no wear indicators and since I ride Interstate miles to work and numerous straight highways, the rear tires get chicken stripes quickly.

 

[Deckyon]

Damn! Exciting day in middle-Indiana. Yeah, the wind was intense, I think I have a new wear strip on the sides of the tires from having to lean into it so much. But the temps were perfect.

I didnt go to the Moonshine Run either - I just dont enjoy purposefully riding in the rain if it can be avoided. If I get stuck riding in it, so be it, but I dont want to do it on purpose.

 

[davidc83]

Yep, exciting. The picture was taken with my cheap zte Android phone and I was at least 2 miles from the fire. I was over at Rabbit Hash the weekend before and realized no Barbeque yet. This past Thursday I rode over to Markland dam on the KY side and crossed over and came back on the Indiana side. Wind was blowing harder on Thursday-multiple times I was blown across the yellow line-even leaning way over for the wind...lucky for me those roads are not well traveled during the middle of week days-almost no traffic. If I have the new rear tire on the bike by this coming Saturday, I will ride into work (have to work until noon) and then probably ride over towards Rabbit Hash again. Want to get as far away as Thunder Over Louisville as I can....

 

[Deckyon]

We are continuing our film shoot this weekend, but if I get time, I will be out on the bike as well. I still havent swapped the windshield, but want to give everything a good wash first (more than a creek). If nothing else, I will wash it and get it prepped and test out a camping config. I change that every year, usually dropping stuff off the list rather than adding.

 

[davidc83]

We are continuing our film shoot this weekend, but if I get time, I will be out on the bike as well. I still havent swapped the windshield, but want to give everything a good wash first (more than a creek). If nothing else, I will wash it and get it prepped and test out a camping config. I change that every year, usually dropping stuff off the list rather than adding.

Yep, waiting for you to get your list complete, than copying it so I can then get camping stuff LOL. Actually my boss does a lot of hiking/camping and he is going to give me a list of the items he takes..

 

[Deckyon]

That list will never be completed - it is an ever-evolving conglomeration of gear that gets picked up or left behind as time goes on. In short - good, light sleeping system, good, light tent or hammock (depending on where you are going), some kind of cookery devices. Other than that, it is all personal preference.

 

[1wiseguy2]

Yep, waiting for you to get your list complete, than copying it so I can then get camping stuff LOL. Actually my boss does a lot of hiking/camping and he is going to give me a list of the items he takes..

Careful with that. One thing I have learned through years of MC camping. People who are not MC camper tend to get different things. Especially if they car camp and day hike. Due to cats hold more. If they back pack for several days the list may be more compatible with the MC camper.
rules for MC camping for me are:
-Do I need it.
- Is it durable and will it work when I need it.
-Compact and light weight
- Tent is high quality and doesn't leak even in the worst of down pours.
-Do I really need it?

It is amazing things you think you needed don't get used. Your list will change and get rearranged but you will find that some things always go with you. I have packed up and sent things home via UPS halfway through a 30 day trip before just because I was not using them and got tired of packing them.

I have found out that modern materials while expensive are weight and space savers yet they wick moisture from your body keeping you warm or cool as the temperature fluctuates. For distance riding and now hiking I like LDComfort.com undergrad.

Goodluck

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[davidc83]

Yep, small 2 man tent, small inflatable mattress pad, sleeping bag-good to go, minimum amount of clothes. I am a light packer; even on my weeklong excursions to Florida, takes 15 minutes to pack and ready to go. Just have to go buy the tent, mattress pad, sleeping bag....

 

[Moto-Kafe]

Ha ha..........camping. I had 40 TShirts made that say "Moto-Camping: buying and using very expensive equipment in order to live like a Homeless Person."
I'm not allowed to advertise them here.........

 

[1wiseguy2]

Yep, small 2 man tent, small inflatable mattress pad, sleeping bag-good to go, minimum amount of clothes. I am a light packer; even on my weeklong excursions to Florida, takes 15 minutes to pack and ready to go. Just have to go buy the tent, mattress pad, sleeping bag....

Try steepandcheap.com
I Always used foam pad. I found a great thermarest air pad and a bag pump. Loved the bag pump and how compact the pad packs down to.

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[Olythom]

Rode to work.... Rode home.... It sounds boring but it beats the heck out of "drove to work and drove home".
>Thom

 

[Mainsail]

Rode to work.... Rode home.... It sounds boring but it beats the heck out of "drove to work and drove home".
>Thom

Same here; yesterday as well. Chilly at 0530 but nice for the ride home at 1530. Looking good for tomorrow too.