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8 State Trip on my NC

mtstorm

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Hi, everyone! I've been lurking all summer here and wanted to share about my 2015 NC700X.

I just completed a 3,395 mile, nine day, eight state, trip from Minnesota to Texas. Rode the Twisted Sisters and hit the Devil’s backbone, Hell’s road, and the Arkansas Pig Trail on the way home. I purchased it as a new old model this spring and rolled over 6k miles by the end of the trip. We rode everything from interstate, city freeways, back roads, a little off roading, and twisties.

There were seven bikes on the trip mostly baggers, one dyna glide (they didn't participate in the off roading ;) ), the man’s FJR, and my NC; so I was by far riding the littlest bike of the group. I even got to see another NC in the wild while stopping at a bar in Arkansas! My NC kept up easy with the big bikes no matter what we were riding. Thanks to my aircushion seat pad I’m not even sore!

I’m 5’3”, 125 lbs, with a 26” inseam, below are the mods I made to my NC.

  • Madstad Windshield system – It's Fantastic! I had a Givi 19” and it was horrible.
  • USA-BIKER Engine Guard (wing style) – It takes quite the beating, best $70 I spent.
  • GIVI Handguards – I’ll opt for the cheapies when I need to replace them.
  • Adjustable Lowering Links (lowered 3”) – After riding on the aircushion for the trip we are going to raise it up 1”.
  • Rox 2” Handlebar Risers – used to pullback 2”
  • Seat Concepts Seat Low - It's nicer then stock. I can ride 100 miles before I need to stop with the Seat Concepts Seat. The low doesn't feel any lower then the stock seat.
  • Large Tusk Panniers
  • Shorty Motorcycle Levers
  • Cramp Buster Throttle Assist
  • Vista Cruise Throttle Lock
  • Grip Puppy Comfort Grips
  • Phone Mount

These extras really helped on the trip:
  • Spirit Airlines Foldable Travel Tote $10 on Amazon fit the large Tusk panniers almost perfect. They are about 3” shorter than the panniers, so you can fit a tool kit and extra rain gear under them.
  • The air cushion knock off I got for $50 on amazon saved my backside. I’m really glad I found that gem for the trip!
  • Tail bag, I used as a snack pack. It made popping the seat to fuel up extra easy since it had a handle; I'll probably leave it on permanently.


I’m definitely planning on taking the NC on more long trips in the future!
 
Awesome! Some folks think these bikes are only good for commuting...But..with some mods they can be competent touring machines..

Welcome!
 
Great first post!

I'm also believer in the Madstad windscreens :)

Any chance you can give a link to the USA-BIKER engine guards?

My wife's NC700x is also lowered, but not quite enough to make her happy so I'm going to lower it a little bit more. She has a SOUPY's adjustable lowering link on the rear of her bike.

What frames did you use on which to mount the Tusk boxes?
 
Any chance you can give a link to the USA-BIKER engine guards?

Here are the crash guards. My man was skeptical of them and didn't like the U-bolt they attached with. He came around, I have dropped the NC more then any other motorcycle, all at less then 10 mph, but still far too many times usually while off road. Between the bags and the crash guard the NC never touches the ground when it goes down. They also work great for highway pegs if you have short legs.

My wife's NC700x is also lowered, but not quite enough to make her happy so I'm going to lower it a little bit more. She has a SOUPY's adjustable lowering link on the rear of her bike.

I have SOUPY's adjustable links as well, lowered to the max. The only thing that came up lowering it that much is the high beam headlights point up instead of at the road, making night time riding precarious, but I don't like riding at night so not really an issue for me.

What frames did you use on which to mount the Tusk boxes?

I used Givi PL1111 Monokey Tubular Side Case Holder and GIVI 1111KIT Fitting Kit. Tusk bags are universal, so you need to drill the holes to mount it to the kit for your motorcycle.
 
Congrats MT on the great purchase of your NC. and a hearty Welcome from north IDAHO! Good for you, 8-states and 3,400 miles, that is amazing my hat is off to you! I too went on a long ride with mine earlier this summer, back in May. I made 2600+ miles in 9 days and covered 7 states. Wa, Id, Mt, Ut, Co, Nmex, Az and back. Keep you eye out as there are several of us heading to Alaska next year. I'm headed up in June, any and all are welcome to join, meet up or tag along. :{)
 
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Oh, how do you like your Tusk boxes? I'm looking at selling my factory honda luggage and getting a pair of the Large Tusk Boxes... :{P
 
Oh, how do you like your Tusk boxes? I'm looking at selling my factory honda luggage and getting a pair of the Large Tusk Boxes... :{P

LOVE the Tusk panniers! I get a lot of WTF looks and pack mule comments, as they are huge on the bike. The mediums probably would be more in scale with the size of the bike. At 37L each I have a ridiculous amount of storage. They did shave off 4 mpg the moment I put them on and if I am on the interstate running at 85 with a strong cross wind my mpg drops to 50, they are just gigantic sails. They can take a beating though. They've landed on curbs, rocks (large & small), and gravel with only some slight scuffing.
 
Here is a pic of the load i carried when i took my 7 state trip. Talk about wind-sails, oh ya buddy! I hit some areas with severe side and head winds where i quickly found myself in 5th gear just to maintain 65mph-70mph.
3step vac hole in the rock welded jeep.jpg

When the gusts hit it would drop my speed almost 5mph. Although it was crazy at times, i'm planning on making the trip down to 3-Step Hideaway again next year for another week of riding around down there! I packed so much lighter the following trip I took to Glacier National Park, still felt the effects of the gusty winds, but not near as much haha.
gnp Galcier Campground sign and NC.jpg

Hope to see you on the road sometime. :{)
 
This is fantastic! I'm departing at the end of next week on a kind of reverse version going from Laredo up to Duluth, over the lakes and then back down through Michigan to home again. Thanks very much for posting up your supplies and what saved you. I had debated buying some small boxes to keep the side cases organized.

Any mechanical surprises or man that saved my butt kind of gear besides the seat cushion of course :)

Was the cruise control / throttle lock worth it? I have a cramp buster already.
 
All I know is that my daughter went around my truck and tried coming up on the pavement at to shallow of an angle and she went down at low speed and this is what I found out the next day... these bars don't have a brace that keeps them from bending back. She wasn't hurt and they did their job as her leg was fine and the bike was protected. That's why I bought them. Leg protection on a spill over. She only has the GIVI 22's.
Another thing you NEED to know. They are stainless steel u-bolts and a stainless cap nut. You need to lube these or else they will gall when you try to take them off and the nut won't come off and it will snap. Trust me I know! You will need to take the right side U-bolt off when you do your valve checks. Otherwise the plastic threaded plug on the engine block can't unscrew enough to remove. I now have steel u-bolts and they are lubed with anti-seize. Bought at Fastenal and the bolt length cut to correct length with a hacksaw and the nut at the right length so the threads don't get messed up. The other bike has stainless and I lubed that with anti-seize and no problems. Learned on the first bike.
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Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
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cruise control

Hey FT. I do have both the cramp buster and a throttle lock on mine though i was not able to use the throttle lock very much due to frequent elevation changes and pretty severe winds from all angles. It was more than frustrating trying to keep the bike at a reasonably constant speed. Between the constant elevation changes and the severe winds i faced, i'd lose or gain 10-15 mph! Completely annoying to me so i simply removed the throttle lock and tossed it into the Frunk to use at a later date.

Stopping more for pictures with my iPhone quickly became annoying(now i'm buying a little point-n-shoot camera that i can operate with one hand and wear around my neck).

Hydrating better/more.

Eating a big breakfast, then a lite lunch and lite supper really helped.

Invest in a head-net for bugs if they are an annoyance for you(seasonal).

Enjoy your trip FT, i am excited for you..! I am trying to head over to Yellowstone the end of next week if i can put it together. :{P
 
"I have SOUPY's adjustable links as well, lowered to the max. The only thing that came up lowering it that much is the high beam headlights point up instead of at the road, making night time riding precarious"

Hey Storm.. When you lowered the rear with Soupy's, did you lower the front as well? I built links for mine (lowered the seat approx 1.25") and then slid the front forks up through the triple clamps about the same amount. The bike still rides at it's original attitude. Handling did not take a big hit. I also had to cut down the sidestand. But it all worked out.

Congrats on the long ride and proving that the NC can handle touring.
>T
 
...

Was the cruise control / throttle lock worth it? I have a cramp buster already.

We came back from 4000 miles around the Great Lakes and had Atlas Throttle Locks installed on both of our bikes. I've got tennis elbow and honestly there is no way I could have finished the trip without the throttle lock. Personally I like the Atlas better than the GoCruise type units, but I believe its a personal preference thing. And a GoCruise2 is 1/4th the price of an Atlas so Atlas is not the economy choice. Some people swear the GoCruise type units are the best on the market. Again personal preference.

My suggestion is that it is better to have one than to not have one.
 
Hey FT. I do have both the cramp buster and a throttle lock on mine though i was not able to use the throttle lock very much due to frequent elevation changes and pretty severe winds from all angles. It was more than frustrating trying to keep the bike at a reasonably constant speed. Between the constant elevation changes and the severe winds i faced, i'd lose or gain 10-15 mph! Completely annoying to me so i simply removed the throttle lock and tossed it into the Frunk to use at a later date.

Stopping more for pictures with my iPhone quickly became annoying(now i'm buying a little point-n-shoot camera that i can operate with one hand and wear around my neck).

Hydrating better/more.

Eating a big breakfast, then a lite lunch and lite supper really helped.

Invest in a head-net for bugs if they are an annoyance for you(seasonal).

Enjoy your trip FT, i am excited for you..! I am trying to head over to Yellowstone the end of next week if i can put it together. :{P

The breakfast routine is a nice tip.

I have a point and shoot camera I'm planning to carry on a strap slung around behind me. If I stop and want to snap a photo I won't have to take my gloves off and dig out my phone to capture it. Fingers crossed it works as expected.

Sorry to hear that the throttle lock wasn't very useful, at the same time I'm glad I'm hearing that now and not 100+ dollars later.
Thanks for mentioning your experience Melensdad. I may get one after this trip.

Yosemite would be so beautiful! I hope you get to check it out. I want to do a cross country circuit sometime soon. I don't want to do it in the snow though.

My rear rack just came in so I'm excited about being able to fuel up without having to unload all the gear.

I'll be sure and make a thread about it when I'm back in a couple weeks.
 
I don't remember what the brand is of my throttle lock, but i sure like it. As i recall it was only $50, and well worth it the few times i have been able to use it. I keep it in the Frunk and easy to grab anytime! Good luck on your trip, safe travels! :{)
 
Was the cruise control / throttle lock worth it? I have a cramp buster already.

I've broken both my wrists, so I tend to baby them. I ride with a cramp buster all the time. The throttle lock was used when I covered miles and miles of flat or to give my wrist a break and drop it down. My throttle lock is not removable it is secured to my bars and I flip it on and off with my thumb. It does take a while to figure out how to set it and adjust it while riding, but once it is figured out it is useful for longer trips.
 
When you lowered the rear with Soupy's, did you lower the front as well? >T


I did not lower the front, which is why my headlights point more up then at the road for night riding. lol The bike handles really well with just the back lowered, so I didn't see a reason to adjust the front.
 
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