Mexico And Back

My first post might as well be a good one, a few questions to follow pictures

First my goal was to leave Washington State hit mexico and back in around 3 days, i figured one day (22 hours) to get there. Same to get back and one day to ride around in central california.

Bike prepared to leave, i always carry extra gas allows me to stay on the road longer
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip011.jpg

Rosarito mexico just south of the boarder 30 miles or so, half built pier?? i dnt know what its for, its by Papas and beer
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip001.jpg

No problems on the way down took the 1/101 the whole way, a little hand and arm pump thru central coast, took a hour or so to get used to the speed of southern california again
The way back from mexico i stopped in san diego for gas and my bike wouldnt start, thought no problem, find the fuse replace whatever, my 30 amp was still good couldnt find any other fuses ( I am fairly new to this bike, came off other honda's mainly my rc51, hince the iron ass and back) panic was starting to creep into my brain, i started to think ok start from the key and work your way back, my biggest fear was a bad or fried R/R, luckly i found a really hard and burnt lump in the wire harness leaving from the the bottom of the ingition, some wires have been rubbin on the frame when i turn the bars, must have been happening for awhile(pre ownership) peeled back the layers of tape etc. and found a few wires melted together, did a quick fix and made my way north, and planned on a better fix when i stop for the night, up until this point i have only slept 4 hours.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip007.jpg
and the better fix that night in los pablos area
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip023.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip022.jpg
Finally a hot shower and bed, slept in a sleeping bag the night before, bike all tucked in
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip005.jpg
Next day i hit all the well known road 58, 48, 44 42, carmel mountain road, mountain mondanna road(which was the best)
Than rain started to dampen my heart and bones so i turned towards home, up the 101, rain on the coast turn me onto the 299/3 back to the 5 right before redding. NExt stop was the black bear cafe which i always love and one final push towards home slabbin it all the way up the 5 to stay out of the rain thats on my ass, pretty windy thru southern oregon, but I was smellin the barn so i just pushed thru and keep the throttle locked on 75-80, only stopping for quick fuel changes. In the last 30 miles my left knee was getting pretty tight, along with my right shoulder other than that feeling ok. pulled into the house a few miles short of the 3,000 miles goal, i was tempted t rde around the city til i reached it.
GPS "PROOF"
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip025.jpg
My wife loves taking pictures of me at my glory times
9 hours of sleep i look like this
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip013.jpg
After a little recovery beer
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip012.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/rc51myers/biketrip015.jpg

So thats the lastest trip, i have another one thats isnt a solo trip in july and have a few repair/ keep up things to do. I have been going thru some posts and see alot of electrical upgrade issues, is this something i should do or wait til it fails type of thing? 02 vfr non abs model.
Also which seat is better for a more up right riding position, i already have 4'' heli bars and need a little better foam?
I thing that worried me a little and i dont know if it is just cause my other bikes are a rc51, and r1 but i was suprised that i had to down shift quite often while going upgrades etc.. Maybe all the gear plus my weight which is 230 pounds, i have stock sprockets, and i like mpg over torque for this bike? if you guys have any must do upgrade suggestions it would be awesome to hear about them, again HI everyone in the northwest and VFRD, lets ride

Welcome aboard man, great intro!!

Sargent seats are a godsend on long trips! Take your VIN # to your local dealer and ask them to look up the recall history on your bike; make sure they've all been done. For the 02's, there were (4) I think. Subframe, brake proportion valve, stator, and wiring harness.

Holy iron butt, batman!

You just in search of the perfect fish tacos or best roads?

Glad you were able to make the electrical repair on the road.

I have a 5th gen, so I'm not sure how much of my electrical upgrade advice would apply, however I do travel with a voltmeter and make sure to take baseline readings with the bike off, at idle, and a couple rpms (3/5k).

A corbin came on my bike, however after riding with a sargeant, I'm a convert.

Don't forget to look into the VFRness Tightwad sells as well as the blue wire mod. But make sure you get the recall work done first that Seb pointed out to save you the hassle of redoing the installs. And definitely add a voltmeter to you list of first-mods-to-do.

I went from the stock seat to the Sargent seat and I will say it's worth the money though there is the Corbin option as well as just having your stocker customized to your iron butt (most expensive but probably best results).

For better grunt on inclines I would say change up the sprockets for better acceleration. I don't think this would effect your gas mileage too much and it is an inexpensive start. Just know that it will throw the speedometer and odometer off (which you probably all ready know).

Just out of curiosity...why are your grab handles mounted on backwards? Or was it like that when you bought it?

[image: View Post]vifferluv, on Jun 19 2009, 10:28 AM, said:

Holy iron butt, batman!

You just in search of the perfect fish tacos or best roads?

Glad you were able to make the electrical repair on the road.

I have a 5th gen, so I'm not sure how much of my electrical upgrade advice would apply, however I do travel with a voltmeter and make sure to take baseline readings with the bike off, at idle, and a couple rpms (3/5k).

A corbin came on my bike, however after riding with a sargeant, I'm a convert.


best fish tacos on the west coast are in ocean beach (san diego) main drag by the pier under the tattoo shop hop damn i loved those

[image: View Post]vanion2, on Jun 19 2009, 11:31 AM, said:

Don't forget to look into the VFRness Tightwad sells as well as the blue wire mod. But make sure you get the recall work done first that Seb pointed out to save you the hassle of redoing the installs. And definitely add a voltmeter to you list of first-mods-to-do.

I went from the stock seat to the Sargent seat and I will say it's worth the money though there is the Corbin option as well as just having your stocker customized to your iron butt (most expensive but probably best results).

For better grunt on inclines I would say change up the sprockets for better acceleration. I don't think this would effect your gas mileage too much and it is an inexpensive start. Just know that it will throw the speedometer and odometer off (which you probably all ready know).

Just out of curiosity...why are your grab handles mounted on backwards? Or was it like that when you bought it?


All the kids in my extended family (i have none) are more at easy with hanging on to them like that, puts there hands by there knees and keeps them leaning forward, but far enough back so i dont get there helmet pushed into mine, plus it makes it easier to lift it up on the center stand when loaded with gear

[image: View Post]RCJIM, on Jun 19 2009, 01:09 PM, said:

All the kids in my extended family (i have none) are more at easy with hanging on to them like that, puts there hands by there knees and keeps them leaning forward, but far enough back so i dont get there helmet pushed into mine, plus it makes it easier to lift it up on the center stand when loaded with gear
:fing02: Yet another way the VFR is so versatile. ;)

That sounds like an IRON butt, you sure you need a Corbin or Sargent? And the on the fly 'better' electrical fix looks nicer than what I do in my garage! :fing02:

Welcome, many more happy miles. :beer:

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Jun 19 2009, 07:15 PM, said:

That sounds like an IRON butt, you sure you need a Corbin or Sargent? And the on the fly 'better' electrical fix looks nicer than what I do in my garage! :fing02:

Welcome, many more happy miles. :beer:

Funny thing is that i am a master electrician by trade so i tend to have more electrical tools/ stuff in my road kit, as far as a seat i think i am just going to have my stock one re done with better foam first, and thanks for the welcome

RCJIM, You are definitely a glutton for punishment. Gotta' hand it to you, man, 3 days for that run is way over the top. I know you had big fun, despite having a sore a$$. Try to take more time on the next go; you'll enjoy it even more. 3 days for that distance is almost like a video game. Oh yeah, welcome aboard!

Thats pretty good to locate those wires on the road, amasing no intermittant trouble before hand

[image: View Post]RCJIM, on Jun 19 2009, 12:00 PM, said:

My first post might as well be a good one, a few questions to follow pictures /snip/

Cool story and great shots.
Hola from South-west Mexico, if you're ever down near Guad, PV, Manzanillo, etc. Drop me a line, we'll show you the best roads around these canyons.

-HB

Wow! That really is a marathon. I had to read the post again to compute the actual distance and time - 3 days! If you can do that on a stock seat I'm not sure that any seat will make trips like that more comfortable - my suggestion would be the occasional daily stop ;)

Great story!