so last Friday - I rode to Toronto. about 500 miles. made it in 7.5 hours. my right side mirror broke off in middle of highway. must be from constant high-speed vibration for several hours.
the beginning of the trip. notice that I've installed a new top case - GIVI because of increased capacity (it's big enough to hold 2 helmets) so that I can remove my side bags for NYC purpose. makes my parking much easier as well as lane splitting
I've also installed ADVMonster light (FINALLY! but not shown in the pix though) on my right side. TCS has same light too. bright as heck!!!!!!!! It literally lit up the whole street. you may have noticed that there's X-thing on my handlebar, next to my GPS. It's a
RAM X-Grip that holds my iPhone. I installed USB charger in there as well.
Inside my left side case were clothes and shoes that I bought for my friend since we have everything in NYC that Toronto doesn't have. My right side case contained emergency kits, first aids, rain cover, and laptop. my top case contained general stuff - drinks, rain gloves, extra visor (I have 2 - clear & tinted), etc. my two bags behind me - the orange bag is waterproof and it's designed for kayaking. It contains all of clothing gears - cold gear and rain gear. The black bag was my traveling bag. It's actually not waterproof but just water-resistant so I put my clothes inside a waterproof bag. inside my tank bag are my EZ Pass, a bag of tie-down ropes, and a rag to wipe clean my visor. there's a spray inside my bag as well. in just one hour - my visor is pelted with dozens of bugs
look at my windshield from 1st pix and 2nd pix.
at Canadian border. notice that my right side mirror is gone.
the ride back home was actually brutal. I was very fatigued. although I got home in about 8.5 hours, the ride felt like 12 hours. my hands were sore and felt weird because of hours and hours of vibration. it would be nice to have at least 1000cc and most importantly... cruise control! if you look back at the first pix above - you will see a yellow O-Ring on my right handle. it's a Poor Man version of cruise control that I seldom use because it's not very safe since it's not easy to disable it. that yellow o-ring is actually for caterpillar engine. I just leave it there because it looks cool or something
I think I'll stop by at dealership either today or weekend depending on weather to test-ride BMW R1200RT. I saw a really nice one sitting on sidewalk last week. used 2012 R1200RT with 4,000 miles... $18,000 (negotiable of course). the salesperson named Rosco actually remembers me from few years ago. My friend bought a Buell Blast from him and I did the negotiating. He asked about her too.
I really hope to buy one soon because I'm going back to Toronto again in August for a wedding party. I don't think I will ride again with my bike. It was brutal enough especially at high speed and I ain't young no more. I don't think my hands can another beating.