GoldWing World
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GoldWing World
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The best laid plans …
I had plans to visit some of my list buddies on the FZ10a
discussion list at T.W.O. (two wheel only) campground outside Suches Ga. and had
taken vacation days for Friday May 10th and Monday May 13th
to enable that. This was going to be my first real "long distance" trip on the
FZ1 to see how it stacked up to my Gold Wing. I had planned on working out
logistics and packing starting on Tuesday but work unexpectedly sent me to
Austin until Thursday afternoon so I began at a deficit. Then I checked the
weather channel: rain most of the way up and ALL the way back. And not just
rain but potential hail and thunderstorms! I rethought seeing my friends, as
much as I would have liked to and decided instead to take a few days and ride
the Texas Hill country. After a few hours of packing and preparing I managed to
leave both my cell phone and my rain gear but headed out of town about 11 a.m. –
only an hour later then planned, a new record for me! Heading down Hwy 67 to 281
I made a fairly uneventful low flight to Marble Falls with a few detours and gas
stops along the way before deciding to head for Fredericksburg for German
faire. After an excellent Schnitzel with potato pancakes and red cabbage all
washed down with a too-sweet lemonade (hey the beer was out since I was riding)
I headed back to check out Texas Hwy 1 that I had passed. Turns out the road
was named that in honor of the ranch / museum of president L.B. Johnson but it
was still a decent detour and exhibited a LOT of nice facilities although it was
empty at the time. Except for the 15-25 MPH gusts of wind that I was fighting it
had been a pleasant trip so far, with temperatures in the mid to upper 80's and
lower 90's and moderate traffic. A few detours and investigative trips later I found FM 1623 which turned out to be a delightful high-speed road trip to Blanco, where I went ahead and stopped for the night at @ 400 miles so I could get an early start. I had noted a FM 1888 that cut off FM1623 and looked promising so I determined to ride back to Fredericksburg via that route the next morning. The hotel I stayed at was perhaps the worst I've ever tried – I had been contemplating that all I ever really needed from a hotel was decent air-conditioning, a place to shower, a reasonable bed and color T.V. – I forgot to add the necessary addendums of a MOLD-FREE shower stall, lack of insects (wasps) in the room, a T.V. that didn't keep showing black boxes in the middle of the weather channel report and a window air-conditioner that was quieter then the 100 MPH rushing winds I'd been experiencing all day! Oh well, the sheets were clean, there was a liquor store next door and I was treated to a free show out my window as the owners children ran back and forth playing until 9 P.M. or so. Cute kids actually, and none of them ever tried to sit on or touch my bike … My plans to start early the next day were foiled by my
desire to find a reasonable position to sleep that wouldn't cause my
surprisingly pain-free body to begin experiencing back or neck pain. I failed –
the painless and relaxed neck I went to bed with was a thing of the past, and my
aching knees which I had just started to notice toward the end of the previous
day were worse, not better. I had found the FZ1's Achilles heel: with the
saddlebags on I had no way to change my leg position and after an hour or so my
knees were stiffen and begin to ache. More on that later … as I had decided I
went back towards Fredericksburg on FM 1623 and then cut off on FM 1888 to FM /
RR 1376. I took this north back to 290 to fill up with gas and noted the
world's oldest profession being practiced at the KOA – or at least so my mind
imagined as I saw the blonde leaning into the passenger side of a car then
starting to get in and stopping, then the driver parking and getting his
suitcase out and them both going into the cabin. Perhaps just my fevered
imagination missing my wife who normally accompanies me on these trips?
Probably … but hey – it's MY story! A few minutes later and one Gatorade down I headed south on FM 1376 to Boerne, it was a nice road with little traffic, but still nothing that I felt was really "worth the trip" to the Hill country. In Boerne I decided to go on out to Kerrville since I'd never been so NW up hwy 10 I went for a boring and uneventful 20 or so miles. I ate an early lunch at the "Hill Country Café" that had the best chicken-fried steak I'd had in a while. I sat trying to remember when I'd had better and couldn't but vague memories of my grandmother's cooking SEEMED to be better … not to risk her turning over in her grave I rated this as "excellent" and "too much food" and piled back onto my bike. The temperature had gotten hotter and it was in the low
90's – still with that irritating 20 MPH gust that at times made my 80 MPH pace
seem like 100 and made me glad I'd bought some earplugs to replace the one's I'd
left with my cell phone back home. Not seeing much in Kerrville I decided to
find some local roads and went south on Hwy 16, originally hoping to enjoy 2107
– but it turned out to dead-end and not be that great a road anyway. Going
further south on 16 about ten miles north of Medina (the apple capitol of Texas)
proved a real surprise as I was treated to a stretch of road that would make any
track proud and cause even those Californians to grudgingly admit there are
curves in Texas: even if only a few miles worth! THIS was worth the trip to the
hill country. I ran it three times then stopped in Medina to sample same
(alcohol free) Cider and take a break. Heading back I decided to see what 16
did NORTH of Kerrville and headed back towards Fredericksburg where I enjoyed a
cold beer, then did some shopping for an hour or so until I was sure I was
clear-headed and then headed back east on 290 until I hit FM 1320 north which I
took towards Sandy Texas. Of 1320 I can't say TOO much, it was better then the
roads in the metroplex and with the wind behind me on one stretch I was able to
see my speedo report a 145 MPH while still accelerating (probably 139 or so
actual) but other then this refreshing lack of law enforcement and empty space
it was unsurprising. I went east on Fm 1323 from Sandy then North on 281 – I wanted to ride Lime Creek Road and FM 1431 on this trip again just to see how they had weathered the year or so since my last excursion – a few gas stops and several amusing leg stretching positions later I arrived in Marble Falls and went east on FM 1431. At one time I stated this was the best road in Texas, and for moderate sweepers that goes on for more then five miles it may still be, but traffic, housing and expansion from Austin are putting an end to that. I noted literally hundreds of for sale or sold signs and numerous developments advertising the need to hurry and get your piece of the "vanishing hill country" one parcel at a time. Out of curiosity I took FM1174 north off 1431 and found a few nice turns and one VERY impressive vista that even the developing housing complexes won't be able to destroy: this is a must see IMO – a true 'mountain vista' overlooking the beauty that is the hill country, or at least that was the hill country before it begin to be overrun with houses, concrete and SUV's … After racing back to 1431 I continue to Cedar Park – right at the city limit sign is the turn off for Lime Creek Road: Texas's answer to Deal's Gap. 9.6 miles of sport-bike fun this road was once one of the true treasures of Texas, but is now in danger of becoming a distant memory all too soon. Once again I saw sign after sign of for sale / sold and development plates: at the moment little to no construction has started, but enough traffic has occurred to already degrade the road somewhat and leave a miasma of fine gravel and dirt in many of the 10 and 15 MPH curves. I was still able to enjoy myself, especially for the first 6 or 7 miles, but the closer I got the lakefront the worse the problems. If you want to experience this road you NEED to do so within the next year or so. Otherwise you will never realize just how great it once was … I stopped for a drink and to watch the girls in bikini's leaving the lake for about 30 minutes, then headed back in full gear pushing the FZ1 a bit until I felt my right foot touch down in a tight 10 MPH right-hand curve. Quickly putting my feet in 'racing position' I began to lean off a little the rest of the way back to 1431 and never experienced that again, although I know I was getting respectable lean angles. The saddlebags were fine, and didn't seem to affect the bike's handling in any way that I could tell … I left Lime Creek Road with a feeling of nostalgia, afraid that I might not see it again. Or at least not in it's present form … Deciding to see how far I could go in one day (after already having been riding rather aggressively all day long) I took 1431 to Llano where I caught 29 over to 87 north, which I followed up to 377 to North 183 (separate from the one that passes through cedar park and Dallas … go figure) and on up to Wichita Falls arriving just in time for Mother's Day at 12:45 a.m. Sunday morning. After going to church with my mother I narrowly beat the approaching storm front back to Dallas that morning, some 131 miles in all. MY IMPRESSION OF THE FZ1 AS A TOURING BIKE:
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 | Much more fun then the Gold Wing both getting there and riding the roads. |
| Better cooling ability – I felt cooler both at slow speeds and at speed on the FZ then I ever did on my Wing, and yet in colder weather (the 60 degree storm coming home) it was not 'too' much. |
| Seat comfort. Don't laugh, I'm not kidding – the Wing has my butt tired and needing to shift around after 400 miles or so. It IS easier to stand on the pegs / maneuver around to correct this burn on the Wing, but both days at the end of the day my butt was not sore at all. That's never happened on my Wing – go figure! |
| The stereo and CB are as good as the Wing but can only be used via the headset – at times I miss that blasting radio blaring out at me rather then rattling my ears in the helmet. |
| Wind noise. Even with the earplugs it was substantial, and vastly impacted my ability to speak out on the CB radio and be understood at any kind of speed. |
| Storage. Even though I was carrying almost as much as on my Wing it was less convenient and harder to get at – I really missed that huge trunk on the wing and all those cubby-holes for tucking things away! |
| Cruise Control. The throttle lock worked well, and my hand did not get painful although it did begin to get tired, but having to adjust speed as I went up and down hills was annoying. I need to get the cruise control mounted on this rig ASAP … |
| Lubing the chain – it only happened twice during this trip but I still needed to have the can of lube with me the whole way. Need to find a smaller container. |
| Tire Life. I used up a good 1/3rd of my rear tire on this trip making it have a noticeable flat spot now. I estimate 6,000-8,000 miles max life out of the rear at this rate. The Wing was good for 10 to 12 even as heavy as it was … |
I should have towed rather then do the highway. The FZ makes a surprisingly good sport-tourer for anything up to 400 or 500 miles a day. Anything longer then that will require a few changes or adjustments as compared to the luxo-tourers such as the Wing. I think it will work for me once I get the cruise control mounted and rig some alternate feet position that doesn't impact lean angle. Until then any trips over 800 miles will necessitate borrowing my wife's Gold Wing back for a while (G) let me break down my opinion(s):
· Ergonomics: Good to excellent. With an alternative foot position this could be a 1000 mile a day bike for some. I do have the Corbin (Yamaha) after market seat and a double-bubble windscreen with SAENG stealth edging on it, and of course the FastBag adds some aerodynamic improvements on backwash but even so I rate this bike fairly high. To me it was more comfortable then my wifes old PC-800, although just a bit noisier.
· Gas Mileage: Fair to good, even fighting a headwind and speeding I averaged about 38 which is not bad IMO.
· Longevity: Unsure, the tires wear quickly and I noticed some oil-seeping that I'm going to discuss with my dealer. It was negligible and I WAS exceeding 100 MPH for quite some time at a stretch so it's conceivably not a problem and just a design flaw but we'll know soon.
Other facts:
Total miles traveled: 1450
Total time in hours (actually riding): 22
Average Speed (actually riding): 65.90 MPH
Average Gas Mileage: 38 MPG
Fastest Speed (indicated): 145 MPH
Greatest lean angle (estimated): 40 Degrees
Overall Fun Factor on 1-10 scale: 6
