You won't be impressed ...

Thank you all for the words of encouragement and the advice on how to ride more and minimize the pains while maximizing the enjoyment! I'm hoping to make some events meet some folks and check out some of the farkles before I invest more! Unfortunately I have a stupid work schedule that will keep me from most unless there are any midweek events I haven't noticed yet....
- Dealing with wind and semi's advice was very good and implemented on this journey, I had looked up both following a previous ride. Unfortunately with 35 MPH gusts it still seems to suck... Windshield down is the single best solution I think, and knee out toward wind helps (also cools off your junk)...
- Gilly57 your comments regarding putting off chores to ride hits close to home! Is there a support group for wives who lose their husbands to the ST?
- I really like all the comments to the effect of not trying to impress others, I agree and I'm really just out to enjoy it and impress myself, but the IBA stuff has intrigued me and sets a benchmark for what is possible.... but the comments have really solidified my thoughts that you all are good people!

Jethro77 said:

Unfortunately I have a stupid work schedule that will keep me from most unless there are any midweek events I haven't noticed yet....

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I have a stupid work schedule as well. I'll create a mid-week RTE event in Pennsylvania (midway between us). Any excuse to ride. What days are you off?

kendoo said:

I have a stupid work schedule as well. I'll create a mid-week RTE event in Pennsylvania (midway between us). Any excuse to ride. What days are you off?

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Great plan I'm off Sunday morning at 8 am and return to work Wednesday night at 8 pm so a Monday or Tuesday RTE would be ideal!

Next time you ride and have side winds or gust that you have to fight because they are pushing you all over the place. Let your leg at the knee, sticking out in the direction that the wind is coming from. This will cause a little drag and pull the bike back in the direction of the wind. It will lesson the effects of the cross wind and you will not be blown all over your lane. It will make riding in the wind not as bad.

Paul st1300 said:

Next time you ride and have side winds or gust that you have to fight because they are pushing you all over the place. Let your leg at the knee, sticking out in the direction that the wind is coming from. This will cause a little drag and pull the bike back in the direction of the wind. It will lesson the effects of the cross wind and you will not be blown all over your lane. It will make riding in the wind not as bad.

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I agree, it helps a lot and cools off the berries a bit! This and a couple other techniques have taken riding in strong winds from being dangerous to being manageable.

You may find your body adapt and develop as you go - camping or extended runs - you are gonna love it. Like many said take note of your experience and adjust if needed. I found on the lond trips extended days, by day 3 or 4 you don't even notice it anymore

Hope you have the greatest time of it when you do go!

Hey Jethro...for me the single biggest thing that made long distances easier was a back rest. First year I owned my ST it took me 3 day to get to Colorado Springs from Chicago... about 1,100 miles. I seriously felt like I had been drug through a rat hole backwards. Some suggested a back rest to me at the local dealership Springs so bought a dufle bag and stuffed it with some chap pillows and bunged corded it to seat. Proceeded to ride for the next 2 weeks all through CO and WY and ending up home could not believe the difference it made. Today with my Backup Back rest I ride 700-800 mile days and if I could drag my *** out of bed before 8am could probably do an Iron Butt. IMHO there is nothing more important for doing big miles than being comfortable on the bike. As a side note Gold Bond Medicated powder does amazing things for keeping the neather region dry and comfortable.

Congrats. Once you start stringing a couple overnighters together there will be no turning back.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Several hours in the seat is a good day sometimes. I've never found a stock seat on ANY motorcycle that was comfortable. But I've been to rallies where folks ride the factory seat for thousands of miles. If my butt really starts to hurt. The fun is over for me. When I first got my ST I would ride it tank-to-tank. Later my wife bought a PC800 that only had a range that would make us stop about every couple hours. I resented it. Then I began to realize that it was kind of nice to take a break every now and again. It became more of an enjoy the ride event. And less of an endurance ride.
I agree with you about the windy days. I can handle cold, rain, and heat. But gusty winds coming from all directions makes for an exhausting ride. In my experience, the quieter I can keep it inside my helmet the longer I can ride. I have a very quiet helmet and wear ear plugs. If my back hurts it's pretty much due to me using poor posture. And I need to loose some weight!

I find that if I stop before I start hurting it helps a lot more than waiting for the hurt. Just stopping for 5 minutes and walking around the bike a few times makes a world of difference. One five minute break every hour does me a lot more good than one twenty minute break after 3 or four hours.

"Long" is a relative term, so enjoy any ride, no matter how long it seems to anyone else.

When I started getting into longer rides, I added an Alaska Butt Pad sheepskin seat cover, which made a substantial improvement in backside soreness. A long-distance seat mod by Spencer was another big improvement. The ST1300 lets you adjust the height and angle of the seat quite a bit, so experiment with different settings to see if that helps.

I have found that loosening the grip on my bars helps reduce sore neck and shoulders.

Like you I found the shield down was the best position. I even bought a shorter shield which helped more.

As far as cooling your junk, the best solution I found (by accident) was when I started wearing textile riding pants, which insulated those parts as well as my thighs from engine heat.

Consider all the good pointers above and enjoy your rides.

HEY as long as your riding
and I am ok with my stock seat for IBA rides but then 90% of my IBA rides are done on a ZX12R so there maybe other things wrong LOL