[Darkstang]

Just finished up a week long trip on the Wee. Complete Blue ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, Washington DC, Gore VA, Capon Valley WV, and home through Tennessee. I really got to know my wee..

Had a great time. Enjoyed the Wee except for the long super slab ride home and the terrible rain storm we rode in for 2 days. I had just installed a set of Conti RA 2's for the trip. Great handling in the dry but were a little scary in the wet.

For me this bike has taken on the role of a sport tourer with emphasis on secondary roads. Not much gravel , but we did some and it was not bad.

I have a couple issues that I have to address before my next trip. I HAVE to have a new seat! MY GOSH my butt was sore after the 500 mile one day ride! (home in one day to give more time at other destinations)

I also have to do something to stop the buffeting... Not for me on my helmet or anything like that, but around 75-80 :jawdrop: Calm days were no problem, but when the sidewinds picked up :jawdrop:. It was down right dangerous. The bike feels like it is effected way to much by wind in the handlebar front end area. Hopefully a Maddstadd will make it a little more aerodynamic.

We rode through some bad wind and rain on the Parkway and even at 25-30, the wind was so bad I actually slid sideways a few times! Should have stopped i guess.

Rainsuit?? Frog Toggs worked....for a while, and they were brand new.

So now I am shopping for a farkles, MaddStadd and new windshield, new seat, Fork brace, and a new rainsuit.


Other than the aerodynamic issues at super slap speeds and sore butt, the bike was awesome. Deffinitely in the stable to stay. Awesome back roads tourer! Oh yea.. I got 67 mpg on the Parkway and 51 on the slab doing 75mph.

 

[notacop]

Really lousy side winds won't care what wind shield you put on. The Air HAwk solved my seat problems. Good rain suits are a joy to use. I've a MOTO LINE jacket and First Gear pants that have served me well for years. They pack up small too.
I did a 1947 mile run to Oregon and back for a long weekend and had the pleasure of perfect weather and roads. Sometimes ya just get lucky!

 

[RShrimp]

Sargent Seat, Fork Brace, Madstad and GIVI shield, have all been added to my bike for those same reasons.

 

[mobile]

Sounds like a great ride. I rode my Wee on the BRP couple of weeks ago, and wind was badcoming home. Moved me around a bit, no experience with a large bike so I thought it was most likely normal.
What is a Madstad? Why a fork brace, why not a steering damper, can I please just keep it stock and slow down in strong winds?:headbang:

 

[Oldschooler]

I have made several trips from Florida to Maryland and back to see family. Have been to Deals Gap and back. I've also been down Skyline Drive (Day one was heavy heavy fog, viability 200ft!).What i did to improve seat time is I got seat beads. Yeah yeah i know..... but after you get done snickering take a look. BearRider. Every person who looks at them says "Yu sit on those hard beads?" I tell them to sit on the bike and they are surprised that they are quite comfortable. They allow you to move around so no soar spots and it keeps air flowing under your but so no monkey but or sweaty but at all!!! And they can thrown on and off in a snap.

 

[Stromin'Nroman]

Just finished up a week long trip on the Wee. Complete Blue ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, Washington DC, Gore VA, Capon Valley WV, and home through Tennessee. I really got to know my wee.

I was wondering where you've been.

If you want, you can try my homemade custom seat next time we meet up.

I think I might even have some foam left that you could use if you think that's the way to go.

The turbulence issue is trickier.

 

[tytek]

I have made several trips from Florida to Maryland and back to see family. Have been to Deals Gap and back. I've also been down Skyline Drive (Day one was heavy heavy fog, viability 200ft!).What i did to improve seat time is I got seat beads. Yeah yeah i know..... but after you get done snickering take a look. BearRider. Every person who looks at them says "Yu sit on those hard beads?" I tell them to sit on the bike and they are surprised that they are quite comfortable. They allow you to move around so no soar spots and it keeps air flowing under your but so no monkey but or sweaty but at all!!! And they can thrown on and off in a snap.

+1 on the butt beads. They look weird, but made my stock seat acceptable for longer rides (3+ hrs). And no mud butt (monkey ass) certainly helps... best mod for well under $50.

 

[ST114ME]

Wee must have passed each other. Just did 1380 this past weekend. BRP, WV 39,219,250,33 & 55. With the existance of WV I see no reason to ever go back to Deals Gap.

 

[Savvyvoter]

Homemade seat works for me.

I just returned from a ten day, two lanes only road trip from Florida to northeast Pennsylvania. I too have a homemade seat upgrade that works well for me. It is an Alaska sheepskin with some medium density, one and a half inch foam glued to the bottom. You may have to trial and error with the size of the foam a little. Just covering the whole bottom of the sheep pad won’t work. This cheap seat upgrade works fine for me on rides lasting seven or eight hours, with breaks every two hours or so. On secondary roads, this ends up being about 300 to 350 miles a day. I did do one 540 mile day which was too much for me and the seat. Back in Florida after 2500 miles. Bike ran perfect. Madstad, Rick’s fork brace, led flashing brake lights, grip puppies all helped. Ran into some rain and discovered that my Eddie Bauer “windbreaker” was actually water proof, light and multi purpose. It helps keep me warm in the mountains and looks good enough for everyday use. Pockets velcro shut so the cell phone and glasses are safe and secure and it packs very small. I keep it and an old pair of Dry Rider pants with me all the time. Also “discovered” two great campgrounds. Any one of the many state campgrounds on Strom Thurman lake on the border of Georgia and South Carolina, and another lakeside park in Clarksville Va., Occoneechee State Park.

 

[Stromin'Nroman]

Wee must have passed each other. Just did 1380 this past weekend. BRP, WV 39,219,250,33 & 55. With the existance of WV I see no reason to ever go back to Deals Gap.

Wait till they start selling WV stickers...............................

 

[ST114ME]

Wait till they start selling WV stickers...............................

I used to think VT & NH were the Jam. WV just Kicks ass. You just can't go wrong on whatever road you take. 39,250,219,220,28 & the all go for like 100+ miles of NUTS riding.

WV just Rocks

 

[Ol_Baldy]

Good Riding Experience

I did a 7-day, 2,525 mile (4,064km) run from Belleville, ON to Deals Gap, NC a couple of weeks ago on the stock seat. A majority of those miles were on I81 so I would have more time to explore the NC back roads and the BRP. I found it a bit painful to go more than an hour and a half without stopping for a rest. The stock seat is better than most but it ain't no long distance champion. :buttpirate:

Thanks to the numerous rest stops in NY, VA and NC on 81 I got my much-needed butt rests without losing too much time. BTW, Virginia has the best public rest stops along 81 - by far! :mod2_yes:

It's been said many times, on this and other forums, that a seat upgrade (aftermarket replacement or modification) is the single most important (and perhaps most expensive) improvement you can make to your bike - especially if you need to rack up considerable miles per day. [I promised myself that I would do a seat upgrade when I got back.] :thumbup1: In fact, I've already ordered Sunmate and Pudgee foam from Dynamic Systems Inc. (the inventors of memory foam - for NASA). I got the inspiration from Peter (in Singapore) over on VSRI. Future reports coming if, and when, I can get it done this year. :bom_rolleyes2:

 

[Darkstang]

I had reshaped the factory seat before we left and it helped....for awhile. I have a decent collection of foam from other projects so yesterday I made a contoured pad from medium density foam. Feels much better.got to go for a long ride before I put it on permanent though.


Interesting findings on the turbulence... I knew we would be doing some high speed slab riding so I took some duct tape and cardboard and experimented with reshaping the stroms nose, then going for a ride on the interstate. I installed the factory screen in every configuration and even drilled new holes to get it as high as possible. Duct taped all edges and openings to make screen and fairing one assembly. This stopped the most wind but made the bufeting of the bike much worse. Added airfoils, used tape to eliminate the channel that the front turn signals were in and not drastically different. Even removed the mirrors. Ended up south the screen raised as high as I could get with new holes. More wind on my arms and chest as it allows more air around the bottom of the screen. Quiter around my head though .

Basically anything I did that increased the solid frontal area of the Wee made the bike buffet more in the wind. The more I could break up the frontal area by letting wind around things, the beyer it was.

 

[superslomo]

33 over the mountains from VA is absolutely staggering... I did it by car a few years ago, and was pushing as hard as I could and still had a panel truck with a couple of locals breathing down my neck the whole way down the mountain into WVA. I went to do some bicycling down there, but the US roads are deadly for pushbiking with no shoulders and huge logging trucks.

I can't wait to get back through there on the Strom, though... it seems almost tailor-made. The county roads through the hollows are pretty stunning as well, if you have the time.