I got a PM from a member on this topic, and we decided that it was good for a thread, so here goes:
PhilBPizzadude2010 said:
PhilBPizzadude2010 said:Hello,
My name is Fred Thomas I was was reading the thread about a monster will full fairing. You mentioned that you rode your monster from I think San Diego to Cleveland which is pretty impressive. Back in aug 2010 I bought a 2010 696. I do mostly city driving just around town and on some back roads. I have a cousin and buddy that have touring bikes and are wanting me to take the occasional trip with them. I live in Indianapolis and they want me to take a road trip to Harrisburg PA.
Can you give me any feedback on what the Monster is like on a longer trip? Is taking a 500-600 mile trip on one of them something I would enjoy or would it be more of a hassle and an endurance test?
Any insight you could can me would be helpful and mad respect for making that long of a trip.
The pic of your set up with the sleeping bag etc was cool.
Fred
PhilBPizzadude2010 said:Hello Phil,
Thanks so much for the detailed response. I don't mind at all if you make it into a thread, I would love to hear other peoples input. I PMed you because I didn't want to hijack the other thread. The cramp buster is a great suggestion and also starting with shorter trips.
We are going to go down to Kentucky which is about a 200 mile trip which should be a good test. When I bought the bike I got whats called the "comfort" seat and it seems to be a nice seat. I rode quite a bit this winter as long as the roads were clear and get what you mean about the hands getting cold. It's usually my finger tips that get it the worst and I have a nice pair of winter riding gloves. Also should mention I'm a new rider just having started in July 2010. I've put 1700 miles on my bike so far.
Again thank you so much for taking the time and the quick answer and will look for it as a thread.
Fred
Specifically, which one do you have??That Airhawk cushion is THE ticket.
Thank you so much for that! I took several trips on my M796 this summer that were more than 600 miles in a single day. When I was first considering buying a monster, I really wanted an 1100, but the extra inch of seat height (I'm super short) and low fuel economy were my main reasons not to. You just confirmed the fuel economy on the 1100 is as big an issue as I thought. On my 796 the fuel light goes on at 125miles, and on a road trip where I'm cruising at a sane speed the fuel economy is almost 50mpg which means I can "push it" to about 170... my hard reserve is to stop as close to 150 as possible, I have a small half gallon metal tank with me in case I miscalculate. I also now carry a spare charged li-ion battery in case something goes awry.I have the M1100 and the thing I hate most is the short range. I can only get about 100-110 highway miles before I have to start looking for gas. So if I want to do a 600 mile day, that's 5 stops, each taking me 10-15 minutes, adding up to an hour or more of commute time.
When it comes to fuel range, we need to make the distinction between the 1100 and 1100EVO. Not only the EVO has a smaller tank but is also missing the dual spark engine. Dual spark improves fuel consumption and this is confirmed in the real world by "fuelly.com" where most riders achieve better mileage on the DS1100. By looking at the "fuelly" figures, I would say the difference is roughly 10%.When I was first considering buying a monster, I really wanted an 1100, but the extra inch of seat height (I'm super short) and low fuel economy were my main reasons not to. You just confirmed the fuel economy on the 1100 is as big an issue as I thought.