First ride on Interstate

Wel glad to see you enjoyed it. One trick i learned is to keep my head as low as possible, helps with the bobblehead effect :

Haha...I had to ride 30 min home on the interstate the day I bought my first bike...suckage!

I'd say...don't try to fight the bobblehead effect--I would have one tired neck after fighting it all the way to work. But as mentioned, tucking a bit does work.

Yes, I bet I looked pretty funny. I was trying my best to hold on with the knees and dang it was hard to hold my head still. [laugh] I will try to put my head lower next time. I could'nt emagine going for hours at a time on the freeway. That would kill me. LOL

Your body will adapt a bit to the bobble head effect - your neck will actaully get stonger if you ride the highway regularly.

Also, remeber to keep relaxed, and not 'fight back' against the buffeting. Keeps your arms light, and the bike will keep ging in the right direction.

lam695 said:

Yes, I bet I looked pretty funny. I was trying my best to hold on with the knees and dang it was hard to hold my head still. [laugh] I will try to put my head lower next time. I could'nt emagine going for hours at a time on the freeway. That would kill me. LOL

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about a month or 2 after i bought my first 620, i took a ride from MN to Chicago, i think about 6-700 miles or so. I wud ride 120 miles at a time until its time to fill her up. The first stretch wasnt too bad, but not too good either. My knees locked up when i got to the ramp as i was stoopin at the light. I had no idea until i got there, and i didnt have a whole lot of time, since i had to stop :-\ ... I think i prob balanced it for couple of long seconds b4 i cud put my feet dwn.
On the second stretch i tried smthg different, put my feet on the rear pegs, leaned my chest on the tank and rested my head on a small tank bag taht i pushed all the way forward. OMG, i swear to you, i think i fell asleep for a few seconds here and there [laugh]... it was way comfy, i didnt want to stop [laugh]

My ride to work is 100k (60m), I cross a long bridge over water and, whoa if you not paying attention the wind can be scary. Tuck. Get your chest against the tank, elbows in, head up, it may take a while to get used to, but it will help with crosswind. Also, use your knees against the tank to steer. Kinda like countersteering but with your knees.

lam695 said:

Went for a ride on the Interstate for the first time on the monster today. Hell I never even got on it on the 250. It was ok, just allot of cross winds and got pushed around allot. But all in all it was fun. Got to go faster than I have before on this bike. I noticed the most annoying thing was my head felt like one of those bobble thingys. LOL Other than that it was fun. Don't plan on riding on the interstate that much but it was sure nice to let the bike show its real self. And that was fun. [laugh]

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Kind of like riding Space Mountain isn't it? [laugh]

yea, space mountain, Thats it. I was thinking what it was like. LOL

You'll get used to it and pretty soon 60-70 will seem slow, or should I say liesurely. 8)

I found tucking a bit without the fairing to be a bit turbulent at speed (I think the fairing shoots the turbulence over my helmet vs. in my chest without the fairing). I used to feel at speed (80+mph) I was going to get blown off the bike, but it's really just a little windy, and there wasn't ever an issue of flying off the bike. I think it just takes a little time to get used to.

You know that feeling of being in the ocean all day in the waves? Then you get home and go to bed and feel like you're still bobbing up and down? Sometimes I get that with the bobble-head interstate thing. It's fun.

FP

Buy a front fairing. I just installed my Darts yesterday and let me tell you, what a difference it makes. It's like day and night. Of course, most of my riding is commute on the freeway in CA at speed around 80+. If I had sat up around that speed, I would feel like my head is getting snapped back. Now, I can ride without even tucking at all. It seems to get the cold out of my hand as well. Well worth the $129 and 10mins to install!

I used to have an HJC Symax, but I now have the Nicky Hayden replica RX-7. The difference in the bobble head effect is enormous. I used to be able to tell when I was going over 70, but now I can barely tell when I'm pushing 90. Also, make sure you have the right size helmet. People tend to buy helmets a bit too big, which increases the bobble head effect.

*edit* Yeah, earplugs. [thumbsup] I never go without them, even on the street. Well, I'm also running Arrows and have a vented clutch cover.

a flyscreen (the dart one is super nice) helps, if you tuck behind it.

and if you don't already, long distance freeway riding is a lot less tiring if you wear some ear plugs. more relaxing when you're not being constantly assaulted with the roar of wind.