I'd be so breaking the law.
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How far can you go on an XS650?
- Thread starter jetmechmarty
- Start date
Absolutely.
Since my chest pains 6 years ago (which resulted in an emergency quadruple heart bypass operation), this is how I have approached each and every day.
I'm loath to waste one bit with any sort of useless entertainment. Don't watch much TV.
I'm frequently out on one of the bikes or hiking in the woods.
Life is precious.
.
Paleomechanic
XS650 Addict
Yep
I’ve been this way a long time …my family are refugees….I survived my first plane crash at 18, and barely survived being broadsided on XS number 3 I’ve owned
Had loaded guns pointed at me by really drunk people (life as a northern medic….)
And a host of other close calls
My day job requires a level 4 plate carrier …
So yeah , I live life like I stole it !
Besides , it’s like this …. None of us are getting out of this alive ….
I’m in my mid 50s , hope to still be running hard for a while yet
I’ve been this way a long time …my family are refugees….I survived my first plane crash at 18, and barely survived being broadsided on XS number 3 I’ve owned
Had loaded guns pointed at me by really drunk people (life as a northern medic….)
And a host of other close calls
My day job requires a level 4 plate carrier …
So yeah , I live life like I stole it !
Besides , it’s like this …. None of us are getting out of this alive ….
I’m in my mid 50s , hope to still be running hard for a while yet
I'm just now getting my wife to ride (Tour) with me after having had my Road King for 6 years. The thing that fixed it for her was adding a used Ultra Classic Tour Pak (trunk/pizza box) as it offered more comfort and security (not to mention storage). Basically bit by bit, I've made my R-K into a stripped down E-Glide. I don't need or want stereo/GPS etc.
Paleomechanic
XS650 Addict
So
More Alaska highway stuff… there’s actually two ways ( well, by road….you can always take the ferry out of Bellingham, get a cabin and get off at Haines AK.)
But i digress! So , yeah, you can do the Alaska hwy. or, take the road less traveled and go up hwy 37 ( Steward-Cassiar Hwy.)
It’s MUCH more remote, less services, and longer between reliable fuel stops ( this one, yeah , pack extra gas … I used 4 1 litre aluminum camp fuel bottles so I can move the weight low and distribute better)
One thing about the Alaska Hwy is they keep the brush cut way back from the road in most places …. That way you see the moose of bison coming ….Hwy 37? Nope , forest comes right up the chip seal … so be on your toes
I’ve traveled lots on it , a bit on a KLR, but mostly in my or my partners truck ( I ran a 1996 bronco , full size, she , an ex German army 1990’w461 G wagon. ) when we were up there , sold the Bronco but we still run the old G wagon here down south .
It’s my preferred road , harder to get to , harder to run well, but honesty, I think the views are better as you are running down the range, whereas , on the Alaska, from mile 0 at Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, about 500 miles North, you aren’t in mountains ( you can seen em off to the west though) . You don’t get into mountain riding till about mile 600 ish
Places to stay on the Alaska vary , you can boondock it, and there is the occasional motel not counting Fort St John and Ft Nelson ( towns … but resource towns . So book a room BEFORE you get into town in case of camp shift change )
THE Place to stay though, but a bit spendy , ( and soooo worth it !) is the Northern Rockies Lodge) Urs and Marianne are lovely hosts and it’s worth the stay . My partner and I stay there every time we go though
I’m happy to answer any northern bike travel questions you might have everyone!
Cheers !
More Alaska highway stuff… there’s actually two ways ( well, by road….you can always take the ferry out of Bellingham, get a cabin and get off at Haines AK.)
But i digress! So , yeah, you can do the Alaska hwy. or, take the road less traveled and go up hwy 37 ( Steward-Cassiar Hwy.)
It’s MUCH more remote, less services, and longer between reliable fuel stops ( this one, yeah , pack extra gas … I used 4 1 litre aluminum camp fuel bottles so I can move the weight low and distribute better)
One thing about the Alaska Hwy is they keep the brush cut way back from the road in most places …. That way you see the moose of bison coming ….Hwy 37? Nope , forest comes right up the chip seal … so be on your toes
I’ve traveled lots on it , a bit on a KLR, but mostly in my or my partners truck ( I ran a 1996 bronco , full size, she , an ex German army 1990’w461 G wagon. ) when we were up there , sold the Bronco but we still run the old G wagon here down south .
It’s my preferred road , harder to get to , harder to run well, but honesty, I think the views are better as you are running down the range, whereas , on the Alaska, from mile 0 at Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, about 500 miles North, you aren’t in mountains ( you can seen em off to the west though) . You don’t get into mountain riding till about mile 600 ish
Places to stay on the Alaska vary , you can boondock it, and there is the occasional motel not counting Fort St John and Ft Nelson ( towns … but resource towns . So book a room BEFORE you get into town in case of camp shift change )
THE Place to stay though, but a bit spendy , ( and soooo worth it !) is the Northern Rockies Lodge) Urs and Marianne are lovely hosts and it’s worth the stay . My partner and I stay there every time we go though
I’m happy to answer any northern bike travel questions you might have everyone!
Cheers !
White Sands, did a lengthy Cruise Missle test series there '80 or "81.
Did an Iron Butt on an XS650 back in the early 80's.... late 70's? 'Course... that was before I even knew an Iron Butt was a "thing." I was just gone from home for far too long and was homesick. It was January and I'd spent the last 3 months at the White Sands Missile Range.
'78 XS was already loaded.... relieved of duties at 3pm... pulled into my driveway in Fla at about noon the next day.... frozen and numb. The follies of youth.
Only maintenance needed was the chain. It's a trip I would NOT recommend.
.... but the ol' XS never missed a beat.
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One of my jets (F-15B) was instrumented for the AMRAAM program. It spent a lot of time at White Sands.
What I like best about the Road King is that it has everything I need in a motorcycle, and nothing I don't. My wife used to ride with me and has had long trips. She swore off it, and just lately, she's back on. Her back doesn't like my current stable (all XS).
I rented this one while working in Maui over ten years ago. Robin didn't like it, but it was foot peg position and stupid loud pipes. I was good with it, other than the embarrassingly loud exhaust.
2010 Blue Ridge Parkway plus Skyline Drive and return to Dahlonega, GA. That was just shy of 2,000 miles. BRP + Skyline Drive is 740 miles.
Yam650@micapeak email group Crawfish Boil Slidell, LA 2002? I rode the XS650 (bottom right) from Fayetteville, GA.
With Robin Jan 2008. On the way to Key West.
Key Largo with XS11.com group Jan 2008.
Just a comment .You being a big ,,man the HD looks small even
I believe highway pegs for you can help giving a possibility stretch out the legs on longer runs.
Making a slight change in seating position possible
And then give room for another setup for the passenger pegs. Should be possible make something
The few I know on HD don't ride small back roads so much though. More going in a straight line to the meeting and put up the tent and Socialize . and enjoy a couple of beers. Sometimes there are concerts and other arrangements
But overall nice happenings. What I Hear. Not for me though. Have done that I prefer nature and silence.
I believe highway pegs for you can help giving a possibility stretch out the legs on longer runs.
Making a slight change in seating position possible
And then give room for another setup for the passenger pegs. Should be possible make something
The few I know on HD don't ride small back roads so much though. More going in a straight line to the meeting and put up the tent and Socialize . and enjoy a couple of beers. Sometimes there are concerts and other arrangements
But overall nice happenings. What I Hear. Not for me though. Have done that I prefer nature and silence.
When I got my XS, in 2010, I rode it from Moss in southeast Norway, to where I live, near Tromsø in northern Norway. Around 1800 km (1100+ miles) in 3 days. Beginning of May, and unusually cold, just above freezing with almost constant rain, or below freezing with dry roads. On a bone stock 77D model. Being 5'9 / 176 cm, I found the stock handlebar too high, and the pegs too far forward for a comfortable riding position. Something I have fixed over the years. For luggage I used a magnetic tank bag, and a waterproof duffle strapped to the passenger seat. After a few hundred km, I bought handlebar muffs, which look goofy, but are a great accessory in cold weather. The only technical problem I had on that trip, was an M6 screw holding the licence plate vibrating loose.
I have also done a lot of longish trips on my 1995 Ducati Monster 600. Some think they are too small/ cramped for touring, but it fits me like a glove. Up to 800 km in one day, 1700 km in two days.
I have also done a lot of longish trips on my 1995 Ducati Monster 600. Some think they are too small/ cramped for touring, but it fits me like a glove. Up to 800 km in one day, 1700 km in two days.
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