reviews

Ride Report - Northern PA to NY

philly-to-portjervis-7.jpg

I still need to replace my rear tire, and the man is out of town til Thursday. So what's a wife to do? Take the Triumph out for a spin in a new direction that I hadn't explored before, North! I decided to try and shoot for RT 97, Hawk's Nest, a popular destination for local motorcyclists.  I decided to send Benny to his awesome dogsitter, and try a solo overnight so I could try to ride as far north as I could. Since I have Sunday and Monday off, I tried to start Sunday morning. I had a rather late start and ended up not leaving until 11am. As a result I only got about 150-180 miles (my goal was closer to 300) in but still had a fabulous time!

As always, I used one of the Kriega packs, the 20-Liter since I wanted to have enough supplies for the night. Remember to fully pack your Kriega so it cinches down easier. I scribbled down my ride route and off I went.

Oh and for the record, I'm NOT keeping my husband's bike. Just borrowing until I swap that damn tire. I have decided however, that I will be selling the SV and buying a gently used Street Triple next spring :D. An R model if I can find one I can afford, fingers crossed.

philly-to-portjervis 1 2007 triumph speed triple roulette green

I had a really late start Sunday (~11am) so I didn't quite hit the roads I wanted to. Here's the route I wanted to do but once I got to 15 I had to keep going and take the obvious route to get there before deer o'clock. Did you know that Pennsylvania has one of the highest deer collision rates in the country? Eek!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zWtuq3HMVCRs.k_T9H2q9bEQg

Before I got to Chester, PA I did have a nice detour through Black River Park because of tremendous traffic heading into Chester. It was at least a mile of bumper to bumper. And the last thing I wanted was to sit there clutching on this tall, heavy beast. So I made a right turn and followed another guy on an R6 who was obviously hoping to do the same. I got to this funky intersection (after riding some goaty, unpaved roads to get there!):

philly-to-portjervis 4

After awhile I stopped for lunch at Hilltop Deli & Catering in High Bridge, NJ at 513 and Cregar Road. I had a tasty BLT and a nice view of my ride. Sandwiches were inexpensive and delicious. A lovely family ran the place, dad making sandwiches and mom running the place with their teenage kids working the counter. Love it!

philly-to-portjervis 3

The rest of my ride to the border was rather uneventful. I found a room for the night at the Red Carpet Inn, nothing fancy but clean and inexpensive ($78/night+tax). I picked this location so I could ride further up north in the morning.

milford pa triumph speed triple

The next morning, I headed West on 6 and then went north on 97. I underestimated how cool it was going to be, given that it was 8am. I also wanted to get back home before rush hour, since traffic can be heinous heading into Philly. Being a California girl, I certainly had high expectations. I would say that 97 is definitely a lovely road and worth the trip if you've never ridden that way before and are looking for scenic routes. The road is certainly twisty but nothing highly technical (think switchback and hairpins with changing elevation). I did manage to get a few pretty pictures on this cute little bridge:

philly-to-portjervis 9 philly-to-portjervis 8

At the end of the bridge was a very goaty, gravel filled road with a sign that basically said Go Away. Something about needing permits if you go beyond this point. So like a good girl, I hopped off the bike and did a 3 point turn to get back on the bridge back to 97.

I had a crazy ride planned but with the chillier weather I decided to get back home sooner than later. I turned around at 41/Barryville and took a rather direct route home that Google suggested, avoiding the Interstate.

Riding without winter gloves and no heated anything definitely pushed my limits as far as what I could bear. I'm a weather wimp and was definitely missing my heated accessories. Of course I was wearing head to toe Schampa underneath, a windstopper vest and my awesome Rev'it suit. It was just barely enough to keep me fairly warm but I really could've used some heat! The temps were mid 40s to low 50s, definitely colder than I'm used to without my creature comforts.

I MUST redo this ride once I install my heated liner. There appear to be some amazing roads further north which definitely require a much earlier start to accomplish more than 400 miles in 2 days.

 

 

 

My Recommendations for Women's Motorcycle Gloves for Winter

alpinestars_wr-3_goretex_womens_gloves Winter is around the corner. The temperatures are already dropping if you live on the East Coast, so you might be looking for winter motorcycle gloves!

Here's a 5 minute review of 6-7 gloves to try to keep your hands nice and toasty. Click on the link below to listen:

http://www.gearchic.com/podcast/womens_motorcycle_gloves_winter_2014.mp3

 

Riding a Suzuki SV650 v. the SV650S

IMG_5329.jpg

After spending a few months on my new ride, I thought I would share my experiences riding almost the same bike.  This is my second SV and my fifth motorcycle since I started riding bikes in 2004. My previous S model was with me for 4 years before I sold it last Christmas before moving to Philadelphia. The main reason I bought that one was because I hated the Kawasaki z750s I had at that time. I made the mistake of buying it because it looked cute and I did very little research on it. As a result, I only rode it 6,000 miles in 3 years! Sad. Before I tell you some of these differences, I think it's important that you know where I was coming from before I bought my first SV.

2006_kawasaki_z750s

Once I found the S model, I was in love. Definitely love at first sight, and first ride.

2003_suzuki_sv650s_livermoreCA

So that brings me to what made the S model so awesome. Here are a list of features that I noticed and right off the bat and learned to love:

  • Falls easily into corners, with very little input
  • Much lower center of gravity; the fuel tank felt like it was under me not in front of me
  • Responsive to my lower body's input; when I used my legs and feet to lean into the corner the bike responded quickly and easily.
  • Figured out how to use my body position to lean into the corners
  • Almost 2" shorter seat height! I can barely remember how I rode that thing.
  • 50lbs lighter

Toward the end of our relationship, I grew to hate the aggressive riding position because I enjoyed taking long rides (150+ miles) and long trips (1,000+ miles). This bike was killing me at the end, although I thought heavily about putting risers on it I simply never got around to it. In hindsight, I should've sold it for the other version.

2006 sv650 naked blue

Which brings me to the differences I've noticed about the non S model.

  • Steering input; feels different but just as easy to fall into a corner with. I can't quite say if it's better or worse, it's just different.
  • More comfortable; if I hadn't almost ruined my back on my last trip with the S version, I would've gotten another one. I'm really loving the almost upright riding position. Of course the seat is still stock, so still massively uncomfortable after 30-40 minutes but we'll (and hubby's speed triple) be refoaming our seats very soon.
  • Stiffer front end; I think because there isn't a windscreen and large fairing up front that it's lighter, so the front doesn't feel as soft. I feel like the front isn't as 'bouncy' when I come to a stop. Whereas the rear is definitely stiffer and I need to drop the preload and then at some point, get a shock that's a bit softer. Even with the awesome Pilot Power tires I have, my weight doesn't compress the rear shock enough to give me stability in corners. If I throttle too hard then the rear end slides a bit.
  • No windscreen; Oy. Riding into the wind at highway speeds is definitely more work. I definitely need a small windscreen of some kind, hoping that I can find a Puig that will work and not look too awkward.
  • More seat space; since the toolkit is stored in a different spot so that means I can shove my rain liners and a pair of gloves under the seat. YES!
  • Torque; I have a Delkevic shorty exhaust and it's Loud. It has a low rumble, which I appreciate so hopefully I'm not pissing off any of my neighbors. They say some aftermarket exhausts add a little power. I really can't tell if it's the noise that's creating the illusion of more power.

Everything else is the same; gas mileage (although the fuel light blinks now, instead of just staying on), seat height, weight, overall performance.

Overall, I would recommend the non S version, because it's a much more comfortable bike to ride vs. the S. You're more upright and almost in a supermoto-ish riding position. Feet are right beneath you and it feels natural and easy.

 

Riding Motorcycles in Pennsylvania with Mad Maps

motorcycles routes roads pennsylvania mad maps I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but Mad Maps has riding maps all over the country! Of course, they have an extensive offering of maps for the Bay Area, but they have one for PA and NJ. Woo Hoo! Looking forward to checking out these routes as soon as they hit my mailbox.

Breaking in new Motorcycle Boots

TCX_XStreet_Waterproof_Ladies_Motorcycle_Shoes_Anthracite  

I recently acquired these cute TCX X-Street Waterproof Motorcycle Shoes so I could have something stylish in this horrible snowy, cold winter we've been having.

I don't plan to ride in them, they're definitely a casual shoe for me. But, I wanted to share my experience breaking these in! It wasn't easy and definitely a little painful along the way. I tried them on and they felt pretty good. A little pressure across the toebox (width wise) but not too bad. I only wore them in the store for a few minutes. But as soon as I put them on the next day to wear to work, I completely forgot about this whole break in thing. (It's been a couple years since I've had to go through this).

And my feet were SCREAMING at me the whole time. 'WHY DID YOU BUY THESE? YOU'RE KILLING US?!' I was worried, a little worried. Okay, *really* worried. But, I knew I had to stick it out. The pressure wasn't so bad that I got bunions or anything, but they were just uncomfortable after 2-3 hours of wearing them. I just assumed that I wouldn't be able to wear them all day and would have to use them as cute, going out shoes. A dinner... a movie.. maybe some shopping.

But after a few weeks (not wearing them every day to work, but at least every couple), they fully broke in and I realized one day that my feet weren't killing me like they used to. These particular shoes were also very very wide in the heel and ran a full size large. I'm normally a Euro 37, US 6.5 but I had to go down to a Euro 36. With such a loose ankle, I realized that I needed to lace them very snug around the ankles. Otherwise my feet would slide forward and smush my foot into the toe box.

As soon as I laced them up nice and tight, it made a Huge difference because my ankles were sitting right where they should be so my feet weren't moving back and forth inside the boots. Remember, you don't want any forward and backward movement of your foot when it's inside the boot. And it's totally normal for your toe to be close to the edge of the toebox as long as it's not pushing forward into the very end as you walk.

I know breaking in gear is a b*tch, but it's SO worth it in the end. Try not to size yourself in the store (when it comes to leather), but size yourself the way you want it to fit a month from now.

Ep. 36 of Moterrific, the Klim Altitude Womens Suit

2014-klim-womens-altitude-jacket-grey-mcsshttp://blog.revzilla.com/2014/01/new-olympia-ranger-jackets-for-riding.html If you're excited about the women's, dual sport, Altitude suit from Klim, then take a listen to our latest episode (scroll to the bottom).

Also, for another point of view on the suit, check out my friend Leslie's review of the jacket and pants on her blog, Advgrrls.com.

Ep. 34, Women's Moto Gear for Spring

revit_sand_jacket_womens  

Check out the latest episode of Moterrific, where we go over my favorite jackets and pants for spring (from this previous blog post). If you're looking for a new 2 piece textile to add to your riding wardrobe, or upgrade your existing one, listen up!

On our next episode, we're going to take a deep dive into Klim's Altitude outfit as well.