Dan.1977P
Active Member
Last weekend, I did 900 miles on the Fatboy hitting a bunch of different national forests/parks with an overnight stay in Colorado just to say I've been there. Probably the longest couple days I've been able to do so far and even though I now have a list of things I'd like to do, it was a pretty pleasant ride with the stock shocks, seat and bars. The batwing really helps keep you dry and reduces the wind a ton but combine that with the mag wheels with massive crosswinds in the canyons and it's a bit of work staying straight.
Since I was solo this trip, I had a lot of time to think about how much trust I placed in this bike. I'm not talking about the engine dying and having to pull off to the side and wait for a tow but more of a catastrophic failure resulting in the bike going down at speed or off the side of a mountain. I know if I didn't keep up with the tires and brakes most importantly, I would have been in for a world of hurt. It's hard to make that judgement call to keep going or stop when you are going down a canyon pass and a storm pops up and dumps heavy rain reducing your visibility to only a few car lengths. Do you stop on the small pull off with no shelter and hope it passes and you don't get run over or do you suck it up, slow down and put on your hazards? At least knowing I have good tread and brakes lets me feel a little better about keeping moving forward.
Things I noticed about the bike from this trip.
Forgot to post the route I took: Utah ride map
Since I was solo this trip, I had a lot of time to think about how much trust I placed in this bike. I'm not talking about the engine dying and having to pull off to the side and wait for a tow but more of a catastrophic failure resulting in the bike going down at speed or off the side of a mountain. I know if I didn't keep up with the tires and brakes most importantly, I would have been in for a world of hurt. It's hard to make that judgement call to keep going or stop when you are going down a canyon pass and a storm pops up and dumps heavy rain reducing your visibility to only a few car lengths. Do you stop on the small pull off with no shelter and hope it passes and you don't get run over or do you suck it up, slow down and put on your hazards? At least knowing I have good tread and brakes lets me feel a little better about keeping moving forward.
Things I noticed about the bike from this trip.
- Mutazu bags suck. I may as well put a garden hose inside them running full blast. Save your money and wear a backpack if you have to and get real bags.
- I have a renewed dislike of my mag wheels. If I'm going to be doing more long trips and it stays windy like this, I'm going to start looking for a laced front wheel
- I'd like to get an oil cooler. I was running about 240deg on the trip back in 80deg weather running a consistent 80mph on the interstate. 225 on the way out in cooler weather. I think my air filter got really restricted after the rain and dust in Moab causing the increase in temp
- Riding pants make for great heat shields. Took them off when it got warm and no more chance of rain and I ended up putting them back on when I noticed my legs were burining up more without them. May make some heat deflectors
- I wish there was a way to safely have my 6mo on the bike with me
- Want to upgrade shocks
- upgrade brakes
- upgrade seat to move riding position forward and give a little more low back support. Helped me avoid upper back strain when riding my dad's bike
- The Commander II's were everything I could expect from a tire
- I need a tune badly. 35mpg and I felt like I was flooding it in some places trying to maintain 65 in 4th gear.
- Even with this list, it was a blast to ride and my face hurt from smiling all day looking at the diverse scenery of Utah and Colorado.
Forgot to post the route I took: Utah ride map
