By Fullstate on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 03:22 pm:

Just got back from my first real ride on my Falco. I picked it up a few weeks ago, but hadn't gotten to ride it very much due to being out of town.

My sweetie and I took the bikes through some very scenic drives through Oklahoma and Arkansas (mostly Arkansas). If you ever get the chance, you have got to take the scenic drive from Talihina, OK to Mena, AR. I've heard it's one of the 10 best routes in the U.S. and we loved every minute of it.

We totaled up 904 miles in 48 hours. Of course, a lot of that was on some twisties that you couldn't get going to fast on. It gave me a chance to really find out what the bike was all about!! What a great ride!!

Only things we figured we want to do to our bikes is add aftermarket seats and some throttle locks just to make it a bit more comfortable. Nine hours at a stretch got a bit tiring.

Other cool thing was that most of the other bikers had never seen a Falco so I got lots of comments, questions, and discussions when stopped for fuel or food.

All in all, I can't express how happy I am with the bike. Only real complaint is that I seemed to amass a great deal of insects on my helmet's visor!!

Fullstate 

By Durangokid on Monday, September 23, 2002 - 05:03 pm:

Fullstate,

Sounds like a great ride. Two up as well, very impressive. I have ridden the Talimina Scenic Drive. I have to agree that it is one of the best roads in America.

Sargent seat is taking pre-registration for a seat they expect to release next spring.

http://www.sargentcycle.com/aprwsfalco.htm

Splyn (another user on this site) www.splyn.com just completed a cross country trip and bought a device called the "cramp buster" to battle wrist fatigue.

Another option to consider is to turn your brake and clutch handles downward so they are more in line with the angle of your forearm such that you are not bending your wrists so much to operate those levers.

I am down in Austin, we should try to hook up. There are some AWESOME motorcycle roads in the hill country!

Chuk  

By Fullstate on Tuesday, September 24, 2002 - 05:29 am:

Chuk - Thanks for the tips. I had already adjusted my levers and that helped a lot. I think it was just the prolonged hours that made 'em a bit tired.

BTW - we weren't two-up. Notice I kept using the plural of bikes. She rides a CBR600F4i. Two-up riding is OK when necessary, but I've never cared too much for it.

We'll have to stay in touch. Our next trek is planed for the hill country near Austin. I've ridden through there on my older bike and loved it. It was part of the reason that I wanted to get a newer bike. The old bike was a '98 Honda Magna. It was a good bike and I got where I could get the pegs down on it all the time.... that is when I decided I need one that "goes to 11."

- Fullstate  

By Splyn on Tuesday, September 24, 2002 - 08:34 am:

the cramp buster is a miracle worker. i was experiencing major wrist pain due to gripping hthe throttle for 8-12hrs at a time. i stopped by an accessory store in Colorado and saw many throttle lock devices (except ThrottleMeister) and they looked very complicated and difficult to install considereing lack of space on the clipons. the Cramp Buster is a strip of plastic about 1" wide, 6" lond and curved on one end to clamp onto your throttle. it alws you to rest your wrist on the cramp buster and work the throttle with you wrist instead of needing to grip the throttle.

the little piece of plastic eliminated any further wrist pain in my right hand.  

By Fullstate on Tuesday, September 24, 2002 - 06:54 pm:

Well, I already know the throttle locks that I want to get. Can't quite remember the name of them, but they are a heavier bar-end that locks the throttle by rotating (i.e. screwing) the end of the bar. Once locked, it doesn't move and the slightly heavier ends help reduce vibration.

Thx!

-Fulstate