I had a chance to get the Hurricane out yesterday for a legit shakedown run. I bought this bike (a '90 btw) last December, replaced the alt. damper, chain and sprockets and have been riding it ever since. It has the typical cct rattle that goes away once warm. Aside from being a bitch to start first thing on a cold morning it's been performing great.

So yesterday was a test run. I rode from Hammond IN (just outside of Chicago) to Martinsville (south of Indy), back into Indianapolis, then back home. All told it was about a 390 mile day.

Mechanically the bike was perfect. I got 46 mpg southbound (avg. 70 mph) and 39 mpg northbound (avg. 80 to 85 mph). I was very pleased with that.

I had one pucker moment when a semi pulled in front of me. I was close enough behind him to get in the wind tunnel and I felt the back end do a distinct side-to-side wobble. Made me a little nervous so I dropped from about 70 to 55 to keep it under control. Now my front forks are up in the triple tree about 1-1/2", could this affect that? I meant to bump them back to stock but that's how I got it, just haven't changed it yet. Tires are pretty new btw.

Comfort-wise I'm pretty happy, this is way better than my last bike. This morning my only issue is the neck to back of the shoulder muscle set. They're pretty sore. I have stock clip-ons installed, should I get used to it (my vote!), buy risers, windscreen, what helps? I'm 6'2" and personally I didn't notice any helmet buffetting, I rather like the stock shield.

As mentioned above, I saw a drop in fuel economy at 80+ mph. That translated to about 5000 to 5300 rpms. It did much better around 4500 rpms. Is this worth a sprocket tweak? Will it make that much of a difference? I don't drag race and this will be a touring bike for me. I think I will experiment with some other sizes...

I thought I had another question but I can't remember it now, anyway it was a fun ride! Although it was cold, only got to about 32F (0C) all day.

EDIT: Maybe this doesn't belong in road trips. Moderator, move maybe?

 

That was a chilly run! My threshold is more north of 40f. I've put a few road miles on my '94 and have about the same MPG experience as you. Mine has stock gears but I know a few guys have played with ratios up and down. It will also impact your speedo accuracy. Mine reads about 5% high per GPS with the stock gears. Comfort items I enjoy on mine is the taller screen and heated grips when it's cold and /or wet. I put GenMar risers on too. When the weather gets hot I need something to insulate me from the saddle better.
I would return the forks to stock position. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it makes you wobble prone but it does reduce the trail geometry= quicker=less stable(wee bit).
The other thing I did to the forks was shim the springs up 5/8" to take the sag out.
My .02.

 

Sounds like it was a great shake down run (apart from the semi).

+1 on cb2cbrs comments. Perhaps look at VFR clip-ons as well - there should be info on the forum at fitting these which I believe is fairly straight forward. And do take the forks/triple tree back to stock - for a more comfortable ride Have you checked the head stem bearings? They can contribute to 'wobbliness' at the front end.

And if you do fit taller bars (VFR or risers), you may need to get a taller screen to tip the air over your helmet.

For me long distance riding is all about comfort in the saddle. Hence, lambswool seat cover, taller screen and slightly higher bars and some method of cruise control for the highway slabs.

Cheers, SB

 

I guess I hadn't thought about speedo accuracy with the gear change, I assumed that ran off the front wheel and it wouldn't make a difference. Then again if stock registers 5% higher than true wouldn't going up in the front and/or down in the back get me closer to reality? (to a point?). I'm considering going up 1 tooth in the front and rolling with it for a test.

I'll bring those forks back to stock too. I haven't checked the head bearings yet. I'm also going to give the swingarm a good yanking around to see if new bushings are in order. Would shimming the front springs make the ride a little stiffer?

I was so glad that the stock Honda seat didn't give me agonizing pain that I haven't really thought much about mods to it. Lambswool may be nice for the warm weather though.

As far as the windscreen goes I may mould a piece of polycarbonate in kindof a lip to bolt to the top of my stocker, I like the idea of getting a little air gap in there to break up the turbulence. Then again it was pretty comfy as is. Ear plugs would have helped the wind noise but buffeting wasn't bad.

Oh, and new Oxford heated grips will be on order this week along with Hippo Hands!

Just googled GenMar, looks nice! For $100 I may do that.

 

Shimming the front springs gives them a little pre-load, hence slightly stiffer, yes.

As for the lip on the screen, Kiwi TKs bike has a Toyota something or other bonnet protector shaped slightly (by brother Kiwi JK) and screwed on. I'm 5'10" and had no buffetting at all.



You can see it quite clearly in this shot.

Cheers, SB

 

Yeah that's what I was thinking, nice windscreen mod! I may do that if I go with risers.
I found an 18t sprocket for $30 too, I'd like to see what rpm drop that gives me. Am I right that that would tend to make the speedo closer to accurate? Up 1 on the front that is?

 

I think Sprock (pun fully intended ) may have the info on the front sprocket change.

There was some chatter on one of the threads recently on that point.

Cheers, SB

 

Closer to accurate within 1mph accurate drops the rpm and makes things a bit quieter
but a good bit more sluggish off the line but up around 95 to 125 she's a bit more fun

 

Thanks for the compliment, but all credit for that particular Kiwi, cheap **** invention has to go to kiwiJK. One of the utes at his work came in with a cracked bug deflector which was replaced with a new one.

Cut down the old one, bit of careful work with a hairdryer/heat gun to get the shaping right and there you go. Robert is your fathers brother.

Worked so well that after he made one for his own bike, he got all carried away and made one for me as well.

Visit your local auto wrecker, you can probably pick one up for less than the price of a beer.

 

Nice, looks like I'll be keeping my eyes open for a cracked bug deflector. I like the sound of the 18t sprocket too, I would rather run first gear out a little further anyway so I'll just readjust my shifting a bit. The way I ride I doubt it will really make a difference.