[Oddjon]

Congrats!  I hope you feel better soon.  Don't forget to take care of those worrisome bits on your bike too.

[Ducati Scotty]

Things like the Throttle Rocker or Cramp Buster help but if you're really going long haul some kind of throttle lock is a must.  Without it you always have to grip the bars hard enough to keep the throttle twisted.  it's not much but it adds up over 24 hours straight or more.

Here's to a speedy recovery!

Scott

[barenekd]

Great writeup, Meganuke. Thank you.
You have to ask, while doing that stuff, "Are we having fun, yet?"
I've had the rear tank nut come off on a long ride. While finishing the last 130 miles or so, I couldn't figure out where the vibration was coming from. But it was pretty bad at some speeds. I found the varying the speed could cut down on the shakes and noise!
After I got home I found the missing nut. It had dropped down onto the gearbox in one of those cavities on top of it. The really wierd thing was when I tightened the bolt back down I heard a little crack. It had split the tank right behind the bracket weld. easy fix, but a bit of a pain. I had to drain and purge the tank to get it welded.
Another pop I heard was even a bigger PITA. As I was torquing the tank, I heard a louder crack. That was the ratchet extension breaking off the fuel banjo tube. A little plastic POS that the fuel line slides onto. Cost me 300 bucks for that little screwup.
Glad to hear the body is recovering!
Bare

[Arizoni]

Congratulations on your success meganuke!

Thank you for the great write up too!   

After reading this I am going out to my bike to remove the nut from that bolt and give it a good coating of Loc-Tite!

[Maturin]

Congratulations, Br. meganuke! You not only suceeded in a saddlesore 1000, you suceeded in a saddlesore 1000 overecoming an awfull lot of trouble! Everyone may be able to ride a thousand miles, but retaining the tank with the knees is only for the elite! Very, very brave, your hand looked like a baloon!
Your experiences are very valuable for everyone undertaking long distant journeys on a Bullet. Thank you very much for sharing! Best regards
Maturin

[motorat]

congradulations on your saddlesore.
you make me feel like a wimp for doing it on a tiger.

[Jack Leis]

Congratulations Meganuke ! You are an inspiration and a true IRONMAN !

[shamelin]

What a tale and what an experience!  Just imagine how many times you'll be able to tell that story over a beer.

If you don't get into the Iron Butt Rally after all that, there's no justice in the world.

[Tri750]

Outstanding!
Wether for everyday use or long distance, those battery terminals have to go. Accell makes some fancy compression type eyelets that don't require crimping or soldering.
AGM or Gel battery is good for piece of mind too. A spare headlight and tail light bulb can be wrapped in foam and stashed in the air box or tool box.Please, everyone, loctite your tank thru bolts this weekend.
Last trick from back in the day. A regular old hose clamp can be put around the throttle grip and snugged down to give you a poor mans throttle lock. Ugly as a crap sandwich but works in a pinch.

[Ducati Scotty]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=341106

Caterpillar o-ring part number 8M4991.  Scroll down the above page and you'll see how to use it.  Put it in place, roll in on the end weight to lock, roll out to disengage.

Scott

[meganuke]

Thanks for all of your comments.  Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you.  Work has been crazy.

The recovery hasn't been too bad.  I think I fared better than the bike.  My hands are back to normal and other than some general soreness in the obvious areas for the first day or so, I feel ready to do it again.  I ordered a 7" headlight and the bolt for the tank from my local dealer.  I'll stop at radio shack and grab a new lug to crimp on the negative lead.  I think it'll be back to 100% by next week.

I promised to share some thoughts on the bike, so here goes. 

1.  The front wheel seems to be unbalanced.  There is a definite shaking that occurs at certain speeds, mostly above 65 mph.  I can see the front wheel hopping up and down.  If memory serves, there are small weights that can be clamped on the spokes to balance the wheel.  I will look for a balancer and will gladly take recommendations if any of you have experience with a particular model (good or bad).

2.  There is a slight pulsation when applying the front brake, like it's slightly warped.  It's not too bad, but definitely noticable.  It was there before the ride and doesn't seem to have gotten any worse, so I'll probably live with it until it changes.  On the topic of brakes, I see some folks have put a stainless steel braided line on their bikes.  Where can I get this?  I find the front brake unbelievably weak.

3.  On a long ride, being able to change seating positions is key.  Sometimes I moved my feet to the passenger pegs.  Within a few seconds, this caused an oscillation in the bike, like the front end wanted to go one way and the rear end wanted to go the opposite.  It felt like riding a high speed snake.  This happened at speeds as low as 60 mph.  I also tried extending my legs and resting my calves against the front of the driver's pegs.  This also caused a wobble.  Even the standard seating position caused a wobble, but only over 70 mph.  I found that shifting my weight way back (sitting half on the passenger seat and half on the driver's seat) would keep the bike stable.  The speed limits on a large part of the ride were 75 mph, so traffic was going 80-85.  I had to catch a draft just to keep up with the slow cars.  I wonder if the unbalanced front wheel has something to do with it, or if I should look into a fork brace or steering damper.  It almost felt like the frame was flexing.  I've felt that on other bikes, but mostly when hitting a bump mid-corner.  On my old Honda ST1100, the common fix for the 45 mph wobble was to replace the stock ball bearing in the steering stem to a tapered roller bearing.  Is this behavior common on these bikes, or is there something wrong with mine?  It is a C5 Special with the straight fork legs.  Could different tire pressures help?

That's about all I've got for now.  I look forward to hearing your feedback.

[The Garbone]

You can have stainless brake lines made up custom.  A few years ago I had a set made for a KZ650 from an Ebay seller, just sent him a note with the measurments and end specs.  The key is to measure well and figure out what type of bend is in the banjo ends and order the correct setup.  The price was not that bad on the custom lines.

Check your fluid level on the front brake.  A lot of folks seem to get short changed from the factory from what I read on the forum.  (I would flush it with known good fluid, but that is just me).

[motorat]

i felt the wobble with the feet on the passenger pegs on a 2009 bonneville i had.
for balancing, i would take the front wheel to a good shop and also have them check the spokes to make sure the wheel is true.

glad to hear you are doing well and the bike performed good also.

[Ducati Scotty]

What tire pressures are you running?

As to the brakes, get a green 3M ScotchBrite pad and some brake cleaner and scrube the crap out of the disc.  Then remove the brake pads and scuff them lightly to break the glaze on 220 grit paper on a glass plate.  Sometimes the disc gets an uneven layer of brake material laid down and it feels just like the disc is warped.  I've used this technique and it works miracles sometimes.

Scott

[barenekd]

  The front wheel seems to be unbalanced.  There is a definite shaking that occurs at certain speeds, mostly above 65 mph.  I can see the front wheel hopping up and down.  If memory serves, there are small weights that can be clamped on the spokes to balance the wheel.  I will look for a balancer and will gladly take recommendations if any of you have experience with a particular model (good or bad).

You can get wheel balancing weights at and Auto parts stores. They just stick onto the rim. You can get a fairly close balance just spinning thetire on the axle. Make sure nothing is dragging. For the front wheel it's better to remove the brake caliper and speedo cable.
Spin the wheel so if it appears to stop at the same spot. Rotate it slightly and see if it returns to that spot. If so, add a little weight to the opposite side.
For the rear wheel, back off the brake adjuster. If you have a crappy chain, disconnect it. Then the same procedure works.
It's not perfect, but it can come pretty close.
Bare