WV is among (if not the) most likely place to hit a deer. https://wvva.com/2018/10/01/we...s-of-hitting-a-deer/

Western VA is about the same and the BRP is particularly risky at dusk. I just avoid whenever possible riding at dusk and night, and if I'm stuck out slow WAY down.

^
RideWV, I live in SW PA, and see deer every day. But what’s strange is they are in the more urban area, instead of the rural area I live.

If you are familiar with Paw Paw, WV, my son and I were driving on a 45mph, windy 2 lane backroad. I had a Ford Explorer riding my butt for about 10 miles. He finally passed me, illegally, and just as he got past he vaporized a deer into a pink mist. He still traveled a little further, and pulled over. I asked him if he was ok, but his Ford was totaled. That deer wasn’t just on his car, the pink mist was inside it.

My son learned a valuable lesson. It doesn’t pay to speed. Every time I see a deer, I say there is always more.

But that road going from Cumberland, MD, to Winchester, VA is a fun drive. I plan to take the GoldWing through it on the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Front Royal, VA. I’m so familiar with those roads, I don’t even need a GPS. I’d like to do it in the fall, but getting stuck behind a caravan of RV’s can make for a very long ride. I remember country like 35 deer in the first 10 miles, but you typically aren’t going faster than 35mph, and it was heavily enforced by LEO’s. But that was 20yrs ago.

Some more hints on packing lightly, including how to make skivvy rolls.

https://willowhavenoutdoor.com...en-your-bug-out-bag/

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
^
RideWV, I live in SW PA, and see deer every day. But what’s strange is they are in the more urban area, instead of the rural area I live.

If you are familiar with Paw Paw, WV......


But that road going from Cumberland, MD, to Winchester, VA is a fun drive. I plan to take the GoldWing through it on the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Front Royal, VA......

ASKsmith we're probably not too far apart then as I'm in Preston County only a mile from the PA line.

I agree, when I lived in town there were plenty of deer. Of course why not? There is no hunting there, dogs are not permitted to run loose, and traffic generally moves slow so few cars hit them.

Yes I am familiar with Paw Paw because I've been driving from Cumberland through Paw Paw and Winchester (51, 9, 29, 522, 37) when going back and forth visiting my daughter in northern VA. In fact 5 years ago a deer hit my wife's Camry (I wasn't with her at the time) on 29 just south of Paw Paw damaging the entire right side of the car.

LOL you know Fall is the peak time to hit a deer right? Summer is a good time to ride the BRP because it's nice riding up there out of the heat, I'll probably ride down again in July.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Rode down to the BRP last week and stayed at Willville motorcycle campground a Meadows of Dan for 4 nights.
I was on my Honda Africa Twin and that's my green tent

I regret selling my Africa Twin. The gentleman I sold it to took it to Baja last year.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

I regret selling my Africa Twin. The gentleman I sold it to took it to Baja last year.

I did too after selling my 2016, so I bought this 2020. It really is a good all around motorcycle.
What did you replace yours with?

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

I regret selling my Africa Twin. The gentleman I sold it to took it to Baja last year.

I did too after selling my 2016, so I bought this 2020. It really is a good all around motorcycle.
What did you replace yours with?

From this


to this.
I must have been out of my mind!



I enjoy riding the CBR1000rr but have to be selective with the roads I'm on.
With the Africa Twin, it didn't matter at all.

That's a nice looking fast motorcycle!

But given the condition of many of the roads around here that I ride on, a bike with more suspension travel is appreciated. Plus when I travel I like to seek out small, paved and unpaved roads to explore. Plus it's also easy to carry camping gear on bikes like this for traveling so I'll likely have a dual sport or adventure as my main motorcycle.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

But given the condition of many of the roads around here that I ride on, a bike with more suspension travel is appreciated. Plus when I travel I like to seek out small, paved and unpaved roads to explore. Plus it's also easy to carry camping gear on bikes like this for traveling so I'll likely have a dual sport or adventure as my main motorcycle.

The Africa Twin was built to explore. By far the best all around motorcycle I've ever owned. Anyone looking to explore all things off the beaten path should look closely at the AT.

Those are nice looking bikes, CBR and its brethren are out of my wheelhouse, don't need a 200 mph bike because I'd be tempted to see it hit 200, all the time LOL

Be interesting to see how the new HD Pan America compares to the AT and other bikes in the adventure bike market,

Word is that it's selling like hot cakes,

Linky Thing

To quote Cycle World

quote:

Phone calls, emails, and text messages came flooding in when I posted a teaser photo after my first day on the 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special. Well? How is it? Is it a competitor? And the most important question: Did they pull it off?

Yes. Yes, they did.

Everything I've heard about the Pan Am is good so hat's off to Harley, I hope they sell lots!
In the small group of people I'm around there is more and more interest in something a little smaller and lighter than a GS, Tenere' 1200, Pan Am now. I know as I age I'm attracted to lighter ones which is one reason I went from a 560pound GS Adventure to a basic 495# Africa Twin. I think the Pan Am is somewhere in between.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Be interesting to see how the new HD Pan America compares to the AT and other bikes in the adventure bike market,

The ability to have a seat height of (28.1 inches) should attract some riders for sure.
The AT runs around 33" for the lowest setting I believe. Fortunately... I have long legs so the height of the AT was never an issue. A couple of my friends would not ride it because the height of the bike was intimidating. Looking at the specs, the HD is about 50 lbs. heavier that the AT.

So I spent a long weekend with my son and his friends, camping in SW PA. My son leaves in 3 weeks to become a Combat Medic in the Army, and he will be trying to get into the 75th Ranger Regiment. He has a long road, but we had an awesome weekend.

So after sleeping in a tree hammock for 2 days, getting maybe 6hrs of sleep, my wife and I made the 90min drive to pick pick up our “new” GoldWing.

All I can say is “DAY’UM”. Riding an unfamiliar bike on an interstate is a harrowing experience. But this this is smooth. So, so smooth. No matter what gear, what rpm, give it some throttle, and it will go. There were times I wasn’t paying attention, and realized I was going 90mph. Even on local roads, I found myself doing 45mph on a 25. It is smooth.

Low speed handling is a concern, I’m still getting use to the controls, throttle input, etc... But this may be the last bike I ever buy.

I want to put a few hundred miles on it, before I put the wife on the backseat, but she has fallen in love with it.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
So I spent a long weekend with my son and his friends, camping in SW PA. My son leaves in 3 weeks to become a Combat Medic in the Army, and he will be trying to get into the 75th Ranger Regiment. He has a long road, but we had an awesome weekend.

So after sleeping in a tree hammock for 2 days, getting maybe 6hrs of sleep, my wife and I made the 90min drive to pick pick up our “new” GoldWing.

All I can say is “DAY’UM”. Riding an unfamiliar bike on an interstate is a harrowing experience. But this this is smooth. So, so smooth. No matter what gear, what rpm, give it some throttle, and it will go. There were times I wasn’t paying attention, and realized I was going 90mph. Even on local roads, I found myself doing 45mph on a 25. It is smooth.

Low speed handling is a concern, I’m still getting use to the controls, throttle input, etc... But this may be the last bike I ever buy.

I want to put a few hundred miles on it, before I put the wife on the backseat, but she has fallen in love with it.

First of all, I wish your Son the very best.

The Gold Wing is a fantastic touring bike.
Just be careful out there. They are surprisingly fast and smooth. That combination can get you into trouble quickly.

GL1800 is an awesome 2-up bike. Best there is at the time. I have 110K on mine (2002). Forks are not awesome but the anti-dive system works. Seats are great. I use a beaded seat cover and sheepskin in the summer.

Turns like a sportbike. Pretty good cornering clearance (better than any HD touring bike, particularly the newer ones since they've slammed them all), better topcase and saddlebag system than H-D, better engine, less heat, more room for large/tall riders, etc. H-Ds are great for highway touring at legal speeds but when you add elevation/twisties and/or desert heat the GL kicks butt.

Packing light is pretty easy. If you have to have a full change of clothes for each day, maybe moto-touring isn't for you. Take a pair of lightweight pants, maybe that zip-off to shorts, (or a pair of jeans) a good pair of shoes, a couple shirts, and enough socks and undies to keep you smelling OK. Wash your shirts in motel sinks when needed. Not that complicated. Have fun! I'm on my third set of rider footpegs; this thing can lean.

as for things to buy, Look at a ram mount for your cell phone, the X Grip is great as it allows different size phones and a good retention system to contain the phone.

you can run a charging cable from a usb/lighter plug so your phone runs all day, music, gps, weather are at your finger tips.

If you get a BT headset you can BT commands to the phone for any feature using siri...

https://www.gpscity.com/ram-mount

Mounting your iPhone on a vibrating handlebar using a rigid mount is known to brick the camera. Sure, millions of miles have been run like this, with RAM mounts, or whatever, but many K1600forum.com members have lost iPhones in this way.

I use a Cardo Packtalk Bold bluetooth communicator, and keep my iPhone in a fabric pocket, like a tank bag or jacket.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
ShootinBlanks,

I’ve been to the Cleveland expo, and live outside of Pittsburgh. It sounds like we are almost neighbors.

Our first trip will be for our 20th anniversary, heading to a Bed/breakfast/winery in Northern PA.

After that probably a few weekend getaways throughout the summer. Next summer start taking longer trips. We are excited.

I'm in Butler County. If the weatherman can get his shit together perhaps we can get that Wing out for a day. I know some great rides up my way. I have also spent some time on a Wing. Three day ride from Vegas to Sedona and back and another where we rode from San Francisco to Mendocino then spent a few days meandering down Pacific Coast Highway to San Luis Obispo and back to SF. Rented both times through Eagle Rider. Great bike that handles like a much sportier rig.