Trip from Toronto (ON) to Sarasota (FL) - 2 days

Zack

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Hi everybody! Remember me, I moved FZ6 using Honda Odyssey mini van and small ramp. We went like that several times back and forth on route Toronto – Sarasota. This time I decided to bring it up a notch or two and actually ride it out from Toronto to Florida.

I work 5 days a weeks and all trips must be done on weekends so I am back to work on Monday morning. So last Friday I announced that plan at home. My wife immediately proclaimed that only total idiot would do that and that I will be crushed like a bug on the highway for sure. So much for that idea! It backfired and I didn’t go that weekend. It will prove to big lost opportunity but we’ll get to that later.

Before trip I had list of troubles in my mind I was afraid of:

1. Mechanical failures
2. Hitting something or somebody / something hits me
3. Rain
4. Really heavy traffic, road constructions
5. Get my FZ stolen

1. That was my biggest fear by far! Flat tire was first bad thing that popped to mind. I never had one and don’t know how to repair it in the middle of the road. I took 2 cans with quick tire repair fill-ups. I squeezed them under the seat with existing tool kit. I am not even sure that would help. Some people say it’s good, some say it’s not. Also, that small print on the can does not look encouraging.
Yes, there are worst failures than flat, like getting a rock into the radiator or seized engine. I guess tow truck would be only answer to trouble of that magnitude.

2. Well that would be catastrophic enough! Besides millions of cars I-75 is full of tire parts disintegrated from big rigs. So I decided to drive defensively, not faster than 120 kph (70 mph) and look about 2 light years ahead in order not to be surprised with something brewing ahead. I must admit that many times during ride I found myself with lost focus on that decision. Also, part of the plan was to ride alone in the lane.
Part of that fear were flying, running or jumping animals! On my last business trip to Germany we rented smaller Mercedes and last night coming back from Austria to Frankfurt we hit a deer driving about 120 kph in the left lane at 2:15 in the morning. Total darkness. That experience was enough for the lifetime! I am still battling insurance about that one.

3. Nobody likes rain, I am no exception. To fight that problem I had 2 piece rain suite in my rear bag.
4. Heavy traffic slows things down, engine doesn’t like slow ride and worse, stopping in column on hot day. It goes hot quickly.
5. Finally, I knew I will have to sleep somewhere half way. Leaving my ride in front of motel sounded like risky proposition. Maybe local boys would like to have a fun ride or free parts, specially when they see license plate from far away. I don’t know …

With all that in mind during week before trip I still had everything lined up and ready for Saturday (06-30-12) morning. At 7:15 I left with no farewell committee. Few minutes later I was on highway starting from Oakville, Ontario and riding towards Detroit, USA border. I had jeans, high ankle leather working shoes, soft summer type gloves, mesh jacket and O’Neil Fastrack Bluetooth helmet. By the way I still used in-ears headsets + Samsung phone as source of music since wind noise above 100 kph is stronger than built-in speakers.
In the tail bag, which is quite small (see picture things bulging out like it will explode) I had: underwear, fresh T shirt, socks, 2 piece rain suite, inner layer of my jacket, cell phone charger, mints, sandals and Kindle for the beach time.
FZ6-2.jpg

After only 10 minutes I realized that: my music is too low on volume and that I made mistake removing inner layer of jacket. It was quite fresh in the morning in Canada. I didn’t want to stop to fix those things so for next 2 hours I didn’t hear much of the music and I was cold. After almost 3 hours of riding I burned through first tank of gas and stopped at the station. Fixed my player volume and forgot about jacket layer. By that time that problem fixed itself since around 9 AM sun was up and ventilation holes in my jacket suddenly became useful.

At 10 AM, after some 350 km (220 miles) I passed a border and I was in Detroit, USA now! Yeeeey!

First I was little bit surprised with speeds on the US highways. Others were driving 120 – 135 kph (70 – 85 mph). Not to be ridiculed by anyone I kept up with crowd. I was never fastest one on the road, neither slowest one. I never had a problem finding lane for myself so there was nobody in front of me for at least 300 - 400 meters (1000 ft). That idea didn’t work out in crowded places like Atlanta but other than that it was possible.

At beginning of ride I planned to simply stop every 3 hours for refueling, hang around for 10-20 minutes and proceed. That would make 6-7 stops all together. Like every good plan this one went down the pooper pretty quickly when in Ohio around 12 - 1PM I encountered extremely hot weather. Also, things I didn’t anticipate at all started happening and amounting quickly to major drag:

1. I had Samsung Nexus supplied headsets. The kind which are inserted into ear with silicone caps. Well those ones I had are piece of crap! They played nicely but were sticking out of my ear canals and squeezed by helmet they hurt like hell. There was no fix for that problem. I didn’t even had any ear plugs (quite stupid) to replace headsets with.
2. Wind noise became really bothersome. At 120 – 135 kph (70 – 85 mph) continuous speeds wind noise is terrible nuisance that you can’t get rid of.
3. Another pain in the ass was a pain in the ass! Yamaha provided seat that is just few centimeters (inch) thick and that is not enough … by far.
Not only that, but by 2 PM on the first day temperature had risen to about 39 C (100 F) so my ass was on fire! Small movements forward and backward in the seat could not provide any relief to burning ass problem.
My ass is standard issue, male type, meaning zero comfort. Good for watching TV or short car rides, for everything else couch or Laz-A-Boy recliner is required. I started thinking how great would be to have nice big ass like Jennifer (you know who) or Kim (you know who). I mean that would be great and would not feel road bumps and probably heat that much. Those ladies would enjoy FZ6 long rides. Anyway, you can’t find such a nice piece of ass on I-75 so I abandoned futile thoughts and pressed on.
By that time I was hot and sweat and painful ass on fire made things unbearable. I stopped at gas station and from that moment engaged in new tactics. I would buy big bottle of cold water, drink half slowly in next 20 minutes and then pour the rest onto my neck, shirt front, back, my legs, crotch … everything. Than since there is no storage space on my FZ I folded jacket best I could and put it on top of the seat. As you can guess jacket is quite rigid, has armor plates inside and resists folding. So it provided not best comfort but burning ass problem disappeared! So from that moment jacket time was over. Now I had helmet, T shirt, soaked jeans and no gloves.
Jacket stashed on the front seat made it more like saddle, even smaller than it normally is and squashing my balls against the tank. No wiggling room.
4. At mentioned speeds my RH handlebar developed some kind of small vibration that I never experienced before as a problem but now it quickly became one. Within 10 minutes my pinky and next finger and half of the palm became numb! If I reduced a speed below 110 kph (65 mph) that problem would go minimized, but as I mentioned earlier traffic was moving quite fast and if I wanted to get where I wanted to I kept up.
I could rest my left hand by just hanging it down or shaking a bit but right hand was there with no even brief relieves for the duration of the ride! Some kind of cramp developed across the palm and it was really bothering me. I tried to stretch fingers or hold a grip all the way to the left or all the way to the right but that didn’t help. On gas station I held ice or cold bottles in right hand and that hurt.
5. Interestingly enough, I thought that major problem will be lower back pain but that never happened. I did however start feeling neck muscles aching.
FZ6-4.jpg

Anyway, by 2 – 3 PM I realized that I should have gone last weekend not this one. On TV they said that it was hottest weather recorded from year 1800! In Atlanta they measured 104 F and in Macon 106 - 108 F! I was still far from Georgia, in Kentucky, but it was about same, no relief in mountains. Now I know exactly how our FZ6 friends from Texas, Arizona and Nevada must feel!

I always tried to stop at bigger gas stations like Pilot or Flying J. They have best facilities and selection of drinks. At about 3 PM I stopped at gas station and after refueling drove to nearest Burger place. There I had crap burger and several cups of cold Coke and vanilla ice cream. Yes, I remember reading from doctors saying that this was counterproductive to fight heat but I simply could not resist.

Still it was no time for cry baby so I pressed forward. I also tried something new after 3 PM. I noticed that tractor trailers developed big shadows covering almost full lane width to the left. Also they drive quite fast 70 – 75 mph so that was perfect for me. I was riding in their shadow for kilometers at the time. Driving in parallel with big truck probably made rig driver uneasy but I was never afraid. Those guys heard about turn signals and they know how to use them. So whenever he wanted to pass some other vehicle as soon as I would see his left turn signal I would move all the way to the left or simply fall behind until truck is back in far right lane. Than speed up back to the shadow spot! This saved me for scorching sun coming from my right (driving to the South).

Otherwise it was like riding through the oven. I had to keep up my routine of stopping more often, soaking myself in cold water. Problem is that ass time accumulates and 10 – 20 minutes stop provides only short relief. As soon as I was back in saddle, after 10 minutes of ride I was once more dry, hot and soar. A bit of relief came only after 8 – 8:30 PM when temperatures subsided. Darkness came down and again skipping my plan to stop as soon as night falls down I pressed forward until 9:30 PM when all soar and overheated I stopped at Comfort Inn hotel. I parked my FZ back to the wall so license plate is not visible from the parking lot. I left it hoping to find it in the morning.

Odometer stopped at 1188 km (745 miles). First day was over. This was 20 - 30 miles after Knoxville (TN). I entered a hotel.

A what a relief was that! Cool room, plenty of water, shower and then soak in bath tub got me back together. I actually made short run to Walgreens bought more water, nuts and sun tan lotion. Factor 50. Later they told me that I should of bought Gatorade or similar drinks to replenish lost electrolytes in body. Next time I’ll know better.
Room was very nice, comfy king size bed and TV. I brought in bucket of ice and dipped my right hand into it to relieve some of the pain it built up. I bagged completely soaked and stinky underwear, socks and T shirt.

SECOND DAY

Next morning I woke up at 5:30 AM with no alarm clock. Now it was dilemma, wait until 6:30 and have a breakfast or just go and worry about food later. I decided to stay for breakfast and left hotel at 6:45. To my relief Fazer was there where I left it.
I started fully dressed. Alone on the highway with cool air around Fazer loved it and that was a fastest drive I had easily reaching 90 mph at moments. I simply wanted to make as much distance as I can before temperatures go wild again. I needed to pass Atlanta sooner rather than later. They announced very hot day again.

Around 9 AM sun was up in full force and ass on fire build-up. Jacket time was over and again I went to seat on it for the rest of the day. Now I was ready with sun tan lotion and put some on my exposed arms, face and neck. At 9:45 I passed Atlanta and pressed on towards Macon. Clearly I needed to be out of Georgia as soon as possibly. Combined heat from engine and road heated fuel tank and back of my legs to new levels. Normally I ride hugging the reservoir with my legs but now I had to open grip because gasoline became hot like rocket fuel. Around 10:30 I got finally fed up with headsets and removed them to for the rest of the day.
FZ6-5.jpg

Now with no music any more I had plenty of time to think about anything just to distract myself from road conditions and strains in arms and ass. So after pointless analyzing US politics and economical crises I switched thoughts to women parts. That didn’t work out well either. It comes hot by default and I had heat from the bottom, left, right, center and above. So my imagination went more towards basic stuff like: icy cold glass of water, ocean, shower and other rudimentary pleasures. I also thought how I was afraid of rain, but now I started wishing for one. It didn’t sound like that bad idea after all!

Around 1:30 PM I had happy moment passing through Florida border line. Still I was 400 km (250 miles) away from my destination so I did only thing I could, pressed on.

Only after 4:00 PM truck shadows grew big enough to provide protection from the sun. So again I shadowed some trucks. However, coming closer to my final destination I somehow started riding a bit faster, un-intentionally. Passed by the Tampa and some 35 minutes later took my favorite exit 213 at University Avenue - Sarasota, just 2 miles from second home! Finally at 6:00 PM I finished my journey. Odometer read: 2330 km (1447 miles)!


Interesting but true:

• Except to stop at gas stations or in front of motel I never touched the brakes!
• I expected to be swarmed by flying bugs and I was actually hit only 2 – 3 times during whole trip
• I had helmet all the time, visor closed and still never felt like my head is overheating
• None of the other bikers passed by me. Not because I was racing but rather I was driving consistently fast as I am on cruise control
• Contrary to my wife’s belief I was never in danger or lost control over situation even for one second

What I liked:

• None of the fears I started with never materialized
• FZ6 performed flawlessly. I didn’t feel lack of power neither abundance of it, it was just right
• Actual ride was great, very easy
• I set counter A to read total miles passed and counter B I reset every time after refueling
• I love a fuel gauge on Fazer

What I hated:

• Headsets!
• Pain in the ass!
• Wind noise!
• Pain in the right fist!

My resolutions:

• In next 4 months I am expecting “money is no object situation” so I will buy the quietest helmet money can buy! People who know say that is a Schubert helmet, made in Germany. So Schubert here I come!
• That helmet must also have dark inside visor so no sun glasses are needed.
• Need new headsets. Trip to best Buy will solve that problem.
• I am planning trip to Key West from Sarasota. It is minor 600 km (375 miles) down the highway. So before I do that I need to buy some gel or silicon or whatever seat or suffer consequences again

After all this I took my baby in for oil and oil filter replacement. Like caring for the horse I got it nice service. While waiting in Granny’s Motorsports I checked up new FZ6 and FZ8. To my dismal seats there are even worse than mine (2008 model). Now seat is split into 2 pieces, rear one being thin as cigarette paper! It looks like Japanese asses are more durable than ours.

FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE NUMBERS

• Total distance traveled: 2330 km / 1447 miles
• Total time on the road: 25:30 hours
• Total gas consumed: 109.13 l / 28.83 gal
• Average consumption: 4.68 l/100km / 50.19 miles/gallon
• Money spent: $97.36 for gas, about $18 for water, $106.78 for hotel
• Voltage: 12.8V – 13.4V (warning to people who want to buy Acuman! I have voltmeter and gear indicator. Gear indicator is blue and visible at all time. Voltage indicator is red and not visible at all except in darkness). Buy one with all blue digits.
• Engine temp: 171-174 F in the morning, 180-190 during day, up to 205 during uphill ride on really hot environment. Got me very worried in moments but dropped down with less throttle or downhill ride.

Conclusion:

Other than hitting a freak weather conditions actual ride was good. I liked open road, moving, seeing many other bikers on the road and having that experience. I am 55 with average riding skills and if I could do it, everyone younger can do it as well.
 
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Marthy

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I'll read the whole thing tomorrow... but tell your wife that you know a even bigger idiot! LOL I drove West Palm Beach, FL to Laconia, NH and back. I was there 2 days and did around 300 miles a day! To finish the whole thing, I pull a Iron Butt Bun-Burner on the way back. I did the 1551 miles in 23:38 hrs! Gas receipt in hand (and paperwork all fill out and ship!)

Total mileage for my round trip was 3800 miles.

Awesome job on your trip... Did you get hook on long touring ride... I think I did!
 

Marthy

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That's awesome! Here's few recommendation...

First... get your ass some relief! Stop at a sports store and get yourself a pair of cyclist padded shorts, that should help a bit.

While you're there you should consider a camel pack. You should constantly drink while you drive... not just a sip every 3 hrs.

Try to find a Cycle Gear somewhere... they are all over the place in Florida. Get a Cramp Buster... that should help the RH.

On those long riding day, don't forget to squirt some lube on your chain, like every 2-3 fuel stop. When I left Laconia I lube my chain before I left and I got cough up on driving like a mad man to do the trip under 24 hrs. So I didn't lube enough... chain and sprockets were totally toast when I got here...

Other than that stay safe. And if you swing by West Palm Beach PM me...
 

Zack

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That's awesome! Here's few recommendation...

First... get your ass some relief! Stop at a sports store and get yourself a pair of cyclist padded shorts, that should help a bit.

That sounds like good advice. I didn't know that something like that exists!

While you're there you should consider a camel pack. You should constantly drink while you drive... not just a sip every 3 hrs.

This is what I was missing. Bottle with water and long PVC straw kind of hose

Try to find a Cycle Gear somewhere... they are all over the place in Florida. Get a Cramp Buster... that should help the RH.

Didn't know about that either!

On those long riding day, don't forget to squirt some lube on your chain, like every 2-3 fuel stop. When I left Laconia I lube my chain before I left and I got cough up on driving like a mad man to do the trip under 24 hrs. So I didn't lube enough... chain and sprockets were totally toast when I got here...

They serviced a chain and said that it was fine. I did lube it heavily before trip
 

Marthy

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I think it will be Key West, but from Sarasota, not from Canada.
I went once there by car and drive was impressive. have to do it once more on the bike, stay there for 2 days and come back.

When are you going to be there? The "Big trip" kind of hit my finance but it's not a long trip for me...

On your way there... just before Key Largo (first bridge) stop at Gilberts Ressort. From the road the place look more like a **** hole / truck stop then a resort. But go all the way to the end to the tiki bar. The view is amazing (Sunset) and the food is awesome. Steak pepper is my favorite. Hit the road early... traffic is mind blowing there... Tamiami Hyw is a great way to go through also. Watch your speed in the reserve...

I usually stay at Truman Hotel. It right on US1, about 2 block before Duval St. (Main party road) They're a little pricy (like everywhere else in KW) but they have a nice covert garage. I parked my bike right under the stairs last time... Very secure!
 
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Marthy

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About your headset... I got mine at Radio Shack for around $40.00 It's as a thing around the ear and goes in with a rubber piece. It's like a ear plug... I was very happy with them. Only thing I never sort out my phone setting so it answer the phone automatically.
 

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I have a camal back but how does one drink out of it while riding? do you lift your visor and ride one handed? or is it a pull over sorta thing? I've only ever used it when pulled over (or hiking) or at a red light.

I've been wanting to do a trip like this, maybe to halifax, justa longer ride, but the seat is an issue for me as well... I got the comfort seat and I think it's worse so I'm now waiting for some shocktek gel but I'll try the bicycle shorts (MEC has em I bet).

how dot he crampbusters work if you need to make an emergency stop or slow down? is there anything you need to do to release it or doe sit just respond instantly and let go of it's hold if you twist the throttle?

sorry for the hijack..
 

Marthy

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I have a camal back but how does one drink out of it while riding? do you lift your visor and ride one handed? or is it a pull over sorta thing? I've only ever used it when pulled over (or hiking) or at a red light.

I've been wanting to do a trip like this, maybe to halifax, justa longer ride, but the seat is an issue for me as well... I got the comfort seat and I think it's worse so I'm now waiting for some shocktek gel but I'll try the bicycle shorts (MEC has em I bet).

how dot he crampbusters work if you need to make an emergency stop or slow down? is there anything you need to do to release it or doe sit just respond instantly and let go of it's hold if you twist the throttle?

sorry for the hijack..

I had my camel pack into my tank bag. I just had to pull the hose out, drink and push it back in. I didn't feel like having the cpack on me for 1500+ miles.

As for the crampbuster it just goes over the handgrip. All you do is rest your hand on it. It's not a throttle lock. Once you rotate it where you like... it hold there. All you need is rotate it around or remove it (3 second), that's it! And it cost about $12.00 and takes 3 second to install in a parking lot. No tool required! LOL
 

Zack

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...
As for the crampbuster it just goes over the handgrip. All you do is rest your hand on it. It's not a throttle lock. Once you rotate it where you like... it hold there. All you need is rotate it around or remove it (3 second), that's it! And it cost about $12.00 and takes 3 second to install in a parking lot. No tool required! LOL

Now this looks like something simple and effective at the same time!
 

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Zack

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Yesterday I flew back from Sarasota to Toronto. Here is a funny part, I paid 93 dollars for all gas for my FZ6 from Toronto to Sarasota.
Last night I paid 72 dollars for airport taxi to get home from airport (approximately 35 km)! Things ain't cheap around here!
 
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