SS1000- an Iron Butt Association designated ride of 1000 miles in a 24 hour period.
I planned to go from Albuquerque to northern California to visit my dad for Thanksgiving. This is a 1075 mile trip that I do several times a year. I usually do it in one day on my touring bikes, both presently owned and those from the past. I really enjoy riding the Tiger and wondered how it would be on long rides. So I decided that I would test the XC as a touring bike on this trip. I removed the Metzeler Karoos to save their limited life for more suitable terrain. I put a used Tourance on the rear and a Dunlop 404 on the front. The Dunlop was an 80-80 x 21 and was smaller in diameter than the Karoo. It also uses all of the tread at conservative lean angles so it is not a tire for using in a frisky manner. The smaller diameter made the bike more vertical on the sidestand so I had to be careful about where I parked it. I also installed a 17 tooth countershaft sprocket but could not compare rpm vs. speed as I have always made those comparisons to GPS speed. I have found that my right elbow gets sore from never being moved while riding the Tiger because I continuously have to hold the throttle I decided that a throttle lock was in order. This would allow me to release the throttle and exercise my elbow joint. The local stores had no suitable throttle lock so I used a big zip-tie around the throttle grip that would rest on the front brake lever. Someone made a Youtube video of doing this and I decided to copy the idea. The zip tie I used was slightly too flexible and would not maintain the setting for very long but it did allow me to exercise my elbow.
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| Very poor man's cruise control |
I already have the low seat option. I wanted different bars with more pullback and a little more height. I could not find any tapered handlebars that suited me so I bought 7/8" bars for an ATV and made shims to adapt the 1 1/8 clamps to the 7/8 bars.
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| Notice the greater pullback |
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| Homemade flanged shims for the handlebar clamps |
The bike has a Givi windshield and I also have made racks for Givi bags and top case so if I have everything installed it should be touring ready.
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| A true touring bike? Goldwings beware! |
Or is it? So I gave it a try on Wednesday morning, Novenber 16th. The weather was predicted to be somewhat cold so I also used my Gerbing heated gear. The larger alternator of the XC was a deciding factor in it's purchase. Naturally, as usual, there is a head wind going west to California from Albuquerque and that wind or one like it was with me almost the whole trip which did hurt gas mileage. Gas stops were typically at 175 miles depending on gas station availability. My BMW RT has a 7 gallon tank which I really missed as I did it's cruise control. I also took a break at the 500 mile gas stop to lube the chain. Lube the chain, what kind of touring bike is this? I have no centerstand yet so this procedure took some extra time. Due to the extra gas stops and a hamburger break at about 800 miles the trip took 18 hours which is a little longer than normal. The bike was a pleasure to ride across country and was not blown around too much by the winds although they were not as strong as normal. The lowest gas mileage was 44.2 and the highest was 49.6. These are speedometer numbers not GPS as my GPS is in for it's annual repair/replacement. Garmins have a 1 year life for me. Almost the whole trip was done at 65 to 85 mph. The BMW RT on the same trip and windier conditions was 39.1 to 43.6 mpg but I only had to make 3 stops versus the 5 on the XC. These are low mileage numbers from the beemer as it was very windy, the numbers are usually about the same as the Tiger's. The drawback to the XC was the seat. It starts getting uncomfortable at 300 miles and never gets better. But to be fair the stock BMW seat was just as bad so I now use a Russell Day-Long on it. The extra gas stops were actually valuable as a relief for my backside. With a better seat and better throttle lock or cruise control I could easily see using the XC as a cross country touring bike for one person. I doubt that the rear seat could be modified to be comfortable enough for a passenger on 300-500 mile days especially for several weeks. But I probably will try one trip 2-up as I really enjoy riding the XC and would consider buying and modifying one for 2 up touring if the passenger seat issue could be resolved. And of course I have yet to test the bike's comfort in the rain. I would also want tubeless tires, automatic chain oiler, larger gas tank and adding a true cruise control. Sounds a lot like my BMW RT. I could buy a set alloy wheels from the 800 road model and change wheels when needed. $2000 for wheels is cheaper than having a second motorcycle.
