August 2011 - In the Beginning – I meet Red Girl

I first saw Red Girl when she was listed for sale on the Adventure Riders Forum, an on-line assemblage of motorcycle riders from all over the world. This is the place where riders come together to share their stories, learn from others, and buy & sell motorcycles and related gear. It’s the best place to hang out if you’re a biking enthusiast even if you don’t ride.

According to the AD Red Girl was located in Malta, NY, around 30 miles north of Albany. Tony Morris, the ADV rider offering her for sale was her second owner, a fact which nearly put me off. My thinking was there must be something dreadfully wrong with a bike barely a year old and already up for sale twice.

Tony’s Ad read in part:

2010 Honda NT700v                                                                                                                                                              Now approx 12k miles
Ricor Intiminator fork upgrade for a better ride
Triumph fork gaiters
Fresh oil change
New Pirelli Scorpion tires

Great description, good price, but it was the photos that got me. I mean, who can say no to a red Honda?

I’d done some very intensive research into this model and couldn’t discover any known issues or history of troubles; in fact the NT700 is well known in Europe as the Honda Deauville where many of the owners use them as daily commuters due to their high degree of reliability. Added to that the model has been on sale in Europe since 1998 being first being introduced as the NT650V and later in 2006 rebadged as the NT700V when the engine was enlarged to 680cc’s, thus establishing a long life history.

I know little of Red Girl’s past except her first owner, also a New Yorker was an experienced motorcyclist who buys and sells machines on a fairly short term basis. Tony whom I bought her from is somewhat the same and shortly after buying her another model caught his eye and she soon found herself back on the block. The resulting Ad on Adventure Riders Forum was the first I’d seen for a pre-owned example of these scarce (in the USA) machines and I jumped at it.

Tony’s asking price was very agreeable and on August 22^nd we were able to strike a deal over the telephone.  With the business done I would fly back to New York and ride her home, a typical “fly and ride” deal a lot of bikers do. To help make things easier for me Tony offered to pick me up at the nearest airport in Albany, NY, around thirty miles from his home. He would also receive and store a couple of boxes containing my riding gear plus the GPS I’d use on the way home.

Besides the riding gear I included a small tank bag for which I ordered a special mounting bracket that fits over the gas filler; the idea being to keep the bag off the tank’s painted surface and at the same time making for a quick-release for refueling. This was shipped directly from the retailer to Tony’s office and as a pleasant surprise he installed it on the Honda in readiness for my arrival.

Another item that I’d ordered in advance was a set of bar risers from Motorcycle Larry’s, a company that handles a lot of support items and farkles for the NT700v. These are small metal brackets that relocate the handlebars up an inch or so and back towards the rider another inch. This makes a huge difference in riding comfort as it reduces the amount of forward lean the rider must endure. Old guys like me really appreciate not having to bend our backs too far.

MCL Bar Riser Kit

Included in the riser package was MCL’s optional GPS mounting kit complete with RAM ball. This item is compatible with lots of aftermarket farkles including the Garmin Zumo 550 that I use.



My allocated time for this trip was a bit hurried as I was actively involved in the remodeling of a small building I own in Portland and I couldn’t be away more than a few days. I headed home to Bandon to pack, after which the fastest means of getting to NY was to catch the red-eye flight out of Eugene back to Portland and then non-stop into Albany where I would arrive early the next morning. Thanks to Tony I didn’t have to check any bags and that made my flight a lot more enjoyable.



The Red Eye to New York



Albany Airport - I must have swapped planes somewhere?



As he’d agreed Tony was waiting to meet me and with no baggage to claim we left for his place, stopping off for a bit of breakfast and a get-to-know-you session.

We arrived at his home mid-morning, the sun was shining and it looked like a typical late summer day, not at all what I’d been expecting. Hurricane Irene had swept through the area just a couple of days earlier and I’d nearly cancelled the trip but as it turned out she was less violent than had been expected and damage to Tony’s area was minimal. He rolled Red Girl out of the storage building and she was beautiful, not a scratch on her anywhere and looking like a brand new bike. I was smitten!



I meet Red Girl for the first time. Wow...!



We immediately set about installing the handlebar risers and tank bag, then wired up a temporary connection for the GPS. At the same time we installed an auxiliary power plug that would accommodate my electric heated vest. What? Who’s that snickering? Hey I’ve been cold, I’ve been warm. I like warm better.



Tony and me working on Red Girl's farkles

Tony probably wondering about the wisdom of all this....

Power Outlet for my heated vest. What?

As part of the handlebar riser kit the new centrally located GPS mount went on easy. We also mounted the MotoFizz tail bag that would serve the function of a top box on the ride home. You wouldn't believe how much stuff one of these expandable puppies can hold. In addition to that they're super easy to remove from the bike at the end of the day.

GPS mounted - Note the cool map case on the tank bag

While we were busy installing things “Ramblin Dan”, one of my on-line scooter buddies who lives close by to Tony showed up for a brief visit. He’d invited me to stay with him since Tony was scheduled to go pick up his new bike that night, the one that would be Red Girl’s replacement. 

Ramblin' Dan - Rogue Scooterist

Once we’d finished all the installations including another wash job by Tony I was ready to go for a spin.



Tony! She's clean already, enough!

There was a Honda dealer located twenty miles or so north that would be my target destination; I wanted to pick up a vinyl tank guard before setting out for home.


Honda dealer aka "Sportline" dealer. What's that all about?



Tank Protector Gizmo - nice item, it works

This is an item that covers the rearmost part of the tank and protects the finish from belt buckles. The dealer had them in stock and I bought one thinking I’d install it for the ride home. As it turned out I didn’t get around to it for nearly a month after I rode home but I was careful not to lean against the tank and no scratches occurred.

After riding around the area for 50 miles I headed to Dan’s place where I’d spend the night. We ordered in pizza and beer and spent some time mulling over the best options for the ride home.

After yakking it up for a couple of hours it was time to hit the hay; I’d been up for a long time and since I never sleep during flights I was ready to crash. Dan had to work the next day so we both got up early, had coffee and said our goodbyes. Red Girl was loaded comfortably and I was off.

What follows are excerpts from daily emails that I sent home & to friends during the ride west.

Sept 02 Friday – On the road again!

Hi People,

I'm alive & well, think I'm in Farmington, NY but couldn't swear by it. This afternoon all the fast living finally caught up with me so I grabbed the first overpriced motel I could find and crashed early.

Red Girl is performing better than I expected, nice level of power, good stoppers, good handling, and the fuel economy is hanging just over 50mpg. The windshield adjustments are easy and I've used 3 out of 5 already; neat feature.

Tony and I installed a set of bar risers that moved the handlebars up an inch or so and back around 1 1/2" which made a huge difference in ergonomics. The bike is light enough that I can ride and park anywhere with confidence, something we take for granted with our 3-wheelers but very welcome on a 2-wheeler. I'm able to stand flat-footed on one side and tippy-toed on the other which is adequate for me. Dan was able to stand flat-footed while the bike was on the center stand! Must be nice Dan, eh?

So far only one mishap has occurred, the GPS went south about an hour into the ride this morning so I had to perform a bit of roadside maintenance. It turned out to be the temporary power wiring I’d made up had failed leaving the GPS to run full time on its internal battery until it went flat.

Using spare electrical bits I managed to fix it while at the same time whack a couple of nice holes in my finger. It’s now back on line and functioning as it should be. My finger will take slightly longer.



I'd planned on visiting several friends on the way home but it looks like I won’t be able to; my daughter sent photos of the office building I'm having remodeled and it appears the contractor has either left town or decided to take a long holiday as nothing seems to be getting done. With that to deal with I'd better skedaddle home and see if I can light a fire under him and go for a ride later.

I also wanted to write a blog on the ride back but I don't know how much I'll get to see so maybe it will have to wait. Anyway thanks to all of you for your interest and especially to Dan for his hospitality (and beer), I'll try to get back on line later and answer the questions some of you asked.

Best,

LL75

Sept 03 Saturday – Is this Ohio? Is it?

Hi People,

Today was hot as hell so I gave my swamp cooler vest a total work out and I'm pleased to say it still functions. Some of the McDonalds customers may have wondered what I was doing in the restroom while saturating it with water but it was a great place to "fill up."

Because it was so hot I bailed early again, think I'm in Ohio somewhere as the motel says Perryville or something like that so I’m probably close to Dayton. I'm not bothering with a map as the print's too fine which makes my eyes bug out so I'm letting the GPS take me home. Naturally it prefers riding the slab with as many toll sections it can locate. I wouldn't mind but the damn roads are in miserable shape and I can't help wondering where all the toll money goes. Not on maintenance that's for sure.

I finally broke down and called my contractor from hell and he was ecstatic to hear from me; seems he's running a bit low on funds to which I responded that I have lots of bucks in the bank just waiting to send his way as soon as the project is finished. His new promised date is next Wednesday and I told him I'd be there for the final walk-through, check in hand. In other words I lied. Payback is hell boys and girls; you should never mess with old people, we’ve got nothing to lose.

A couple things of note before closing today’s post: Evidently the folks in Ohio don't cotton to drinking much beyond tap water; I received a stern warning not to go running around the motel with a beer in hand. Do I look like the sort who would subscribe to that behavior? Not me, nope, never.

As a bit of an update on Red Girl I wanted to mention the AirHawk seat pad is once again proving its worth by saving me from Monkey Butt. I hope that's not too graphic....

There's a bit of the expected hand grip buzz you always get from two-cylinder engines so I'll probably look into resolving that at a future date. She already has a very expensive set of bar-end weights added but they don't seem to be helping a great deal so maybe a set of cushy grips will work?

Overall she seems to be a great little beastie, I rode her on gravel for the first time this afternoon and she was stable as could be. I also did some very tight low speed U-turns (missed a couple of turns & had to reverse course) and she behaved with great manners; actually a bit easier than my scooter Red Dog.

It looks like that's today's report, sorry but the camera stayed in the bag all day so no exciting pics of Ohio to post. Maybe I'll take a couple tomorrow before leaving the area?

LL75

Sept 04 Sunday – Iowaaaaaaay! One of my favorite places!I'm in Grinnell, IA tonight, covered a bit over 500 miles by riding the toll roads all day. The new bike takes some of the boredom out of it as she’s so nice to ride. Lots of traffic cops in all the states so far, must be the holiday weekend that attracted them. It's almost like watching sharks in a feeding frenzy or maybe more like riding in Florida on any day of the year.

I beat most of the nasty storm that was moving into the Ohio region, got just a few sprinkles this morning, then sunshine for the rest of the day. Last night it hailed golf ball sized nuggets while I slept through it all. In fact I didn't get up once during the night...go figure?


Sept 06 Monday – Labor Day… Izzit legal to ride today?So what’s it like to wake up in Ogallala Nebraska you ask? Yawns…snore…  And while you’re asking you might include the question just where the heck is it? Simple, it's located 513 miles west of wherever I was last night. Look it up, you’ll see. The perfect holiday retreat…zzzzz…zzzzz

I was happy to see it was sunny this morning but still cold enough to require my heated vest. Which by the way being's how I'm so damned fat I can't get the thing zipped up? It still did the job though and kept me toasty warm until around noon when things warmed up enough to go without it. I love modern technology.

I saw a couple of wrecks today, probably to be expected since it’s Labor Day, right? The first one involved a herd of confused HD riders, no one apparently hurt but they were still confused looking like you get when you run off the road unexpectedly....I wouldn't know anything about that, eh? The second one involved an upside-down cage with a couple of folks on stretchers while others involved were sort of hanging out; no doubt they were probably all talking to lawyers about cricks in their necks. That last one had ended up on the huge grassy median that separates the east-west lanes and from the looks of it they were all packing enough clothes for a week-long visit to Grandma’s. Gear, clothes, undies, etc., were strewn for a quarter of a mile, it was a helluva mess.

I remained on the slab all day enjoying the nice 75mph speed limit which really enables you to move right along. Then the construction zone from hell showed up and I found myself parked in the dead-stop-to-2mph mode for about 45 mins, just 5 miles short of my goal for the day. That was fun. Anyway I'm holed up in another cheapie motel and stuffed full of meatball submarine sandwich & warm cola, genuine manly food. Life on the road remains good.

Red Girl continues running really well; no more hesitations like before so I think the gas was probably bad. This is a great road machine that loves to run steady at 85+ mph.  At this rate I hope to make Portland by Friday at the latest; the contractor from hell swears the building will be done. Fire maybe?

Sept 07 Tuesday – Escape from Salt Lake City

After WY, MT, etc, I overnighted last night in Salt Lake City, Center of the Known Universe. For some reason I seem unable to find cheap motels in this town and always end up spending double what it would cost elsewhere. All through this ride I’ve stayed in motels that ranged from crappy - the kind I usually frequent - to really swell ones managed by people who need to be more observant about whom they let onto their premises. The hour was late when I arrived so I didn’t do any exploring, just stuffed my face with food and hit the sack.

Sept 08 Wednesday – Overnight in Lake View and the final ride home

After leaving Salt Lake City I continued onto Lake View, OR where I froze my patootie off. Don’t these people know about summer? I stayed in the same grungy old motel as the last time I rode through this area and had a decent dinner at the nearby Mexican restaurant. In the morning I met another rider at the motel with a really filthy old beater BMW. His collection of vintage scarred-up leather saddle bags looked like something out of the dump but he seemed the frugal type and was proud to show them off.  When I pointed to Foxy as being my shiny new ride he was totally unimpressed. Guys who ride old BMW airheads are often like that, at least I used to be back in the days when that was my ride. Once the chest pounding ritual was out of the way we shared a table over breakfast and swapped lies about our roadworthiness. He was better at it than I.

The remainder of the day’s ride was through familiar territory that ultimately took me by a couple of rider buds who oohed and aahed over Red Girl like she was the 2nd coming. After that I did the right thing and actually went home. Both of the dogs pretended to know me and since herself is running for office and involved up to her ears in campaign stuff I have the run of the place to myself. Nice and restful indeed.

Before closing I thought some of you might be interested in these brief stats:

On the way home I rode 3 days that logged over 500 miles each and one that went over 635, all easy as pie. These may not sound like a lot to some but for me the only other bike I've ridden that enabled me to log that many daily miles was my Gold Wing.  By comparison my normal daily mileage when touring on the Ninja ranges between 275 – 375 miles; substantially less than on Red Girl. It would seem then the added weather protection provided by her fairings and adjustable windshield makes a huge difference in comfort thus enabling me to ride longer.

Traffic for the most part was a non-issue; once past the ugly snarls on Labor Day the only other real delays occurred when road construction workers (Let's Get America Back To Work!) people messed around delaying traffic as long as humanly possible. All of this with zero evidence that anyone was actually engaged in the work thing.

Anyway I'm home at last and in conclusion I can honestly say I’m glad I bought this shiny red bike. I’m thinking she’ll prove to be one of my better moves, contrary to most of my calls.

Take care people, and drop by this blog from time to time; I'll be posting whenever something new is added to Red Girl plus who knows, I may even get to go for another ride soon.

LL