IN_NO_OH

"Didn't mean to start talk about the singles scene"... eyelashes batting.. riiight... lol

Greetings from another forum-newb. I always like 'nati when I get down there. Haven't been very often, though. What's the bike scene down there?

A reminder, too, to watch out when $ is tight. Tire debris everywhere with people driving down to the cords. Cars are dangerous to others, d*mnit. Wake up, drivers.

Condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased, quick recovery to the rider. Chilling crash, too, from what I can tell. (I couldn't see that video.) Just riding up to several one-by-fours? Ugh. It's easy to see how a rider might decide in an instant that there was no better option than an emergency swerve. "Decide" is overstating it, too. Much sympathy for the rider, as things stand now. Random crap on crowded freeways. It p1sses me off. Only put loose items out in the open if that sh1t is *locked* down. My grandpa was a truck driver his whole life. I never knew a guy so careful about strapping down anything outside a vehicle. He always aimed for the load staying put even if the vehicle were turned upside down over the road. One-by-fours could be just any random guy coming from Home Depot, too; not necessarily a professional driver.

Touche.... Hilarious. Another voice in favor of sexin' the acquitted here, too.

Not following you, there, Ohdaho. "Canadians swimming" was just meant to express my puzzlement as to why BP would be hanging around the lake shore so far from a border. Nothing meant with regard to Canucks...

Thanks. I just hadn't seen one until recently, and I've been a buckeye for more than ten years. I don't get out toward Sandusky that often, though.

I know several people who've ridden back from another state without a valid plate after buying a bike. I can't recall any of them getting any serious static about it. In fact, I don't think any of them even got stopped. A guy I know was just telling me about the time he bought a bike in Illinois at the beginning of a holiday weekend. The plate follows the owner there, not the bike. Seller wouldn't loan the plate. Temp plates are available, but all the state offices were closed until Tuesday or something. So, he just rode on back without a plate. Had insurance, notarized title, etc., and was just going to explain to John Law if he got lit up. And really-- what was he supposed to do? Asking someone to stay three days in another state rather than just ride home with a proper title, insurance, etc., is too much. The state could at least make the temp plates available at full-service supermarkets when the state offices are closed on the weekend if they're going to be hardassed about the temp plate requirement. Anyway, he said he had his wife with him to provide some cover in a cage behind him. No LE contact at all on the way. He said he got on and off the turnpike in IN and OH two or three times. Passed by the fuzz a couple of times on the freeway. No one said squat. I think, actually, that a bike with no plate is much easier to get away with than a cage. I think people wouldn't be quick to notice, unless they were looking specifically for it. Anyway, it would be interesting to hear the constable's opinion.

It's not appropriate for the state to compile a database of our movements, which is what it will do with a proliferation of this technology. Running plates randomly to compare to lists of stolen or crime-involved vehicles is one thing, but recording the readings of all plates read, with locations and times, is another matter. Whatever was envisioned with the requirement that we hang metal placards on our vehicles for the police to identify us right away it surely wasn't equivalent to a requirement that we report all of our movements to the police all the time, or even to police permission to construct such databases about all of us.

So, I've seen a border patrol truck up on Rt. 6 and Rt. 2 near Sandusky recently. Once, I saw this unit participating in some traffic stop on Rt. 2 wtih OSP. A few weeks back, I saw this truck (I assume it was the same one) hanging around the 80/90 interchange in Elyria. I did a double-take there-- Border Patrol in Elyria, OH? I've never seen a border patrol vehicle operating in OH until just a few months ago. I wonder if this is to do with picking up illegal Mexican or Central American immigrants, Canadians swimming across the lake, or something else...

Yeah, that's what I meant.. ^^^ Sorry for the obscure title. Should be "west" on Euclid, as I was moving *from the* east. Otherwise, yeah, juiced-up, lead-pedaled cage got lit up, and probably ticketed. That is all.

Old thread, I know, but new to me! I know there's not a lot of love for the superslab in the m/c world. I like to use my bike instead of a cage as much as possible, though. From the standpoint of car vs. m/c I much prefer to ride the interstate on my bike as compared to the car. Visibility, freedom, moving away from annoying clumps of cars at will, etc. The usual m/c praise... I actually like moving by the big rigs. The beemer's strength is stability in wind, buffeting, etc., and I think it's cool to roll by with all that dirty air knocking around. The car carriers make a windstorm behind them, even compared to the usual trailers. I have always found the freeway calming as compared to the roads. I started riding in SoCal, and the freeway was a necessity from day one. The freeway was the easiest to handle as a new rider, and maybe that's how my inclination formed. As some of you have said, my biggest fears is animals, or other objects coming up suddenly in the roads, though. Serious pucker. (I guess I don't like much coming suddenly onto a bridge grate on the interstate, but there's none of that in OH that I've come across.) About a month, ago, actually, I got some unwanted excitement. I was riding at night on 480, and I saw a parked cage on the median. A few hundred yards up there was a dude-- presumably the driver--- looking for a spot to run across the road! That should have been a clue. Not even a second later I see a muffler on the ground in my lane, but on the other side from where I was riding. Gave me chills. So, another note to myself. People out of their stopped cars looking to get onto the road: watch out for lost items immediately ahead...

Was riding east through Browns-town tonight on Euclid from Case area to downtown. 2-up with my girl on the back. In the city, and with my girl, I am mellow on the ride, but I'll try to pass to get away from annoying situations. Anyway, somewhere east I moved past a seriously pumped-up ride. An old plymouth, it looked like, a duster or something. Rear end jacked up high, big time intake up through a cut-open hood, race stickers, and *loud* exhaust. I didn't think much of it, but I think dude was pissed that some biker (me) dissed his ride by movin' by. So I guess, anyway, as events unfolded. Over a few miles, he moves up slowly on what is effectively a one-lane road. (Bus lane, but all involved were respecting the bus only thing.) When we got near the bridge on Superior, dude *jumped* past to get up to the light in front on the left. As I say, I'm with my girl, it's the city, I don't care. There's another car in front of me in the right lane, and that car is next to the Ply, who's in front in the left. Anyway, right behind the hot rod rolls a CLE cop on a duty Harley. He was suited up, but without that green vest they wear when they're working events downtown. Ply driver doesn't realize this is five-oh behind him, I guess. At the light, he stomps on the pedal. Thunders up to the bridge, then does the same at the next light, then just *jams* up the bridge-- I guess he wants to make a serious statement about his 0-60 capabilities. John Law's zeroed in now, and halfway up the bridge the lights come on... I often get followed by cop m/c's or even 4-doors for a few blocks in the city. I'm not sure why. This happens even with the hard bags on, we always have helmets, gear, etc. I'm guessing the fuzz are checking about an m/c endorsement for the registered owner-- a lot of guys around here ride without it, as I've learned. I don't really know. Tonight, though, all eyes were on my new friend... With his car in full cop-magnet dress, I hope he was able to talk his way into a warning. I've not found CLE all that hard-nosed about traffic enforcement, even on bar nights. Bars are the one growth industry in town, sad to say... Anyway, that happened. Long story, as it worked out...

Wow. Ignorance is bliss. I've driven or ridden down to No VA several times a year for years. Sometimes I cruise down 77 to 70, then go through WV and MD. Once I got away from the Canton area I kind of felt like I was home free. OSP lurks here and there, but I didn't expect any air power. I don't make news footage, I just ride a bit faster than traffic, but still... Someone above said they have 182's. Just for information's sake, if any of you know about small aircraft, and at least one of you posted some of the specs of that plane, you'll know the 182 is faster than the 172 (or 152) that is more common in small airports. Even under ideal conditions it would be hard for the fastest sport bikes to get away from such a plane. Anyway, some of your bike are hella fast, but my bike isn't outrunning any planes, to say the least. Any of you who got dinged by the air, do you remember which agency is was that wrote you up? OSP or locals? (OSP might fly for other agencies, I guess, but I'm just curious.)

I'm someone who's accurately comparing the FJR to other sport-touring bikes suitable for 2,000 mile trips. That would be in keeping with the OP's question at the outset, or, as someone else might say, the topic of the thread, or the subject at hand. I'm not sure what age or sex someone has to be to read an internet thread about motorcycles with good understanding, but presumably you're well within the range. So, I'm at a bit of a loss. All I can do is write an answer; I can't read it for you.... The FJR's got a seat that's narrower than, say, the BMW RT, or a GoldWing, or a Harley Street Glide-- again, bikes that are the paradigm of the long tourers the OP asked about, or are his own make/model-- and the seat slopes forward unlike the perches on these other bikes. The pegs are a bit higher and the bars more forward than on these other rides. Among these bikes-- themselves primary members of a class, again, that would be set by the topic of this thread-- the FJR is set up pretty aggressively, yeah. That's not a knock on the bike, by the way, or I don't mean it as one, anyway. It's a note to consider about the bike. Which is why I, well..., noted it above. The FJR is a very strong bike. It's certainly faster than an RT, or the Goldwing, or a Harley, or the Honda ST. If someone and his passenger were comfortable on it, it would be an awesome touring ride. I have ridden one, but not in a way that taught me anything much about the bike. A couple guys I know who have ridden the FJR a while, though, were impressed with it. If you're seriously asking about the BMW RT seat, or in case anyone else cares, I have to say I don't know what to make of the seat by itself. It's all right, just the stock seat that was the 'comfort' option in earlier years. It's good enough that with the RT riding position I've been comfortable on 500-mile days. But then, it's imperfect enough that I think it might be worth buying another. Anyway, OP's doing the Harley suspension improvements on the SG, in the end, and, again, I think that can work out for two-up comfort as well as anything.

I've never seen aircraft enforcement up in the CLE area. I've never heard of someone receiving an air ticket hereabouts, either. I would have said it was an urban myth that there was any kind of traffic-air around here if I hadn't read about the surveillance in the news story. Then again, a chase of bikes clocked at 150+ might get an air unit called out even if it didn't otherwise work traffic. It's expensive to fly a police plane. Pilot, maintenance, fuel, time-to-overhaul on the engine, all of it--- it's got to cost a department a couple of hundred an hour. Consider, too, that there have to be ground units acting in concert to write any tickets, anyway. It's not clear to me that any increase in ticket revenues produced with aircraft assistance as compared to the same ground units writing up citations unassisted would justify the expense of the plane. That's what I would say, anyway, if asked to make a back-of-the-envelope calculation.

Thanks, all. Had some issue with my log-in and email, so I'm going with the slightly modified handle. (Don't bust me, moderators! ) I've not spent a lot of time down in 'nati, Jamez. Interesting there are a lot of sport bikes down there. Cleveland is definitely an oldschool m/c environment. Big cruisers everywhere. Pirates and some serious old time Bad Santa types. This is the kind of place where the HD guys are actively hostile to Japanese machines. Youngstown is much the same. I'd be interested to hear from any Toledo riders. When I've gone out there that seems like a gritty environment. Riding through the city the other day I passed by more than one dude sporting an all-the-way outlaw patch, and each guy was some different club. What is that city like, riding wise? Harleys were never my thing. I've got the Beemer now, but I rode my old Suz 750 for more than ten years. Sport riding is more my kind of riding. All right, see you out on the roads.

It sounds like you're better reassured about firming up your present ride, Hoblick. In case it's still of general interest, though, I have to say that it's surprisingly difficult to find a motorcycle that is capable of carrying two people and luggage comfortably on long rides. Just about every bike has a pillion platform, of course. But it's unusual to find a bike in which the pillion is more than an afterthought, much less one that leaves room for a passenger to ride comfortably for hours at a go. A bike has to have room for two adults to sit comfortably, with some adjustment possible, room for enough luggage to take the trip, and the capacity to carry all that without adversely affecting handling. There just aren't many motorcycles designed to provide all of these things well. Full passenger room alone rules out all but a handful of models, and when you demand hard bags and high weight capacity you don't have a lot of bikes to choose from. A Beemer RT-- my bike-- is one of the able tourers. A Gold Wing was, obviously, another, but the two-wheeled Accord wasn't for me. Honda has the ST, but there were a few reasons I thought the Beemer was a better choice. Even the Beemer K's seemed aimed more at the rider wanting a sport ride for the weekend with the ability to do a longer ride once in a while. For me, anyway, the K bikes wouldn't have been as comfortable on a long ride. An FJR's another bike in this area, but it's set up pretty aggressively for the rider. Not everyone would want to perch that way all day. It's also just a five-speed, which is to me an extremely annoying design element in a sport touring bike. Someone above's got a Kawi Connie, and he can say more about that bike than I can. Harleys are probably the most common choice for two-up long range riding, but I don't know much about them. I do know that substantial numbers of Harley owners say that the bikes are really comfortable for them and their passengers for a long day's tour. I've only heard people say that commonly about their Wings or an RT. I've taken a couple of rides out to the east coast this summer. I see a ton of newer Road Glides at the rest stops. They carry some pretty big people on occasion, too. I'm more than convinced they're a comfortable ride. I don't know about the Street Glide, but since you're already riding one you know whether you're comfortable on it for a longer ride. If your passenger can sit on the thing for two or three hours already then she can probably handle a day's ride. The suspension mods seem like a good idea. To be honest, though, the questions I'd have about the SG-- and again this is without doing any investigating at all-- is whether it would pull hard enough to keep up the speed climbing mountains on the interstate and whether you'd get worn out without more wind protection. As you must well know, one of the longstanding issues with some Harleys is that they aren't so happy making high speed with a load for a long time, but then again the newer bikes make respectable horsepower for a touring rig so this issue might be resolved. Again, I'd assume you know the details. The wind-- well, when I got my RT I was thinking seriously about two-up longer rides and I wanted lots of wind protection. You're already on the SG, so you know what the wind's like. Good luck. I hope you're out enjoying your tours soon.