TENMA Tech Report

If you are a rider or an aspiring rider you may wonder how this was done. This blog entry covers some of the details. I should open by saying that this list demonstrates a propensity to over preparation. Be that as it may, the outcome was pretty perfect. Everything worked as planned and I made it back safe and sound, so I am going stand on the results as proof that the preparation was at least adequate.

I should also say that I was darn lucky to get STella with many of the upgrades listed already installed. The original owner bought her new, did a ton of upgrades and then did not ride her for three years so I got her with less than 3k miles. A number of other upgrades came as a result of a judicious application of the insurance settlement proceeds from of a parking accident when STella got hit. Like I say...darn lucky.

I traveled 6,050 miles at an average moving speed of 56 MPH for about 108 hours in the saddle over 17 days of traveling for about 6.35 hours per day.

STella is a 2007 Honda ST1300A (ABS-equipped) sports-touring bike upgraded with HeliBars Gen3 Handlebar Risers, MCL Highway Blades, MCL Tip Over Bars and Passenger Peg Lowering Brackets,  a Sargent seat, an Aeroflow windshield, Honda grip heaters, a Hondaline Top Box, PIAA 910 driving lights on Ron Seng mounts, a Stebel 145 db air horn, Amperite headlight modulators, and a Whelen amber strobe light mounted under the top box that is operated by a custom controller. She rode on new Michelin Pilot Road 2 tires.

A Moto Centric Mototrek 19 tank bag rides up front with a 100 oz Camelback Unbottle water bladder, sunblock, glasses cleaner and wipes, anti-fog pads, batteries, eye drops, lip balm, a flashlight and a short camera tripod, First Aid kit and a small notebook and pen inside. RAM mounts carried my HTC EVO cell phone, my Escort Passport 8500 radar detector with a supplemental 125 db piezo siren and in a RAM Aquabox, my trusty Garmin GPS.

I carried a mesh summer jacket and summer gloves from Icon, a full coverage waterproof touring suit (coat and pants) from Olympia complete with a liner jacket and liner pants, a nylon and fleece jacket, middle weight gloves and heavy waterproof gloves, a Frogg Toggs rain suit, a Shoei full-face helmet with a clear and a smoked shield...and electric socks.

Emergency gear included a SPOT Emergency Locator (tethered to a hook over the breast pocket of my jacket(s), a steel whistle, a First Aid kit with a pouch of Quik-Clot, a mini air compressor, tire-plugging kit, basic hand tools, spare luggage straps, oil, a cash stash, hidden spare keys, a 4" square x 1/4" thick aluminum kickstand pad on a keeper-cord, H4 Headlight Bulb Shims (which I used en-route), emergency water, a spare burner cell phone and a back-up GPS.

Camping gear rode in a North Face Base Camp Medium Duffel Bag and included a 2-man Eureka back-packing tent, a plastic tent footprint sheet,  a 20F REI mummy bag, a self-inflating REI sleeping pad, a JetBoil Stove and butane tank, aluminum cup and bowl, fork and spoon, an AeroPress coffee maker, a scrub sponge, an Alite Monarch Butterfly chair, a Gerber Gator Jr Machete, an LED lantern, an LED flashlight and a Wenzel camp blanket.

I carried an HP Netbook, a Nikon Coolpix S3000 digital camera and a Midland Bluetooth helmet headset and the chargers needed for each.

Camp food was all dry, including instant oatmeal, raisins, granola, instant beans and rice, dried meats and coffee. They were stashed in a small backpack with 50' of cord stashed inside so the bag could be hung from a tree away from camp.

Clothes were carried in a North Face Base Camp Small Duffel Bag. I wear Sliders Kevlar-reinforced jeans (wore one, took one spare) and Fox knee-pads, I wore one shirt, packed two. I wore one t-shirt and took eight (mixed long and short sleeved). I wore thigh-length Champion polyester underwear (to avoid monkey-butt) and polyester liner socks. I had nine pairs of each allowing a fresh pair of each for each day. I wore REI wool Expedition socks (each pair worn two days) under my Chippewa boots (which had been treated with bees wax to waterproof them).

I used cam-lock nylon straps to secure the bags to STella. The straps were tied off to the steel frame tubes under the seat and then routed up and around the seat and around the bags, which rested on the passenger seat. Two straps pulled the larger bottom bag down and back against the Top Box and the third (center) strap pulled the smaller top bag down against the Top Box. Four nylon straps (two in front and two in back) looped through the tie-off loops on the duffel bags and crisscrossed, holding them firmly together to prevent the top bag from shifting left to right.

The ST1300 provides great weather protection, including protection of legs and feet, which made use of the electric socks unnecessary...at least on this trip when temps were rarely below 40F. Grip heaters are a godsend. Get some. The MCL Tip-Over bars are a great addition. They have saved my saddle bags twice so far.The MCL Highway Blades do not create an ideal riding position but it is great to have someplace else to put your feet after 5 -6 hours on the road. I recommend them. The HeliBars Risers are the #1 addition to any ST1300. They change the whole personality of the bike.

The GPS in the Aquabox worked but was hard to see, particularly when wearing sunglasses....just too dim. But it was lots cheaper than a Zumo...this one is a tough call.

Temps on this trip ran from the high 90's to the mid 30's, so the wide selection of outerwear was very useful. Layering was critical and I regularly made several changes per day. I always wear armor, regardless of the weather, so minimum coverage was knee pads, Sliders jeans, a t-shirt, the Icon mesh and leather jacket, vented gloves and my helmet. I would switch to the Olympic jacket when temps got down to the 50s and switch back to the mesh jacket when temps went past about 75F.

There were some things I took along I did not end up using. The weather did not stay in the mid-30's as long as I was prepared to deal with. As a result, the heavy gloves, liner jacket/pants and the electric socks were never used....but that was about it (I did use the fleece jacket under the Olympic jacket when temps dropped to the lower 50's.

The camping gear was lightly used...less than I anticipated. I believe that was the case for three key reasons.

1. I am not comfortable getting STella off of paved surfaces...and particularly not comfortable stopping off pavement. She is too heavy to handle without solid footing. Many of the potential camping spots had only dirt or gravel access.
2. It was difficult to identify suitable (paved) camping sites in advance and difficult or impossible to reserve camping spots in advance. Many/most are handled on a first come, first served basis.
3. Traveling a nominal 6 plus hours per day (often 8 plus hours) made the time required for camp set-up and tear-down problematic, especially if the time required to find a camping spot needed to be lumped in on top. 

The upshot is that I learned that keeping up this travel pace and camping with a bike that is not well suited to dirt roads is a tough proposition. I really enjoyed the two nights I got to camp, so I am glad I was prepared, but in retrospect I may have done as well going 100% with cheap motels.The other approach that would work would be to ride to a desired destination, set up camp, and then ride the area for a few days before moving on.

Overall, for a first time out on an extended ride, I think I did pretty well. For me, the key was flexibility. I did not stick to my plan when I felt the plan would lead me into a dangerous situation. As a result of that...and I am sure, a great deal of good luck...and the fact that STella ran absolutely perfectly (because she is a well-maintained Honda), I had a great time and no real problems.