The day after Christmas I left the house in 27 degree weather to meet up with my brother-in-law for a ride north to Salinas. The wing didn't want to fire up for the first time ever, but I usually wait until it is in the 40's to ride. I got her running and met him at my f.-in-laws 20 miles up the road, wearing glove liners w/ski gloves and a balaclava for my face. He has a 2009 HD Ultra Classic w/ heated jacket and gloves...
We took off and he set his cruise control to 72mph on the 101. Well, I just couldn't stay with him in the hills at all. That big ol' Harley just rumbled on while I played catch-up on the downhill sides. Lot's of time I was running at 5k plus in fourth, which really sucked the gas!He continued on the the Bay Area and I turned back south minus the glove liners and balaclava. This was kind of a test, so I tried to keep the hack at 70 for the 90 miles back home...it ran fine, but again, really sucked the fuel...at 65 or 60mph I'm down to 4k rpm and close to 30mpg so I think that is a good cruising speed. I did add 40# of ballast for the ride back because of the car wanting to rise more than I was comfortable with...all in all, a good run.
