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HOUSTON: NE Houston - Atascocita/Humble area riders!

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I’m out as well. Besides my son’s birthday party this weekend, my bike is in 100 pieces right now! Hahaha! Sent forks and shocks out for rebuild and upgrade, sent ECU out for reflash, rebuilding all 3 calipers, flushing coolant and doing valve clearances since it’s already torn down this far. The list snowballed since originally I was only doing suspension. I’ve got about 2 more weeks before everything is sent back to me and I can put her back together.
 
Sounds like you are getting it all covered! The forecast temps today were actually good. Road with warm weather gear, and the rain jacket in the early mist. Not bad! The route... 1133 isn't a bad road... 421 I knew was good. The run down to Smith point had a few curves, a number of bends... and a lot of straight. A change of scenery, though. Not an epic ride, but a number of good spots, and 300 miles of seat time. I'm good with that!

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Looks like Saturday is the day to ride this weekend. Here's what I've got:

Saturday, 4/3/2021. KSU at 0800, Texan Mart, West Lake Houston Pkwy & Aerobic in Atascocita.

About 300 miles, and a loop up to 1484 near Conroe, back up to 224, and the two little loops we did recently just north of Corrigan. Back down to 942, Votaw, and back via the prison road near Dayton. Should be back to Atascocita around 330.

Edit: It looks like the temp may be in the upper 40s at 0800 Saturday... I think I'll bump the KSU time to 0900... it should be to about 50 by then. That sounds better.... KSU at 0900, back to Atascocita around 430.
 

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Yes, I am! If we have others joining in, great! But I'm riding. Are you interested?

Note that I changed the KSU to 0900 to get a few degrees up on the temperature. Meet at 0830 at Texan Mart?
 
Very sorry, definitely not going to make it. Had an issue pop up with my rear brake, or rather the lack thereof. Gotta figure that out before I do much more.
 
No problem. We'll have to try this once again next weekend... changed the route to avoid rain, and the temps aren't coming up like expected! Maybe it was a good one to miss! Got a few curves in. Last coffee and fuel stop now...

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OK, I finally reached by 50 lbs weight loss goal on April 1st. 9 months, 50 lbs. I'm finally back to where I thought I should be. Unfortunately, my mesh pants no longer fit right, so I needed to replace them. I also recently started to notice that the old (7 years) RF 1200 helmet just didn't fit the same anymore, so I've been thinking about a replacement. The new RF 1400 Shoei replaced the 1200, and the reviews I've read say that the design changes make it ventilate better and reduce wind noise. Since those two factors are why I loved the 1200 to begin with, I decided the 1400 was the way to go. After the bust on the ride, I ended up home early, so we headed to Cycle Gear. I didn't see any great deals on the price anywhere, so they were the same as everybody else... Solid color saves $100, so I went with a white one. Got a new pair of mesh pants to go with it. I may have to get out for a short test ride today.

Next weekend looks like low rain chances right now, with low temps in the mid to high 60s and highs in the 80s. Sounds good to me! We'll have to get out and give this helmet a true test!
 

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You’ll have to let us know how it gets on; I’ll be in the market for a new lid soon. I’m doing the family thing this weekend and working the next, so I’ll see you guys a little later on.


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OK. Went out for a ride with the new Shoei RF-1400 helmet. This helmet fits tighter around the lower jaw than prior models, so it's a bit tighter to get on that the prior models. However, being tighter along the bottom blocks a lot of the wind noise that you get in the older models. When I covered the lower side of my old helmet at my neck with my hand, the noise was reduced, and this one fits more snuggly at the bottom sides, so the noise is measurably reduced. Before, when I listened to my mp3s through the headset (with earplugs), softer guitar strumming and vocals was almost inaudible due to wind noise. Now, the softer portions of the tunes are clear. At speeds up to about 50, the wind noise was essentially nonexistent with ear plugs. Just tunes. Up to about 75 or so, the wind noise starts to become evident, but still dramatically less intrusive than with the RF 1200. The clarity of the music in the helmet was still very clear, and the light wind noise did not overcome the music clarity. The helmet seems to cut through the wind a little better, and I could feel the air movement from the updated ventilation system. Of course the helmet comes with the breath guard, chin curtain, and pin-lock shield. The chin curtain cuts noise down a little more that without it, and with the good ventilation, I have used the curtains all year - it doesn't seem to get hot with the ventilation design. With the breath guard and pinlock, I can huff and puff and TRY to fog the shield up, and it just won't. I love that!

About halfway home on the back side of the ride, I stopped and pulled the earplugs out. I wasn't going as fast from there, but up to about 50 or 55, and I was amazed that the wind noise was still very low. I had read a road test recently that said they have really improved on the design, and that this model is much quieter, and the ventilation is improved as well. The tester said that he would be tempted to ride without hearing protection with this helmet because it was so quiet, but he still recommended hearing protection. However, he said that this was one of the quietest helmets he had ever tested. I had an RF 1100, two RF 1200s, and now this one, and what I loved about all of them was that they were the quietest and best ventilated helmets I have owned. The RF 1400 is a clear and noticeable improvement over the RF 1200.

My ride today was only about 45 minutes, but I wanted to give it a test. I am really pleased with this helmet! $529 (solid color, cool graphics are about $100 more) isn't chump change, but there are much more expensive helmets out there. I can say that when I did hit the ground about 8 years ago with my first RF 1200, I swear I could feel it absorb the impact. Without it, I would have been riding to a hospital in an ambulance, not sitting on the road side waiting for the wife to come get me and on the phone with the insurance company. That is more than worth the price of the helmet! Well made, will save your bacon, quiet, and good ventilation. I like this helmet!
 
By the way, if a large Shoei helmet fits you properly, there is a "like new" white RF 1400 for sale in the classifieds thread in Round Rock for $350. You might check that out before buying a new one. It might be worth checking out.
 
Blue Flash said:
OK, I finally reached by 50 lbs weight loss goal on April 1st. 9 months, 50 lbs. I'm finally back to where I thought I should be. Unfortunately, my mesh pants no longer fit right, so I needed to replace them. I also recently started to notice that the old (7 years) RF 1200 helmet just didn't fit the same anymore, so I've been thinking about a replacement. The new RF 1400 Shoei replaced the 1200, and the reviews I've read say that the design changes make it ventilate better and reduce wind noise. Since those two factors are why I loved the 1200 to begin with, I decided the 1400 was the way to go. After the bust on the ride, I ended up home early, so we headed to Cycle Gear. I didn't see any great deals on the price anywhere, so they were the same as everybody else... Solid color saves $100, so I went with a white one. Got a new pair of mesh pants to go with it. I may have to get out for a short test ride today.

Next weekend looks like low rain chances right now, with low temps in the mid to high 60s and highs in the 80s. Sounds good to me! We'll have to get out and give this helmet a true test!
Click to expand...

Congrats! I won't be able to make a ride in a week (curse you, work!), but in two weeks I'll be raring to go!
 
Ride, Sunday 4/11!

It looks like Sunday is the day to ride this weekend, based on the latest weather forecast. How about trying the route from Post 1628 again? Maybe the forecast will be more accurate this weekend! They are saying 60 for the low Sunday, and mid 80s for the high. Sunny am, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon, rain chance less than 5%. If they are good on that one, sounds like great riding weather!

Sunday, 4/11/2021. KSU at 0800, Texan Mart, West Lake Houston Pkwy & Aerobic in Atascocita.

About 300 miles, and a loop up to 1484 near Conroe, back up to 224, and the two little loops we did recently just north of Corrigan. Back down to 942, Votaw, and back via the prison road near Dayton. Should be back to Atascocita by 3:00.
 
Congrats on hitting your goal! Apparently I’ll be out for another week or 2. That’s how long the company I sent my suspension to said to expect before I get it all back.
 
I’m tied up with work this weekend as well. Catch you guys on the next one.


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Drmototx said:
Congrats on hitting your goal! Apparently I’ll be out for another week or 2. That’s how long the company I sent my suspension to said to expect before I get it all back.
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Thanks Drmototx! It's a great feeling to finally get there!

We'll get back on the road after the wrenching is over, and maybe work isn't getting in the way! I just ordered some gaskets and plugs for mine. I'm thinking it's time to do a valve adjustment, coolant change, new spark plugs, and maybe synchronize the throttle bodies while I'm at it. Might even pull the swingarm and repack the wheel bearings! I figure it's due some attention.

EDIT: Sunday am. It looks like a solo ride. post up if I've missed anybody. Otherwise, I'm heading out when I get ready. Looks like a good day for it!
 
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The Sunday ride was solo, but it was a great day for a ride. The morning temperature was a little cool, but I pulled the rain jacket around 11:00, and it was great with just mesh for the rest of the day. Sunny, and no critters in my way. A few minor GPS route glitches, but those are fixed for a later redo! The new helmet did great. Maybe the reduced noise is a little less obvious on higher highway speeds, but still a nice improvement over the last lid. It's a keeper for me!
 
It was definitely a good day to be out. I must have seen more than a dozen groups of bikes passing through my area. I even chatted with one group, though I didn't have the heart to tell them that their chosen restaurant didn't rate high among the local offerings.
 
I saw a lot of bikes out. I had a good chat with several riders at the at the Onalaska fuel stop. It was nice to not be riding in cold rain. Haven't put much thought into riding this weekend yet. Looks like the rain chances are coming back for this weekend, and a bit cooler. Watching the forecast. I might keep it to a shorter ride if it looks like it will be wet and cool again.
 
Well, I’ve got everything buttoned up on the bike now except the suspension. Talked to the guy on Friday and he said I should have it back in a week or two. That works out since I’m splitting on call this weekend and handling my normal on call next weekend. I’ll be itching for a good ride the weekend of the 1st to give the bike a good shakedown.
 
Another week or two without riding.... bummer! We'll get out soon! Good to hear the rest is done!

For what it's worth, I think I'll take the weekend off and get back on the seat next weekend. Projects to work, and the weather just doesn't look really promising.
 
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