Day 2: 583 miles
Today was a good day of riding despite some heavy rain and stopping short of my original goal.
The Rain
I ran into the main storm as I passed Chicago; because of the size of the storm, I chose to ride thru rather than wait it out. I had encountered some light rain near home and raising the windshield kept me dry, but this was a downpour.
At first, the windshield and fairing kept me mostly dry, although some rain did hit my forehead. I suspect the lowering kit changed the bike’s geometry enough that rain deflected over the top was not going quite as high. As the storm intensified, rain also crept around the edges of the fairing; ultimately, I ended up with wet knees, face & elbows.
The Vision did not live up to the “completely dry” claim some riders have made, but I was mostly dry. At a rest stop, a few hours after clearing the storm, I met another rider who had come thru the same storm on a small sport / touring bike (with a headlight cowling); he was soaked to the bone (his words); if I head been on the Kingpin, I expect that I would have been in a similar state.
Conclusion: big win for the Vision. It had no handling issue with the heavy rain & wet roads, while in heavy traffic. Although I did get a little wet, by mid afternoon I was dry and comfortable; anyone who has been soaked while riding, knows that once the water gets thru all the layers, the only way to get comfortable is to change your clothes.
Spirit Lake
Tomorrow I’m heading to the Victory (and Indian) factory in Spirit Lake, IA. It will be a 2-3 hour ride, so my original plan to sneak in with the employees will probably not work. I suppose I’ll have to be up front and admit that I’m a Victory fanboy who must be given a factory tour. We’ll see how it goes.
Ticket to Ride 