Post by deadmoneydenny on Oct 12, 2013 18:45:30 GMT -6
On friday Oct. 11th, I pulled my 2 month old Honda Ctx700nd out of the garage at 9:20 in the morning. We had racked up 2457 miles since I bought it in the middle of august. The weather forcast was looking great, and I dont work fridays, and the kid was at school and was going to go make applebutter with her class after school, so the bike and I decided to go road tripping! I dont really like riding on the big Interstate's, so my plan was to keep to the older style 2 lane blacktops.
I rode a couple blocks away to Jerry's Stop n Go to fill the gas tank and grab a Mountain Dew. I left town heading south on hwy 89 towards the east side of Linn. I took the 89 spur to hwy 50 and went east on 50 until I got to hwy 19. I turned south on 19 and rode through Owensville, crossed over interstate 44 and through Cuba, on down through Steelville, and made my first gas and pee stop in Salem. The bike only needed 1.75 gallons to top the tank, and the trip meter showed 111.6 miles, so 63.7 mpg aint bad considering my aggressive throttle hand. I'm not saying that I break the speed limit by a lot (bout 5 or 10 over most of the time), but when I'm leaving stop signs, or coming out of a slow corner, or passing someone, I twist hard on the throttle.
After chugging the rest of my Mountain Dew, I continued south on hwy 19 on down to the town of Eminence. The road from Salem down to Eminence is very twisty and has many hills and valleys, and the senery is fantastic. It would be fun to haul azz down through there on a sport bike, but my new bike is a cruiser and my aggressive throttle hand eased up a little, and I found myself going the speed limit or under and just enjoying myself meandering through the countryside. In the town of Eminence I stopped to grab another soda and some chips, and I met a couple guys on bikes that were from Wisconsin. They informed me of a BMW rally in Potosi. I ride a Honda...whatever
When leaving Eminence, I took hwy 106 east over to Ellington. At Ellington, I got on hwy 21 and headed north. I rode past the entrance to Johnsons Shut-ins but didnt stop. I did however, stop at Elephant Rocks State park, and yes, I played on the big rocks awhile. I took another pee and headed on up 21 to Potosi. There were many, many bikes in the area, mostly BMW's but still a lot of other makes too. I pulled into Taco Bell and had couple burritos and a medium Pepsi (Happy hour, medium drinks are a buck) upon leaving Taco Bell, I headed west on hwy 8. About 5 minutes out of Potosi the fuel light started flashing, so I needed to stop at the next gas station. I rode another 10 minutes and started thinking....how far will this bike go on a tank of gas? It gets 64 or so miles per gallon, but its got a small tank, only 3.2 gallons. Thats roughly 200 miles per tank, and the trip meter is now showing 171 miles, and I didnt know how far it was to the next gas station. I didnt see another gas station till I got to Steelville. The trip meter showed 184.7 and it took 2.72 gallons to fill it up. Thats nearly 68 mpg, I guess it is true, drive slower and you'll get better gas mileage. This was my second time today that I was in Steelville since I drove through it on hwy 19 earlier in the day. I didnt want to back track any roads, so leaving the gas station, I stayed on hwy 8 heading west through St. James, across Interstate 44, through Vichy, and on out to hwy 63. I got on 63 north and cruised back to hwy 50. I then went east on 50 to the west side of Linn, and onto hwy 100 and the 22 mile ride home to the little town of Chamois. I pulled into town and went back to Jerrys Stop n Go and pumped another 1.42 gallons into the tank. The trip meter showed 97.8 miles for that last leg of my journey. That last leg, especially hwy 63, and 50, are much flatter and straighter than the rest of the trip, so thats why the fuel mileage was 68.8 mpg even though I was cruising 65 mph. Another breakthrough...holding the throttle steady on flat roads gets better gas mileage than on and off the throttle on hilly, curvey roads...Huh who would have thunk it?
I basically rode a 395 mile figure 8 through some of the best senery our state has to offer. I pulled back into my driveway at 6:20 in the evening with 2852 miles on the odometer. 9 hours and 395 miles on the bike is a perfect way to spend a beautiful sunny day in October. I spent $17 in gas, $4 on soda and chips, $4 at Taco Bell. Wow! That was one of my favorite days this year and it cost me 25 bucks!
I took a few pics with my phone and put them on my facebook page if anyone wants to see them
I rode a couple blocks away to Jerry's Stop n Go to fill the gas tank and grab a Mountain Dew. I left town heading south on hwy 89 towards the east side of Linn. I took the 89 spur to hwy 50 and went east on 50 until I got to hwy 19. I turned south on 19 and rode through Owensville, crossed over interstate 44 and through Cuba, on down through Steelville, and made my first gas and pee stop in Salem. The bike only needed 1.75 gallons to top the tank, and the trip meter showed 111.6 miles, so 63.7 mpg aint bad considering my aggressive throttle hand. I'm not saying that I break the speed limit by a lot (bout 5 or 10 over most of the time), but when I'm leaving stop signs, or coming out of a slow corner, or passing someone, I twist hard on the throttle.
After chugging the rest of my Mountain Dew, I continued south on hwy 19 on down to the town of Eminence. The road from Salem down to Eminence is very twisty and has many hills and valleys, and the senery is fantastic. It would be fun to haul azz down through there on a sport bike, but my new bike is a cruiser and my aggressive throttle hand eased up a little, and I found myself going the speed limit or under and just enjoying myself meandering through the countryside. In the town of Eminence I stopped to grab another soda and some chips, and I met a couple guys on bikes that were from Wisconsin. They informed me of a BMW rally in Potosi. I ride a Honda...whatever
When leaving Eminence, I took hwy 106 east over to Ellington. At Ellington, I got on hwy 21 and headed north. I rode past the entrance to Johnsons Shut-ins but didnt stop. I did however, stop at Elephant Rocks State park, and yes, I played on the big rocks awhile. I took another pee and headed on up 21 to Potosi. There were many, many bikes in the area, mostly BMW's but still a lot of other makes too. I pulled into Taco Bell and had couple burritos and a medium Pepsi (Happy hour, medium drinks are a buck) upon leaving Taco Bell, I headed west on hwy 8. About 5 minutes out of Potosi the fuel light started flashing, so I needed to stop at the next gas station. I rode another 10 minutes and started thinking....how far will this bike go on a tank of gas? It gets 64 or so miles per gallon, but its got a small tank, only 3.2 gallons. Thats roughly 200 miles per tank, and the trip meter is now showing 171 miles, and I didnt know how far it was to the next gas station. I didnt see another gas station till I got to Steelville. The trip meter showed 184.7 and it took 2.72 gallons to fill it up. Thats nearly 68 mpg, I guess it is true, drive slower and you'll get better gas mileage. This was my second time today that I was in Steelville since I drove through it on hwy 19 earlier in the day. I didnt want to back track any roads, so leaving the gas station, I stayed on hwy 8 heading west through St. James, across Interstate 44, through Vichy, and on out to hwy 63. I got on 63 north and cruised back to hwy 50. I then went east on 50 to the west side of Linn, and onto hwy 100 and the 22 mile ride home to the little town of Chamois. I pulled into town and went back to Jerrys Stop n Go and pumped another 1.42 gallons into the tank. The trip meter showed 97.8 miles for that last leg of my journey. That last leg, especially hwy 63, and 50, are much flatter and straighter than the rest of the trip, so thats why the fuel mileage was 68.8 mpg even though I was cruising 65 mph. Another breakthrough...holding the throttle steady on flat roads gets better gas mileage than on and off the throttle on hilly, curvey roads...Huh who would have thunk it?
I basically rode a 395 mile figure 8 through some of the best senery our state has to offer. I pulled back into my driveway at 6:20 in the evening with 2852 miles on the odometer. 9 hours and 395 miles on the bike is a perfect way to spend a beautiful sunny day in October. I spent $17 in gas, $4 on soda and chips, $4 at Taco Bell. Wow! That was one of my favorite days this year and it cost me 25 bucks!
I took a few pics with my phone and put them on my facebook page if anyone wants to see them
