[Skyway6]

Fantastic weather here this past August. Went on an Iron Butt ride on Saturday (sep01) Downtown Vancouver to Hope up to Lytton across to Spences Bridge down to Merritt back to Hope then Vancouver - total Distance almost 700km and a solid 8.5hrs of saddle time (left home 8am back 6pm) The hwy from Hope to Merritt is just fantastic. lots of twists and turns. thru several tunnels cut into the mountain. Landscape varies from lush temperate rain forest to high desert with scrub brush. very little cars. very little of anything but wilderness. The route for those interested http://goo.gl/maps/e8LIj

Nights are getting chilly here now. down to ~10c but day times still 20c ... Glad i took my cold weather gear. was a bit chilly on way to hope but not too bad. Typically the farther into the interior you go the warmer it gets. When i was gassing up in Merritt for trip back. i considered removing inner layer as it was getting warm. Was taking the faster hwy 5 back to Hope. Hwy 5 aka the "coke" (Coquihalla hwy) This is a fast (110km limit) 4 lane hwy. and around 110km to Hope

it is a grueling climb up to a height of over 4200ft The CBR did quite well. maintained 110km/h up the steep incline (5th gear @ 8k rpm) Was so glad i kept the inner layer on and wished i had of closed the vents on the jacket. Darn well froze my ass off up there. so cold. But coming down as i got closer to Hope it warmed up.

I topped up the gas in Hope and took off inner layer. Ready for the final 130km trip back to Vancouver. This was all hwy at speed upwards of 140kph.

This type of riding is typical for me. I only ride weekends/days off and will be on bike for atleast 4 to 9hrs solid ride time. Iron butt - hah, its made of pure titanium now

i know its been said before but i cant help but think if this kind of riding will prematurely kill my little CBR. Hours at a time of speeds at 90 to 140kph. So far its taking it like a champ. i change oil at approx every 4000km. lube chain with Dupont Chain saver every 500km (or weekly if long rides like this past wk end)

Still not sure if i will keep the CBR another season or upgrade. Be nice to have some more power. A sport touring sounds about right for me. 2013 Ninja 650 abs looks promising. I am thinking about the NC700x as well but not sure if it will have enough power (only 50hp). Other than getting annoyed at times having to row thru 4 gears to get from 0 - 70kph the CBR is doing everything i ask of it.

 

[Wilfor]

Very nice review . ive been through there my share of time in a car/truck but havent gotten my bike that far south yet . The elevation changes through there would be quite a workout for our little bike , glad to hear it handled it well . Have you done the whistler loop on the other side ? thats the one i want to give a go . I love the spences bridge to merritt section of road , it used to be my route of choice when traveling to merritt for mx races . Next time maybe swing over to princeton and then home after merritt , only adds an hour and a half and its gets you off the freeway like Coke

 

[MotoMike]

...i know its been said before but i cant help but think if this kind of riding will prematurely kill my little CBR. Hours at a time of speeds at 90 to 140kph. So far its taking it like a champ...

You're riding it the way a motorcycle is meant to be ridden. When they are maintained and operated properly, Honda engines are bullet proof. If anything the guys who mainly ride their bikes for very short stints, 10 miles at a time or even less, or are just babying them by never really riding at higher RPM's, are more likely to have longevity or reliability issues down the road than those who are riding the snot out of their CBR's.

Sound's like you had a great day of riding!

 

[Skyway6]

@wilfor - have not done the "duffy lake" run but its in the plans. may be too late for this year. But have been up the Sea to Sky as far as Pemberton. I should mention that coming back on the "coke" i also had to contend with some nasty gusty mostly head winds. (that would suddenly switch-a-roo and hit me from one side or the other) Had to tuck most of the way back to Hope.

Some friends recently did the trip you mention. Vancouver-Hope thru manning park to Princeton and up to Merritt then back via "the coke" and one of them was on a CBR125. Said she hit 150kph on the downhill part I plan on doing that next year but hopefully avoid the coke and swing around thru spences bridge and hw1 down to hope.

@Motomike. makes sense what you state. i have been "driving the snot" out of the bike lately Some of our riding group seem to only want to do short runs. I ride to ride where they ride to eat (short run to an eating place) One recently upgraded to an almost new Honda VTX1300R - massive cruiser - and still only rides short distances. Even turned down the above mentioned Princeton run as he felt it too long of a in saddle time.

i just love to ride and seem to settle into a groove after a few hrs. As i mentioned i only ride weekends. Did an oil change on Aug 24 @ approx 9950km on odo. after 2 wk ends (4 days) i now sit at around 12300km works out to about 600km per day.

 

[Jubis]

You're riding it the way a motorcycle is meant to be ridden. When they are maintained and operated properly, Honda engines are bullet proof. If anything the guys who mainly ride their bikes for very short stints, 10 miles at a time or even less, or are just babying them by never really riding at higher RPM's, are more likely to have longevity or reliability issues down the road than those who are riding the snot out of their CBR's.

Sound's like you had a great day of riding!

rofl Mike the daily commute to work for me is roughly 10 miles, but I do like to lean around a couple of fun corners on the way and beat the young guys in Commodores/SS Utes on their P plates off the lights (it's an Aussie joke, you probably know the Commodore as the Pontiac G8, and it's probably not a bogan car over there ).

Fastest I ever did the normally 20-minute-commute was in 16 minutes