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Did you get the Eye of Newt...? Nah! How'd you go with the Stoats toenail..? No go! Yeah and Blackie ( the black cat ) sensed it wasn't a great time to be about either! So no offerings to the Gods then?? Nope we're on our own.....! And so it was come 9.30 ish on a damp single digit and overcast Saturday morning we set forth from Drouin ( aka Dodge ) on our quest for the border. Nice open twisty road on the way up to Noojee let both bikes and blokes warm up,but come the short-cut thru Nayook to Noojee-Launching Place Rd we ran into the first of the fog for the day.The road was tight twisty and damp so concentration needed. All good though and popped out onto the Nooj/LJ rd and great open sweepers through the dense forest / bush, up and over the pass and dropping down for the run into Launching Place, then more tight damp twisties thru the Yarra Ranges that ring Melbourne's East and North.Great fun and even got a wee bit of sunshine for a bit! After an hour or so of this we finally popped out thru Toolangi onto the Yea road and gained a bit more elevation.It was here we ran into the FREEZING FOG...! Oh dear it was also about here I started to think that fate and the gods hadn't finished with us just yet, and WHY THE HELL didn't I pack let alone wear my THERMAL underwear??The temp was about 3-4 degrees and after about 80-100 kays...I was feeling the cold. Finally after what seemed an eternity we rolled into Yea and parked up in search of warmth and coffee! Rich you're bleeding says Dave Shit so I am says I. My hands are that cold I can't feel them and cut myself on my jacket zipper... Anyways we had a great cuppa in a nice and WARM cafe and thawed out over the next 30mins or so.It was about here that Dave starts regaling me about the virtues of electrically heated gloves/jacket and long johns ( with booties none the less ) and how nice and toasty he was and how cold was that last stretch? I can't believe you're not wearing any thermals....! Don't go there. I think it was about Molesworth 30 or so minutes later that the fog cleared and the sun came out and we got to see a bit of the scenery.Pulling into Mansfield later Mt Buller in the distance looked great covered in snow. We fuel up and just as I was about to leave realise shit I haven't paid for it so rush back in and pay for my gas...Idiot. From Mansfield we decided to push on to Whitfield for lunch.This road reaches 1000metres so we thought we'd do it whilst the sun's out and relatively warm so to speak.Great 62 k run up and over, very tight & twisty at times and open and flowing in others then dropping down to Whitfield and a bloody good ham cheese and tomatoe toastie at the cafe whilst basking in the warm afternoon sun. It's now about 2.30pm ish so headed off on the last stretch and not long after the winter shadows start appearing as the sun drops lower likewise the temperature.It all held together as we went through the towns of Beechworth/Yackandanda/Tangambalanga and finally round Lake Hume to Tallangatta and home base for Sat and Sunday nights.After checking in, getting changed and freshened up at 4.30pm we headed down to the bar for a few quiet drinks and a meal after a longish day. All was well till someone fired the juke box up then the shots started appearing on the bar* ( we wisely gave them a miss ) and the place was JUMPING....It ended up being quite a LATE night but a GREAT time ha ha . *( turns out it was the publican....ha ha ) Sunday The plan was to ride round the lake and follow the Murray River along the border and loop back, but hangovers meant up late / late brekky walk round the town and come 12 ish what now...? Lets go for a wobble round the lake for a couple of hours? Great idea so we did and yep this road was every bit as good on a bike as I thought it'd be...Brilliant.Come 2.30pm we stopped at Walwa for a cuppa / toastie and warm up at the fire.As the shadows were starting and it was getting cooler again we took local advice and headed up Guy's Forest / Shelley road short-cut and found a ripper of a road! The part where it goes up and over the ranges was new and fantastic fun!This dropped us back to the main highway ( saving about 100 or more kays ) and after a brisk ride back to Tallangatta and a shower hit the bar again for a QUIET sherbet and meal... Monday Bloody good nights sleep and heard Dave next door heading for the shower, so up cuppa and pack up @ 7.00 ish . We didn't get any frost thankfully as temp about 6-8 degrees and sunny so headed off after air in the tyres to Yackandanda for brekky.Lovely in the sun at Yack but headed off about 9.30am for the run home. We pretty much repeated the trip up except for taking the Black Spur into Healesville.As there was talk of storms in the afternoon we pretty much pushed home asap stopping only for gas again in Mansfield ( remembering to pay before trying to leave this time ) and a brief stop for a bite in Healesville so about 6 or so hours pretty much straight home. Ha ha I really felt it when I got home but we did need to get a wriggle on to avoid the coming weather/storms. All in all about 1100 kays and a Bloody great time was had and looking forward to the next getaway hopefully not as long a wait this time eh! Cheers Guzzler Ps The storms came through about 3am so we could've taken a bit more time in getting home but sure as hell if we did the gods would've decided that we'd gotten away with enough already....

I did it! would I do it again? no! it is not about the physical limits, it is about being on the clock. I did not take all the photos to document the trip the way I wanted to. The time lost to get to the South Padre Island stop and other incidentals put me behind schedule. Stops 24, 29. 17/50. 805.8 miles (793 miles recorded by the ITI Odometer) (approximate)1297 km in a single ride. Funny to think that in Europe, on such distance, I would have crossed multiple borders. In the USA, I could remain within a single state albeit, the second largest. Edited on June 28th, 2022: I refilled the tank and attached the detailed fuel log to the post. 19.522 Gal of premium gas exactly; which for 806 miles is quite good! (91 liters for 1300 km) Highlights: What an Incredible experience! The Le Mans managed better than expected in the sizzling heat; Riding in the night is great too! Lowlights: Stung by a (which kind?)bee while riding; Stopped for speeding Incredible traffic from Port Isabel all the way into South Padre Island. Why can't motorcyclist go through the lanes? Unpleasant moment with Customs and Border Protection coming back from South Padre Island My legs were the weakest part of the trip. The fixed curl angle is killing.... Details: Between Wharton and Victoria, I got my first police pull over ever, for going 84 mph in a 75 mph zone. This came as a surprise, because in Texas, I thought the unwritten rule was 20 mph above posted speed. The police officer was quite nice and asked me a lot of questions about the Le Mans. So many, that I am thinking he just pulled me over to discuss it. I explained him it is difficult to read 75 mph on the speedometer, because the tick is blending into the dark background of the instrument. Besides, I don't see well at a short distances so it is all a blur. He was very young, and maybe he was not expecting a senior guy speeding? Between Wharton and Victoria (again), I got stung by an insect. It got caught between the top of my jacket and my neck, and decided it was my fault, defended itself. I am not allergic, but having a large red volcano on the side of the neck ruined my otherwise casual looks. This morning, it itches very much. What makes it funny, is the first stop in Hidalgo was a Killer Bee artifact. Fate maybe? painful one too. I had been stung before, and I knew what it was right away. I let the pain ride its course, did not try to touch it, stopped at the next gas station to check it out! The ride in the Texan humid heat was not a problem at all. I was not expecting it would be, and it did not affect me. I drank water, and coffee at my refueling stops, every 150 miles even if I could have pushed to 200 given that my average fuel consumption is around 40 mpg. I would have liked to have had a co rider, to have someone else's opinion. I did not cross many other bikers. The ingress to South Padre Island was a real nightmare. Saturday of course, vacation too, but Port Isabel had road works to add more lanes for the future, reducing flow to just one lane per side. The biggest choke point is the causeway to South Padre. There is room for two lanes, a motorbike could easily go through the cars. However, this is prohibited by law in Texas. South Padre island was also packed and bursting at the seams. Flow was complicated by multiple golf cars offered everywhere on rental, because of the price of gas? The view from the South Padre Island causeway was breathtaking; Somewhere on the 69E or 77, there is an immigration check point. I should have known there was one because of the proximity of the border, I would have been better prepared. All cars and commercial vehicles were checked. I thought it would be a formality, but when you are not a US citizen, it gets complicated, especially if you do not carry anything but your state issued driver's license. The only question you are being asked is about your citizenship. If you are a denizen, you need to have a proof that you are not an illegal migrant. Problem was, I did not expect that you had to carry proof of legal residency within the US. I was planning to carry my documents for the Big Bend trip. The last part of the ride from Victoria to Houston I did in the night. Although I try to avoid riding after dark, it was pleasant to be in human temperatures. The Le Mans liked that too. The traffic jams under the scorching sun, not so much. The V11 was constantly eructing its displeasure to move at snail pace during stop and go motion. I definitively need to change the lamp to something with more lumen in the head light. The yellow spot in front of the bike does not really help. It is not a problem on highways, plenty of traffic around you to show you the way. The way back I had to alternate postures which works fine when you use the tank as a crutch for your bum. However, what cannot really change is your legs' position. Having them recoiled all the time is difficult to sustain. Reminder of the map of that trip: The times and mileage of the trip; not included are the numerous incidental stops for gas and undesirable events: The Gas refuels record. The last one is missing, since I have not yet replenished the tank: The temperature early in the morning is a clue of what it will be later after the sun cooks us down! First refuel in Victoria at "The Texan" a copy cat of Buc-ee's. They still have a long way to go, but the principle remains the same. Some sort of gas stop supermarket for the people in motion. The first Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas stop of the day; isn't it funny that this was also the day I was stung by a bee? Temperature before I took to home: The last stop. Observe the youth playing basket ball in the shadow of the Water Tower. Even then, the temperature is brutal! Back at the Texan, I am gratified by a beautiful sunset, which is kind of the cherry on top of this outing! the colors are beautiful and the heat haze makes it looking like a halo...

This is what got me to create the shift lever extender. I measured my GSXR1000K7 and it's travel was 25mm and the V11 was around 35-40 from my dodgy memory. The extender reduces the V11 to around the 25mm mark but just as importantly increases the shift lever effort. Hows that improve the shift action you may ask. Well a higher lever effort via less leverage by the foot means that when the detent mechanism does release there is more pressure/force being applied which translates to a faster action. A week detent spring also leads to poor shift action as well. This is why loading the shifter makes the gearbox shift much better on all bikes but the V11 especially because loading the lever with the clutch engaged increases the load on the lever via the foot which translates to a faster action when the clutch releases the load on the gearbox dogs and allows the foot pressure to overcome the detent spring and detent roller. The effect is the same as increasing the detenting force. The V11 could probably use a slightly stronger detent spring than stock in reality. Another interesting affect on shifting action is gearing. My Royal Enfield has a pretty decent shift action but It can still be improved by the exact same way the V11 shift has been by a modified shift lever to reduce the foot leverage. The other thing that improved the shift action esp in the 1st to second shift was upping the overall gearing by adding 1 tooth to the CS sprocket, a 7% taller final ration. This means that you have more road speed for a given gear and motorcycle constant mesh gearboxes always shift better the higher the road speed. So now esp in the 1st to 2nd shift the road speed is significantly higher for the same rpm so the gearbox naturally shifts noticeably nicer 1st to 2nd. Phil

haha! Well said!

Like a Maserati Bora....No Bad Angles....

A critical part to using the V11 gearbox is to pre load the lever before pulling the clutch on the up AND down shifts. Seems like common sense, right, but the amount of riders I see on the road riding around using the "pull the clutch and stomp on the lever" method is amazing. Of course the Japanese have designed gearboxes for these type of riders for decades. The Italians not so much. Phil

Wow Great effort mate! Seems like opposite ends of the weather spectrum on our recent excursions.... I froze and you boiled! We do get temps in the 40's here too but I don't ride in them anymore... Hat's off to you mate Cheers Guzzler Ps I've been stung a few times and always wear a neck sock! It not only keeps you warm but it stops the buggers stinging your neck or getting into your jacket from the collar! In that heat though.....

Quite the adventure and endurance test P6X! Glad you were able to make it up and back...those are brutal temps to ride in all day long....sounds like the bike is running smoothly and is enjoying these high speed runs!

Phew, finally got it..... #1 Dave sorting electrical connection for his heated gear in Yea #2 Parked up in Yea - in search of warmth and coffee #3 and #4 The cafe in Whitfield #5 looking up the street in Yackandandah - Dave sorting ear plugs #6 looking down the street in Yackandandah after brekky on Monday Bloody hell is it wine o clock yet....? Think I need one after that! Cheers Guzzler

Thanks Doc Ha ha yeah they are tongue twisters eh... And the cold,I'm usually pretty good with it but that bloody freezing fog was starting to get to me I must say. Glad you enjoyed reading it mate as we had a blast eh... Cheers Guzzler You know I did a test photo earlier and no dramas with posting photos but you wouldn't read about it, I can't for the life of me get it to work again to post the few shots I did take???

This is profound advice. Preloading the shift lever (THEN pulling the clutch lever) for both up AND DOWN shifts is requisite for getting to know how our V11 6speeder will love us back. Everything else I ride and drive, the drill is >clutch<, then shift. This accepted, perhaps intuitive, sequence is NOT V11 compatible! Otherwise, you might take your gearbox to bits looking for a problem that is not there . . . .

What a great run, @guzzler! Makes our "place names", here in The States, seem so plain (for the most part). . . . and those temps in ºC: 3-8? That makes for 37-46ºF! Definitely "electric vest" territory! Especially considering the "Windchill" at highway speeds . . . Thanks for sharing your story, mate! An inspiration!

And that, I do, now you mention it. Unintentionally I suppose as it's second nature. Riding for so long, like driving, so much becomes a natural activity.

G'day folk's Just a wee test to see if could remember how to post a photo... This shot was 11 years and 75,000 kays ago in the courtyard of our previous home. Cheers Guzzler