The mailman

MaxSwell, I'm not coming near you! I know how you draw the critters! j/k I DO appreciate the offer! I have a sister-in-law in Andover on the north side of the cities and a nephew in Apple Valley as rescue points should something go awry but I will keep you in mind if something goes down. Deer are really the only real worry I have since we will be following the 2300 miles of river, that definitely ups the chances of an encounter. The critters love to be near water. If I could eliminate just ONE problem be it mechanical issues/ bad weather/deer/poking myself in the eye with a stick, I would eradicate all of the deer within 20 miles of the river. First three nights itinerary from Colorado...A friend's home in Le Mars Iowa, Bemiji MN area, La Crosse or maybe Prairie Du Chien WI. as the sunset allows. Coming south out of Grand Rapids, we plan on skipping the metro area and will cut off of 169 @ Princeton, travel through Cambridge and wiggle down to Taylor's Falls and pick up the river again to the south. I can drive blindfolded from Andover through T.F./St. Croix Falls over to Rice Lake, WI on 8. (Mother-in-law lives there)

What to put INTO the bags gets into a whole separate thread from the mods to the bike itself! http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/79033-long-distance-touring-tips/

After purchasing my '07 VFR two years ago, I have slowly been adding bits to make it more touring friendly. Why do we buy a bike, spend months and thousands of dollars to make it just the way we want it, only to sell it and start over? There has to be a name for this medical condition! As posted in other threads, I'm about to set out on a 4500 mile round trip to follow the Mississippi River from beginning to end so I thought I would share some of my mods to make my 6th gen more tour-friendly. I started out with some nice thick foam grips. I don't need risers but something a little easier to hang on to helps. The stock grips are rock hard and so narrow that my hands get tired holding something so small. Next came a nice Givi Tanklock tank bag. I prefer this over magnetic because there is NO contact with paint and it comes off with the pull of a lever. Next was the Leo Vince exhaust system. This is much lighter than the stock anvil system and has a nice adjustable note to it. I then chose the ST shield from Zero Gravity for better protection from the elements. The bigger the better for long hauls! I also found a Givi trunk and rack system on my local craigslist for less than the cost of just the rack new. To top it off, the seller delivered the items to me! Over the past week, I added some new Michelin Road 2s since they are bargain basement priced now and I'll likely flat spot them on my upcoming ride. No need to buy the latest most expensive tires to roast on a cross country trip. We ARE planning to stick to two lane county roads most of the time. And today, I received my Nelson Rigg saddle bags that I found dirt cheap on Amazon.com. I also purchased a digital voltage meter to keep an eye on things. I velcro-mounted it to the front side of my ignition box just low enough that it clears the bottom edge of the instrument panel. Being mounted down low also helps with visibility rather than having it up high in the sunlight. The last thing I did tonight was to re-mount the Monster fender that comes stock after I removed my Competition Werks fender eliminator. Without it, the rear tire is constantly slinging water/mud/debris onto the rear tail light and trunk. I could do w/o that for my cross country run. Aside from packing, The bike is much more road worthy for the long haul runs and can be easily reverted to sport mode.