ロブの旅–Summering in Japan

[Rj_666]

SUPER SEXY, Tora !!

[toratora]

Thanks RJ. Much more to come soon.

People have been wondering if these little bikes can make the trek. Here’s my 05 GPR on a camping trip to Eureka from SF. We took a very round about way of traveling up there including costal, and inland roads. Pretty much the twistyist route we could find. It was quite a magical adventure.

[toratora]

The Coyote
The Giant Loop Coyote saddle bags showed up this week. I had a chance to sit them on the 899 for a quick look. As a test I put the sleeping bag in one leg and the tent in the other. They pretty much consume that whole area. I usually keep those items in the red REI duffle bag, which I probably will continue to do. The mounting straps with the Coyote should be able to hold the REI nicely in place on the top, but if not there are extra mounting points on the Coyote. There are also mounting points on the front of the legs for additional storage. Something I’ll have to investigate further. So far it’s looking pretty nice.

There are handles on either side of the Coyote for when it’s off the bike. These will come in handy at the air port.

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[toratora]

Here are photos of the bike as posted by the seller in Sendai Japan.

Edit: This is the bike I bought, but it’s not the one I received. This would end up causing great stress, and ultimately the failure of this adventure to a great extent.

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[tbh37620]

Thanks RJ. Much more to come soon.

People have been wondering if these little bikes can make the trek. Here’s my 05 GPR on a camping trip to Eureka from SF. We took a very round about way of traveling up there including costal, and inland roads. Pretty much the twistyist route we could find. It was quite a magical adventure.

Totally awesome to see someone putting miles on a GPR! I plan on getting mine all buttoned up this summer and do some short trips on it.

[toratora]

Hey Thomas!

That photo is from sometime ago now. The great thing about that adventure though is I learned how to travel long distances on the GPR. That knowledge will get put to great use next month. You’ll get to see that knowledge on moto camping with the GPR within this thread. If there’s something for which you are curious about just ask. I’ll be posting photos, and videos in this thread.

It’s raining here in San Francisco today, and most appropriately the Taichi rain suit showed up.

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In addition to the rain suit the base layer top arrived. The top has an extra length torso providing full coverage for when leaned forward when riding the bike. The collar is a nice mini turtle neck to offer additional protection. Comfort, and range of motion are quite high. Sizing was most interesting. I usually wear a medium T-shirt, however based on the Taichi sizing chart I required a 3XL!!

The rain suit compacts quite nicely. The jacket is fully lined, and the pants are lined down to around the knee area. There is an external pocket on the jacket with a drain hole, and the legs have lower gators allowing the pants to be put on over a pair of motorcycle boots. A larger zippered gator would make this much more manageable, but it isn't overly difficult to fit, and once in place they work nicely. The pants also come off easily.

When rolled up the suit does add a bit of weight to the kit, but it will be greatly appreciated should the weather require. The quality of the garments is quite high, as are the materials. The rain suit sizing ended up being an XXL. This seems to have been the proper choice. Range of motion is a little limiting in the arms with the Joe Rocket 44 sized jacket. The legs seem okay with plenty of length, and easily fit over the boot rain booties.

The jacket is available in many colors including Hi-Viz yellow. I ended going with red matching the bike. There are some velcro adjustments on the arms to help keep the jacket from flapping around in the wind. The pants only come in black, but have some reflective materials sewn into the ankle adjustment tabs. Included with the suit is a nice stuff sack for easy packing, and storage. Over all these appear to be great products. I can’t really say that I look forward to testing out the rain suit, but I expect I wont be disappointed when the time comes.

[toratora]

To keep this thread a little cleaner I setup a project thread for the bike. That’s where you’ll find the technical details of the modifications I've done on the bike. 🏍

[toratora]

There are some very awesome people that have been helping me with this adventure. I wouldn’t be able to do this without their support. If you are looking for bikes, gear, parts, or service please give them an opportunity for your business.

Treatland
ApexMoto
AF-1 Racing
TRT 2Fast
Cycle Gear
KurveyGirl

[toratora]

The Passport
This was incredibly difficult, expensive, time consuming, and even frustrating to get, but it’s done now—I can finally legally leave the country again.

[toratora]

I made it to Japan!