Canadian Rockies '18: New-to-Me Bike and Other Things I Use

I bought a new-to-me bike for this year's trip.

Our '13 FLTRU on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia

I LOVED our '13 Road Glide Ultra. We spent more money than I should have getting her set up just like we wanted. There were no heavy-duty mods like custom paint, extended bags, etc., but we chromed the front end, added chrome wheels and rotors, a painted inner, heated grips, Daymakers, LED lighting everywhere else, stage 1 with pipes I really liked, upgraded audio... It was a nice bike. Problem was I had just barely under 60K on the clock, had the tranny rebuilt last year, and while the bike was well-maintained, I was worried about reliability while facing a 9,800- mile ride. So we had been in the market for something new for a while.

2018 was our target year. I was hoping HD would produce a CVO Road Glide Ultra in '17 so I could try to pick up a leftover when the 18s came out or grab a barely-ridden previously owned bike. The Motor Company voted no on a '17 FLTRUSE, so we watched the most recent dealer show online, hoping for a 2018 CVO Road Glide Ultra. Once again, we were disappointed. So we waited, thought about what to do, prayed about it, and decided to shop for a pre-owned '15 or '16 FLTRUSE. The story of how we ended up with our new-to-me bike is too long to share here. We purchased this one in March, and I'm pleased. Here she is:

When I first saw this color - Carbon Dust and Autumn Sunset (more orange than red or brown), I said, "absolutely not". I didn't love it. Then I went to Bike Week over in Daytona, saw a few bikes just like this one (more on that later), and it grew on me. I asked my friends, and they liked it. I asked my wife and kids, and they liked it. So I began to consider grabbing this one, and decided to go for it.

The bike had just over 10,000 miles on it. That was new enough for me. It had not been cared for like I care for my bikes, so I spent some time cleaning up the nooks and crannies and buffing out some surface scratches - but it's in great shape now. I still have a scratch on the front fender hasn't buffed out, and there are some surface scratches on the tour pack lid because I've been too lazy to take the luggage rack off to clean them up, but I'm happy with where we are.

So why did I decide to go CVO? I mean, these bikes are really pricey. And I know I run the risk of pulling into a hotel for the evening to find another bike pretty much exactly like mine. This was never the case with my '13 Road Glide. It was set up the way I wanted it... and no one was going to have one exactly the same. In fact, I seldom saw another Midnight Pearl FLTRU. I liked this. So... why? CVOs are expensive. That's why I went low-mileage pre-owned. I wanted someone else to take the big depreciation hit, and that worked for me. And then I weighed how much I spent on mods on my '13 against what I was going to get in the way of resale. We took a look at resale / trade value on a CVO, and decided to go that route. We'll see how it works out for us.

The bike is pretty much stock CVO. It has Vance and Hines Power Duals, Monster Rounds, and a V&H Fuelpak FP3. I like playing with the Fuelpak, but Alyshia Sargent, the service manager at my dealership, Stormy Hill Harley-Davidson in Clermont, Florida, really wants me to consider another fuel management / tuning system. I'm thinking about it because she rocks and I trust her. I just have to stop spending money for a while.

Here are my observations after the first 1,500 miles or so of riding the 2015 CVO Road Glide Ultra:

• This 110 with the power duals runs cooler than the 103 on my '13. I like that.
• I'm a little concerned about fuel economy. We'll be in some remote places this year, so I've had to plan fuel stops carefully.
• The Hammock seat is nice. Comfortable. Annette really loves the comfort and the fact that the seat is heated. And I like for her to be happy. I think I'm sitting a little higher, and I'm only 5'9", so I'm still getting used to that.
• This bike has adjustable passenger floorboards, and I need to adjust them. I feel like they are too far forward, and they bother me when we're riding two-up. I'll try to fix that before we leave.
• The Infotainment is new to me. I like it. I especially like not having to upgrade the audio again. I'm going to stick with the CVO-stock Stage II Boom Audio System. It's fine for me.
• I like having Sirius / XM on my bike radio, rather than on my Garmin GPS.

So that's the bike. I'm looking forward to getting her out and letting her run. I'll post my thoughts on how the bike is performing as we make our way west and north. And then there's this:

Just about everyone will look at all of these "tools"- or junk, to some - and say, "What in the world is all of that?" I get that. There are some things to know about me and about our process that might help this to make sense.

First - I am a planner. I literally spend a year planing our trips. We decide toward the end of each year's adventure where we are going the next year. And I go to work. I know full well that some like to head off in a given direction and wait to see where the road will take them. I know others right turn-bu-turn directions on their windshield with a grease pencil and start riding. That's not me.

• I use Garmin BaseCamp and plan the trip with painstaking detail. I plan daily start times, lunch stops, gas stops when necessary, and determine where we are stopping for the night.
• I have a Zumo 665, and will continue to use my stand-alone GPS rather than the Infotainment GPS system for navigation. One of our other riders imports our route into the Harley system each day, and we compare notes on how the different GPS systems are working. That's the HD GPS mount, by the way. I installed it myself and it wasn't difficult at all.
• And in case you're wondering... we book our hotels in advance due to the size of the group. It's a little risky, but so far, booking in advance has worked for us.

Next - I stay connected. My phone is always accessible to me. I sometimes want to stay in touch with work. I ALWAYS want to stay in touch with my family. I also use my phone to control our bike-to-bike communication systems and my GoPro Hero5.

Third - I hydrate. We ride long, hard days. We ride in the summer, and though we're headed far north and to elevation, we start out in the Deep South where it is hot and humid. I was in search of a great cupholder for years. I finally found something that works for me with this Ciro3D product. I pair this with a Yeti cup that keeps my water cold for hours and I am good to go!

I am a musician and I enjoy listening to music as I ride. I've activated Sirius-XM for the long miles this ride will require. I also have playlists loaded onto a USB drive that is connected to the Infotainment system, and can stream music from my phone.

Finally, I am safety conscious. I stopped at a gas station a couple of years ago as I was starting one of these journeys. A couple of guys came over as I was filling up and were admiring my bike, then asked about "the little orange thing." When I explained what it was, he said, "You're wife knows where you are all the time? Aw, he** no!" I laughed. I don't mind my wife, family, and friends knowing where I am at all times. So the orange device on the right is a Spot Gen3 satellite tracker. If I drive off a mountain, I can be found. If we break down or have a crisis while in a remote location where there is no cell service, I can send an emergency message to friends and family, or I can send an SOS to law enforcement or rescue personnel. My family and friends can follow along, tracking our progress throughout the journey. And I use the tracking date to create a log of where we've been.

So try to excuse my junk. I mean... tools.

There are a few more things we use that you can't see in the pics above. The most significant of these are our Cardo PackTalk communicators. One of the reasons our laugh time is so great is we are talking almost constantly. We talk about life and work, family, kids (and now, grandkids). We talk about struggles we are facing. Some of the talk is really practical, like "I need gas" or "I need a restroom break". We discuss upcoming maneuvers- like, "We're turning right in 2 miles." We've found staying together in traffic is much easier when we can communicate what we are about to do. We discuss restaurant choices. And yes, we laugh. A lot. I know this won't work for many. Part of the fun of riding is solitude... quiet... nothing but the rumble of our exhaust and the sound of wind in our ears. But for us - we choose the banter that builds our friendships. To each his own, right?

I can only think of one more thing I use. I've found our Airhawk Motorcycle Seat Cushions, We've found these help us endure the long ride days with some added comfort. I'm not so sure how this is going to feel this year with the added seat height of the Hammock - but we'll find out soon.

More to come soon.