2500 Miles on a 'Naked' Yamaha Stryker.

Every Summer, I drive out to Kansas to visit my son. I used to fly, but the time saved is negligible due to security screenings, layovers, and flight schedules to 'flyover country'. I spent Christmas Eve 2014 in Dallas, TX due to a snowstorm and have endured driving as the lessor of two evils ever since. This last June I decided to spice things up a bit and ride the motorcycle. The journey was amazing, full of memories, and I only expended 63 Gallons of gasoline for the ~2500 miles I rode! That's pretty close to Prius MPG but a lot cooler.

I have been riding, on-and-off, since around 2002 and have accumulated somewhere in the neighborhood of 30K miles of two-wheel experience since then. That said, I was still a bit nervous about this ride. With that many miles in front of me, I knew I would face some interesting situations with other drivers, weather, and fatigue. I’ve been in a few motorcycle accidents over the years and don’t relish the idea of another one.

As I frequently tell other riders, the best thing you can do before a ride is prepare. I changed the oil in my 2014 Yamaha Star Stryker, checked tire pressures, and carefully inspected all the lights and controls. I don’t have saddle bags on the bike, so I packed my old trusty BlackHawk ‘assault pack’ I formerly carried to war in Iraq: Two days of clothes, a bit of spare gasoline, my laptop, shave kit, ear plugs, ibuprofen, and a wet weather bag. My PPE consisted of a Shoei GT-Air II helmet, Kevlar jeans with knee pads, and a full complement of leather (jacket, boots, & gloves).

Within the first eighty miles, I was reminded that 'nice weather' in one place did not indicate nice weather everywhere. I rode the next 700 miles in the rain before stopping at a hotel in Topeka, Ks to clean up and sleep. I was exhausted, freezing cold, and sore. I made a few decisions the next morning:

1: I needed to find a weather radar app.

2: From now on I would focus on enjoying the trip instead of covering ground.

3: I would be installing a windshield on my bike before the next long ride. OMG.

My gear was mostly dry when I set out the following day. I was thrilled to be riding in the warm sun. My thoughts were on the wise choice of selecting ME888 tires shortly before the journey. They handled very well in the previous day’s torrential downpour conditions. There were moments where standing water on the highway was inevitable, and I never had an issue! At the time of this writing, I have about 5K miles on them, and they are still going strong with plenty of tread. Tire selection is a hotly contested subject in the motorcycle world, so I figure these details are worth mentioning.

What is a Naked Bike?

A ‘naked’ bike lacks the full fairings and bodywork found on most other motorcycles. This makes the engine and other mechanical components more visible (looks cool) at the expense of wind, rain, bug, and stone protection (comfort).  As I waffled back-and-forth on the idea of installing a windshield, I caught a large bug or stone in the chest and the idea was finalized. My neck and upper chest were still tender from the day prior, so the contact was quite unwelcome. The other consideration here was the wind noise which I had already deemed dangerously loud even with earplugs in. Final analysis: ‘Naked’ bikes look pretty cool but are not comfortable on long trips. I wonder if the bug thought I looked cool before I destroyed him with my sternum...

In the late 1990’s, I was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas in the 1st Infantry Division. Back then I would occasionally visit Freedom Park, which sat on the other side of I-70 overlooking the military installation. It's claim to fame is a hilltop adorned with various defunct artillery pieces. I recalled the view of Fort Riley from atop the hill as being impressive, so I decided to stop and make the climb for old times’ sake. I have fond memories of carrying my daughter to the top as an infant and visiting again many years later with my son. Since I did not think to take pictures, I have included some from a previous trip below.

The M65 Atomic Cannon, often called 'Atomic Annie' and not to be confused with the much smaller M-65 Field Jacket, is an absolute beast of a cannon. She was developed in the early 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War, and fielded by 1953 in Europe and Korea. The one featured in Junction City is one of the last 3 still surviving and was never fired. The M65 is chambered for a 280mm W9 warhead with a 15-kiloton atomic yield. Only 20 were built and they were obsolete almost as soon as they were fielded due to the development of ballistic missiles. The first and only test firing was at the Nevada Test Site on May 25, 1953.

I eventually made it to Liberal, Kansas and set up shop in a hotel. My son lives in a small, remote town about an hour north (literally a 1 stoplight town) with nothing in the way of hotels. To illustrate just how remote, the nearest two Wal-Marts are both an hour away in opposite directions – one in Liberal and one in Garden City. If you ever make it out that far, Napoli's Italian restaurant was a winner - Yum. I ate there multiple nights and enjoyed it each time.

Over the course of the visit, Kenny and I played video games, installed an air conditioner, and exchanged our very best puns. Everyone in his town knows him by name and we made the best of it, making our rounds on foot to his various haunts around town. We got free coffee at the coffee shop, tried to get free pizza at the pizza shop, and ate loads of junk food from the local dollar store. When it was time for me to begin my journey back, I opted for the road less traveled as often as possible and stopped under overpasses when rainstorms were imminent. I avoided some golf-ball sized hail outside of Junction City with this trick!

Motorcycle Pro-Tip: don’t leave your gloves on the passenger seat and ride away, they will not be there the next time you stop. I later discovered that truck stops carry work gloves with surprisingly similar padding and armor characteristics. The last 500ish miles were spent in a set of these and they also kept the sun at bay.

As I pulled safely into my driveway, I felt a sense of accomplishment. The ride had been tough and challenging but hugely rewarding. I look forward to doing it again next year – with a windshield. Perhaps you would like to join?

If you liked this post, check out my Quora account. I answer a great deal of questions about motorcycles there.