Honda CX500 & GL500 Forum

Search Sort Posts:  Oldest to newest Newest to oldest

05-27-2010, 7:22 AM DougD Joined on 05-29-2009 Dundas Ontario Age 43 Posts 201 Deals Gap / Blue Ridge Trip With Concours Report Yes I’m back from my fabulous trip to Deals Gap and the Blue Ridge Parkway: The Route: I took a 6 day circle route: Day 1: Dundas Ontario to Windsor Ontario (after work) Day 2: Down I-75 to Knoxville Tn, met up with Uncle on his Honda ST1300 Day 3: Knoxville – Cherokee – Deals Gap – Cherohala – Knoxville Airport – Cherokee Day 4: Blue Ridge Parkway to Fancy Gap Day 5: Fancy Gap I-81, stayed off the BRP due to fog, rejoined at Buena Vista and finished Parkway, to State College PA (12 hour day) Day 6: State College back to Dundas via Buffalo about 3400km total Deals Gap: US129 is still closed due to a rockslide, but the Dragon was open during the day. The closed section is about 5 minutes North of the scenic overlook so you can do the whole Dragon no problem. Coming from Knoxville it made it a bit of a long day because we went through Cherokee to get there. Not a huge hardship though, because it’s also a great road. I love 129 because you usually have a good view of the approaching corner and can judge your speed accordingly. I’m not a real fast rider but I didn’t embarrass myself. There were two police cars on 129 that day, the closure really helps them with enforcement because if they clock you going up they know you have to come back the same way. I got passed by two guys riding older two stroke bikes, which is fine except they did it in the middle of a corner when I wasn’t expecting it. That could have been quite disastrous but I dived for the white line when I heard them coming up beside me. Overall traffic was light so that helped too. Blue Ridge Parkway: The BRP was a bit of a disappointment for me. The Southern section was foggy and rainy, so we missed the best of the scenic views. Once the weather cleared up for the middle section I was getting fatigued and never really clicked with the rhythm of the road. I braked too early or bobbled in the middle of a lot of corners. With my Wife on the back I was being extra cautious, too cautious even since I always had in the back of my mind “Must not ride off a cliff and orphan our children”. For the upper section of the BRP my Wife tried the back seat of my Uncle’s ST1300 (which she rates a better bike than the Concours) and I had a better time of it then. When the weather was good we had some excellent scenic stops and gourmet lunches on the Parkway. Avocado and Blue Cheese on a Bagel, Uncle David really knows how to travel. The Concours: The Concours is nice but not perfect, a lot of engine heat gets behind the fairing so I boiled in hot weather. The tall windshield was great on the highway but distracting on twisty roads. Certainly it's fabulous on the interstate, you can do 120km/hr all day effortlessly at less than 4000rpm. In the twisties it's more capable than me. Good brakes and lots of torque, so I didn’t have to shift a lot and could just pull hard out of curves in whatever gear. Between three hard bags it can carry a ton of stuff too. I'm quite pleased with it. Mine’s a 93 with 85,000km on it so I’ll bet a later model with fewer km would be even better. In retrospect I’m very glad I didn’t try and do this trip with my CX500, keeping up to the ST1300 with a passenger would have been possible, but would have required more rider skill and effort. In general the Concours lacks refinement compared to a Honda, particularly the gearbox. The component quality isn't as good, the individual parts aren't pretty like they are on the CX. It got the job done though. The Rider: I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but my 43 year old reflexes and stamina are not the same as the last time I did this trip 10 years ago. If I do this again in another 10 years I’ll have to work out a bit first, and reduce the daily mileage so I don’t get overtired. The Passenger: My Wife flew down to Knoxville and I picked her up at the airport. That spared her the Interstate to get down there and also reduced the amount of kidsitting required from the Grandparents. She rides her own bike but didn’t mind being a passenger since she could actually look at the scenery we were passing. We had a really good time together, which is rare when you have young kids. 80 CX500 Deluxe - Sold 86 Interceptor 500 93 Kawi Concours 81 GL500 - The Silver Thing, gone but not forgotten    Report

05-27-2010, 7:47 AM Gene McCall Joined on 03-02-2006 Murfreesboro Posts 1,147 Re: Deals Gap / Blue Ridge Trip With Concours Report Doug, good report!  The Concours would have been my choice after my ST1100.  During one of my trips to the Amish rally I got on the BRP at the beginning in nice sunny weather.  Within less than 50 miles rain, fog and even a little sleet moved in.  There seemed to be no one but me on the road.  I took a picture at the highest point on the BRP and it was hard to read the sign for the rain!  I abandoned the BRP soon after and found a motel!  I have been passed by idiots in the middle of a corner, as you describe & to me it is extremely dangerous and dumb! Gene My pictures are Here I didn't get this old by being timid, just not being stupid! 2000 ST1100 Hack 1983 GL650    Report

05-27-2010, 8:59 AM Ookie Wonderslug Joined on 05-04-2008 Unionville, NC Posts 233 Re: Deals Gap / Blue Ridge Trip With Concours Report I rode the BRP from Fancy Gap to near Blowing Rock last year. The views were spectacular and the road was nice. But coming back the rain was horrid. First real ride in the rain. The few times I have been up there it has rained every single time. Makes me scared to go back. 1982 CX500C "Twisted" 1981 GL500 in pieces    Report

05-29-2010, 9:30 AM TonyG Joined on 04-05-2006 Central Pa Posts 745 Re: Deals Gap / Blue Ridge Trip With Concours Report Doug said: The Concours: The Concours is nice but not perfect, a lot of engine heat gets behind the fairing so I boiled in hot weather. The tall windshield was great on the highway but distracting on twisty roads. Certainly it's fabulous on the interstate, you can do 120km/hr all day effortlessly at less than 4000rpm. In the twisties it's more capable than me. Good brakes and lots of torque, so I didn’t have to shift a lot and could just pull hard out of curves in whatever gear. TonyG wrote: That was my thoughts about the Concours also. It would have been good to have side expulsion vents and air baffles behind the headers. They did not change very much until they bumped up the displacement a few years ago. They had a 20 yr run without many major changes. And you've already experienced the valve adjustment. Connies also had camshaft seal and water pump seal issues but not as known as on the cx and they are not engine out operations. The engine was and is the strongest point of a good all around touring / sprort touring bike. But it has some shortcomings. What was your fuel mileage. I'm guessing that you didn't top 40 except on the interstate. It could use a higher top gear.    Report

Honda CX500 & G... » CX500 GL500 Tra... » Travelling, Fri... » Re: Deals Gap / Blue Ridge Trip With Concours Report

(please select) Forums Home |- Search Forums |- Active Topics |- Unanswered Posts User Options |- Sign In |- Join this community |- Forgot Password CX500 GL500 Transverse Twins Discussion Forum |- General Discussion |- CX Customization and Modifications |- CX500 & CX650 Turbo Forum |- Travelling, Friends, and Trips |- Selling and Buying Forum |- Technical Help Forum Other Forums |- Off-Topic Posts |- Test Forum