so....I prob should have ridden the saddlemen. Trip ended up being about 1300 miles of riding. so, it would have been totally broken in by now. as it was, the mustang really just doesn't fit me....I would have been happier breaking in the new seat. but- I only know that because that's what I did....lol.
I'm happy with the easy brackets. they didn't end up making things look too broad from behind, and easy to take on and off.
the bike itself performed pretty flawlessly on the trip. I was riding with three friends (two on ultras and one on a giant indian roadmaster). I'm generally the road captain - so, I was up front on the america most of the time and had no issue with leading at a good speed everyone was comfortable with. I tended to lose them on the twisties (we spent some time on Blue Ridge Parkway, diamondback, some other mountain roads).
I'll say I'm looking forward to my new clearview shield arriving. the summer screen was fine...but would like a little better coverage and some cleaner air moving around me. the summer screen was a little buffety.
late afternoon on a hot day is my least favorite time to ride. the air is unstable and it feels like everything is vibrating....and we did a lot of late afternoon riding. I survived ;-)
I believe at (now a little over 14K miles) this bike has likely not had the 12K service (it was at 13040 when I got it). the valves are awfully noisy at this point, so, I may have that checked out. (I draw the line at valves - as far as what I'll do myself).
the tires look like they have plenty of life....but they definitely have no real stop point when leaning to turn (if that makes sense) - most bikes I've had - including prior america - felt, as you pushed over to lean for a turn, like it had a sweet spot where it stabilized in the lean. this bike / these tires feel like it'll just keep going over until you're laying on the ground. i guess if i were a sport biker I'd love that - but I find it disconcerting.....so, I *may* look at new tires at least to start next season.
in the "fun" department, some kind of hornet got into my sleeve on blue ridge parkway and stung me 5 times before I was able to stop and get my jacket off and kill the bee when it fell out....(I assume a hornet of some sort since it could sting multiple times). Luckily I'm not allergic to bees (last I knew) - but we were about to get off the parkway for gas anyway (25 miles ahead) - so, I grabbed some benadryl while we were off, just in case.
overall - great trip, fun riding, hot weather, and I learned a lot. | 
