so this past sunday i wanted to take the FJr out for a spin, this would have been the first fire test for the bike since my first ride fizzled with a low pressure rear tire. I had done lot of suspension upgrades to this bike as well and wanted to put in as many miles to get used to it.
So i asked around if any one wanted to ride and many were out and about riding and decided to stop at new concord to see if there was a common plan. an eclectic group of riders on various models showed up including our very own el toro Joe who i was meeting for the first time. Unfortunately my ride to the meet spot was delayed by me almost getting washed out from all the aggressive geometry changes i made to the bike. every time the bike slips i would stop and check all around to make sure nothing was amiss.
Joe, once again sorry we couldnt talk and get to know much. I was kinda having a "deer in headlight" moment by the time i pulled up in the gas station. And before i could even get off the bike every one was suited up and ready to roll lol You are nothing like the picture in your avatar ... he is way more handsome
jk jk , i know i know..u were surprised too lol
Anyways once my nerves calmed a bit i decided to keep riding like a moron despite few oh shoot moments, i havent seen these folks in some time and didnt want to waste the chance to ride with them.
and that bring us to the subject of today ride report, Few months ago i had migrated from brand new daytona 675r to a bike with no relationship to it at all. an Fjr 1300. Here is a video of me on fjr following another old member on daytona. He used to be on FJR now has daytona and me vice versa. What a small weird world eh
Pros
For my kind of riding the FJR suits really well / No city commute/ all back road twisty / 400-500 miles a day / constant mod fun pace with some bits of aggressive ride
lots of carrying capacity for those once in a while long haul as well as short day trips for snacks drinks and lots of camera and gadgets
very 2 up friendly and wife loves it / we used to travel a lot together now getting back to it.
bullet proof engine / comfortable/ good decent ergo/
in short it s a very heavy sport bike with some touring amenities
but i miss, the easy flicabilty which i traded for more comfort / the pure grin factor from the quick shifter which i had to trade in for long term contentment / that high screaming triple sound > irreplaceable / good track weapon > no comparison / easy to shuffle around garage and work on > no comparison /
in short if i was to do some in city commutes / do some track days in between / not much of a two up tourer/ i could have still kept the daytona with some risers, put on blaze saddle bags and large tail bag and some gel comfort seat and with a bottle of ibuprofen i could have been pretty much more happy.
But there is some mysterious fun in handling a heavy bike i guess. chugging it into the corner and shuffling around all day is pretty exhausting and rewarding. I have still long way to go to make it a muscle memory to ride this thing, so far i am still riding it as a new to me bike with all constant changes i keep doing. But what i expected from a heavy bike was this mid corner stability which i miss, and the tire "walking" sensation. Both of them could very well be my own doing. so i will come back to it once i have reversed some of the ricky racer changes i made. I added links to lift rear up and then the added ohlins i think also adds more height. This made putting center stand for a weaselly 150 lb guy like me a barefoot one hand process. But then the geometry was altered too much. I for one never believed in common folks like us trying to one up the great engineers from mother ship. But once i lowered the vstrom front and felt the unbelievable difference it made, i was like " may be these guys are onto something". And thus i came across this raising links story and i thought might as well swap it while lubing all the crappy joint. Well for my style of ride it was too much. But for some one who rides with more counter steering on handle bars and more upright this might be a good options. granted dont add more height to the suspension as well
Basically one bike rule sux, its hard to find the right balance for the breed of guys wanting to ride a lot, have a lot of fun and then come back home to sleep. I wish there would have been a better medium weight sport touring option. Loved my vfr 800. The glorious VF and right weight. But some what missed the "oophm factor to match its bulk. Vstrom 650 i think is my favorite so far, just the right weight and ergo and good enough power to keep you smiling all day long. if aprilia ever brings back the futura with its ergos and adds the heart of tuono in there, then that bike would be a run away hit. I be like shut up and take my money
So i asked around if any one wanted to ride and many were out and about riding and decided to stop at new concord to see if there was a common plan. an eclectic group of riders on various models showed up including our very own el toro Joe who i was meeting for the first time. Unfortunately my ride to the meet spot was delayed by me almost getting washed out from all the aggressive geometry changes i made to the bike. every time the bike slips i would stop and check all around to make sure nothing was amiss.
Joe, once again sorry we couldnt talk and get to know much. I was kinda having a "deer in headlight" moment by the time i pulled up in the gas station. And before i could even get off the bike every one was suited up and ready to roll lol You are nothing like the picture in your avatar ... he is way more handsome
Anyways once my nerves calmed a bit i decided to keep riding like a moron despite few oh shoot moments, i havent seen these folks in some time and didnt want to waste the chance to ride with them.
and that bring us to the subject of today ride report, Few months ago i had migrated from brand new daytona 675r to a bike with no relationship to it at all. an Fjr 1300. Here is a video of me on fjr following another old member on daytona. He used to be on FJR now has daytona and me vice versa. What a small weird world eh
Pros
For my kind of riding the FJR suits really well / No city commute/ all back road twisty / 400-500 miles a day / constant mod fun pace with some bits of aggressive ride
lots of carrying capacity for those once in a while long haul as well as short day trips for snacks drinks and lots of camera and gadgets
very 2 up friendly and wife loves it / we used to travel a lot together now getting back to it.
bullet proof engine / comfortable/ good decent ergo/
in short it s a very heavy sport bike with some touring amenities
but i miss, the easy flicabilty which i traded for more comfort / the pure grin factor from the quick shifter which i had to trade in for long term contentment / that high screaming triple sound > irreplaceable / good track weapon > no comparison / easy to shuffle around garage and work on > no comparison /
in short if i was to do some in city commutes / do some track days in between / not much of a two up tourer/ i could have still kept the daytona with some risers, put on blaze saddle bags and large tail bag and some gel comfort seat and with a bottle of ibuprofen i could have been pretty much more happy.
But there is some mysterious fun in handling a heavy bike i guess. chugging it into the corner and shuffling around all day is pretty exhausting and rewarding. I have still long way to go to make it a muscle memory to ride this thing, so far i am still riding it as a new to me bike with all constant changes i keep doing. But what i expected from a heavy bike was this mid corner stability which i miss, and the tire "walking" sensation. Both of them could very well be my own doing. so i will come back to it once i have reversed some of the ricky racer changes i made. I added links to lift rear up and then the added ohlins i think also adds more height. This made putting center stand for a weaselly 150 lb guy like me a barefoot one hand process. But then the geometry was altered too much. I for one never believed in common folks like us trying to one up the great engineers from mother ship. But once i lowered the vstrom front and felt the unbelievable difference it made, i was like " may be these guys are onto something". And thus i came across this raising links story and i thought might as well swap it while lubing all the crappy joint. Well for my style of ride it was too much. But for some one who rides with more counter steering on handle bars and more upright this might be a good options. granted dont add more height to the suspension as well
Basically one bike rule sux, its hard to find the right balance for the breed of guys wanting to ride a lot, have a lot of fun and then come back home to sleep. I wish there would have been a better medium weight sport touring option. Loved my vfr 800. The glorious VF and right weight. But some what missed the "oophm factor to match its bulk. Vstrom 650 i think is my favorite so far, just the right weight and ergo and good enough power to keep you smiling all day long. if aprilia ever brings back the futura with its ergos and adds the heart of tuono in there, then that bike would be a run away hit. I be like shut up and take my money
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