17 replies to this topic

[fjrrrr]

To fully understand this post I have to preface with a little background information. First, I turned 50 in October but mentally I'm still in my 20's and I "think" I still have the riding skills I had then. NOT. So I met some old (younger) riding buddies from a local riding club in Charlotte, NC (Charlotte Sportbikes). I used to ride with them on a regular basis about 5-6 years ago when I was riding an R1 and other sportbikes. I did some track days, trips to Deals Gap, etc. Well, yesterday was what they call "Marchfest". It's a yearly ride from Charlotte up to Shady Valley, TN and is one of those shake the cobwebs off, rev up the testosterone, no matter the weather, blasts through some very curvy roads. And I thought it would be a good place to break in the new 2010 FJR. Started the day with rain that cleared very fast and turned into a beautiful day. Had 75 miles on the odometer at the start, now over 300.

Here's what I learned very quickly-

*I'm not in my 20's anymore and my riding skills have diminished significantly over the last few years.

*New bike with new tires that are not scuffed in can increase the pucker factor on already high pucker roads.

*I made my riding buddies very nervous but they did a fantastic job of monitoring my slowness as I tried to keep up.

*I have a bad tendency to turn in too soon on the entry to corners.

*I have another bad tendency to chop the throttle in corners if I feel my line is terrible.

*The brakes on the FJR are awesome!

*The weight of the FJR is a handful when dicing through really fast sweepers trying to keep up with CBR's and Buells.

*I think I would fit in better with the EOM crowd than the sportbike crowd.(I hope)

*I'm really understanding and bonding with my Harley.


Here are some pics, I am the old guy in the back with the grey tour jacket.

Edited by fjrrrr, 04 March 2012 - 05:50 AM.

[timk]

I found out 4yrs ago I couldn't keep up with the "old guys" on this site, so I ride alone and imagine I'm fast.

[Monty]

I turned 74 on Feb 2nd and my "fast riding" days have long since vanished. 80mph seems very fast now. Probably would fit better in the Hardley crowd but just can't go that way. Fast bikes have always been my thing (came to the FJ from a Triumph Tiger 1050 heavily modified). I would rather go slow on my FJ than fast on a cruiser. lol

[bradman]

I turned 74 on Feb 2nd and my "fast riding" days have long since vanished. 80mph seems very fast now. Probably would fit better in the Hardley crowd but just can't go that way. Fast bikes have always been my thing (came to the FJ from a Triumph Tiger 1050 heavily modified). I would rather go slow on my FJ than fast on a cruiser. lol

+1, I'm with you on that one!

[Bugnatr]

The Feejeer is no sport bike, however Yamaha does have a solution for you. FZ1, a crotch rocket for "old guys". With upright seating you can ride quick without having to hump the turtle. Here's a nice 08 that only gets ridden on Sundays and never breaks the speed limit

[fjrrrr]

I just traded my 04 Gen 1 FZ1 for my 2nd FJR. So I do know what a great bike they are.

[Fontanaman]

I don't try and keep up anymore. I mostly learned that lesson at 18 years of age when I went over the handle bars of my 1973 TM250 Suzuki (motocross bike) at 40mph. I was lucky and did not cause any serious harm to myself. I am still learning after nearly 40 years to ride my own ride. It is one thing to say it but much harder to do it.

Your buddies will be at where they are at when you get there. Just agree on the destination then meet your buddies there. I don't try and keep up and I enjoy myself more for it. Ride safe and have fun.

[luvtoride]

*I think I would fit in better with the EOM crowd than the sportbike crowd.(I hope)

Just be careful who you pick to ride with & you should be good. Some of them guys can ride!

& I love Shady Valley!

[Fred W]

One thing I learned about a long time ago... Not even in this sport, was: It ain't never the tools, it's almost always the operator.

There are guys on here that could probably out ride you and me both, with them out riding a Hodaka Wombat and we could be on the most exotic liter bikes bikes out there.

The only truly germane question here is: Where exactly do you get your kicks from?

If you need to be the fastest stud on the grid, then... best of luck to you, as it's probably already way too late to learn any new tricks, you old horse.

But if you can focus on just enjoying yourself, while you push your own personal envelope just enough to be fun, then you are in very good company.

[TheZsdad]

One thing I learned about a long time ago... Not even in this sport, was: It ain't never the tools, it's almost always the operator.

Although sometimes it is the tool.

[TheZsdad]

To fully understand this post I have to preface with a little background information. First, I turned 50 in October but mentally I'm still in my 20's and I "think" I still have the riding skills I had then. NOT. So I met some old (younger) riding buddies from a local riding club in Charlotte, NC (Charlotte Sportbikes). I used to ride with them on a regular basis about 5-6 years ago when I was riding an R1 and other sportbikes. I did some track days, trips to Deals Gap, etc. Well, yesterday was what they call "Marchfest". It's a yearly ride from Charlotte up to Shady Valley, TN and is one of those shake the cobwebs off, rev up the testosterone, no matter the weather, blasts through some very curvy roads. And I thought it would be a good place to break in the new 2010 FJR. Started the day with rain that cleared very fast and turned into a beautiful day. Had 75 miles on the odometer at the start, now over 300.

Here's what I learned very quickly-

*I'm not in my 20's anymore and my riding skills have diminished significantly over the last few years.

*New bike with new tires that are not scuffed in can increase the pucker factor on already high pucker roads.

*I made my riding buddies very nervous but they did a fantastic job of monitoring my slowness as I tried to keep up.

*I have a bad tendency to turn in too soon on the entry to corners.

*I have another bad tendency to chop the throttle in corners if I feel my line is terrible.

*The brakes on the FJR are awesome!

*The weight of the FJR is a handful when dicing through really fast sweepers trying to keep up with CBR's and Buells.

*I think I would fit in better with the EOM crowd than the sportbike crowd.(I hope)

*I'm really understanding and bonding with my Harley.


Here are some pics, I am the old guy in the back with the grey tour jacket.

Hey Neighbor, First I want to thank you for referring to yourself as the old guy. I promise to never use that term in reference to myself again.
I now see how ridiculous that must sound to the real senior members of our group. Second did you really expect to keep up with those guys
on your new sport touring bike that you barely have ridden? Come to EOM and make some new friends. Hell if you just want to know if you are still faster than
someone else you can ride with me. Should do wonders for your ego. I think you need a nice long trip to get in touch with your new bike.
Maybe even with your self. But then again I could be reading this wrong. Good Luck.

[beachy]

My advice is ride with us fjr type,we tend to have a good time weather we are fast or slow and what is fast to me is probably slow to you dont matter we all meet up before the next turn. I can relate about blowing your lines and I usually do it when I try to turn up the wick too much.A wise rider once told me when you ride on the street,dont ride over 80% leave yourself 20 to get out of trouble.By the way you are going to give that new fjr a complex that thing should be front and center in that picture I dont even see it. I will shoot you a pm when we are riding.ENJOY THE RIDE

[FJR Flyer]

Finally got to ride The Snake (and the Diamondback) on the FJR for the first time last May. I had ridden it numerous times on my FJ. The FJ guys meet up in Boone every May and I was a regular until we hit kid #3. Then kid #4 didn't help, either. So to get back that after several years off I had to knock off the rust and adjust to the FJR.

I agree, the FJR is a bit of a challenge in the really tight stuff. Makes the FJ feel tiny and nimble. But I, too, am not as young as when I first started going there.

[Frzp]

If I'm on the FZ6 I can snap in and out of turns very easily; move to the FJR and it is big difference. I learned a long time ago to never worry about what the others of my group are doing and focus instead how I am going to attack the road, the turn, the traffic. If the group gets a far enough ahead and stops for me to catch up I make it a point to wave at them as I drive by.

[GeorgiaRoller]

*New bike with new tires that are not scuffed in can increase the pucker factor on already high pucker roads.

*I have a bad tendency to turn in too soon on the entry to corners.

*I have another bad tendency to chop the throttle in corners if I feel my line is terrible.

Well all three of these things can be easily corrected.

Yeah I would never do a spirited mountain twisty ride on new tires until I get a couple hundred miles on them! Your lucky you didn't go down.

Practicing a delayed apex corner entry angle with a firm counter-steer always seems to work best on those types of roads.

Chopping throttle off in mid-curve definitely is telling you your not at the right speed or your in too high of a gear on entering the curves....ie trying to keep up with lighter, faster, more nimble sportbikes.

NOTE: I've learned when following fast riders to not focus on them. I actually pretend they are not there, I don't watch their lines, I don't watch when they brake, I don't try to copy what they do...I try to read the road conditions, curves, entry points regardless of what they do and I let my peripheral vision pick up any hints from them (harsh braking, avoiding road debris...etc) and that's about it.

Trying to play catch the leader with faster riders is the never ending problem for guys and their machismo. I've succombed to it in the past but I hope I'm past all that now.

Also no matter how good of a rider you are...we all get rusty if we haven't ridden in a while. It happens to everyone.

*I think I would fit in better with the EOM crowd than the sportbike crowd.(I hope)

Being 50yrs is not old first off. Secondly trying to keep up with good sportbike riders on agressive mountain roads is pretty much gonna be a loosing proposition for 99% of us on FJR's. So why even try?

A wise rider once told me when you ride on the street,dont ride over 80% leave yourself 20 to get out of trouble.

Well said and I agree. I do this exact same thing for myself mentally. I ride at about 75% of my ability and try to not go over that.

My days of pushing 95%-100% all the time is just dumb and dangerous. I can ride a nice, controlled, quick pace and maintain that all day long. I'd rather ride like that anymore.

[fjrrrr]

Hey Neighbor, First I want to thank you for referring to yourself as the old guy. I promise to never use that term in reference to myself again.
I now see how ridiculous that must sound to the real senior members of our group. Second did you really expect to keep up with those guys
on your new sport touring bike that you barely have ridden? Come to EOM and make some new friends. Hell if you just want to know if you are still faster than
someone else you can ride with me. Should do wonders for your ego. I think you need a nice long trip to get in touch with your new bike.
Maybe even with your self. But then again I could be reading this wrong. Good Luck.
[/quote]

No you hit the nail on the head, exactly. I already plan to come to EOM to make some new friends and work on my tarnished ego.

Even though this FJR is new to me I previously had an 07 that I could ride like a scalded dog. I traded it on a Goldwing and then went to Iraq for 2 years 2008-2010 and seemed to lose all my skills quickly in just the last couple of years.

Thanks for the reply, I look forward to meeting you.

[fjrrrr]

My advice is ride with us fjr type,we tend to have a good time weather we are fast or slow and what is fast to me is probably slow to you dont matter we all meet up before the next turn. I can relate about blowing your lines and I usually do it when I try to turn up the wick too much.A wise rider once told me when you ride on the street,dont ride over 80% leave yourself 20 to get out of trouble.By the way you are going to give that new fjr a complex that thing should be front and center in that picture I dont even see it. I will shoot you a pm when we are riding.ENJOY THE RIDE

Is this better? Thanks for the advice.

[beachy]

very nice shes feeling better allready