ndivita
Well-known member
God do I love my FJR. What a stallion of a bike. I do believe, you take care of it, and it takes care of you. Put this trip together just about at the last minute. Threw some stuff in a Cortech bag, bungeed it to Garauld's rack, thank you. Rain hit about 50 miles out of town and thinking it was May and I was headed generally south, I misjudged the temp, leaving my cold weather gear at the house of course. So I bought a truck stop sweat shirt, put on the Tour Master rain suit jacket over my Fieldsheer textile pants and jacket and I was good to go. Oh, I also left my gauntlet gloves at the house like an idiot. So big deal my hands got a little wet. I won't make that mistake again. 557 miles the first day to Nashville on Interstates 70, 64, 57 and 24. Rain rain and more rain but I stayed dry. What a stable platform the bike is and thank God for Smitty's Audiovox cruise control and the adjustable windshield which allowed me to use the wind force to keep my full face shield clear and dry and free of mist. I really don't care for interstate riding, but like a bad day fishing, it is better than anything else and I find rain riding oddly satisfying and challenging. Sensory and situational awareness to the max.... I really cannot convey the sense of confidence the FJR instills, rain or shine but especially rain. Problem is, the bike is a speeding ticket waiting to happen. It is kind of frustrating because I have the distinct sense law enforcement across the country is looking for revenue from citations to speeders so I rarely exceeded 76 mph the whole way. Day 2, awoke and hit the road after a really good night's sleep at the lovely Day's Inn and their killer free Raisin Bran and OJ breakfast at 6 am. 743 miles to Southern Outer Banks, NC. I 40 through Tenn and western NC is a lovely ride but was forbidding with fog, heavy rain and not a few cars. Again, this bike is so stable, powerful and responsive. It cleared up past Raleigh, which as I realized is an exception to i before e except after c. The Garmin programmers misspelled it by the way, as my GPS indicated. Two days of solitude and no conversation will make you think things like that. By the way, as you know, the routes the GPS tells you to take are not always right as there is absolutely no reason to leave I 40 in Raleigh to get to the Outer Banks despite what the Zumo tells you. What is up with that? The salt air east of Jacksonville smelled great. Arrived tired, hungry and happy. LD riding provides a truly satisfying sense of immediate result and cause and effect in a world that usually feels like you have thrown a brick at a window and you must wait two years for it to hit. Makes you feel alive in ways words really don't capture, as I am sure you all know. Maybe it's me. Sorry for the stream of consciousness post.
Long live the FJR 1300!
Long live the FJR 1300!
