Official SW-FOG 2015 Announcement: 5/28-31, THU-SUN!
- Thread starter beemerdons
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blufjr
blufjr
It is a new 2015 Yamaha FJ-09 Sport Touring MC. Bought it in Dec. at Xmas and now it has 13,500 miles. 14,500 by Sunday. See my pics.
I wanted to stop by and say hello, but got in late Thurs. as the guy I was riding with had an elec. problem and had to bail in NV. Randy, nice guy and too bad for the problem, but he is working it out.
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beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
Dougie Bobby, you show me a man that doesn't jack off his dog and eat out his wife and I can steal them both! JSNS, es Verdad ese!Hey Don, is your dog doing a reach around?[/
My Yamaha FJR 1300 Friends are the very best Amigos y Amigas that any Motorcyclists could ask for. I owe my Rehabilitation to you with your uplifting support, plus to Oso my Lab for his long walks! Gracias!
Over my right shoulder are two of my in home Physical Therapy devices, the band on the wall is for me to pull against in both directions with my right arm. With the pulleys, I flip Wheatie & AJ off 100+ times daily!
My offer on the pic still stands. We missed your smiling face but when Tyler got a hold of the bread sticks it just may have been too much for your ticker
Can't wait to buy you a cold one this fall at the Ruben run. Dougie Bobby
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James
Well-known member
Yes, I did. U-haul dealer had no trucks, but made some calls while I called a MC help group (w/no help for me). Ed (u-haul) found a commercial enterprise place in Denver that would come get me, help me load the bike, drive me to D., allow me to fill out the paperwork & drive home. The catch was I had to bring the truck back. Borrowed ramps and tie downs from Ed, and 24 hours and 1001 miles later I'm back in D., they have a limo drive me to the airport (cheaper and more reliable than a taxi, they said) and I fly home w/1 stop and a bit more time than it would have taken me to ride. The part that broke was ~$20, but the ancillary damage took it to ~$400. But at least I got a good story out of it
. It gets a little better each time I tell it.
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Well, at least you got some help. Glad you made it ok. Here's our deal that has had me irritated all week.
I'll preface by saying I'm an idiot, and I should have known better, but I was going off prior experience and thought we'd be ok.
So, on Thursday morning we left to Cedar City with a used 190/55 Dunlop RoadSmart 2. It had 4400 miles on it and looked great. I got 7500 miles or better out of the three sets of standard RoadSmarts I've run in the past and knew this would be a 2000 mile trip. That would leave me a 1000 mile cushion for any weirdness.
We got to Cedar City and the tire looked great. If any of you have seen the picture of C and I standing at the bike ready to leave on Saturday morning, look at the tire. It looks great. Tread all the way across and lots of room until the wear bars.
We left CC on Sunday morning and booked. We left, taking I15 towards Fredonia. With an 80mph speed limit, we were running close to 100. Past Fredonia on 89A headed towards 89 and Tuba City, we continued moving right along. Very little traffic and open roads with loooooong site distance made for good FJR nominal speeds. We had a blast in the turns there.
We had just passed the Vermillion Cliffs when we decided to stop for a picture. We stopped at one of those roadside Navajo jewelry stands, probably 13 miles from 89 and 40 something miles from Tuba City. C started looking at jewelry and I took some pics. I don't know why I looked down, but my rear tire caught my eye. It was shredding. I could put my fingernail under the rubber. It looked like shit. The edges looked, and still look like track tires. Like someone took a rasp to them.
We got back on, I slowed down, and I told C we'd check the tire at Tuba City and make a decision then. Knowing 89 goes right into Flagstaff, and knowing Grand Canyon Harley Davidson is in Belmont, just 10 miles west of Flagstaff, we stopped at the intersection of 89 and 160, which is the turn to Tuba City. We were 358 miles from home and 67 miles from Flagstaff.
Upon checking it, the rear tire had smoothed out, and just looked worn. I could see strips of steel and knew we'd never make it 358 miles home on mostly straight road. I knew The HD shop was open on Sunday, so called them, hoping they'd have a tire that would fit. I got the service guy and told him we were almost 400 miles from home and needed a tire. When I said 180/55/17, he said, "That's an odd size." I explained it was for an FJR, and his immediate response was, "We only work on Harley Davidsons." I re-explained to him that we were stuck and would never make it home, and needed a tire. I told him I had the tools to take my wheel off and all they had to do was mount the tire. He simply repeated that they only work on HD. I asked him if he meant he was going to leave my wife and I stranded when all he had to do was mount a tire on the rim. He then gave me the names of three bike shops that "might" help, but were closed on Sunday. Then he hung up.
Now my rant: Fuck him and fuck Harley Davidson. I have used an entire plug kit fixing tires for those pirate clad douche bags over the years. I've gone out of my way to get them gas, and helped them secure shit that vibrated free. Never again. Next HD I see broken down will get the finger. On our way to CA in July, I'm going to go into their store and get $2k worth of shit and put it on their counter. Then I'm going to remember I ride a Yamaha and walk the fuck out. Fuck Grand Canyon HD. I cannot believe they'd leave a rider and his wife fucked for a tire, knowing no metric shops are open until Tuesday.
Rant off:
It may have been Tango Sierra that happened on us and stopped. He offered to follow us to Flagstaff. We got there safely and secured a U-Haul truck, but it was 40 miles south in Sedona. We made the ride on a shitty tire and got to U-Haul. As we were doing the paperwork, the lady told me it was too bad we didn't call yesterday. She said her MC mechanic had just left. Then she pointed out the open door of their small shop. I told her to call him and I'd pay him extra. She said he was going to Florida and was gone. I tried to convince her to just let me mount a tire, but she refused...Now that I think about it, fuck her too. So we paid them $400, loaded the bike and jumped in the truck. Got home around 4 hours late, but safe.
If I had been alone, I would have just pushed that tire home. With C on the back, no way I was going to risk that. Thank God we stopped when we did. I may have never checked the tire at a gas stop, and it could have just let loose at 80-90mph somewhere between Tuba City and Albuquerque. Our luck was bad, but not bad enough to die, so that was good.
I checked the mileage on the tire. It has exactly 6027 on it and is destroyed. This trip put 1555 miles on them. I don't know if it was the roads, if the tire is just super soft, or if these RS2s are just shit. With the slower speeds, the rubber smoothed out, but it's SOFT, and the sides still look feathered and look like I took a rasp to them. Air pressure is still 43, so they are not under inflated. As a matter of fact, the front looks phenomenal. I don't know why they fell 1500 miles short of previous RS tires, but I will never ever leave on a trip with a used tire.
Shit, every SW-FOG I have gone to has been on used tires. This one was wearing so well, I was planning on where to ride it hard to finish it up. What a pain in the ass, considering I have a new set of T30s in my garage. I'll put them on tomorrow.
As for Grand Canyon HD, I left them a bad Google Review...I know, oooooooooh, who cares. I also called and got the service manager. He said the owner says they can only work on Buell and HD, and in a month or two, no more Buell. I explained to him that I wasn't asking for a tune up or a valve check. I was stuck without a tire, and they didn't even have to take my evil Japanese bike into their shop, just the rim. He stood firm that he was sorry, but no way they would have helped us. Nice, fuckers. I'm hoping Patch let's them have it on Facebook. I can't believe a MC dealership would leave another MC rider hanging, regardless of the brand. I'll never spend another dollar at any HD shop.
And that's it...Lesson. mearned
I'll preface by saying I'm an idiot, and I should have known better, but I was going off prior experience and thought we'd be ok.
So, on Thursday morning we left to Cedar City with a used 190/55 Dunlop RoadSmart 2. It had 4400 miles on it and looked great. I got 7500 miles or better out of the three sets of standard RoadSmarts I've run in the past and knew this would be a 2000 mile trip. That would leave me a 1000 mile cushion for any weirdness.
We got to Cedar City and the tire looked great. If any of you have seen the picture of C and I standing at the bike ready to leave on Saturday morning, look at the tire. It looks great. Tread all the way across and lots of room until the wear bars.
We left CC on Sunday morning and booked. We left, taking I15 towards Fredonia. With an 80mph speed limit, we were running close to 100. Past Fredonia on 89A headed towards 89 and Tuba City, we continued moving right along. Very little traffic and open roads with loooooong site distance made for good FJR nominal speeds. We had a blast in the turns there.
We had just passed the Vermillion Cliffs when we decided to stop for a picture. We stopped at one of those roadside Navajo jewelry stands, probably 13 miles from 89 and 40 something miles from Tuba City. C started looking at jewelry and I took some pics. I don't know why I looked down, but my rear tire caught my eye. It was shredding. I could put my fingernail under the rubber. It looked like shit. The edges looked, and still look like track tires. Like someone took a rasp to them.
We got back on, I slowed down, and I told C we'd check the tire at Tuba City and make a decision then. Knowing 89 goes right into Flagstaff, and knowing Grand Canyon Harley Davidson is in Belmont, just 10 miles west of Flagstaff, we stopped at the intersection of 89 and 160, which is the turn to Tuba City. We were 358 miles from home and 67 miles from Flagstaff.
Upon checking it, the rear tire had smoothed out, and just looked worn. I could see strips of steel and knew we'd never make it 358 miles home on mostly straight road. I knew The HD shop was open on Sunday, so called them, hoping they'd have a tire that would fit. I got the service guy and told him we were almost 400 miles from home and needed a tire. When I said 180/55/17, he said, "That's an odd size." I explained it was for an FJR, and his immediate response was, "We only work on Harley Davidsons." I re-explained to him that we were stuck and would never make it home, and needed a tire. I told him I had the tools to take my wheel off and all they had to do was mount the tire. He simply repeated that they only work on HD. I asked him if he meant he was going to leave my wife and I stranded when all he had to do was mount a tire on the rim. He then gave me the names of three bike shops that "might" help, but were closed on Sunday. Then he hung up.
Now my rant: Fuck him and fuck Harley Davidson. I have used an entire plug kit fixing tires for those pirate clad douche bags over the years. I've gone out of my way to get them gas, and helped them secure shit that vibrated free. Never again. Next HD I see broken down will get the finger. On our way to CA in July, I'm going to go into their store and get $2k worth of shit and put it on their counter. Then I'm going to remember I ride a Yamaha and walk the fuck out. Fuck Grand Canyon HD. I cannot believe they'd leave a rider and his wife fucked for a tire, knowing no metric shops are open until Tuesday.
Rant off:
It may have been Tango Sierra that happened on us and stopped. He offered to follow us to Flagstaff. We got there safely and secured a U-Haul truck, but it was 40 miles south in Sedona. We made the ride on a shitty tire and got to U-Haul. As we were doing the paperwork, the lady told me it was too bad we didn't call yesterday. She said her MC mechanic had just left. Then she pointed out the open door of their small shop. I told her to call him and I'd pay him extra. She said he was going to Florida and was gone. I tried to convince her to just let me mount a tire, but she refused...Now that I think about it, fuck her too. So we paid them $400, loaded the bike and jumped in the truck. Got home around 4 hours late, but safe.
If I had been alone, I would have just pushed that tire home. With C on the back, no way I was going to risk that. Thank God we stopped when we did. I may have never checked the tire at a gas stop, and it could have just let loose at 80-90mph somewhere between Tuba City and Albuquerque. Our luck was bad, but not bad enough to die, so that was good.
I checked the mileage on the tire. It has exactly 6027 on it and is destroyed. This trip put 1555 miles on them. I don't know if it was the roads, if the tire is just super soft, or if these RS2s are just shit. With the slower speeds, the rubber smoothed out, but it's SOFT, and the sides still look feathered and look like I took a rasp to them. Air pressure is still 43, so they are not under inflated. As a matter of fact, the front looks phenomenal. I don't know why they fell 1500 miles short of previous RS tires, but I will never ever leave on a trip with a used tire.
Shit, every SW-FOG I have gone to has been on used tires. This one was wearing so well, I was planning on where to ride it hard to finish it up. What a pain in the ass, considering I have a new set of T30s in my garage. I'll put them on tomorrow.
As for Grand Canyon HD, I left them a bad Google Review...I know, oooooooooh, who cares. I also called and got the service manager. He said the owner says they can only work on Buell and HD, and in a month or two, no more Buell. I explained to him that I wasn't asking for a tune up or a valve check. I was stuck without a tire, and they didn't even have to take my evil Japanese bike into their shop, just the rim. He stood firm that he was sorry, but no way they would have helped us. Nice, fuckers. I'm hoping Patch let's them have it on Facebook. I can't believe a MC dealership would leave another MC rider hanging, regardless of the brand. I'll never spend another dollar at any HD shop.
And that's it...Lesson. mearned
Tango Sierra
Well-known member
Sorry to hear of your tire problem but it was NOT me who came along to be your wing man. I had taken I-15 straight to North Las Vegas on Sunday.
I once had a similar thing happen to me when I thought there was enough tread left for a trip and found steel belts showing when 50 miles from the nearest MC shop at 5 pm in the afternoon.
I once had a similar thing happen to me when I thought there was enough tread left for a trip and found steel belts showing when 50 miles from the nearest MC shop at 5 pm in the afternoon.
erixun
My helmet is on too tight....
First, I am glad you guys are ok. Second, I can't believe they 'only work on HD's' How the hell would they know what bike that came off of if you had not have told them? Maybe you made your own rat rod springer flotsam jetsum knuckledragger thingamajig in your garage out of a HD? That is bullshit for sure.
Like I said, glad you guys are upright and still sucking air.
Like I said, glad you guys are upright and still sucking air.
Bugnatr
Well-known member
Blame Dunlop, their tires never last as long as you think they will.
One more reason to not ride Harley, not all but many of their dealers have this attitude.
One more reason to not ride Harley, not all but many of their dealers have this attitude.
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HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Ok...Who is the rider on the black FJR, '09 I think with Illinois plates? He was at the hotel and my dumb ass can't remember his name.
Tango Sierra
Well-known member
Both oface and aireboss ride black fjr with IL plates but it was probably Karl (aireboss) since he was going to Tucson.
petey
Well-known member
Hey HotRod sorry to hear about your prob, but very glad you stayed safe....unfricken- believable a dealer of any make would do that to another rider.
Geezer
Parsimonious Curmudgeon
'Zilla, sorry to hear about your tire trouble. You did the right thing. The last thing you want is to pop a tire with your loved one on the back. It is likely that the added weight of carrying a pillion and extra gear and luggage for her, added to the hot roads, is why your tire wore out more quickly that usual for you. I wore through a tire one time and it just let the air out, no drama, but it did not have steel belts so it was just a gradual wear through the rubber and cords.
Add the risk of wearing out the tire on the road to the fact that a new tire just handles so much better than a worn one, and I will not head out for a long trip without new rubber. I have a stack of half used tires that I will probably never use.
Add the risk of wearing out the tire on the road to the fact that a new tire just handles so much better than a worn one, and I will not head out for a long trip without new rubber. I have a stack of half used tires that I will probably never use.
airboss
Well-known member
Guilty, strange things you find along side the road.
That tire was just plain scary.
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FJRay
Well-known member
AJ, remember the Reuben Run when we had to mount new tires on your bike. As has been said , don't leave home without new tires. You can always remount the old ones and wear them out on local roads. Glad you and your bride made it home safe.
Total Bull Shit on the HD dealer. I've heard the same out of the dealer here. I've hauled a few Harleys in with issues and actually had one that only wanted a Certified Harley tech to work on his bike. He got to pay me a hefty fee to take his dead tractor to the dealer. I usually haul stranded bikes for the cost of fuel only and try to get them back on the road ASAP.
Total Bull Shit on the HD dealer. I've heard the same out of the dealer here. I've hauled a few Harleys in with issues and actually had one that only wanted a Certified Harley tech to work on his bike. He got to pay me a hefty fee to take his dead tractor to the dealer. I usually haul stranded bikes for the cost of fuel only and try to get them back on the road ASAP.
MCRIDER007
Well-known member
Having to replace a tire is one of the worst things that can happen on a trip and something I take great pains to avoid. My rule of thumb is not to leave home on used tires unless I think that I have twice as much tire life left as needed. Heat kills tires and is a function of load, speed, and the temperature of the road surface. Can a heavily loaded bike ridden at high speeds in warm temperatures cut the tire life in half? Obviously, the answer is "yes".
Sorry it happened to you but certainly a good lesson for all............thanks for posting all the details!
RPrice
Fish Cop (retired)
Geezer Said:
"Add the risk of wearing out the tire on the road to the fact that a new tire just handles so much better than a worn one, and I will not head out for a long trip without new rubber. I have a stack of half used tires that I will probably never use."
Me too, the 1/2 worn out tire stack keeps getting bigger, but after being stranded once with a worn out rear tire, 500 miles from home, I keep putting new one's on before I go on longer trips. I've got my own tire changer, so this process is pretty easy.
AJ, Glad you guys made it home safe!! I'll never enter a HD dealership after reading this.
"Add the risk of wearing out the tire on the road to the fact that a new tire just handles so much better than a worn one, and I will not head out for a long trip without new rubber. I have a stack of half used tires that I will probably never use."
Me too, the 1/2 worn out tire stack keeps getting bigger, but after being stranded once with a worn out rear tire, 500 miles from home, I keep putting new one's on before I go on longer trips. I've got my own tire changer, so this process is pretty easy.
AJ, Glad you guys made it home safe!! I'll never enter a HD dealership after reading this.
I used to save old tires with "a coupla thousand" left on them until I realized that for the amount of my labor involved in a tire change, I just mount a new one every time and chuck the old ones out.
I guess in my experience, if it's bad enough to take off, it's bad enough to toss.
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beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
Nice work Karl, you won't spend a day in Purgatory for helping out AJ and Miss C! I got to hear HotRodZilla on the phone explain this situation to me, after counting twenty fucks and eight fuckers I stopped counting. I think that our HRZ cusses more than Old Michael and Papa Chuy Viejo, he must be Irish by Injection! JSNS, Aye!
PS: airboss and his Grandson are going out to lunch today in Chandler with the Stanley Boys!
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Dammit...I knew it was you Karl, I just couldn't get my head to register right. Seeing you at SW-FOG threw me off. Sorry man!!
However, THANK YOU for stopping. That was super cool of you to hang with us for a while. Carrie was happy to have someone behind us, and must have said 10 times, "That is so nice of him." Thanks again!!
However, THANK YOU for stopping. That was super cool of you to hang with us for a while. Carrie was happy to have someone behind us, and must have said 10 times, "That is so nice of him." Thanks again!!
airboss
Well-known member
I have a hard time leaving any rider standing beside the road.
I always carry a few tools, a tire patch kit, and water. even if all I can offer is moral support still feel I should stop.
Take being said, iffen it was just you standing there, you might still be there, No way was I going to leave Carrie stranded beside the road.
I always carry a few tools, a tire patch kit, and water. even if all I can offer is moral support still feel I should stop.
Take being said, iffen it was just you standing there, you might still be there, No way was I going to leave Carrie stranded beside the road.
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