Intro and first rides with my 2014 FJR-A

[therider]

Hello all,

I have been active the FJR enthusiasts FB group, so did not think about posting here.

I picked up my 2014 FJR13A last month from Phoenix on a fly-ride trip.

Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/107557198667490360767/albums/6247301774803768225

Last weekend we did a trip to the eastern sierras, was surprised to find how effortless it was to ride back 300 miles to home and not feeling tired at all.

Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/107557198667490360767/albums/6251333034326816417

I will try to post more often.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Welcome...enjoy the bike.

 

[Niehart]

Awesome pictures.

Welcome to the asylum.

 

[Data]

Welcome and great pics !

Were you at Mono Lake ?

 

[KYCHERRY]

Wow! Awesome pics in your intro - welcome to the Forum!

 

[therider]

Welcome and great pics !
Were you at Mono Lake ?

Yes

 

[JamesW]

Welcome, pretty bike, as are they all.

 

[graler]

Nice pics thanks for sharing.

 

[Fred W]

I agree, great job with your 1st ride pics.

Those 2014's are especially photogenic, don't you think?

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Great job! Nice ride report. Welcome to the group of misfits. Don't be a stranger. Your pics are awesome.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Nice looking ride and pics, thanks for sharing!

Congrats on the new [to you] '14, great bike, you won't be disappointed!

--G

 

[dcarver]

Doode. Great pix. Find a story behind the ride and enthrall us all.

Welcome, fellow rider, to the peeps here.

 

[russperry]

Very nice - other than some of the shots at Mono which are really spectacular, I especially like the photo on the gravel road. Not too many on here I think would take a brand new FJR across what looked to be pretty loose stuff, especially two up. You have some dirt biking background?

Welcome aboard!

 

[hppants]

Welcome sir and thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

I love the picture where she is standing on the shore rock with her arms in the air. There's a 1000 words if I ever saw it.

 

[therider]

Thanks all, this forum rocks.

For the gravel road question, I knew it would be not so fun on the FJR, but took it dead slow as the gravel was thin in the beginning. Once it got real loose, I parked it there and walked the rest of way to the Mono Lake tufas. I don't have dirt bike experience, but with my R12GS I tried a bit of dirt. Still not very comfortable, but will learn over time.

The story behind the 2014 FJR is that I almost got a C14, because I had a C10 a while back (2005-2007). I even got lucky with a test ride at the local dealer. Searched hard around multiple craigslists for the right deal. Almost got one but then something happened. I got in touch with an old C10 buddy. Found that he got a 2014 FJR. Got me real interested in a FJR the first time. When I read about bigger tank, 87 gas, ride-by-wire, cc and most importantly no KIPASS issues, I was sold. Did not bother with a test ride, found a deal in Phoenix (very lucky, used FJRs are hard to find in CL), got it.

The fly-ride was the most exciting and it was my 3rd one. First, it had crappy BT23 almost end of life. The low speed handling was crap right when I started. But I got blown away with the motor, more so in S mode. There was no doubt it was the finest ST bike I ever owned. On the 800 mile ride home over 2 days I got good weather, then some dangerously gusty condition on I-40 before Tehachapi (low visibility with sand blowing around). Then some storm came our way, it rained as we climbed the Tehachapi summit, and then, gasp, SNOW!. I could not believe I was going through a blizzard. Luckily wind calmed down and I was able to get out of the area slowly and safely. It was magnificent riding through snow, felt like Christmas. The ride next morning on I-5 was chilly as hell with snow capped hills everywhere. An unforgettable experience.

In another post I will share a web app I wrote to easily search for something over multiple city craigslists.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Yellow jackets clash with Red Feejers. Just sayin.

Nice pic's.

Dave

 

[Uncle Hud]

On topic: These are spectacular photos. As a fan of all artsy things photographic, I enjoyed them immensely. As a curious non-photographer, I feel compelled to ask how much were these adjusted after the original image was taken?

Off topic: Yellow Jackets rule! (And I waited a year for the 2015 FJRs because I will NOT ride a red motorcycle.)

Respectfully,

Uncle Hud,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Class of '85

Helluva Engineer and Photo Appreciator

 

[ndivita]

2014 FJR plus hi viz yellow = conspicuity

 

[therider]

On topic: These are spectacular photos. As a fan of all artsy things photographic, I enjoyed them immensely. As a curious non-photographer, I feel compelled to ask how much were these adjusted after the original image was taken?
Off topic: Yellow Jackets rule! (And I waited a year for the 2015 FJRs because I will NOT ride a red motorcycle.)

Respectfully,

Uncle Hud,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Class of '85

Helluva Engineer and Photo Appreciator

Thanks

I *always* process my photos. A camera captures data, not necessarily the image I saw in my mind's eye, so I always adjust various things in a photo before sharing. I use adobe lightroom.