Twigg
Just an old, bald man!
I have been in the United States for about 10 years. Before that I lived and worked in the UK, my home country. I have been motorcycling on and off since I was sixteen years old, which is more years ago than I care to remember.
When I came here it was a few years before I managed to acquire another bike. In 2010 I bought a 1977 Yamaha XS750 as a "wreck". In March the following year I completed my first SaddleSore 1000 on that bike.
Later that year a 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale joined the Triple in the garage. Another wreck that I paid far too much money for, but I got it running and over the next three years it completed ten LD Rallies and a Bun Burner Gold. This bike was my "experiment". The arrangements I made for distance work changed several times. In the end I even succumbed to an $800 seat on my $1400 motorcycle, and it was money well spent.
I tried many arrangements of seating, lighting, hydration, navigation and comms. until I was happy with the set-up ... then I sold it
My rally results have been good. I have won one, placed in the top five six times, and DNF'd twice. One of those was because I planned very badly, the other was a deliberate decision to ride for home because .. reasons!
I have ridden in the Heart of Texas Rally for the last three years. The last two years I have finished 3rd behind Brian Walters (GS1200) and Rex LeGalley (Harley CVO, Honda Gold Wing), both times. It's nice to finish 3rd in a good field, but I was at the point where I couldn't get higher however hard I tried. In April this year I came in having ridden the freakin' wheels of the Venture. I was feeling fresh and happy, and I could not make that bike cover any more ground than it did in the 12 hours.
I have always rallied right on the bleeding edge of my talent, but now I was finding that the bike was unable to fulfill the demands I was placing on it and still remain safe.
I loved that bike, it gave me many happy hours and miles, and I will miss it.
Right about the time my friends were giggling and hoping that I would never buy a decent machine, another friend took pity on me and offered me a well-used, but clean and very cheap 2005 Yamaha FJR1300.
Booyah! Now Rex and Brian are in trouble
The FJR came to me almost stock. It has a Russell seat fitted, and auxilary gas tank and a farkle shelf. The seat needs a little attention and I have changed the tank. It also came with 88 000 miles on the odometer and a noisy cam chain (parts ordered). Other than that it is a good, clean example that appears to be running well. It also appears to have some life left in the suspension, and as I am not a boy-racer any more, I can live with that at least for now.
Budget is my main concern. If you read the Iron Butt Magazine you already know what I mean as the full story of my Venture Royale was printed a couple of issues ago. I sold both the Triple and the VR for decent money, which allowed this purchase and a few dollars over for the work I needed to do.
Not finished yet, but here is what it looks like today:
From the front ... There is an MRA X-creen that I saved from the VR. These do seem to work quite well at lifting the buffeting over the rider while not causing "back-pressure". Anyway, I had it so it was cheap.
What were not cheap are the lights. They are the LR5s from ledrider.com (Justin). Service from Justin was awesome, as are the lights. I think they compare well with the Clearwater lights, at around one third of the price. I still need to fit a Skene Dimmer and an isolating switch. What I do have now is 10 000 lumens of light kicking in to help the high beams.
Before anyone mentions it .... That back rest will be re-covered in blue (the fastest colour), with "FJR" stitched in. Shouldn't cost too much to get that done. Screen is a National Windscreens item that seems to do the job.
From left to right in the cockpit ... SPOT 2 , Sirius Radio, Garmin Nuvi 765T, Garmin 2720, Ram mount for phone. The bar risers were already fitted. All this stuff went on easily, and all are in the same positions I had them on the VR, which I am happy about. Under the shelf you can just see the SM10 Sena Bluetooth adaptor that handles the Nuvi and the radio.
The wiring from the shelf runs through a hole I had to cut in the front fairing right next to the slot for the windshield arms. It all goes back to a Fuzeblock under the rider seat. In the glovebox is a 12V power outlet that I will use for USB charging of the phone and Sena SM10 until I can fit a dual USB Charger to the underside of the shelf.
Bike has a ThrottleMeister, but it will get Cruise Control when I can afford it. I had CC on the VR and I already miss it.
Those little green things on the Tank Bag are where I attach a small clipboard that carries a list of bonus locations, in order, plus info for Call-Ins, and time-checks I need to hit.
AT the back it gets complicated. The bike came with an RCI 5-Gallon Polythene Aux. Tank. A decent tank, but if we are being picky, 6.6 + 5 = 11.6! I know you can't get 11.6 Gallons into that set-up, but I don't want to be arguing the point with Warchild at a tech inspection. I had a Summit 4-gallon lying around, so on it went. I also had a 3/16th" aluminum plate that I previously had made up for the VR. This plate was designed to carry the Summit AND the Coleman cooler. What is more, with a few new holes it bolted right onto the sub-frame I got with the PO's set-up. This was a real result!
On the list is an Aux Tank Cover from Linda T and a "proper" filler tube with a screw-cap for the tank. I had one on the VR and it's lightyears better than those aircraft fillers.
You can see the sub-fram underneath the fuel hose. It bolts to the forward two mounts for the OEM grabrails, and the two tail mounts for the same. Four bolts and that whole set-up lifts right off the bike. Five minutes and I can return it to stock.
Under the "shelf" is a high quality air pump and tire kit. There is still plenty of room. My bike cover and Thermarest Mat fit between the backrest and the tank. I haven't decided whether or not to power feed the hydration system. There are pros and cons.
At the back I need to fit more lights. That is not a difficult thing to do and I'll come up with a solution soon enough.
So there we have it. Bike is well on it's way to becoming a decent LD platform, and I am running out of excuses for finishing third
I welcome all feedback and suggestions. I am very fond of "other people's ideas", it saves me having to re-invent the wheel.
When I came here it was a few years before I managed to acquire another bike. In 2010 I bought a 1977 Yamaha XS750 as a "wreck". In March the following year I completed my first SaddleSore 1000 on that bike.
Later that year a 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale joined the Triple in the garage. Another wreck that I paid far too much money for, but I got it running and over the next three years it completed ten LD Rallies and a Bun Burner Gold. This bike was my "experiment". The arrangements I made for distance work changed several times. In the end I even succumbed to an $800 seat on my $1400 motorcycle, and it was money well spent.
I tried many arrangements of seating, lighting, hydration, navigation and comms. until I was happy with the set-up ... then I sold it
My rally results have been good. I have won one, placed in the top five six times, and DNF'd twice. One of those was because I planned very badly, the other was a deliberate decision to ride for home because .. reasons!
I have ridden in the Heart of Texas Rally for the last three years. The last two years I have finished 3rd behind Brian Walters (GS1200) and Rex LeGalley (Harley CVO, Honda Gold Wing), both times. It's nice to finish 3rd in a good field, but I was at the point where I couldn't get higher however hard I tried. In April this year I came in having ridden the freakin' wheels of the Venture. I was feeling fresh and happy, and I could not make that bike cover any more ground than it did in the 12 hours.
I have always rallied right on the bleeding edge of my talent, but now I was finding that the bike was unable to fulfill the demands I was placing on it and still remain safe.
I loved that bike, it gave me many happy hours and miles, and I will miss it.
Right about the time my friends were giggling and hoping that I would never buy a decent machine, another friend took pity on me and offered me a well-used, but clean and very cheap 2005 Yamaha FJR1300.
Booyah! Now Rex and Brian are in trouble
The FJR came to me almost stock. It has a Russell seat fitted, and auxilary gas tank and a farkle shelf. The seat needs a little attention and I have changed the tank. It also came with 88 000 miles on the odometer and a noisy cam chain (parts ordered). Other than that it is a good, clean example that appears to be running well. It also appears to have some life left in the suspension, and as I am not a boy-racer any more, I can live with that at least for now.
Budget is my main concern. If you read the Iron Butt Magazine you already know what I mean as the full story of my Venture Royale was printed a couple of issues ago. I sold both the Triple and the VR for decent money, which allowed this purchase and a few dollars over for the work I needed to do.
Not finished yet, but here is what it looks like today:
From the front ... There is an MRA X-creen that I saved from the VR. These do seem to work quite well at lifting the buffeting over the rider while not causing "back-pressure". Anyway, I had it so it was cheap.
What were not cheap are the lights. They are the LR5s from ledrider.com (Justin). Service from Justin was awesome, as are the lights. I think they compare well with the Clearwater lights, at around one third of the price. I still need to fit a Skene Dimmer and an isolating switch. What I do have now is 10 000 lumens of light kicking in to help the high beams.
Before anyone mentions it .... That back rest will be re-covered in blue (the fastest colour), with "FJR" stitched in. Shouldn't cost too much to get that done. Screen is a National Windscreens item that seems to do the job.
From left to right in the cockpit ... SPOT 2 , Sirius Radio, Garmin Nuvi 765T, Garmin 2720, Ram mount for phone. The bar risers were already fitted. All this stuff went on easily, and all are in the same positions I had them on the VR, which I am happy about. Under the shelf you can just see the SM10 Sena Bluetooth adaptor that handles the Nuvi and the radio.
The wiring from the shelf runs through a hole I had to cut in the front fairing right next to the slot for the windshield arms. It all goes back to a Fuzeblock under the rider seat. In the glovebox is a 12V power outlet that I will use for USB charging of the phone and Sena SM10 until I can fit a dual USB Charger to the underside of the shelf.
Bike has a ThrottleMeister, but it will get Cruise Control when I can afford it. I had CC on the VR and I already miss it.
Those little green things on the Tank Bag are where I attach a small clipboard that carries a list of bonus locations, in order, plus info for Call-Ins, and time-checks I need to hit.
AT the back it gets complicated. The bike came with an RCI 5-Gallon Polythene Aux. Tank. A decent tank, but if we are being picky, 6.6 + 5 = 11.6! I know you can't get 11.6 Gallons into that set-up, but I don't want to be arguing the point with Warchild at a tech inspection. I had a Summit 4-gallon lying around, so on it went. I also had a 3/16th" aluminum plate that I previously had made up for the VR. This plate was designed to carry the Summit AND the Coleman cooler. What is more, with a few new holes it bolted right onto the sub-frame I got with the PO's set-up. This was a real result!
On the list is an Aux Tank Cover from Linda T and a "proper" filler tube with a screw-cap for the tank. I had one on the VR and it's lightyears better than those aircraft fillers.
You can see the sub-fram underneath the fuel hose. It bolts to the forward two mounts for the OEM grabrails, and the two tail mounts for the same. Four bolts and that whole set-up lifts right off the bike. Five minutes and I can return it to stock.
Under the "shelf" is a high quality air pump and tire kit. There is still plenty of room. My bike cover and Thermarest Mat fit between the backrest and the tank. I haven't decided whether or not to power feed the hydration system. There are pros and cons.
At the back I need to fit more lights. That is not a difficult thing to do and I'll come up with a solution soon enough.
So there we have it. Bike is well on it's way to becoming a decent LD platform, and I am running out of excuses for finishing third
I welcome all feedback and suggestions. I am very fond of "other people's ideas", it saves me having to re-invent the wheel.