One of the things I LOVE about the FJR over my old V-Max is that is has a gas gauge. On the V-Max there was just a gas light, and if it came on you had better pray you are close to a gas station. I have pushed the V-Max, and at just over 600 pounds, it isn't fun.
As I've said before on the Forum, I went from a Harley Sportster as my first bike to the FJR. I like to say that, for me, that was like going from a 1960s muscle car to a 2005 Porsche Carerra in terms of comfort, performance, and technology.
Among the many things the Sporty does
not have is a fuel gauge. So I had to track my fuel consumption by the tripmeter. When I filled up I'd set that baby back to 000.0. I could go about 120 miles.
Because I was commuting at the time about 90 miles a day, I had to fill up every %#$! day. If I ran out of gas I had to reach down under the tank on the left side and (first) FIND the *%$#* petcock, then lean forward to angle my gloved fingers around the two-winged butterfly device to get the leverage I needed to twist it a half turn. It could only go a quarter turn at once because of the angle of the wings, so it took two cranks (meaning more time).
In the mean time, I'm in the fast lane of the freeway during rush-hour with cars doing 75 behind me . When that first sputter comes, your heart leaps into your throat while you grope frantically for that little darling that's gonna save you from getting pancaked. When I was getting close to 120 miles, I'd reach down to practice the muscle memory in order to save precious seconds, and practice turning it. Thankfully it always kicked right in.
That Sporty was a good ol' girl. She's sitting in the garage right now under a tarp. I think I'll take her out for a spin today.
