17 year old daughter does beartooth pass

[ctfjr]

Back home. 2298 miles in 8 days.
Daughter and FJR did fine together. she complained some about heat (it's an '05) but really had no problem handling the bike. fortunately only a brief time (10 minutes) of hard rain with hail in yellowstone the only rain on the whole trip. cross winds in the dakotas were the least I've ever experienced.

I suspect pinning the saddlebags saved me having a lost one since daughters were leading/unloading them.

removable saddle bags MUCH superior to fived type like goldwings.

CB (J&M) was a real asset and only took a few hours to install. I got a unit with everything needed plus 2 headsets off ebay for $365 so it seemed a pretty good deal.

Corbin seat was a negative. I had a 30 year old seat water cushion I used on my 2nd cross country trip that helped daughter a lot. I've always thought highly of Corbin but I'll look elsewhere next time I'm buying an aftermarket seat.

Baker air wings kept "sagging", I finally taped them to the mirror stalks. something I'll have to fix or remove.

Sturgis was a treat and probably the high point for the girls. I made them promise to mention we went during the day to anyone they're telling I took them to Sturgis.

good trip. maybe the last one as older daughter is going in the marines after HS graduation and other daughter would rather we take an RV.

thats all.

Sounds like you guys had a great time - good for you! I almost ended my marriage when I bought my second son a motorcycle when he was a senior in high school (16 years ago). Wifey didn't like that at all. . .

In 2002 we took a similar ride together from Connecticut. It was just over 8000 miles in 16 days. I'll never forget it and Beartooth pass was the best part of it!

Beartooth Pass:

https://www.molaver.org/may02mc.htm

 

[2006FJR]

Great thread guys and be safe.

 

[dustyrains]

"I don't understand it either, I've done both now, the Harley and the FJR in the mountains. I only thought the Harley was fun, until I took my FJR...

Got my AE about a year ago, still have my Harley, though I don't ride it nearly as much as the FJ. But when I do ride it, it is still fun. Just have to put yourself in a different frame of mind when you are on it. It still makes friends where ever I go. I pulled into the parking lot of a cafe just a few days ago and out of nowhere a fella came up and wanted to start talking Harley. I think of it as the difference between driving a 60's Detroit muscle car and maybe a Porsche. If you owned both, you would no doubt enjoy both, but for different reasons.

 

[oldryder]

a bit off topic but:

"I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. You can't prove a thing." Bart Simspon.

sounds like something a politician would say....

 

[Moon Man]

Just thought i would chime in and say that the topic of your daughter riding the FJR that far came up at dinner on a group ride last night. I was sitting at a table with two busa riders that had seen it all and they were very impressed!

So pass it along to your daughter, and tell her that the busa riders were doing 140 like squids all night, but they were in full gear with armor! Had to beat that horse a bit more.

 

[oldryder]

thx. I'll pass it along.

 

[Carmine]

I have a few questions, your doughter is just a smidge smaller than me with my wopping 138 lb framework. and i ride my fj like it is stolen. WITH A CAR TIRE! sorry had to toss that in ! I would like to know how she feels about the fj and its size and weight. I first saw my fj in catfish's garage sitting on a lift and I must admit it was intimidating. I wasnt sure if I could handle it and on the lift with the added 4 inches of height damn that thing looked big/tall. Now i barely even notice its size or height. Untill I sit on my harley, my fat boy has a really low seat height. Does the bike have abs ? did she trigger it, I somtimes trigger the rear abs during downshifts. I also would like to know what she thinks about the way the bike corners and if she had difficulty getting used to it?

 

[Bungie]

Does the bike have abs ? did she trigger it, I somtimes trigger the rear abs during downshifts.

Uhm.. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your locking the back wheel with engine braking, not triggering the ABS.. Not good. These bikes don't have a slipper clutch or stability control! Might want to ease out the clutch a little slower and better match engine speed on the downshifts. Just a little friendly advice to keep you safe out there.

 

[oldryder]

I have a few questions, your doughter is just a smidge smaller than me with my wopping 138 lb framework. and i ride my fj like it is stolen. WITH A CAR TIRE! sorry had to toss that in ! I would like to know how she feels about the fj and its size and weight. I first saw my fj in catfish's garage sitting on a lift and I must admit it was intimidating. I wasnt sure if I could handle it and on the lift with the added 4 inches of height damn that thing looked big/tall. Now i barely even notice its size or height. Untill I sit on my harley, my fat boy has a really low seat height. Does the bike have abs ? did she trigger it, I somtimes trigger the rear abs during downshifts. I also would like to know what she thinks about the way the bike corners and if she had difficulty getting used to it?

Bike is an '05 with ABS. Height is no problem for her for two reasons: 1st is I lowered it with Kouba links in the off season based on advice I got here last year (thx to MEM and others for the tip.)

2nd reason is she mostly rides my suzuki TL1000R which sits noticably higher than the lowered FJR.

It probably also helps that she's kind of a fitness nut and is relatively strong for a 17 year old girl.

Re: the bikes performance; we both ride SV650 track bikes so our street riding is pretty tame except for the occasional drag race. Once we were exposed to the confidence you can have on a track that curves are free of oil, sand, cows, stalled cars, pedestrians, bicyclers, grass cuttings, etc., etc. the idea of railing around a curve on the street lost most of its appeal.

Another person noted that locking up the back tire is not ABS. I've had dqaughter practicing "blipping" the throttle on downshifts all summer to prevent the momentary lock-up as its an important technique at the track if you ride a bike without a slipper clutch like we do.