Ws6transam84
New member
I started out in the late 80's on dual sport machines while stationed in central Australia. When I saw my first Yamaha fj1200, I wanted it. But college, marriage, life, parenting, etc. ... same story. I always did have a cool bike or two, but never got the touring machine until 12 years ago when I restored a 2000 VFR800. It was a substitute for the fjr1300 I couldn't afford. Great bike, albeit kind of buzzy. Transition to a 2011 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa for a few seasons, which was a great thrill machine, and very solid and smooth. But then last summer, after the third consecutive wheelie sequence to middle of third gear and feeling sort of "bored" with it, I realized, it was a thrilling FIVE seconds, but that was about it, and my thrill seeking was getting more and more extreme by the mile. So any additional thrill was going to end up with me in the local news for one reason or another. So I sold it, and went looking FINALLY for the FJR.
I found it last fall. I put the Hayabusa onto FB marketplace, and 28 minutes later, it was sold to a collector in Chicago. I *thought* it was a fair price, and felt a little bad about selling it, but it was within a couple hundred dollars of what the owner of this 2014 FJR1300ES was asking. This weekend I went and did the transaction, and brought it home. It's solid, but needs a little love. The oil was smelling like gasoline, and there's some insulation packed around the engine from a mouse. But otherwise, no rust, and just 29000 miles. I've pulled the highway pegs, tightened some screws, and just swapped the oil. I figure I'll run it a few hundred miles and then do another oil change. The Michelin tires are scooped out, so I will likely run the wheels out to Cycle Gear and swap for some new Michelins.
I figure that I'll browse the forums, and get some ideas on what else to do at the 29000 mile service mark. I'll probably swap out all the brake and clutch fluids, change air filters, swap out the differential fluid, and give the under-fairing bits a really good scrubbing and look for mouse damage. It seems to run good, though it was way down on power compared to the Hayabusa, until I discovered the "S" mode. Now it's feeling a bit more peppy. I like the riding position quite a bit more, and my wife will actually sit on it with me. We're planning to ride it out to the western side of the state, and put it on a ferry out of Muskegon. Then we'll ride it around Wisconsin a bit, and shoot through the U.P. , head south across the mackinaw bridge, and run back home. The Givi case and the side panniers will be awesome for that trip. ANyway, I joined fjr forums back in 2012, but lost my password and the email isnt any good anymore, so ws6transam is now ws6transam84. It's nice to finally have something to contribute.
I found it last fall. I put the Hayabusa onto FB marketplace, and 28 minutes later, it was sold to a collector in Chicago. I *thought* it was a fair price, and felt a little bad about selling it, but it was within a couple hundred dollars of what the owner of this 2014 FJR1300ES was asking. This weekend I went and did the transaction, and brought it home. It's solid, but needs a little love. The oil was smelling like gasoline, and there's some insulation packed around the engine from a mouse. But otherwise, no rust, and just 29000 miles. I've pulled the highway pegs, tightened some screws, and just swapped the oil. I figure I'll run it a few hundred miles and then do another oil change. The Michelin tires are scooped out, so I will likely run the wheels out to Cycle Gear and swap for some new Michelins.
I figure that I'll browse the forums, and get some ideas on what else to do at the 29000 mile service mark. I'll probably swap out all the brake and clutch fluids, change air filters, swap out the differential fluid, and give the under-fairing bits a really good scrubbing and look for mouse damage. It seems to run good, though it was way down on power compared to the Hayabusa, until I discovered the "S" mode. Now it's feeling a bit more peppy. I like the riding position quite a bit more, and my wife will actually sit on it with me. We're planning to ride it out to the western side of the state, and put it on a ferry out of Muskegon. Then we'll ride it around Wisconsin a bit, and shoot through the U.P. , head south across the mackinaw bridge, and run back home. The Givi case and the side panniers will be awesome for that trip. ANyway, I joined fjr forums back in 2012, but lost my password and the email isnt any good anymore, so ws6transam is now ws6transam84. It's nice to finally have something to contribute.
