Am sometimes amazed, sometimes underwhelmed by the tech

[thewrenchbender]

Free country-everyone is entitled to their own opinion-this is not intended to slam ANY body.

Last season was trying to explain to a relative youngster (just 30sumthin on an R1) what bike tires were like in the 80s and what it felt like to ride hard on them. Corners that I slid around then are a yawn on an FJR.

On a touring bike that has more hp and tq than the muscle/sport bikes had (owned a V65 Sabre BeforeKids) in the day. With the standard heated grips turned on and the optional touring screen up and speeds to...

Still running stock bulbs in my 15, like I did in my 08. Compared to the equivalent of a box-battery flashlight on the front of my Suzuki T500 Titan (first bike)-I still find myself in awe of the nighttime visibility.

Have been eyeing tire pressure monitoring. Just cant do it. At least externally. Checking my tire pressure religiously forces me to at least do a basic pre-flight. If I used an app for that would be waaaay too tempting to grab and go. Also not comfortable adding at least one more SPOF (the sensor) let alone 2 (t valve stem).

Have a set of new shoes sitting the basement, guess I need to get serious about changing them. The awesome tires (brand somewhat irrelevant) purpose-built sport touring tires engineered for my slightly tubby bike that I just put 10,000 awesome miles on-see 2nd paragraph-enjoying every minute of it.

And I didnt even bring up how well the cheapest BT intercom system I could find 4+ seasons and a $5-Chinese-lithium-battery later is still working...

 

[Cyclepath]

I know - these are the times.

My only real complaint is that I have NOTHING to complain about.

 

[its just rain]

I sure see your point on not wanting to add a tpms system on your bike. However, some of us just like to fiddle with stuff (almost to an obsession). I think the greatest thing about the FJR is that you can add as little or as much as you want to the darn thing while still enjoying it.

 

[Spud]

The thing that amazes me about modern tires is how much grip and feel they have in rain--even with a lot coming down you can feel the road under and can brake and corner with a lot of confidence.

 

[bruinFJRguy]

...my intercom unit clipped to the side of my helmet slightly worsens wind noise...

 

[mcatrophy]

The thing that amazes me about modern tires is how much grip and feel they have in rain--even with a lot coming down you can feel the road under and can brake and corner with a lot of confidence.

True, but be wary of standing water, and in particular the first half hour of rain after a dry period, when the film of dust and oil is nicely lubricated by the rain.

 

[Spud]

The thing that amazes me about modern tires is how much grip and feel they have in rain--even with a lot coming down you can feel the road under and can brake and corner with a lot of confidence.

True, but be wary of standing water, and in particular the first half hour of rain after a dry period, when the film of dust and oil is nicely lubricated by the rain.

Be even more wary of running water....i.e. the road turns into a stream running across the pavement. Big thundershowers in the mountains can do that

 

[eflyguy]

On a slightly related note, I grew up where the only option for a 16-17yr old was a 50cc, but drooling over the first Ninja and the glorious Katana and original FJ1300, don't get me started about the RG500 or FZR, and then - the ZX11.. Largest bike I ever rode was my dad's DR250, on Sunday's he'd let me ride it to work (illegally of course)..

First bike I bought when I resumed riding over 25 years later was an '01 FZ1, which easily outperformed any of those 80's bikes. Then I bought an '07 and mod'd it as far as I could, producing a little over 150 RWHP.

I recently traded that bike for a mint '07 FJR, to compliment my less-than-mint '08 - both of which are far more capable than myself, and probably on-par or better than those 80's bikes as well..

 

[BanjoBoy]

Free country-everyone is entitled to their own opinion-this is not intended to slam ANY body.
Last season was trying to explain to a relative youngster (just 30sumthin on an R1) what bike tires were like in the 80s and what it felt like to ride hard on them. Corners that I slid around then are a yawn on an FJR.

On a touring bike that has more hp and tq than the muscle/sport bikes had (owned a V65 Sabre BeforeKids) in the day. With the standard heated grips turned on and the optional touring screen up and speeds to...

Still running stock bulbs in my 15, like I did in my 08. Compared to the equivalent of a box-battery flashlight on the front of my Suzuki T500 Titan (first bike)-I still find myself in awe of the nighttime visibility.

Have been eyeing tire pressure monitoring. Just cant do it. At least externally. Checking my tire pressure religiously forces me to at least do a basic pre-flight. If I used an app for that would be waaaay too tempting to grab and go. Also not comfortable adding at least one more SPOF (the sensor) let alone 2 (t valve stem).

Have a set of new shoes sitting the basement, guess I need to get serious about changing them. The awesome tires (brand somewhat irrelevant) purpose-built sport touring tires engineered for my slightly tubby bike that I just put 10,000 awesome miles on-see 2nd paragraph-enjoying every minute of it.

And I didnt even bring up how well the cheapest BT intercom system I could find 4+ seasons and a $5-Chinese-lithium-battery later is still working...

DLR, butt...

 

[Uncle Hud]

thewrenchbender posted: <snip> Checking my tire pressure religiously forces me to at least do a basic pre-flight. If I used an app for that would be waaaay too tempting to grab and go.

The requirement to manually check tire pressures also forces me to look the bike over carefully, and that's a good thing. My FJR -- and it's not the newest, either -- has surpassed my first bikes by so much .....

At higher speeds, my Sena manages to catch enough air that it causes static from the receiver/mount connection. I have to remove my left hand from the grip and fiddle with it for a few seconds every few weeks.

So trivial are the complaints I have about my moto-experiences these days!