frayne
Well-known member
First off, thanks to everyone on the FJR forum for their comments, suggestions, preparations, etc., and for the good wishes for a safe and fun trip.
Day One (Friday, March 23rd)
Left Friday morning around 7:30 am from the Chattanooga area down I-75 through Atlanta (in the HOV lane) to Ocala, Florida and then got off on I believe SR-27 to the Orlando area, approx. 550 miles. The roads were in pretty decent shape with the exception of pieces of dead tires, here and there. It was nice getting off the interstate and hitting the back roads through the orange orchard country in central Florida, you can actually smell orange fragrances as you are riding down the road. First day impressions of the FJR; very smooth ride, no mechanical problems. I did suffer from stiff knees after about an hour and a half in the saddle and the area between my shoulder blades was very sore, more so than my butt. Overall a good first day, tired but not all that sore considering my first day of really long riding. For dinner we ate at a nice quaint English style Pub, two martinis and some fish and chips hit the spot. In bed by 10pm and slept like a baby.
Day Two
On the road by 9 am and the plan was to take our time and hit Homestead, Florida by 5 pm or so. Traveled down SR-27 to 29 and then across the Everglades on 41 into Coral Gables. Was a nice change of pace from day one, with a little stop and go traffic through the smaller towns and again was a welcome experience after riding all day the previous day. The roads were excellent and the ride across the Everglades was sweet. Stopped and had lunch (a bite of gator tail, clam chowder soup) in Everglades City as well as stopping by a state tourist park where you could look at some of the wildlife. On the way into the Miami area we ran into some rain squalls and had to pull over for thirty minutes or so, this happened three times. Traveling down Highway 1 through south Miami during rush hour on wet pavement can cause a little bit of a pucker factor if you aren’t use to that kind of riding. Got into Homestead around 7 pm, ate a seafood place (big surprise) and in bed by 10 pm again.
Day Three
On the road by 7:30 am and about 120 miles from Key West. Road conditions were spotty, a few construction areas and we saw more LEOs between Homestead and Key West than we did the previous 800 or so miles. Riding over the draw bridge gratings was a new experience for me and a bit un-nerving at first. Jeff, one of the guys told me to just let the bike kind of float across the gratings and not to put a death grip on the grips, or make any sudden changes to speed or braking and all will be fine. I actually got use to the sensation and looked forward to going over the things. There weren’t really many more than maybe three or four all the way down to Key West. Rolled into Key West around 11:30 am, took some pictures and had lunch at the Hog’s breath Saloon https://www.hogsbreath.com/key-west/, seafood and a taste key lime pie. Headed out around 1 pm back up highway one, hit the Florida turnpike and traveled to Port St. Lucie. Stayed at a hotel outside of PGA city and ate a good meal at the Sam Snead clubhouse dining room.
Day Four
On the road at 7:30 am, up the turnpike to I-75 and on into Chattanooga. Only took breaks to gas up, about every 120-140 miles or about every hour and half to two hours. Ran approx. 75-80 mph most of the way back, traffic was light with the exception of going through Atlanta. Again, taking the HOV (high vehicle occupancy) lane through Atlanta is the only way to go. Made it though Atlanta during rush hour traffic in about forty-five minutes with only a few stop and go traffic slow ups. Rolled into Chattanooga around 7 pm. A long day for this rookie.
Riding Buddies
The two other guys were riding an HD Ultra Classic and a Yamaha Venture, both cruiser/touring type bikes. Both ride together frequently and have communications equipment to talk back and forth with. I rode the middle slot in a staggered formation at the 4-5 o’clock position to the number one rider. It was nice to have someone on your six especially during lane changes. The only grounds rules we started out with were, everyone was responsible for their on lanes change, in other words don’t just blindly follow the rider in front of you when changing lanes, and to try to keep a tight formation when in traffic so as not to get separated. Riding with two more experienced riders made the trip much safer and more enjoyable, not to mention both are pretty good guys and easy to get along with. I did some friendly jabbing or trash talk about having to stop for gas too frequently and not being able to get my FJR out of 4th gear on the super slabs during the last day of the trip. After a few, screw yous, some laughter and reciprocal ribbing about having to make one un-scheduled pee stop, we ate lunch and continued to ride. At the last gas stop before we broke up we shook hands, talked about riding tomorrow, in jest of course and all agreed it was a good safe trip, with only slight sunburn, sore helmet heads and some butt ache.
The FJR
I bought a used 05 FJR with 3200 miles on the clock about a month or so ago that had heli-risers and a Yamaha givi type case already installed. I added a Vista Cruise, cruise control and a throttle rocker before the trip. The seat and everything else is stock. The bike performed admirably and I had no troubles whatsoever, the cruise control was a lifesaver and I wouldn’t take a long trip without one. I did learn the bottom trip odometer rolls over at 1000 miles to zero. I was using the top readout for mileage between fill ups and the bottom for daily mileage. I wanted to use the trip as kind of a shake down cruise to see what other things I might want to add to the bike. At this time I only plan to add a 2” taller windshield. I did find on the long ride home during the last day how easy it is to get target fixation and fatigue, in order to prevent both from setting in, I learned you can actually do calisthenics on the FJR by raising and lowering your upper torso on and off the tank to the upright position, and leg stretches, both with caution as to the traffic around you. Overall the trip was a real confidence builder and one that makes you appreciate the handling, reliability and comfort of the FJR, yes I said comfort.
Quite an experience for this old man, and a fun one at that.
Day One (Friday, March 23rd)
Left Friday morning around 7:30 am from the Chattanooga area down I-75 through Atlanta (in the HOV lane) to Ocala, Florida and then got off on I believe SR-27 to the Orlando area, approx. 550 miles. The roads were in pretty decent shape with the exception of pieces of dead tires, here and there. It was nice getting off the interstate and hitting the back roads through the orange orchard country in central Florida, you can actually smell orange fragrances as you are riding down the road. First day impressions of the FJR; very smooth ride, no mechanical problems. I did suffer from stiff knees after about an hour and a half in the saddle and the area between my shoulder blades was very sore, more so than my butt. Overall a good first day, tired but not all that sore considering my first day of really long riding. For dinner we ate at a nice quaint English style Pub, two martinis and some fish and chips hit the spot. In bed by 10pm and slept like a baby.
Day Two
On the road by 9 am and the plan was to take our time and hit Homestead, Florida by 5 pm or so. Traveled down SR-27 to 29 and then across the Everglades on 41 into Coral Gables. Was a nice change of pace from day one, with a little stop and go traffic through the smaller towns and again was a welcome experience after riding all day the previous day. The roads were excellent and the ride across the Everglades was sweet. Stopped and had lunch (a bite of gator tail, clam chowder soup) in Everglades City as well as stopping by a state tourist park where you could look at some of the wildlife. On the way into the Miami area we ran into some rain squalls and had to pull over for thirty minutes or so, this happened three times. Traveling down Highway 1 through south Miami during rush hour on wet pavement can cause a little bit of a pucker factor if you aren’t use to that kind of riding. Got into Homestead around 7 pm, ate a seafood place (big surprise) and in bed by 10 pm again.
Day Three
On the road by 7:30 am and about 120 miles from Key West. Road conditions were spotty, a few construction areas and we saw more LEOs between Homestead and Key West than we did the previous 800 or so miles. Riding over the draw bridge gratings was a new experience for me and a bit un-nerving at first. Jeff, one of the guys told me to just let the bike kind of float across the gratings and not to put a death grip on the grips, or make any sudden changes to speed or braking and all will be fine. I actually got use to the sensation and looked forward to going over the things. There weren’t really many more than maybe three or four all the way down to Key West. Rolled into Key West around 11:30 am, took some pictures and had lunch at the Hog’s breath Saloon https://www.hogsbreath.com/key-west/, seafood and a taste key lime pie. Headed out around 1 pm back up highway one, hit the Florida turnpike and traveled to Port St. Lucie. Stayed at a hotel outside of PGA city and ate a good meal at the Sam Snead clubhouse dining room.
Day Four
On the road at 7:30 am, up the turnpike to I-75 and on into Chattanooga. Only took breaks to gas up, about every 120-140 miles or about every hour and half to two hours. Ran approx. 75-80 mph most of the way back, traffic was light with the exception of going through Atlanta. Again, taking the HOV (high vehicle occupancy) lane through Atlanta is the only way to go. Made it though Atlanta during rush hour traffic in about forty-five minutes with only a few stop and go traffic slow ups. Rolled into Chattanooga around 7 pm. A long day for this rookie.
Riding Buddies
The two other guys were riding an HD Ultra Classic and a Yamaha Venture, both cruiser/touring type bikes. Both ride together frequently and have communications equipment to talk back and forth with. I rode the middle slot in a staggered formation at the 4-5 o’clock position to the number one rider. It was nice to have someone on your six especially during lane changes. The only grounds rules we started out with were, everyone was responsible for their on lanes change, in other words don’t just blindly follow the rider in front of you when changing lanes, and to try to keep a tight formation when in traffic so as not to get separated. Riding with two more experienced riders made the trip much safer and more enjoyable, not to mention both are pretty good guys and easy to get along with. I did some friendly jabbing or trash talk about having to stop for gas too frequently and not being able to get my FJR out of 4th gear on the super slabs during the last day of the trip. After a few, screw yous, some laughter and reciprocal ribbing about having to make one un-scheduled pee stop, we ate lunch and continued to ride. At the last gas stop before we broke up we shook hands, talked about riding tomorrow, in jest of course and all agreed it was a good safe trip, with only slight sunburn, sore helmet heads and some butt ache.
The FJR
I bought a used 05 FJR with 3200 miles on the clock about a month or so ago that had heli-risers and a Yamaha givi type case already installed. I added a Vista Cruise, cruise control and a throttle rocker before the trip. The seat and everything else is stock. The bike performed admirably and I had no troubles whatsoever, the cruise control was a lifesaver and I wouldn’t take a long trip without one. I did learn the bottom trip odometer rolls over at 1000 miles to zero. I was using the top readout for mileage between fill ups and the bottom for daily mileage. I wanted to use the trip as kind of a shake down cruise to see what other things I might want to add to the bike. At this time I only plan to add a 2” taller windshield. I did find on the long ride home during the last day how easy it is to get target fixation and fatigue, in order to prevent both from setting in, I learned you can actually do calisthenics on the FJR by raising and lowering your upper torso on and off the tank to the upright position, and leg stretches, both with caution as to the traffic around you. Overall the trip was a real confidence builder and one that makes you appreciate the handling, reliability and comfort of the FJR, yes I said comfort.
Quite an experience for this old man, and a fun one at that.
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