Brand New '04 ABS. I'm finally an FJR owner

[MotorToad]

So I got just a little bit lucky. A friend of a friend just got a '14 FJR and his '04 has been sitting for months. He'd been too busy to bother listing it on craigslist and made a joke about "free to good home" at work to a mate who said "weird... I know a really good home..."

And now, I own an FJR.

A few of you might know that wfooshee is my brother and he owns an FJR because when he was shopping bikes I heard the word "Goldwing" uttered and quickly found him an '03 FJR for a reasonable price (I think it was 4-5 years old at the time), so I'm not a complete stranger to the forum. I just haven't been around for a few years.

So, man, this thing's really hard to get on the center stand, huh? Are my legs supposed to be this hot?

 

[El Toro]

The easiest large bike to put on the centerstand in my memory is/was the ST1100. Honda had the geometry down perfectly, and it would nearly set itself up on the stand. Plus there was a very nice little fold out handle that would allow you to get a good grab for easy force application.

The worst I can remember, and it wasn't that large a bike, was the Moto Guzzi Norge. I owned a 2007, and it was lighter than the ST1100, but it was much harder to put on the stand.

The FJR is somewhere in the middle, at least the Gen II is in my opinion. Yamaha is pretty clever though, so maybe the Gen III is better in this regard. I think I remember that the Gen I was a bit lighter, and so maybe Gen II is the worst? Sigh....

Congratulations on your new bike!!

 

[MotorToad]

Oh, it's no real trouble for me. I was just trying to hover near the drain hole of a recurring thread shitstorm. :-D

On the topic, though, I keep thinking I should try putting my friend's GS500 on its centerstand while I'm still sitting on it. I'm pretty sure I could.

 

[wfooshee]

Awwww, baby bwudder is getting all gwow-ed up.......

There was a video many years ago of someone putting it up while sitting on it. Not gonna try to find it.......
You know about the handle on the left side, under the seat, right?

BTW, his was the VTR I wrote about some time back, he also has (at least one) VFR and an Aprilia RSV Mille R that is named Glen.

He's in San Jose. Find him!!! He likes beer and scotch and stuff.

 

[Surly]

I like very much!

Best regards

Surly

 

[escapefjrtist]

Good lookin '04...congrats MT!

--G

 

[majicmaker]

Oh Dear God.... Wfooshee has a brother? There are two of them?... I'll stop talking now.

 

[wfooshee]

's-OK. He's way over on the other coast. Born here, then fled.

He doesn't understand California people any better than any other regular people do, but he likes the riding out there.

 

[MotorToad]

Oh Dear God.... Wfooshee has a brother? There are two of them?... I'll stop talking now.

At least you won't see "Darksider" in my signature line. :-D

And for the joke close of my original post, I forgot to complain about it only having five speeds! Irony because what set the ball rolling with the friend who got this all going was a discussion about gearing, gearboxes, torque, and I used the FJR as an example of something that didn't need a 6-speed; vs. an old Honda 250 GP bike that had 14 or something.

 

[RadioHowie]

Hey Walt's Liddle Brudder -- regardless of what those Gen II or Gen III dinks say or think, you have THE BEST LOOKING FJR EVER!

Of course, I MIGHT be a little biased!

 

[art miller]

's-OK. He's way over on the other coast. Born here, then fled.
He doesn't understand California people any better than any other regular people do, but he likes the riding out there.

If he likes good craft brewed beer, that's good enough for me!!

 

[art miller]

So I got just a little bit lucky. A friend of a friend just got a '14 FJR and his '04 has been sitting for months. He'd been too busy to bother listing it on craigslist and made a joke about "free to good home" at work to a mate who said "weird... I know a really good home..."
And now, I own an FJR.

A few of you might know that wfooshee is my brother and he owns an FJR because when he was shopping bikes I heard the word "Goldwing" uttered and quickly found him an '03 FJR for a reasonable price (I think it was 4-5 years old at the time), so I'm not a complete stranger to the forum. I just haven't been around for a few years.

So, man, this thing's really hard to get on the center stand, huh? Are my legs supposed to be this hot?

When replacing the rear tire go with a 190/55. It will help with getting it on the center stand. It will also bring your speedo closer to accurate. Additionally, it will look mo betta!!

 

[yanktar]

It shouldn't be hard to put on the center stand. I have the same bike and it's no problem at all. Just put your hand on the grab handle on the left side of the seat, put almost all your weight on the center stand pedal and lift up gently. It should pop onto the stand with no major effort. It's only tough if you try to do it barefoot!!

 

[garyahouse]

Keep all your weight hard on the stand's lever when ya do so. Or just run it up onto a piece of 1x6 layin under the back tire. Makes it much easier to pop it up on the CS.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[odot]

Grey is ghey.

 

[Old Michael]

I was just trying to hover near the drain hole of a recurring thread shitstorm. :-D

At least you won't see "Darksider" in my signature line. :-D

I LIKE this dude.

 

[MotorToad]

I was wondering about the speedometer accuracy. Hovering around 80 indicated on the freeway and the cages are going about the same speed. Closer to 90 indicated is about what I'm used to in cages-per-minute, 78 on the VFR by GPS.

 

[wfooshee]

I don't think it would be THAT far off, but what do I know any more? My darkside tire puts the speedo almost exactly right!

 

[MotorToad]

Oh, yeah, an actual complaint about the speedometer! This is the first bike I've had where the speedo gets precedence over the tach, so I keep looking down and then trying to figure out how fast "5" is.

And the new Most Likely Way I'm Going To Genuinely Hurt Myself is pushing the FJR around while in the seat. I've rolled the mufflers over my boot heels five or six times now, and it's just a matter of time before I give myself a 650 lb. ankle hinge. Maybe I'll just ride it in my MX boots.