Break In Ride

[lomaxcm]

OK I will start one as we Rocky Mt. peoples seem to be lagging behind. I am still scheduled for a Jun Delivery on my FJR. I assume it will be here sometime the middle of July but who knows. When I get it I am going to put about 50 miles on it. Change the oil and add the farkles. I will then be taking a break in ride to, Uh, Break it in. :huh: I was thinking about something like this. Morrison to Evergreen, to Squaw Pass, to Idaho Springs, Up over Berthod to Granby, to Grand Lake, Over Trail Ridge to Estes, and then back into north Denver. If anyone wants to tag along that would be wonderful. I might take a few breaks and let it cool off for a while and then hit the road again. I will post when this is actually going to take place.

Ride Safe.

Marc

 

[lawinter]

Sounds good to me, let me know when and if I'm in town I would love to tag along.

I will be out of state 7-20 to 7-27 but before or after is a possibility.

If not then I want to do a southern swing in Aug or early Sept through Crested Butte etc. will post more on that later.Enjoy your toy when it gets here.

Just fyi Vickery in Aurora has an 05 on the showroom floor.

At least they did last weekend.

Larry

 

[lomaxcm]

The scooter is finally here and I am going to put some miles on it tomorrow. I am not sure where or when I am going but if anyone wants to tag along for a mellow, scenic ride let me know or give me a call. :bleh:

Ride Safe.

BTW I finally changed my avatar to a FJR.

Marc 303-910-8465

 

[lomaxcm]

Initial Ride Report.

I picked the bike up yesterday 7/22/05 and put the initial oil change miles on it last night. I added the necessary Farkles (more to come) and put about 150 miles on it today. I am impressed with the bike but do not find it to be the End All that I thought it would be. Here is what I found. Keep in mind that all I have to compare it to are the other bikes and while it does everything well it is not the best at anything.

Comfort: My aching back. The Ducati is more comfortable that this thing. I can tell I have a whole new set of muscles to train for long distance riding on the FJR.

Handling: Not bad here. It does not handle like the Duc but I did not expect it to. It kind of reminds me of flying a 737 (FLUF Jet (pilot joke)). It does not change directions very fast but when you put it into a turn it is super stable. In Taking it easy today with new bike and new tires, The chicken strips are smaller than on the Duc. Of course the Duc has a 737 size tire on it compared to the FJR Cessna 150 size tire. :blink:

Wind: I really like the bike here. With the stock windshield I get a good feel for the ride with it all the way down. I can move it up and disappear inside the quiet zone.

Weather: I am also pleased here. I did manage to get caught in a Colorado mountain down pour with winds and all today. No complaints at all.

Heat: The FJR is not as hot as the Duc but quite a bit hotter that the Harley or BMW. I think I will be doing the heat fix in the near future.

Power: What is with the built in Turbo Lag? It takes this thing a while to build up steam and really start to run. Maybe I am just taking it too easy on it for break in or maybe I am just used to twins where the torque is down low and available RIGHT NOW. I am sure I will get used to it.

Over All I give the FJR an 8 of 10 on the Lomax scale. It is tied with the BMW. Some day I will find that 9 or 10 bike but I'm just not there yet.

Ride Safe.

Marc

 

[wyowags]

Jees Lomax,

Don't be so rough on her to begin with! You'll hurt her feelings! It'll get better. Just kidding! Congrats on the new blue. Got mine in May and can't seem to find enough time to put as many miles on her as I want to. Tomorrow is Cheyenne Day up here and we have the afternoon off. If the weather shapes up, I think a Poudre Canyon run is in order. Let me know if ya want to meet up somewhere. I usually go Cheyenne - Wellington - LaPorte - Poudre Canyon from my end. May just go up to Mishawaka for a late lunch or something like that.

 

[teerex51]

BTW I finally changed my avatar to a FJR.

Marc, you could have fooled me there...

Stef

PS: Great fullsize picture of your fast-blue FJR, though.

 

[lomaxcm]

I figured you were all tired of looking at the old beater Ducati.

Ride Safe.

Marc

 

[markjenn]

Marc, you reactions to the bike are almost exactly the same as mine - I had high expectations and, to be honest, the bike slightly underdelivered when I first got it. I think folks who come to this platform from smaller, lighter, and sportier bikes (my other sport-tourer is a R1100S) are expection/hoping that they can have their cake and eat it too - that the FJR will be just as sporty, but much more comfortable for the big miles. But the bike hasn't repealed the laws of physics and is a compromise, like all bikes.

The thing does grow on you over time though, so keep an open mind. You make a few mods (the big one for me was to get the rear suspension stiffer to improve cornering clearance and turn in) and you learn to work around the limitations. This ia simply a kick-***, all-day friendly bike at 7/10ths that can reel off miles effortlessly. I find myself just going for one- and two-hour rides to enjoy the scenery rather than getting all geared up for a serious peg-scratching ride. Stuff like the big fuel capacity burning regular, the great windshield system, roomy cockpit, nice hard bags, etc. are just wonderful. Great bike.

- Mark

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

In a MO comparison where they picked the FJR as the best sport tourer vs many other bikes, they did not have it as best at anything other than being good an everything. The Triumph handled better. The ST1300 had better fairing coverage, the BMW's had better fit and finish and the Kawi had more power. However the FJR was 90-95% of the best in every area and the other bikes were no where near this level of consistency.

I think there is no one thing the FJR is best at other than being really good at everything.

Oh...an making me feel cool and smart to buy such a well Engineered machine!

 

[Bounce]

Sport-Touring bikes are a "tweener" genre. They are BETWEEN a sport bike and a touring bike. As such they are neither but have aspects of both.

Of the tweeners, the FJR nails the midpoint on the bulls eye. It's not as SPORT-touring as a Duc nor as sport-TOURING as an ST1300.

Yamaha nailed the genre.