jcolman
Well-known member
I had this posted in the general forum and didn't realize that there was a "trip" forum. I also figured that I'd expand a bit more on my trip. So, here goes and I hope you folks enjoy.
I bought my bike three weeks before my trip even though I had never seen the bike in person. I found it for sale thru cycletrader.com. The price was right and the fact that it was on the west coast made it even better. I had been planning on doing a round trip from NC to Houston to visit my old high school buddy so the idea of simply making a cross country run was even better. I owned a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic but the bike just didn't thrill me anymore. It was time for a new ride and the FJR was my choice.
Thanks to this forum, I had a good idea of the farkles that I wanted on the bike before my trip. I ordered MClarry risers and had them shipped to the bike shop where I purchased my bike and installed prior to my arrival. I also bought a Garmin GPS and a ball mount to mount it on the steering nut. I added a G2 throttle tube and universal vista cruise and I was ready to go.
I flew into San Diego on June 16th where I was met by a representative from the bike shop. After arriving at Oceanside Cycle Gallery, we went about the business of getting the paperwork sorted out. The guys there also helped me set up the suspension to some specs I found here. I also made sure that the side case lock screws were locktited prior to leaving. Again....thanks to this forum for that tip.
In my excitment to leave, I forgot to get any pictures of the start of my trip.
Oh well....on with the pics. Click on the pics to enlarge.
My first stop somewhere in Calif. Thanks to the GPS, I was able to find my way around a brush fire that had my first choice of highway blocked.
Had a great ride up and down this moutain pass! This was the first time I really got a feel for how well this bike handled the curves. However, I was still a newbie to sport/touring so I took it fairly easy.
It was a bit warm when I reached Indian Springs, CA. I kept my touring jacket on but I was really wishing I had a water vest!
I stopped for the night about 120 miles from Phoenix. Tired but happy. The next morning, I rose at 5:30am and hit the road. I rode a total of about 700 miles to Santa Fe, NM. This was the most miles I had ever put on a bike before. My previous record had been 600 miles on a rental Harley Roadking. The FJR was by far a much more comfortable (not to mention faster and smoother) bike than the Harley.
I arrived in Santa Fe around 7:00 pm and spent the night with my old college roomate. I hadn't seen him in 30 years. He's still a hippy. I guess I am too in a way.
Leaving Santa Fe I took hwy 285 thru Roswell NM to Carlsbad NM. Wide open spaces await. Long and empty road.
I'm a happy rider. Strange and weird at times but happy.
I decided to bump up the speed a little. Notice the top speed on my gps. I know the bike is capaple of hitting much faster speeds however I was happy to hit 125 for a short while then I backed down to a more sane 95.
Did I mention the bugs?? Having a tube of "windshield wipes" was really handy. I went thru two of them on this trip.
How NOT to secure your luggage. This bag came loose and got tangled up in the rear wheel. Had I not been going 95mph at the time I could have been road kill. I honestly think that the speed saved my *** due to the massive rotational mass of the wheel at that speed. All I felt when the bag and wheel met was a small jolt. The engine lost power for a moment, then came back on. I drove on for another 8-9 miles not realizing that the bag was up under the wheel, rubbing the tire.
I also replaced the rear tire to be on the safe side. Notice the scorch marks on the side.
Welcome to wet Austin!! I awoke to this storm. My first ride in the rain was to find a local shop to have the rear tire replaced. Afterwards, I headed out for Houston.
I stopped in Houston to visit my old high school buddy. He's still rocking after all these years! I took a break from riding for three days just to hang with him and some other friends. It was nice getting off the bike for a few days.
After leaving Houston, I rode up to Montgomery AL to visit my mother and brother. I made that run in a day. Rode thru a lot of on and off rain. My rain suit kept me quite dry.....hot but dry.
After spending the night, I rode to Andersonville, GA to see my dads's grave. Andersonville is reserved for POW's and my dad was a Bataan Death march survivor and spent three years as a POW.
My old man. RIP dad.
Finally, 3300 miles later, and $2000 (not counting what I spent prior to picking up my bike) poorer I'm home.
Lessons learned.
1. Make REAL SURE that my luggage is well secured.
2. Next time I expect to ride for prolonged periods of time in temps above 90 degrees, I'm buying a water vest.
3. My GPS and CD player were indispensable in maintaining my sanity.
4. The universal throttle lock worked great. I've had one on every bike I've owned.
5. Finally, bring a buddy to ride with you if you can. I enjoy my own company but I always like riding with someone. However on this trip, none of my riding friends could make it. Still, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
I bought my bike three weeks before my trip even though I had never seen the bike in person. I found it for sale thru cycletrader.com. The price was right and the fact that it was on the west coast made it even better. I had been planning on doing a round trip from NC to Houston to visit my old high school buddy so the idea of simply making a cross country run was even better. I owned a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic but the bike just didn't thrill me anymore. It was time for a new ride and the FJR was my choice.
Thanks to this forum, I had a good idea of the farkles that I wanted on the bike before my trip. I ordered MClarry risers and had them shipped to the bike shop where I purchased my bike and installed prior to my arrival. I also bought a Garmin GPS and a ball mount to mount it on the steering nut. I added a G2 throttle tube and universal vista cruise and I was ready to go.
I flew into San Diego on June 16th where I was met by a representative from the bike shop. After arriving at Oceanside Cycle Gallery, we went about the business of getting the paperwork sorted out. The guys there also helped me set up the suspension to some specs I found here. I also made sure that the side case lock screws were locktited prior to leaving. Again....thanks to this forum for that tip.
In my excitment to leave, I forgot to get any pictures of the start of my trip.
Oh well....on with the pics. Click on the pics to enlarge.
My first stop somewhere in Calif. Thanks to the GPS, I was able to find my way around a brush fire that had my first choice of highway blocked.
Had a great ride up and down this moutain pass! This was the first time I really got a feel for how well this bike handled the curves. However, I was still a newbie to sport/touring so I took it fairly easy.
It was a bit warm when I reached Indian Springs, CA. I kept my touring jacket on but I was really wishing I had a water vest!
I stopped for the night about 120 miles from Phoenix. Tired but happy. The next morning, I rose at 5:30am and hit the road. I rode a total of about 700 miles to Santa Fe, NM. This was the most miles I had ever put on a bike before. My previous record had been 600 miles on a rental Harley Roadking. The FJR was by far a much more comfortable (not to mention faster and smoother) bike than the Harley.
I arrived in Santa Fe around 7:00 pm and spent the night with my old college roomate. I hadn't seen him in 30 years. He's still a hippy. I guess I am too in a way.
Leaving Santa Fe I took hwy 285 thru Roswell NM to Carlsbad NM. Wide open spaces await. Long and empty road.
I'm a happy rider. Strange and weird at times but happy.
I decided to bump up the speed a little. Notice the top speed on my gps. I know the bike is capaple of hitting much faster speeds however I was happy to hit 125 for a short while then I backed down to a more sane 95.
Did I mention the bugs?? Having a tube of "windshield wipes" was really handy. I went thru two of them on this trip.
How NOT to secure your luggage. This bag came loose and got tangled up in the rear wheel. Had I not been going 95mph at the time I could have been road kill. I honestly think that the speed saved my *** due to the massive rotational mass of the wheel at that speed. All I felt when the bag and wheel met was a small jolt. The engine lost power for a moment, then came back on. I drove on for another 8-9 miles not realizing that the bag was up under the wheel, rubbing the tire.
I also replaced the rear tire to be on the safe side. Notice the scorch marks on the side.
Welcome to wet Austin!! I awoke to this storm. My first ride in the rain was to find a local shop to have the rear tire replaced. Afterwards, I headed out for Houston.
I stopped in Houston to visit my old high school buddy. He's still rocking after all these years! I took a break from riding for three days just to hang with him and some other friends. It was nice getting off the bike for a few days.
After leaving Houston, I rode up to Montgomery AL to visit my mother and brother. I made that run in a day. Rode thru a lot of on and off rain. My rain suit kept me quite dry.....hot but dry.
After spending the night, I rode to Andersonville, GA to see my dads's grave. Andersonville is reserved for POW's and my dad was a Bataan Death march survivor and spent three years as a POW.
My old man. RIP dad.
Finally, 3300 miles later, and $2000 (not counting what I spent prior to picking up my bike) poorer I'm home.
Lessons learned.
1. Make REAL SURE that my luggage is well secured.
2. Next time I expect to ride for prolonged periods of time in temps above 90 degrees, I'm buying a water vest.
3. My GPS and CD player were indispensable in maintaining my sanity.
4. The universal throttle lock worked great. I've had one on every bike I've owned.
5. Finally, bring a buddy to ride with you if you can. I enjoy my own company but I always like riding with someone. However on this trip, none of my riding friends could make it. Still, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
