Udjeni
Well-known member
I recently completed a Bun Burner Gold 3000 (3000 miles in 48 hours) - paperwork still to be done and accepted. I wrote a ride report here, but thought I'll tell a bit about the preparation in this forum because of all the great this forum has been in the process.
I bought my new '07 Yamaha FJR 1300 a year ago and spent the year getting it and myself ready for the big ride.
A number of farkles were added (the full list at the end of this), but the most important ones were, in the order in which they appeared on the bike:
My biggest problem was finding a local auxiliary fuel tank solution since getting one from overseas was just going to be too expensive. After much searching and asking around I found a local racing outfit (Harp Racing) that were at the point of importing Jazz fuel cells and the owner, Steve, said he'll be able to manufacture the necessary fittings for me. It took about 5 months from the first time I spoke with Steve until the fuel cell was finally here and then another month before it was mounted on the bike (just 3 weeks before my planned ride). While the timing could have been a bit better, Steve did a great job and I am happy. There are just two adjustments I still want to make: Steve had difficulty sourcing quick disconnect dry couplers (I have now ordered two sets from Sampson Sport Touring and we should have tilted the aux. tank slightly at the front so that less fuel goes to waste at the bottom of the tank (I've used two wooden strips as an interim solution - I am sure they would not pass Warchild's tech inspection). I still have not figured out exactly how much fuel I can rely on with the aux. tank (did not have time to ride it till dry), but the most I have put in on the trip was a total of 33 liters. In theory I should have 25 + 18 = 43 liters, but for planning purposes I assumed 36 liters (based on a single refill before the ride).
Two weeks before the scheduled ride a friend lent me his Garmin Quest GPS with RAM mount, so there was a bit of a scramble to get it mounted and connected. The standard RAM bracket did not quite work on the handle bars of the FJR, so I made one from a piece of threaded bar my friend had in his garage. Next was the power source. The cigarette lighter connector that comes standard on the FJR is an absolute waste of time, so I added a Hella/BMW/Powerlet connector by drilling a hole in the upper left fairing of the FJR.
Since I am still waiting for Curt to manufacture the second batch of his FZ-1 fuse block, I now had 3 additional wires connected directly to the battery (aux. power, Autocomm, and the CTek "comfort leads"). I decided to forgo on plugging the Garmin into the Autocom since no Autocom cable is cheap and I don't know when if ever I will be getting my own Garmin.
I velcro'd a Petzl E+Lite headlight to the front of my helmet and added extra security (you know, for that inadvertent brush while clearing your visor) in the form of a shoe lace and duct tape.
This worked great for viewing my route sheet at night because it has a swivel and a red LED which does not mess with your night vision. In the photo you can also see my custom sun shield on the top of my visor
, as well as the Shoei pin-lock anti-fog insert. The latter works like a dream. :good:
The complete list of farkles (not all were for this ride ) on the bike is (in alphabetical order):
Lastly, just a picture I took earlier this year, on our way back from Windhoek, Namibia to Cape Town. This was between Keetmanshoop and Noordoewer. It was a fun ride.
I bought my new '07 Yamaha FJR 1300 a year ago and spent the year getting it and myself ready for the big ride.
A number of farkles were added (the full list at the end of this), but the most important ones were, in the order in which they appeared on the bike:
- A foot peg lowering kit
- A Throttlemeister throttle lock
- An Autocom Active-plus communication system
- A Jazz auxiliary fuel tank
My biggest problem was finding a local auxiliary fuel tank solution since getting one from overseas was just going to be too expensive. After much searching and asking around I found a local racing outfit (Harp Racing) that were at the point of importing Jazz fuel cells and the owner, Steve, said he'll be able to manufacture the necessary fittings for me. It took about 5 months from the first time I spoke with Steve until the fuel cell was finally here and then another month before it was mounted on the bike (just 3 weeks before my planned ride). While the timing could have been a bit better, Steve did a great job and I am happy. There are just two adjustments I still want to make: Steve had difficulty sourcing quick disconnect dry couplers (I have now ordered two sets from Sampson Sport Touring and we should have tilted the aux. tank slightly at the front so that less fuel goes to waste at the bottom of the tank (I've used two wooden strips as an interim solution - I am sure they would not pass Warchild's tech inspection). I still have not figured out exactly how much fuel I can rely on with the aux. tank (did not have time to ride it till dry), but the most I have put in on the trip was a total of 33 liters. In theory I should have 25 + 18 = 43 liters, but for planning purposes I assumed 36 liters (based on a single refill before the ride).
Two weeks before the scheduled ride a friend lent me his Garmin Quest GPS with RAM mount, so there was a bit of a scramble to get it mounted and connected. The standard RAM bracket did not quite work on the handle bars of the FJR, so I made one from a piece of threaded bar my friend had in his garage. Next was the power source. The cigarette lighter connector that comes standard on the FJR is an absolute waste of time, so I added a Hella/BMW/Powerlet connector by drilling a hole in the upper left fairing of the FJR.
Since I am still waiting for Curt to manufacture the second batch of his FZ-1 fuse block, I now had 3 additional wires connected directly to the battery (aux. power, Autocomm, and the CTek "comfort leads"). I decided to forgo on plugging the Garmin into the Autocom since no Autocom cable is cheap and I don't know when if ever I will be getting my own Garmin.
I velcro'd a Petzl E+Lite headlight to the front of my helmet and added extra security (you know, for that inadvertent brush while clearing your visor) in the form of a shoe lace and duct tape.
This worked great for viewing my route sheet at night because it has a swivel and a red LED which does not mess with your night vision. In the photo you can also see my custom sun shield on the top of my visor
, as well as the Shoei pin-lock anti-fog insert. The latter works like a dream. :good: The complete list of farkles (not all were for this ride
) on the bike is (in alphabetical order):- Autocom Active-PLUS communication system
- Auxiliary fuel tank from Jazz Products
- Cycle Pump
- Foot peg lowering kit from (censored)
- Heat shield (pillion) from BikeJohnny.
- Heat shield (rider) from JP Cycles
- Jazz auxuliary fuel cell https://www.jazproducts.com/econo_fuel_cells.html
- Scotchlite black reflective tape (from Indenti-Tape) on panniers and top box (see photo below), as well as some extra reflective yellow tape behind the red "reflector" of the Givi top box
- Skyway's Delrin sliders
- Tank protector from Bagster
- Tank bag (Minea) from Bagster
- Throttlemeister throttle lock
- Top box, Givi V46
- Top box rack from Premier Cycle Accessories
- VStrom handguards for wet winter riding.
Lastly, just a picture I took earlier this year, on our way back from Windhoek, Namibia to Cape Town. This was between Keetmanshoop and Noordoewer. It was a fun ride.
