Terry J
Member
Well, I finally had a chance to do more than ride to work. I run with a touring group full of old farts with about 5,000 years of cumulative experience on motorcycles. You oughta see 'em throw around those big Hondas and Harleys.
We did about 200 back road miles yesterday just as a shakedown run for the beginning of the riding year. These guys are out every weekend (even in the winter if it's dry and "relatively" warm), but the Shakedown Ride is the official beginning of their year. Been riding with them about five years (about 35,000 miles).
Remember, I'm accustomed to road sofas (see avatar left) so this FJR is an all-new experience for me. I've been practicing the "Yoda riding position" on my daily commutes, so the day was pretty comfortable that way. No problems with arms or wrists, but I gotta get some Grip Puppies.
The bike was smooth as hell all day long, and my gas mileage (running about 70 most of the time in the group) was terrific. Averaged about 47 mpg. The bike tracks beautifully and feels very light and stable in corners (to me--Winnebagos, remember?). It's affected by crosswinds more than I'm used to, probably 'cause it's so much lighter? Otherwise, I had a great ride.
The windshield (I added Yamaha's touring windshield) works really well until I close the visor on my helmet. Then the wind noise is awful, so I use plugs. But there was no buffet or any other problems. I probably need a different helmet.
The seat got hard toward the end, but then again, I'm still in break-in mode. Turned over the first thousand miles pulling into my driveway.
One fun thing--we stopped for a Coke at a little roadside place. While we were there, in pulls a group of guys, one of whom was riding an '06 Feejer. So we had fun talking shop. He said he wishes he could find a good set of highway pegs 'cause he's got long legs. Me, too....
All in all, a very pleasant experience. Nice motorcycle. None of these guys had seen one before, and a friend with a K1200 GT wants to do a swap ride some Saturday to see how the FJR compares to his. That ought to be fun.
This site continues to be an inspiration and a great source of information.
Terry J
We did about 200 back road miles yesterday just as a shakedown run for the beginning of the riding year. These guys are out every weekend (even in the winter if it's dry and "relatively" warm), but the Shakedown Ride is the official beginning of their year. Been riding with them about five years (about 35,000 miles).
Remember, I'm accustomed to road sofas (see avatar left) so this FJR is an all-new experience for me. I've been practicing the "Yoda riding position" on my daily commutes, so the day was pretty comfortable that way. No problems with arms or wrists, but I gotta get some Grip Puppies.
The bike was smooth as hell all day long, and my gas mileage (running about 70 most of the time in the group) was terrific. Averaged about 47 mpg. The bike tracks beautifully and feels very light and stable in corners (to me--Winnebagos, remember?). It's affected by crosswinds more than I'm used to, probably 'cause it's so much lighter? Otherwise, I had a great ride.
The windshield (I added Yamaha's touring windshield) works really well until I close the visor on my helmet. Then the wind noise is awful, so I use plugs. But there was no buffet or any other problems. I probably need a different helmet.
The seat got hard toward the end, but then again, I'm still in break-in mode. Turned over the first thousand miles pulling into my driveway.
One fun thing--we stopped for a Coke at a little roadside place. While we were there, in pulls a group of guys, one of whom was riding an '06 Feejer. So we had fun talking shop. He said he wishes he could find a good set of highway pegs 'cause he's got long legs. Me, too....
All in all, a very pleasant experience. Nice motorcycle. None of these guys had seen one before, and a friend with a K1200 GT wants to do a swap ride some Saturday to see how the FJR compares to his. That ought to be fun.
This site continues to be an inspiration and a great source of information.
Terry J
(I got the FJR last November.)
