i64X
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2008
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 0
My new FJR was delivered this weekend, and fortunately it was warm enough outside to actually get it on the road. The bike was delivered on Saturday. On Saturday, the max temperature was around 26 degrees F - far too cold to ride. I would have braved it, but I was more afraid of sliding on some ice or something than being cold. The roads here in Michigan are 99% clear right now, but you never know where some water could be melting off of a road-side snowbank or something and freeze overnight. I waited all day and the temps didn't get above freezing, even with the sun out. I started at my bike a lot that day. I had it safely locked in the garage next to my car, and I constantly found myself walking to the inside door to the garage and just starting at it out the window.
Sunday promised something better - above freezing temps with an estimated high of around 37F. Still plenty cold with the wind, especially at 60 mph, but not too cold to keep me from riding. Last year I started riding to work (40 miles one way) at the end of March. Temps in the 40's and 50's made it fairly cold still, but not TOO bad. This year I figured I'd get some better/warmer gear, so I bought a Tour Master Flex Series II jacket, which according to them is good to about 35 degrees. For someone who doesn't like to pay more than $20 for a pair of pants (I hate spending money on clothes), the $199 price tag was pretty steep, but being as though I bought a bike there, the dealer gave me 40% off, which knocked the price down to around $120 or so + tax. After riding yesterday in 36 degrees and not being cold AT ALL, $199 would have been more than worth it!
But I'm getting ahead of myself...
My brother came over around 10 AM and we talked about bikes for a while. He was excited to see my new one. He rides a 2006 Honda CBR600RR... tons of fun for him, but not an ideal bike for my 80+ mile a day commute. I'm sure my legs and back will thank me for getting an FJR as opposed to an all-out sport bike. Mid-afternoon finally came and the temps got as high as they were going to get for the day. Around 3:00 or so we set off for a 50 mile, hour long ride around the local highways. We decided to stay off of back roads, as new tires + cold pavement isn't the ideal setup for cornering, and we weren't sure which roads were still icey and which roads were clear. Still, the highways gave me a good sense of the controls of the FJR and got me comfortable with actually shifting gears again, which I didn't have to do on my previous form of two-wheeled transport. ^_^
Getting used to the clutch on the FJR took a few stops and starts. Compared to my last bike with a clutch (a Honda CB750 from 1975), the clutch on the FJR was a lot more touchy and starts to quickly engage when it's no more than 0.75" or so from the bars. After a few starts I was ok with it, and by the end of the ride I found myself not even really having to think about it.
The FJR was everything I thought it'd be on the highway. The shaft drive is super smooth and really quiet. Compared to what I'm used to, the engine is massive. Tons of power everywhere in the rev band, and I didn't get past around 30-40% throttle the entire time (again, worried about new tires and cold roads). I am 100% sure I'm not going to ever need more power than what this bike will provide - it's plenty powerful. I'm not sure if it was the shaft drive or the big engine, but the bike makes a REALLY nice noise when it's accelerating... almost like a supercharger whine. Very cool. The power adjustable windshield is awesome. At highway speeds I could put it all the way up and lean down only a few inches (I'm not very tall) and the ride was completely silent except for engine noise. MUCH better than I'm used to. If I want to sit fully up the windshield is easy to dial in to a position that provides the least amount of buffeting and wind noise.
I was wondering about cruising speed (60'ish) without a 6th gear, but was glad to see that 60 in 5th is around 2900 rpms, which is very manageable. The bike doesn't seem all wound up and loud at that speed, which is REALLY nice. One thing I can see already is that it's going to be hard not to speed on this bike. I was following my brother, who is used to his bike and so it was easier for him to keep speed. I kept thinking "man why is he going so slow" until I looked down to see that we were already going 60. I'm going to have to watch myself when I'm riding alone... my driving record is pretty clean and I'd like to keep it that way. ^_^
Overall an excellent experience. I can't wait to get more seat time on the bike, and actually take it around some twisties when it gets warmer out and the tires get broken in. I can't wait for spring. :yahoo:
Sunday promised something better - above freezing temps with an estimated high of around 37F. Still plenty cold with the wind, especially at 60 mph, but not too cold to keep me from riding. Last year I started riding to work (40 miles one way) at the end of March. Temps in the 40's and 50's made it fairly cold still, but not TOO bad. This year I figured I'd get some better/warmer gear, so I bought a Tour Master Flex Series II jacket, which according to them is good to about 35 degrees. For someone who doesn't like to pay more than $20 for a pair of pants (I hate spending money on clothes), the $199 price tag was pretty steep, but being as though I bought a bike there, the dealer gave me 40% off, which knocked the price down to around $120 or so + tax. After riding yesterday in 36 degrees and not being cold AT ALL, $199 would have been more than worth it!
But I'm getting ahead of myself...
My brother came over around 10 AM and we talked about bikes for a while. He was excited to see my new one. He rides a 2006 Honda CBR600RR... tons of fun for him, but not an ideal bike for my 80+ mile a day commute. I'm sure my legs and back will thank me for getting an FJR as opposed to an all-out sport bike. Mid-afternoon finally came and the temps got as high as they were going to get for the day. Around 3:00 or so we set off for a 50 mile, hour long ride around the local highways. We decided to stay off of back roads, as new tires + cold pavement isn't the ideal setup for cornering, and we weren't sure which roads were still icey and which roads were clear. Still, the highways gave me a good sense of the controls of the FJR and got me comfortable with actually shifting gears again, which I didn't have to do on my previous form of two-wheeled transport. ^_^
Getting used to the clutch on the FJR took a few stops and starts. Compared to my last bike with a clutch (a Honda CB750 from 1975), the clutch on the FJR was a lot more touchy and starts to quickly engage when it's no more than 0.75" or so from the bars. After a few starts I was ok with it, and by the end of the ride I found myself not even really having to think about it.
The FJR was everything I thought it'd be on the highway. The shaft drive is super smooth and really quiet. Compared to what I'm used to, the engine is massive. Tons of power everywhere in the rev band, and I didn't get past around 30-40% throttle the entire time (again, worried about new tires and cold roads). I am 100% sure I'm not going to ever need more power than what this bike will provide - it's plenty powerful. I'm not sure if it was the shaft drive or the big engine, but the bike makes a REALLY nice noise when it's accelerating... almost like a supercharger whine. Very cool. The power adjustable windshield is awesome. At highway speeds I could put it all the way up and lean down only a few inches (I'm not very tall) and the ride was completely silent except for engine noise. MUCH better than I'm used to. If I want to sit fully up the windshield is easy to dial in to a position that provides the least amount of buffeting and wind noise.
I was wondering about cruising speed (60'ish) without a 6th gear, but was glad to see that 60 in 5th is around 2900 rpms, which is very manageable. The bike doesn't seem all wound up and loud at that speed, which is REALLY nice. One thing I can see already is that it's going to be hard not to speed on this bike. I was following my brother, who is used to his bike and so it was easier for him to keep speed. I kept thinking "man why is he going so slow" until I looked down to see that we were already going 60. I'm going to have to watch myself when I'm riding alone... my driving record is pretty clean and I'd like to keep it that way. ^_^
Overall an excellent experience. I can't wait to get more seat time on the bike, and actually take it around some twisties when it gets warmer out and the tires get broken in. I can't wait for spring. :yahoo:
