dcarver
Well-known member
Hey Pat, a word of encouragement, you are living the dream, try to enjoy every moment!
Fly n Riding my new 2008 FJR from San Jose to Seattle
- Thread starter Pat L
- Start date
Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:
Pat L
TwoWheelExplorer
I'm in WA now, which has two benefits: you're allowed to pump your own gas, and no OR police. I-5 sucked; there were 4 separate stretches of stops go traffic. One was caused by a U-Haul truck whose engine bay and cab burned up 
. Pity the family who had to unload a truck full of belongings alongside the interstate in 95 degree heat.
Burgerville now, gas next (got 220 mi before the gauge started flashing on this tank, which seems to happen about 5 gal gone).
. Pity the family who had to unload a truck full of belongings alongside the interstate in 95 degree heat.Burgerville now, gas next (got 220 mi before the gauge started flashing on this tank, which seems to happen about 5 gal gone).
Pat L
TwoWheelExplorer
I'm home, unpacked and showered. Nice 1030-ish mile weekend with no bad outcomes. Love the bike, and plenty of thoughts on how it can change to fit my needs even better.
Time to sleep Now; more in the coming days.
:yahoo:
Time to sleep Now; more in the coming days.
:yahoo:
FJRONAMISSION
Flying at the speed of smell ;))
Pat L
TwoWheelExplorer
Thanks!! yeah, it was. Very happy I did it this way, not just shipping the bike home or hitting I5 the whole way or something lame like that.Glad you had a safe ride dude!!.... this was a good test ride
Pat L
TwoWheelExplorer
I'll write up the actual riding part of the last couple of days soon, and post photos. But busing into work today (overslept, missed my bus, taking the longer bus :-(), I wrote up these thoughts.
Fly n Ride Recap
The Bike:
It took a couple of days to get bonded. Because I am rusty and was getting to know a new bike, I took it easy but wanted to have a fun ride home. The trip had me on tight, twisty 2-lane roads with 20 mile stretches of corners marked 15-25mph, and it had me on long fast riverside sweepers, and it had me on long straight freeway bashes. On day 2 of the ride, on some fast sweepers along the Umpqua River, passing slow traffic without a worry, we bonded. And as we crossed the Columbia river from Portland into Vancouver, I was happy to tap the tank and introduce the bike to its new home state.
The FJR is a fantastic bike. It's a willing partner in a wide range of riding needs, and it's a well known platform, which means that I have a ton of options to tune it for my own needs.
Here are some first thoughts on how the bike is set up.
The Good
Helibars. The cream of the crop for handlebar risers, these fit me perfectly.
Cee Bailey +2H +4W light smoke windscreen, with flip. From fully down to fully up on the adjustment range, the screen was awesome. Low gave me some wind flow and wind noise but no turbulence; high gave me near perfect silence and I was still looking over it. This screen is going to be fantastic in the cold and rain that I ride in. For hot weather, it may block more air than many people might like. I would consider picking up a "summer screen" for those long, hot days.
BMW Sport Touring grips. What a great and low-cost upgrade. I loved the grip feel with no downsides. Well, I guess if they were electrically heated also, that would be perfect.
The tank bag. Not sure what make/model. It's huge, bigger than I would buy, but it's firm, lots of pockets, easy to pack. I have a smallish Marsee magnetic bag that I'll use for most rides, but this will be the travel bag. Unless there's a shorter version of this one.
The Bad
The Yamaha Gel seat. It's definitely a big step up from the stock seat, but after a few hundred miles and especially in very hot weather, I got squirmy. I'm one of those guys who's had Russell Day-Long saddles on quite a few bikes, and I will again for this bike. Till then, I may try this seat with a sheepskin cover to get a bit more cushion and air flow.
Not bad, but.. the adjustable levers felt good, but the clutch is adjusted so that when the lever is where it feels most comfortable for me (setting 2 of 6), the clutch doesn't quite disengage all the way. I spent most of Day 1 trying in vain to find neutral, until I realized that this was the issue. One more click farther out and I could get neutral OK. I have some clutch adjustment to do here.
The Undecided
The rear car tire. My biggest question mark about the bike was how that would perform for me. The bike's previous owner is sold on the tire, and rides far more aggressively than me. I wanted to see for myself. What I've found is that for straights and long sweepers, I couldn't tell that I had a unique tire on. In fast transitions from side to side, there's a bit of seeking around before the bike settles into a line; presumably as it transitions from the flat to the edge. It has a weird feel when hitting gravel in a corner that I can't quite describe. When you hit deeply grooved pavement or pavement rutted from heavy use (like studded snow tires) It has a strong tendency to follow those grooves. Crossing them feels like the lump you feel when you're waterskiiing and crossing the wake - it just takes extra effort to make that transition. That said, on the long hot freeway slog home, it was comfortable to know that I wasn't burning up a rear tire in the process. I'll continue to ride this tire and see how things change. At this point, I think I'll probably go back to a moto tire, though I do think it might be interesting to keep an extra rear wheel around, so that you could switch rear tires depending on the expected riding ahead.
Also part of the challenge with this type of tire is that you ride kinda paranoid, with a lot of attention spent on how the tire makes the bike feel. But because thats the lens through which you look at the bike's handling, it gets a lot of attention. It's possible that as I dial in the suspension to my own tastes, for example, that the feel changes a lot.
Speaking of suspension. The bike is still set up pretty firm. I like a more progressive feel, a bit more soft for initial bumps, but firmer to keep wheels on the ground after the first hits. The bike has stock suspension components. Over time I'll probably upgrade both ends to aftermarket goodies.
The Dale Walker Holeshot exhaust canisters. They have a good sound and are not super loud. The bike runs a Powercommander 3 to map the fuel injection for this exhaust. In the low end of the rev range there is a bit of surging, but past 3k or so it's beautifully clean. I was thinking about going back to stock cans during the ride home, but I'm undecided. I see that Walker offers canister end caps to reduce some of the sound volume. I'll try that first. My main issue is that I don't really love the sound of an i4 engine (like I do L-twins, V-twins, triples and V-4s. oh and 8's too..), so the cost of not being so stealthy doesn't have much of a reward. Except that the bike's tuned with the pipe now, and maybe it could be toned down just a bit.
What's Next
In no particular order, I'm interested in these things:
- Get in line for a Russell seat build.
- Starcom headset
- Garmin 660. B left the RAM mount on the bar for it, and I sure could have used GPS on the ride home . I forgot how much I rely on it, even just using my phone for GPS. It would have saved me lots of time getting off the freeways in the north bay as well as helped me find good frontage roads alongside the I5 slog. Finding next gas out in the rural roads is a huge help as well.
- It will be very wise to invest in a Valentine1 radar detector, finally. Ive been meaning to for years, but this bike will make that a bit more urgent I really rode easy, but it's pretty easy for "riding easy" to mean +15mph.
- Looking at trunks, not so much for packing capacity but to also act as a backrest for passengers.
- Driving lights. Still thinking about whether I want to do HID or LED aux lights, or convert the main lights to HID, or mount up my PIAA 910s, or convert those to HID and mount them, or ...
- I may or may not sand and repaint the bags and mirrors which are scuffed up. Not decided yet. Will at least do some buffing and touchup work.
- I'd like to do an electronic cruise control also. Lots of wrist problems from previous injuries makes cruise very helpful. Though I didn't have much wrist pain from this ride at all.
I'm sure there's more, but that's what's coming to mind right now.
Fly n Ride Recap
The Bike:
It took a couple of days to get bonded. Because I am rusty and was getting to know a new bike, I took it easy but wanted to have a fun ride home. The trip had me on tight, twisty 2-lane roads with 20 mile stretches of corners marked 15-25mph, and it had me on long fast riverside sweepers, and it had me on long straight freeway bashes. On day 2 of the ride, on some fast sweepers along the Umpqua River, passing slow traffic without a worry, we bonded. And as we crossed the Columbia river from Portland into Vancouver, I was happy to tap the tank and introduce the bike to its new home state.
The FJR is a fantastic bike. It's a willing partner in a wide range of riding needs, and it's a well known platform, which means that I have a ton of options to tune it for my own needs.
Here are some first thoughts on how the bike is set up.
The Good
Helibars. The cream of the crop for handlebar risers, these fit me perfectly.
Cee Bailey +2H +4W light smoke windscreen, with flip. From fully down to fully up on the adjustment range, the screen was awesome. Low gave me some wind flow and wind noise but no turbulence; high gave me near perfect silence and I was still looking over it. This screen is going to be fantastic in the cold and rain that I ride in. For hot weather, it may block more air than many people might like. I would consider picking up a "summer screen" for those long, hot days.
BMW Sport Touring grips. What a great and low-cost upgrade. I loved the grip feel with no downsides. Well, I guess if they were electrically heated also, that would be perfect.
The tank bag. Not sure what make/model. It's huge, bigger than I would buy, but it's firm, lots of pockets, easy to pack. I have a smallish Marsee magnetic bag that I'll use for most rides, but this will be the travel bag. Unless there's a shorter version of this one.
The Bad
The Yamaha Gel seat. It's definitely a big step up from the stock seat, but after a few hundred miles and especially in very hot weather, I got squirmy. I'm one of those guys who's had Russell Day-Long saddles on quite a few bikes, and I will again for this bike. Till then, I may try this seat with a sheepskin cover to get a bit more cushion and air flow.
Not bad, but.. the adjustable levers felt good, but the clutch is adjusted so that when the lever is where it feels most comfortable for me (setting 2 of 6), the clutch doesn't quite disengage all the way. I spent most of Day 1 trying in vain to find neutral, until I realized that this was the issue. One more click farther out and I could get neutral OK. I have some clutch adjustment to do here.
The Undecided
The rear car tire. My biggest question mark about the bike was how that would perform for me. The bike's previous owner is sold on the tire, and rides far more aggressively than me. I wanted to see for myself. What I've found is that for straights and long sweepers, I couldn't tell that I had a unique tire on. In fast transitions from side to side, there's a bit of seeking around before the bike settles into a line; presumably as it transitions from the flat to the edge. It has a weird feel when hitting gravel in a corner that I can't quite describe. When you hit deeply grooved pavement or pavement rutted from heavy use (like studded snow tires) It has a strong tendency to follow those grooves. Crossing them feels like the lump you feel when you're waterskiiing and crossing the wake - it just takes extra effort to make that transition. That said, on the long hot freeway slog home, it was comfortable to know that I wasn't burning up a rear tire in the process. I'll continue to ride this tire and see how things change. At this point, I think I'll probably go back to a moto tire, though I do think it might be interesting to keep an extra rear wheel around, so that you could switch rear tires depending on the expected riding ahead.
Also part of the challenge with this type of tire is that you ride kinda paranoid, with a lot of attention spent on how the tire makes the bike feel. But because thats the lens through which you look at the bike's handling, it gets a lot of attention. It's possible that as I dial in the suspension to my own tastes, for example, that the feel changes a lot.
Speaking of suspension. The bike is still set up pretty firm. I like a more progressive feel, a bit more soft for initial bumps, but firmer to keep wheels on the ground after the first hits. The bike has stock suspension components. Over time I'll probably upgrade both ends to aftermarket goodies.
The Dale Walker Holeshot exhaust canisters. They have a good sound and are not super loud. The bike runs a Powercommander 3 to map the fuel injection for this exhaust. In the low end of the rev range there is a bit of surging, but past 3k or so it's beautifully clean. I was thinking about going back to stock cans during the ride home, but I'm undecided. I see that Walker offers canister end caps to reduce some of the sound volume. I'll try that first. My main issue is that I don't really love the sound of an i4 engine (like I do L-twins, V-twins, triples and V-4s. oh and 8's too..), so the cost of not being so stealthy doesn't have much of a reward. Except that the bike's tuned with the pipe now, and maybe it could be toned down just a bit.
What's Next
In no particular order, I'm interested in these things:
- Get in line for a Russell seat build.
- Starcom headset
- Garmin 660. B left the RAM mount on the bar for it, and I sure could have used GPS on the ride home . I forgot how much I rely on it, even just using my phone for GPS. It would have saved me lots of time getting off the freeways in the north bay as well as helped me find good frontage roads alongside the I5 slog. Finding next gas out in the rural roads is a huge help as well.
- It will be very wise to invest in a Valentine1 radar detector, finally. Ive been meaning to for years, but this bike will make that a bit more urgent
I really rode easy, but it's pretty easy for "riding easy" to mean +15mph.- Looking at trunks, not so much for packing capacity but to also act as a backrest for passengers.
- Driving lights. Still thinking about whether I want to do HID or LED aux lights, or convert the main lights to HID, or mount up my PIAA 910s, or convert those to HID and mount them, or ...
- I may or may not sand and repaint the bags and mirrors which are scuffed up. Not decided yet. Will at least do some buffing and touchup work.
- I'd like to do an electronic cruise control also. Lots of wrist problems from previous injuries makes cruise very helpful. Though I didn't have much wrist pain from this ride at all.
I'm sure there's more, but that's what's coming to mind right now.
![fjackets Real Lambskin Leather Biker Jacket — Quilted Cafe Racer Zip Up Moto Leather Jackets For Men | [1100085] Johnson Brown, XL](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41I7Pm1f+vL._SL500_.jpg)
Pat L
TwoWheelExplorer
Final Fly n Ride Trip Report
I left Danville Saturday morning and met my buddy Steve for breakfast before we both took off for Mt. Diablo. I rode the FJR; Steve rode his road bicycle. I passed him on the way up and the way back down.
I was pretty surprised - and impressed - at how many cyclists were older folks on lower end bikes.
I headed west through traffic, interstates and high heat. Finally I stopped for lunch and air conditioning at this brewpub in Cloverdale.
They had a fine beer selection and a friendly waitress. And Air conditioning. I had four pints of water to rehydrate before I sampled a wee glass of Irish stout. It went well with the bacon burger.
Even though I cooled off, the air didn't. 108 is too hot for a Seattle guy. Give me 75 and I'm happy.
From Cloverdale I headed west on the fantastic Hwy 128, which was a prime road with curves, hills, vineyards and redwood forests.
Wanting a brief nap, I pulled off in a wide part of the road in the trees.
I'm too young to think about colonoscopies when I'm riding.
But I found a good spot to nap, behind that log.
Not three minutes after I was on the bike, I hit the coast. And fog.
Sometimes the fog lifted, slightly, for a few minutes. A guy in a motor home almost ran over me when taking this photo. I hope you appreciate me putting my life on the line just for you to see this shot.
My goal was to get into Oregon on the first day, but a late start and traffic though the north bay killed that plan. I got a hotel room in Crescent City after striking out with four other hotels, all full.
Parked next to me in the morning were another very nice WA couple trailering their Harleys back home. They gave me routing suggestions, which I ignored since I didn't want trailer friendly roads. For pirates looting bikes via trailer, they were good folks.
The Oregon coast was just as foggy as the California version.
Continuing on 101 up the coast, I was hungry when I pulled into Coos Bay. I dunno what it is about motorcycle travel, but it makes me crave pie. I rode into town looking for a home style restaurant advertising pie on their signs, but didn't see one. So I pulled over and asked my iPhone to tell me where to go. I read great reviews for the Blue Heron Bistro, great sandwiches and pie.
When I parked, I found this place. A German / seafood place.
They did not have pie. Bing lies.
They did, however, have a fine seafood chowder and homemade bread, and spinach salad.
Man, that was good food.
No pie, but they did have strudel. I'm glad I pre-ordered one of the last two pieces, because the elderly couple that cAme in just after me would have taken it from me and I would have been reluctant to rochambeau them for it.
However, if you ever have to rochambeau an elderly couple for the last piece of Blue Heron Bistro's strudel, do it. It's worth the effort.
From Coos Bay I continued north to Reedsport and then, needing to speed up my time to get home to see the family, I took Hwy 38, the Umpqua River Highway, eastward to intercept I-5. Always take a road named after the river it parallels. It was another fantastic road, with enough passing areas to get around the RVs.
Once I hit the 5 and aimed northward, the heat returned. And so did the traffic. Four separate times, we had stop and go traffic. I would hop off the freeway, take a northward looking two lane road and get back on later. I wish I had the time to stay on those more fun roads.
Eventually got to Portland, and took the I-205 bypass. In Vancouver, I stopped for dinner and to pump my own gas.
And then I rode home.
The End.
I left Danville Saturday morning and met my buddy Steve for breakfast before we both took off for Mt. Diablo. I rode the FJR; Steve rode his road bicycle. I passed him on the way up and the way back down.
I was pretty surprised - and impressed - at how many cyclists were older folks on lower end bikes.
I headed west through traffic, interstates and high heat. Finally I stopped for lunch and air conditioning at this brewpub in Cloverdale.
They had a fine beer selection and a friendly waitress. And Air conditioning. I had four pints of water to rehydrate before I sampled a wee glass of Irish stout. It went well with the bacon burger.
Even though I cooled off, the air didn't. 108 is too hot for a Seattle guy. Give me 75 and I'm happy.
From Cloverdale I headed west on the fantastic Hwy 128, which was a prime road with curves, hills, vineyards and redwood forests.
Wanting a brief nap, I pulled off in a wide part of the road in the trees.
I'm too young to think about colonoscopies when I'm riding.
But I found a good spot to nap, behind that log.
Not three minutes after I was on the bike, I hit the coast. And fog.
Sometimes the fog lifted, slightly, for a few minutes. A guy in a motor home almost ran over me when taking this photo. I hope you appreciate me putting my life on the line just for you to see this shot.
My goal was to get into Oregon on the first day, but a late start and traffic though the north bay killed that plan. I got a hotel room in Crescent City after striking out with four other hotels, all full.
Parked next to me in the morning were another very nice WA couple trailering their Harleys back home. They gave me routing suggestions, which I ignored since I didn't want trailer friendly roads. For pirates looting bikes via trailer, they were good folks.
The Oregon coast was just as foggy as the California version.
Continuing on 101 up the coast, I was hungry when I pulled into Coos Bay. I dunno what it is about motorcycle travel, but it makes me crave pie. I rode into town looking for a home style restaurant advertising pie on their signs, but didn't see one. So I pulled over and asked my iPhone to tell me where to go. I read great reviews for the Blue Heron Bistro, great sandwiches and pie.
When I parked, I found this place. A German / seafood place.
They did not have pie. Bing lies.
They did, however, have a fine seafood chowder and homemade bread, and spinach salad.
Man, that was good food.
No pie, but they did have strudel. I'm glad I pre-ordered one of the last two pieces, because the elderly couple that cAme in just after me would have taken it from me and I would have been reluctant to rochambeau them for it.
However, if you ever have to rochambeau an elderly couple for the last piece of Blue Heron Bistro's strudel, do it. It's worth the effort.
From Coos Bay I continued north to Reedsport and then, needing to speed up my time to get home to see the family, I took Hwy 38, the Umpqua River Highway, eastward to intercept I-5. Always take a road named after the river it parallels. It was another fantastic road, with enough passing areas to get around the RVs.
Once I hit the 5 and aimed northward, the heat returned. And so did the traffic. Four separate times, we had stop and go traffic. I would hop off the freeway, take a northward looking two lane road and get back on later. I wish I had the time to stay on those more fun roads.
Eventually got to Portland, and took the I-205 bypass. In Vancouver, I stopped for dinner and to pump my own gas.
And then I rode home.
The End.
Pat L
TwoWheelExplorer
The Spotwalla log of the journey home:
More detail at https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=4dfc4ff31929b2160
More detail at https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=4dfc4ff31929b2160
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