Hello ...New Owner In Reno ...RenoJohn is in the house

[RenoJohn]

Hello,

RenoJohn here .........

My first post and in about an hour I pick up my slightly used, very much babied, totally stock and new to me '04FJR. Been eyeing the FJR for a while and finally decided I should try to squeeze a 4th bike in the garage.

My primary ride is a very cool '04 vstrom (pic here) and then of course the dirt bikes. Love the strom and have done all the good tweaks and mod's to it and it is a joy .......

Now time to see what fun I can have on an FJR ....and plan on getting out of the shoot fast so I'm going to be bold on my first post and ask some questions. Yes, I have read through a lot of the forums and these questions are the ones that I still have unanswered .....I likley missed some things so in advance this one time I'm going to ask for forgiveness first ........

OK, my magic questions:

- what is involved in mounting a Givi rear tailcase ...do I have to

buy an aftermarket rack -or is there a mounting bracket designed for

the OEM rack?

- I'm a fan of Wilbers rear shocks and see that they are somewhat

popular on the FJR ....any pointers?? ...I've got a good

relationship with those (Wilbers) folks and ordering one up will likely be one

of my first moves ....but would hate to miss some good advice if there

is such

---and what about front? Typicallly I do Race-Tech ....have the

results been good on the Race-Tech fronts on the FJR?

-Exhaust ...what is popular/cost effective? .......and will I need to re-map

-speaking of re-map ...i see there is a cool mod to change the

fuel/air from the stock setting (per cyclinder) ...is this an

effective mod to change fuel mixture after doing new exhaust, air

filter etc? Or is it required to re-map with a PC III etc?

What else do I need to know ........

Thanks in advance, I look forward to being an active participant and contributor here .......OH, I hope some silly is OK too

Sincereliest, Your friend and mine,

RenoJohn

 

[twowheelnut]

Givi mount is ***.

:good: on Wilbers. Just let Klaus know what you need in terms of performance, he'll do the rest. Ditto Wilbers for springs, too.

Screw the cans and PCIII. Waste of time and money unless you are into wringing another nano-pony outta of things or unless you like pimpin' bling hanging off the bike.

You need to know that all noobs must send $50 bucks to Slappy to keep this joint in electronic nirvana.

Welcome and I'm glad you're your own friend. :lameasswinkysmiley:

 

[slapnpop]

Screw the cans and PCIII. Waste of time and money unless you are into wringing another nano-pony outta of things or unless you like pimpin' bling hanging off the bike.

HEY! wait a minute. :angry: I resemble that statement!

There are several companies offering slip-on muffler replacements. There are only two companies I know of offering a header, Dale Walker, and Muzzy. Muzzy is currently re-designing thier product after the first batch experienced some premature scraping. The choice basically comes down to whether you want to stay 4-1-2 (Dale Walker), or go 4-1 (Muzzy).

The factory CO2 adjustments are only for idle and low throttle. They can be used for mild corrections in idle conditions, but that's about it. The PC3 lets you control the entire fuel maps, and is better suited to accomidating other mods.

It's not required for just a set of slipons, but once you go full header it's probably best.

As far as what else you need to know, check the FAQ section and go from there. There are quite comprehensive new owner threads. I would link it, but I'm lazy, and you're new and could use the self-guided tour!

 

[Bike Effects]

Hello,RenoJohn here .........

-Exhaust ...what is popular/cost effective? .......and will I need to re-map

-speaking of re-map ...i see there is a cool mod to change the

fuel/air from the stock setting (per cyclinder) ...is this an

effective mod to change fuel mixture after doing new exhaust, air

filter etc? Or is it required to re-map with a PC III etc?

I can help with this question, if you are interested in slip-ons. I have many happy customers that have purchased the Leo Vince or the Staintune slip-ons. You can see them both here on one page of my FJR1300 Showcase. There is no remapping required, but many have found that thier FJR runs better all the way around with a Power Commander.

Also note the forum discount information in my signature block.

 

[Toecutter]

Hello,RenoJohn here .........

So, Reno John, did you make it out to see us when we were in Reno last month?
Welcome to the forum! Nice looking bike you're gonna have there. I guess it had to be Silver & Black.

Trivia question: What is the autumn wind?

 

[RenoJohn]

OK guys, .....thanks for the comments, advice ........

Well I picked her up this afternoon and put a few hundred "very spirited" miles on her (Mt. Rose hwy ...etc). I'm very happy but also see that I need to pull back the covers on the suspension and make some changes. I'm sure some adjustments will make the world of difference ....as will more saddle time on her. Not to say we didn't do well .....believe me, we did good ...but I know it can and will get better.

First impressions: Wow, that is some nice smooth power and 6K-8K (RPM) and I are quickly becoming best friends. 75mph to say 115mph is like .....well .....let's just say effortless fun. The power is nice. I'm still not perfect at knowing where I should be (gear wise) at all times, ....it seems like the bike is fairly torquey (and it is) but then you get up to about 5500rpm and you realize that the power is up there .......but I'll soon get adroit at being in the best spot for the situation.

OEM suspension needs some attention and tweaking ...and I suspect a wilbers rear and something in the front will be in the near future.

Seat? Too early to tell,, but kinda mushy for my liking and perhaps that will be another change.

Winshield; I'm 6-0 average proportion and the shield seems about 1.5 to 3.0 inches too short?? again, I need to spend more saddle time before getting too excited.

OVERALL, the bike rocks and I'm glad she's in my stable.

Quick question/clarification as it wasn't really stated above ....to put on a givi rear case, ...do i have to remove the OEM rack and buy and aftermarket one ...or is there a bracket that will attach to the OEM one ...that will let me accomodate a givi tailcase?

answers to questions:

NO, i was not at the reno gathering, but i was/am aware of it. (BTW: I'm the one that put on the Reno V-Strom gathering in June) I was heading over Ebbets pass / Hwy four Friday afternoon heading west when many of you guys were making it to Reno and I thought ....Geeeze, what a bunch of old farts, Of course I would never say that out loud on a forum ...that was just my internal observation.

Yep, has to be silver! Only the winningest and fastest color for me. However, I see there is a grey/blue tint more than I remember ....but I think some brisk rides will wear those colors out and the silver will come through

Autumn wind : Damn right I know ...that is my anthem baby! That is music the music that makes my black heart silver ......

OK, thanks again ....and here are a few evening underexposed pics of my girl as I brought her home this evening after breaking her in Reno style:

.....renojohn

 

[odot]

Just remember....a clean bike is a gay bike.

 

[RenoJohn]

Just remember....a clean bike is a gay bike.

LOL !!! don't worry, no "Brokeback Rider" here sailer.
maybe this will earn me a tad of credibility? .....one of my other bikes a few days ago:

 

[odot]

Ok...you got cred with me.

 

[Toecutter]

NO, i was not at the reno gathering, but i was/am aware of it. (BTW: I'm the one that put on the Reno V-Strom gathering in June) I was heading over Ebbets pass / Hwy four Friday afternoon heading west when many of you guys were making it to Reno and I thought ....Geeeze, what a bunch of old farts, Of course I would never say that out loud on a forum ...that was just my internal observation.

That's funny, we ran across one of your riders up at Lake Alpine back in June while we were on a group ride. He'd gotten separated from his pack and was just adventuring. Told us a story about a guy who got crunched earlier that day. That part wasn't funny, BTW.
Enjoy the new pony! Looks nice!

The autumn wind is a Raider

Pillaging just for fun

He’ll knock you around and upside down

And laugh when he’s conquered and won

 

[SilveradoSlick]

Welcome Reno. You need to buy the Givi mount for the FJR/V46 and you have to remove that purty stock rack to do so. The trunk mounts and dismounts very easily, but the mount is nothing to look at.

The '03 was straight silver but the '04 has the blue tint. Personally I think it's the purtiest.

Call me an old fart again and I'll run over your toes with my wheelchair.

 

[quicksilver]

Regarding the windshield.

You mentioned maybe too short.

Because of your geography, you might consider it being to long.

I assume your feeling some turbulance around the helmet.

Going up/or down will move the turbulant air flow.

Try an experiment and completely remove the shield.

If you like it, you might be happier with a shorty sheild.

Shorties suck in the rain and when riding though bug swarms.

But, in hot clean air, it's the shizzle.

 

[RenoJohn]

That's funny, we ran across one of your riders up at Lake Alpine back in June while we were on a group ride. He'd gotten separated from his pack and was just adventuring. Told us a story about a guy who got crunched earlier that day. That part wasn't funny, BTW.
Enjoy the new pony! Looks nice!

The autumn wind is a Raider

Pillaging just for fun

He’ll knock you around and upside down

And laugh when he’s conquered and won

Ya, we had a few go down ....but it was a good casual gathering with lots of great stories. Never like to see anyone go down. Thanks for the fun ..

Welcome Reno. You need to buy the Givi mount for the FJR/V46 and you have to remove that purty stock rack to do so. The trunk mounts and dismounts very easily, but the mount is nothing to look at.

THANK YOU. that's exactly the answer I needed (not necessarily the one I wanted). Got it, thanks.

The '03 was straight silver but the '04 has the blue tint. Personally I think it's the purtiest.

Not bad, it certainly could be worse. Kinda like un-violated silver though.

Call me an old fart again and I'll run over your toes with my wheelchair.

LOL, fair enough ...and I see you're just over the hill ....perhaps a few miles together sometime.
thanks!

 

[RenoJohn]

Regarding the windshield.
You mentioned maybe too short.

Because of your geography, you might consider it being to long.

I assume your feeling some turbulance around the helmet.

Going up/or down will move the turbulant air flow.

Try an experiment and completely remove the shield.

If you like it, you might be happier with a shorty sheild.

Shorties suck in the rain and when riding though bug swarms.

But, in hot clean air, it's the shizzle.

Quicksilver: I hear you on all ...and agree clean air is much better than spoiled air and removing the screen would likely be a good option. However, I think the OEM shield is "close" to giving me great protection when all the way up .....perhaps just a little more. I think my first stab will be Laminar Lips ...but certainly open to any suggestions/thoughts from those who have been here before me.

 

[Toecutter]

Never like to see anyone go down.

Well, I wouldn't go that far, myself, but YMMV

THANK YOU. that's exactly the answer I needed (not necessarily the one I wanted). Got it, thanks.

Also, you might want to improve the look of the rack considerably by having it powder coated black before you install it. For a great deal on all things OEM & Givi (except the light kit) and many other aftermarket accessories , call Gary Mc Coy at University Motors 866-551-6478. Introduce yourself as a forum member and he'll treat you right. Another member has developed a nice light kit for the Givi V46 trunk, here.

 

[RenoJohn]

Also, you might want to improve the look of the rack considerably by having it powder coated black before you install it.

Ya, great idea ......thanks and I'll likely get one of those racks ordered up and I've got local powercoating guy.
Right now my primary focus is on shield options and getting the OEM suspension dialed in as good as possible. I plan on a heavy weekend of riding to learn this bike and ideally would like to have a shield mod before I head out. BTW: plan on aprox 1.5K mile loop up to and through Oregon this weekend if anyone wants to see a fjr newbie in action .....I promise to not make you wait ....

 

[Warchild]

Also, you might want to improve the look of the rack considerably by having it powder coated black before you install it.

Ya, great idea ......thanks and I'll likely get one of those racks ordered up and I've got local powercoating guy.

Here's an example: FJRTech: Givi Rack Aesthetics

 

[RenoJohn]

Here's an example: FJRTech: Givi Rack Aesthetics

!!-AWESOME-!! ...thanks Rack is ordered and my powdercoater guy forewarned !!
.....Now back to figuring out what to do for a shield ............

 

[RenoJohn]

Wow! this bike is something.

So, today

-threw a Laminar Lip on and am very happy ....just enough to cover where the oem fell short. Also when down mostly clean air so I've got the best of both. changed oil and:

-saw that the air pressure was low 30' ..ouch ...went 41.5/39 in the BT014's

-Played with the suspension ended up: (BTW 200lbs w/gear)

* One line out on the front preload, 10clicks out on both compression and rebound dampenings

* Rear set to "heavy" and 8 clicks out on dampening (why only two preload settings????)

-adjusted throttle cables etc ...including idle adjustment.

Totally different bike. this thing really rocks ....above combined with some saddle time and I was putting this thing through some hard maneuvers much faster than yesterday.

I had expected quite a bit from this bike ....but day two with the above changes .....I am really taken by it.

You guys already know this ...so i'm preaching to the choir .....this bike really can make things happen!!!

thanks for the fun. ....renojohn