How will a drop of 80-100 pounds affect FJR handling?

[Warchild]

Well........at least you'd be able to SEE it!
:blum:

I can see it just fine already

Gotta love those multiple angled mirrors.....

<ba-dum dum!>

:jester:

 

[RadioHowie]

"Objects in mirror may be closer smaller than they appear"

:blum:

 

[UselessPickles]

So basically, you can't go any faster than you do now, but you'll be able to get to that upper limit quicker. Right???

Right.

Air resistance would indeed be reduced because of the smaller silhouette presented due to weight loss.

I'd be surprised if there was any significant reduction in air resistance. The FJR does a pretty good job of directing air around the rider. If you don't feel wind blasting large portions of your body while riding (that would no longer exist after losing weight), then getting smaller probably won't significantly reduce air resistance of the bike + rider combo.

OTOH, if your running top speed is limited by drag, then losing weight could improve your top speed

 

[bikesniffer]

Shiny

I salute you for the desire to loose that weight :yahoo: and sincerely hope that you're going to be successful without a dent in the surgical procedure!

I am trying to figure out how one can loose weight effectively while having to shoot Insulin on daily basis...it seems the Insulin creates a vicious cycle as in creating craving for food and therefore making the weight losing effort all that much more difficult.

Surely many people feel trapped the same way and are trying to find the magic formula for overcoming Insulin resistance...

If anyone has some valuable input...shoot!

Alfred

 

[Silver Penguin]

This thread has a little something for everyone, doesn't it? What started out as a simple question about motorcycle suspension took less than two pages to revert to ***** size. (Nothing about sheep yet, unless they featured in the Los Robustos menu).

I liked the comment that the weight you're at is the right weight for you. In fact, I liked it very much because that would absolve me of the responsibility of doing anything about it. Like it was was said, I can work my butt off and eat nothing but lettuce leaves yet weigh the same as sitting in a recliner and eating well. (Or so I like to believe).

In support of the OP, the decision to have the surgery is the right one for YOU. You've done your research, weighed the pros and cons and made your decision. Good for you! I know that your journey will not be an easy one. A dear friend had a lap band fitted a while back. He's lost a LOT of weight, which has opened doors for him that were previously closed.

Please keep us posted with how it goes, then when you're recovered and thin, tell us what a difference it makes to ride the FJR.

 

[beemerdons]

ShinyPartsUp and GalaxyBlue, I cannot stand this thread anymore! I'm jumping on my Harley and riding to Filiberto's and ordering a Numero Cinco to eat in the restaurant! Then I'm buying a dozen Christmas tamales to go; and 6-pack of Tecate!

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

This thread has a little something for everyone, doesn't it? What started out as a simple question about motorcycle suspension took less than two pages to revert to ***** size. (Nothing about sheep yet, unless they featured in the Los Robustos menu).

Sexual prowess, satisfaction and how to get laid is all men care about deep in the recessess of their subconscious. All else follows from that or leads to it. Women just don't like to know it.

I liked the comment that the weight you're at is the right weight for you. In fact, I liked it very much because that would absolve me of the responsibility of doing anything about it.

It's the diabetes, joint pains, heart disease, etc. that happens while you are staying the same weight that is the killer -- pun intended.

In support of the OP, the decision to have the surgery is the right one for YOU. You've done your research, weighed the pros and cons and made your decision. Good for you! I know that your journey will not be an easy one. A dear friend had a lap band fitted a while back. He's lost a LOT of weight, which has opened doors for him that were previously closed.

Presumably smaller doors. But I have not come to this point lightly or quickly. My doctors have been bugging me for many years to get it done. I have tried many other modalities but the weight won't stayt off. My doctor gave me 8 months to lose significant weight. I dropped 42 pounds and have gained back 20. AGAIN. It's time for me. I know the risks. I know a person who died on the table; another nurse had to retire after having severe difficulty absorbing certain nutrients, which caused relatively minor brain damage. On the other hand, It is a tool that has transformed many lives of other people I know. Anybody got a die I can cast?

Please keep us posted with how it goes, then when you're recovered and thin, tell us what a difference it makes to ride the FJR.

I suspect that may take a while.

To a previous poster: Insulin resistance is when it gets really difficult to lose weight. I feel for you. I don't want to get past my minor IR and develop full-blown diabetes. It makes certain aspects of motorcycling more difficult. (just to bring it a little back on topic). Motorcycling is a central part of who I am. If I take care of myself now I may extend my riding lifetime; therefore it is a chance I want to take. The kids are older and on course to have a good life. It was the right time to delve deeper and see what the surgeon says.

Old Baldy Dale and the rest of the ***** obsessed: You are smartasses, but funny smartasses. :lol:

ShinyPartsUp and GalaxyBlue, I cannot stand this thread anymore! I'm jumping on my Harley and riding to Filiberto's and ordering a Numero Cinco to eat in the restaurant! Then I'm buying a dozen Christmas tamales to go; and 6-pack of Tecate!

I had a double whopper with cheese (no onion or fries) and a diet coke (of course). My gut isn't going down without a fight jefe!

 

[FJRMGM]

good luck on whatever you decide to do.

my wife had the lap band surgery done in early March and has lost right at 60 lbs now.

No problems at all, except for having to replace her wardrobe.

She looks and feels soooooo much better and fits on the back seat of the FJR now.

 

[El Toro]

As has been pointed out, your bike should feel snappier. Gas mileage should improve too. The mass that you'll have to accelerate, and the mass that you'll have to haul up the hill during climbs will be lower by as much as 3 slugs. That's on the order of a 10% reduction for the bike and rider package.

The other thing is that if you get the bike set up right for the lighter rider, you will be carrying less inertia into twisties and the bike will seem more flickable. The bike should be even more fun to ride.

I hope you're successful with this. Best of luck!

 

[RadioHowie]

What hasn't been touched on is that it is much easier, and probably less expensive, to remove 100 pounds from the rider than from the ride.

It would be very difficult to remove 100 pounds from the bike without compromising its functionality, safety or appearance...or all three!

 

[El Toro]

What hasn't been touched on is that it is much easier, and probably less expensive, to remove 100 pounds from the rider than from the ride.
It would be very difficult to remove 100 pounds from the bike without compromising its functionality, safety or appearance...or all three!

We used to laugh about this back when "scrambles" were the sunday afternoon race in New England.

You'd see guys who were clearly 20 pounds overweight drilling holes in their parts to try to reduce weight. It was a constant source of amusement. 10 pounds off the rider, and he would have been healthier. 10 pounds off the bike, and you were just asking for fatigue failures.

 

[RadioHowie]

What hasn't been touched on is that it is much easier, and probably less expensive, to remove 100 pounds from the rider than from the ride.
It would be very difficult to remove 100 pounds from the bike without compromising its functionality, safety or appearance...or all three!

We used to laugh about this back when "scrambles" were the sunday afternoon race in New England.

You'd see guys who were clearly 20 pounds overweight drilling holes in their parts to try to reduce weight. It was a constant source of amusement. 10 pounds off the rider, and he would have been healthier. 10 pounds off the bike, and you were just asking for fatigue failures.

Similarly off-topic, and it's my last transient from Shiny's post, about 30 years ago, I was campaigning a 1975 Honda Civic in SCCA-Solo 2 competition. I had a fellow club chapter member/friend with a mid-60s Mini. He was doing everything he could to lighten that beast to get some tradeoff for that tiny little motor. He removed his complete engine subframe and front suspension and spent days drilling holes everywhere he could to remove "excess" weight. Put it all back together after weighing his parts. The only thing he forgot to do was weigh them BEFORE the drill-fest!

He wound up sweeping up all the drill shavings and weighed THEM to figure out how much he had saved. About 10 ounces when it was all swept up. Front suspension collapsed on him driving out of his shop to put on the trailer for the weekend race. About 20 of us standing around almost crapped our pants laughing. :yahoo:

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

The other thing is that if you get the bike set up right for the lighter rider, you will be carrying less inertia into twisties and the bike will seem more flickable. The bike should be even more fun to ride.

A very valid point I hadn't really considered. And with less inertia there would be less need for heavy countersteering input -- AKA flickable.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

About 20 of us standing around almost crapped our pants laughing. :yahoo:

Did you crap into a chimney ? h34r:

Hell, ya eat less and weigh less there are fewer pit stops which means more riding time per day available...

 

[rublenoon]

Shiny,

Good luck in your effort! I know it can be done and the health benefits are well worth the effort. I lost over 100 lbs [exact claim is lost due to the fact that the bathroom scale limit (300#) would wave as it passed]. I have keep it off for two+ years. My main recommendation is keep working to the goal [there will be hills and valleys]. Keep going.

Regarding the FJR handling before and after weight loss, with a Penske rear and a GP front. As WC said the after is very harsh over sharp transitions [RRX, major expansion joints and cupped pot holes], even with the sag reset. The after is even more fun at unhappy LEO pace and in the curves the bike is double fine.

Ride safe and if you start keep going.

Rublenoon

 

[UselessPickles]

What hasn't been touched on is that it is much easier, and probably less expensive, to remove 100 pounds from the rider than from the ride.

I don't think that's an option for me because I doubt I would be in any shape to ride a motorcycle at 30lbs...

 

[rublenoon]

deleted double post :blink:

 

[El Toro]

When Ducati came out with their 1098 (I think that's the one), they had a huge weight reduction campaign, and it was highlighted in an issue of the magazine published by the Society of Automotive Engineers the following year.

Basically, what they said their goal had been was to take 10 grams off of each of 1000 parts. That would lead to a 10 kg reduction for the bike, which would be about 22 pounds. When you look at bikes that have been designed with the goal to minimize weight (no ST type bikes that I know of), you can see just how carefully they've considered every piece.

 

[bramfrank]

Deleted by poster

 

[CHRIS_D]

Hi Shiney,

I wish you the best of luck to my Copper Canyon Amigo (see Don I'm trying to learn the Mexican spanish language). Just be sure to go to the best doctor that you or your insurance can afford. Keep us informed!