More FJRs going down?

[madmike2]

:rofl:

 

[Nightshift]

[

But, I do think that there are lots more low speed accidents/drops with the HD riders. All that heavy chrome at slow speeds makes for danger. All that leather fringe, oh my!

I rented a HD Hertage softail classic last week out in Texas and went riding in the Hill country. It was alot of fun and nice scenery. But I tell ya those bikes are heavy and you can't turn very fast or accellerate away from danger like you can in the FJR. I can see why MC fatalities are going up in the last three yrs and I don't have the data to back it, but with so many big Harleys on the roads these days I think that is more of a reason to say a HD is a dangerous bike. I live in Pinellas CY FL which is a densely populated area. I think I could get whacked by a car in the traffic down here way faster on a HD than my 04 FJR.

Mick

 

[dcarver]

I think, given the 'age demographics' for the average FJR owner.. that this is the most bike they have ever owned. More brakes, handling, suspension, horsepower.. An analogy.. the modern day dirt bikes.. you fall down less due to great suspension and handling.. but boy oh boy when you hit the dirt now the dirt is much harder... Same thing for the FJR.. fast, brakes great, handles great.. but if you are sloppy... don't pay attention..

"Motorcycling is not inherently dangerous. But, to an even greater extent than the sea, it is unrelentingly unforgiving of mistakes."....

 

[chornbe]

If I had to guess, people are getting suckered in by the power and handling of the bike, and pushing it a bit too far for the bike's or their own limits. I had a few moments yesterday chasing some CBRs, Gixxers and Fizzies around. It would have been real easy to push harder and enter the bad place in my riding. The power the bike tosses at the street, seemingly without even trying, can lull you in to some false sense of sport bike nirvana. A good rider on an FJR can keep up, but I'd suggest keeping towards the rear of the line and don't go for the heroics.

$.02

Might I make an observation, and I hope it isn't totally pointless.
It's just my observation in my short time being here. It certainly isn't statistically proper.

I was pretty active in the Pacific Coast owner's forums/lists, and the ZR-7 lists, and it occurs to me that there are way more stories here of drops and get-offs on the FJR.

How to explain this? Perhaps there are just more people here? Or do we ride our FJRs harder? (That wouldn't explain all the low speed dumps).

It's actually quite alarming. I half expect to wreck mine any day. I know the old saying about two types of riders: "those who have been down, and those who are going down."

But still . .

This bike doesn't strike me as particularly unwieldy. I've had a couple of moments with my foot down--a slight slip, a little more effort than I thought--but otherwise no really close calls. Knock on wood.

Glad I got Skyway's sliders on mine, now, though.

 

[ejworthen]

I think, given the 'age demographics' for the average FJR owner.. that this is the most bike they have ever owned. More brakes, handling, suspension, horsepower.. An analogy.. the modern day dirt bikes.. you fall down less due to great suspension and handling.. but boy oh boy when you hit the dirt now the dirt is much harder... Same thing for the FJR.. fast, brakes great, handles great.. but if you are sloppy... don't pay attention..
"Motorcycling is not inherently dangerous. But, to an even greater extent than the sea, it is unrelentingly unforgiving of mistakes."....

I have to agree with this. I know the FJR is the most powerful bike I've ever owned. It has made me much more cautious when riding it. I'd rather work my way up to it's performance abilities than dive in and cause myself or the bike damage.

 

[sprint_st]

I'm no HD fan by any means but someone said something about poor low speed handling of HD's. Actually, IMO that is one of their strong points. I do agree with some comments on demographics which might give FJR drivers more in common with HD drivers than they may care to admit. First, having the bucks to buy a bike has no connection to the experience to ride it. Second, the age of FJR and HD drivers is significantly higher than sport bike drivers. Last but not least, if you rode a anywhere in the 60's through the early 80's and are getting back to riding, the performance levels of the new bikes is just so much higher. An FJR is a powerful and large beast capable of doing outstanding things. It demands more experience, concentration and ability than many of us don't have anymore.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I think many of us (not most or all) just need to work up the skills needed to ride in a sporty fashion - I know I did.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

I think that with 2900 members, we should be hearing of about 29-50 accidents per year.

 

[LGizmo]

just to add another perspective.. I ride an 05 and being around 5'10" and only weighing a skinny 135 lbs I have issues with the Top Heaviness and ride height of my FJR. I can just flat foot it on flat pavement when I'm moved fully up against the tank. In the past 2 seasons I've actually dropped her 3 times and lowsided her once. All of the drops were multi-camber stops under different circumstances. The lowside was mainly overpowering the rear tire(BT020) in and uphill hairpin at Deal's Gap. All of these are due to rider error with a little added help from the bikes characteristics.

I do have to say I get a chuckle out of comments of how the FJR is not a true sportbike and can't/shouldn't be riden like one. I for one drag kneepucks when riding the FJR in serious twisties and know for a fact that a fully loaded FJR on stock suspension is more then enough SPORTBIKE then most will ever need and can humble many "true" sportbike riders....

Just my experiance.... Oh and I only have a measly 17K on the ODO...lol

 

[petey]

I think an FJR is more bike than most of us have the skill to match its ability and performance, and that is easy to forget. But, it sure is a lot of fun. :yahoo: With caution (riding your own ride) and some common sense, the fun factor riding it (in twisties ) is priceless.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

Let's beat this horse some more.

The same things that can get you in trouble are also things that can save your butt.

The power can get you out of problems faster than most bikes can.

The ABS has helped a number us avoid accidents that we thought would have happened had we not had ABS. The handling of the bike has also saved a few of us from SUV's crossing double yellows in turns and other accident avoidance situations.

I think there are a lot more virtues of the FJR that help us prevent accidents than there are that would help to cause them WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER BIKES. The bottom line is this: Since we have the most to lose, it is in our best interest to avoid crashes and to be really, really good at situational awareness. However, it is impossible to be prepared for every eventuality at all times and someday, if not already, that will catch up with us. Take caution against the crash, and take precautions for the crash. ATGATT

 

[fjrchik]

It must be the Metzlers.

 

[weekend rider]

After some deep thought I have come to a simple solution. I treat my fjr as I would treat a loaded gun

If it sits there it will never harm you but once you roll that throttle on heading down the road it is as dangerous as a loaded weapon, so I ride with respect The bike aint going to hurt you, it is you or some other thing or person that ruins a perfectly good day and your bike.

" You have no one to blame but your self" quoted from the guy who did not do it

weekend rider

 

[BeeLine]

Found a set of insurance stat's on motorcycle crashes:

https://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insuran...e_sort_739024=7

Looks like a large number of crashes now are older riders (40+). Many of these are people getting back into it after years of not riding.

When you’re starting out you take it one step at a time and build up your abilities (most accidents for young riders are when they try to short circuit this process).

When getting back into something like motorcycling after many years your mental recollections of what you can do are going to be much more optimistic than the reality of what you can do and the temptation is to start again where you left off. I would suspect that many folks getting FJRs are in this category (myself included). It can't be over emphasized taking the beginner MSF class when getting back into riding, MHO.

 

[madmike2]

I remember something that "Sharp" (ffmedic; Dan) said at the first WFO (WFO-2) I attended in Santa Rosa, CA. In the meeting before the ride he stated, "The FJR is a siren. She will lure you into thinking she is a sport bike and can handle anything that happens. The problem is that she is really a 650 pound sport-touring bike and will remind you as soon as you are in over your head."

At times, I have forgotten his words of wisdom yet, for my own good I continue to remind myself. This bike is soooo able and forgiving that there are times I find myself carrying more speed than I should and at that speed, a momentary mental lapse or bad decision can have terrible and critical results.

Lately there have been a number of FJRs "horizontal" with the horizon. I wonder how many of us (especially those who have dropped their bike), if we were to make an absolutely honest appraisal of our own actions, might find that amidst the clues was an errant decision or mental lapse at speed?

As the old saying goes, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall? Practice...practice...practice!"

And puh-leeze be aware of your mental state every time you ride. Sometimes being in "Cruiser Mode" ain't such a bad thing.

The above posting is by a very guilty individual FJR pilot.

 

[BeeLine]

I remember something that "Sharp" (ffmedic; Dan) said at the first WFO (WFO-2) I attended in Santa Rosa, CA. In the meting before the ride he stated, "The FJR is a siren. She will lure you into thinking she is a sport bike and can handle anything that happens. The problem is that she is really a 650 pound sport-touring bike and will remind you as soon as you are in over your head."The above posting is by a very guilty individual FJR pilot.

Couldn't agree more with this. My last road racing bike was a early 60's Norton Manx and dispite popular folk lore they did not handle all that well and nothing like a modern day bike. In comparison to an FJR it was a real struggle to manuver and no where near as fast. One big difference though... about 375 lbs.

 

[exskibum]

I remember something that "Sharp" (ffmedic; Dan) said at the first WFO (WFO-2) I attended in Santa Rosa, CA. In the meting before the ride he stated, "The FJR is a siren. She will lure you into thinking she is a sport bike and can handle anything that happens. The problem is that she is really a 650 pound sport-touring bike and will remind you as soon as you are in over your head."
At times, I have forgotten his words of wisdom yet, for my own good I continue to remind myself. This bike is soooo able and forgiving that there are times I find myself carrying more speed than I should and at that speed, a momentary mental lapse or bad decision can have terrible and critical results.

Mike, I think you've hit the most of it. The other part, IMO (and I'm sure I'll get flamed for it) is that this bike does have a lot of either inexperienced or recently inexperienced (long layoff) riders coming to it -- older, been off bikes for years, etc. That's not to say that the best rider can't have a cager or condition bite him in the ***, but it does say something to frequency of get-offs overall.

And . . . I'm as guilty as you on the grounds you stated. From Red bluff to Fortuna at the end of September, you guys took off before we did. So, with me leading and BBIII behind, we set off alone over 36. I've ridden 36 nine or ten times, and know it reasonably well, but it's long (approx 130 miles) and has some really challenging and unforgiving technical parts mixed in with sweepers. We came up on 3 riders, 2 of whom were on what looked to be SV1000s. The other bike, we passed easily on a straight -- not a really fast rider who was riding smart. The first guy I was following soon passed his friend and took the lead. He was an obviously good rider on a machine that cornered well, and he left us. I was stuck behind his friend.

I wasn't about to force a pass as we got to the really technical section, and he never pulled over to invite me by. As a result, I kept closing the distance in corners and having to back off until he gassed it on the exits, only to have this happen over and over again. My Feejer was loaded as we were changing motels, but it does have aftermarket suspension. Exactly what you say was what I was experiencing -- my bigger, heavier Feejer was easily the match for this better handling sport bike with the rider who was on it (not his friend who left us). And that's the way it went for miles. As you know, however, 36 is one of the most technical roads anywhere, and it changes from one character to another.

Before long, we got to some of the tighter, drop off proximate, highly technical stuff. I started out dropping well back of the rider in front so that I could enjoy the peg scraping quick transition corners without ending up on his ***, and the Feejer DID have me lulled after miles of demonstrating how well it could handle 36. "Damn, I'm riding a good line, and this bike is soooo damn capable" I was thinking. You NAILED it in your description. After the second time I overcooked it into a corner and had to brake carefully (with the bike taking a wider line as the gently applied and then feathered binders stood the bike up), that FJR LULL wore off. Adrenalin will do that to you.

Both my bikes have aftermarket suspension, and by comparison, the pre-upgraded bikes sucked. The XX has stickier tires, better suspension, less unsprung weight, less overall weight, and while it won't match an RC51, Ducati, or most any modern 600, 750 or liter sport bike in handling, it goes a LOT deeper into that pushing it zone than the FJR. I've had both of them on 36 for several crossings. But here's the moral of the story to me: the upgraded FJR handles without a glitch down to a certain point and up to a certain combination of cornering speed and tightening radius. Once you find its sweet spot, it DOES LULL you, because you get used to how you can throw it into the next corner and carve a seamless line (see O'Vale's recent post about how different and stable it feels compared to his DRZ). BUT . . . it won't go much lower, and it won't take that much weight hard into a tighter radius when that is suddenly required, . . . at least, not without a LOT of luck in the traction patch department. (And I'm talking about shifting weight inside off the bike and really riding it, too -- it has its limits, but it doesn't tell you about them until you're almost at them.) The way that manifests itself is by forcing you to go wide, or low siding, and fortunately, it's only the former that I so far have any experience with.

So, I'm another guilty pilot who's been lucky to an extent while I've found those limits. But I think you've hit the primary issue, Mike. If you don't respect it, you find out at the wrong moment that you don't have the handling or evasion margin that you thought you had.

 

[Gary]

Looks like a large number of crashes now are older riders (40+). Many of these are people getting back into it after years of not riding.

Oh crap, that's me...

 

[BBIII]

And . . . I'm as guilty as you on the grounds you stated. From Red bluff to Fortuna at the end of September, you guys took off before we did. So, with me leading and BBIII behind, we set off alone over 36.

+1

And my mistake on that ride was trying to keep up with Rich in the twisty peg scraping sections. Rich is a much better rider than I was, I needed to set my own pace and just slow down. Toecutter has posted a few times that if you are dragging pegs on the street you are going too fast, keep that action for the track.

BTW: Knee is all better, I'm walking about 1 mile a day now. The Ortho doctor said at this point I can't hurt my knee, but it can hurt me.

BB III

 

[cota95]

+1

And my mistake on that ride was trying to keep up with Rich in the twisty peg scraping sections. Rich is a much better rider than I was, I needed to set my own pace and just slow down. Toecutter has posted a few times that if you are dragging pegs on the street you are going too fast, keep that action for the track.

BTW: Knee is all better, I'm walking about 1 mile a day now. The Ortho doctor said at this point I can't hurt my knee, but it can hurt me.

BB III

+1 on riding your own ride.

My son and I went to EOM this year and I was really nervous about riding with a group. I have been riding for the last 40 plus years and, while no grass grows on me, I know I'm not as fast as a lot of the guys that we would meet. My son, while an experienced 27 year old rider, only had 5 weeks on my former '04. I also was concerned that I would ride with my balls and not my head. We ended up riding our own rides just the two of us, and having a great time. I think the next time we attend a group function like EOM we will both be more relaxed and will probably hook with some groups. I also know that I will have no problem dropping out and doing my own thing if I feel I'm riding over my head. More riders should have the same attitude. JMHO