Musings of an aging FJR rider

[SwollenRaccoon]

Great opinions from everyone, as usual. Lots of smart, common-sense people here.

I know a little about what you're facing. I, too, am 56 years old. I tend toward my mother's side of the family, genetics-wise. She was a working registered nurse for 50 years, so spent a lot of time on her feet, working hard. She has had both shoulders extensively repaired, and had both knees and both hips replaced. Seven years ago I had arthroscopic knee surgery (nothing bad), and a year ago had one shoulder rebuilt, so I've started down that torturous path, hoping it doesn't get as bad as my mom's.

A couple of people have mentioned it, delicately, above, but I'll be an ass-hat and push it further. Do yourself a favor and work out every day. I'm not talking running marathons or pumping enough iron to look like Hercules. Lift light weights, and get aerobic exercise however you can.....bike, exercise bike, elliptical, swimming, treadmill, whatever. But do it every day, no excuses. It hurts, it sucks, it's no fun, but you will feel better after every workout. I promise. After working a 10-hour day (mostly behind a desk), when I get home, the last thing I want to do is work out. But I have forced myself to do it, and you can too. Protect that workout time as much as you would protect happy hour every evening. It is worth it.

Sorry for the digression. As others have stated, ride a bunch of bikes. Get what makes you excited. Motorcycles are emotional pleasure machines, and you should get the one that tingles your danglies. And if the wife is less than secure feeling on bikes anymore, get a convertible and enjoy the scenery when you both need a getaway.

Go get 'em. Life moves fast. Let 'er rip. Good luck!

 

[Bounce]

Buy the K1600 GTL and keep the FJR for a while longer. Definitely a K-Bike in my future but will always have the FJR.

get the wing, the reliability, and the support network that comes with it. the Bring More Wampum path is fraught with fraughtful fraughtfulness.

 

[CA G-Man]

Totally get where you're coming from - get the Wing and enjoy everything it offers. Respectfully though to you and the rest of the crew here, I wouldn't see the FJR as my 2nd bike if I was Wingin' it as my primary ride. I would go for something smaller, lighter and more (dare I say it) fun!
Bugnatr has his KTM990, I've got an FZ1, and there are dozens of other bikes that are ergonomically manageable but would seem to be less work than an FJR for enjoying a 2 wheeled ride that doesn't take you 100's of miles from home.

Agreed. The FJR is my "do it all" bike and I love it, but if I was looking for something "fun" as a 2nd bike to ride on shorter weekend/evening rides it would be something a lot smaller and lighter than the FJR. I would consider a Wing to be more of an alternative to the FJR, not really complementary to it.

 

[LgFJR]

Your entire post is screaming get the WING for the wife and you to have fun on.........lol..........I don't see the need to keep the FJR..........I ride with 2 Goldwing guys (2008-2009) a BMW1600GTL (2012) a BMWk1300GT (2010) and a couple of chromed out HD guys..........you have coverage all over the country for the Wings............the K1300GT just blew the rear end out..........and the guy with the 1600GT is a retired Airline Captain and even he is dreading the 18K mile checkup..........the Beemers are beautiful but way too spendy for what they do IMO only. Have fun while you can, this life goes by super fast.....................

 

[FJRMGM]

Ride your own bike. If that's an FJR, then fine. If that's a 'Wing, then fine. If it's something else, then fine.

You are at the age where the last thing you should give a fook about is what someone else thinks about what you choose to ride.

 

[Bugnatr]

We are the same age, 575 mile days back to back is not as easy as it used to be. Sell her bike, get a used Wing and keep your Feejeer for the solo rides, in a year you will know if this combo works for you. Do it while you can is my motto

 

[ndivita]

Swollen Racoon, this is is superlative advice. Your comments are evidence that at our age, one big reason to workout is so you can ride longer and more comfortably. I work out 3-4 times a week and will continue to do so. But my health and strength bucket has a genetic hole in the bottom, if you will. I can handle the FJR on long rides but not nearly so well as it handles me. My wife needs a motorcycle like she needs another hole in her head. The Wing seems to be the solution to marital togetherness, avoiding my wife's fearfulness and my dawning realization that my virility need not be tied to riding a high powered sport touring machine. These are the kind of problems it's good to have.

 

[SwollenRaccoon]

Amen, brother! Hallelujah! Sounds like you just talked yourself into what you already knew to be correct. The new adventure starts now!

 

[ctfjr]

Well, good luck with your decision - whatever it is. My previous 2 rides were Wings. The first one I sold with 125K miles on her and the second had 140K. Then (2008) I flew down to Culman, AL & bought my FJR (at age 62). I find I am not riding as much as I used to - my last 'big' ride was cross country so I could ride the west coast & the last 3 North American states I hadn't ridden in (CA, OR & WA). I can't blame the bike for my lack of riding - 2 years ago I picked up an '11 STI. It has gotten me back into cars. Even though I occasionally track the car, as soon as I get onto the FJR I feel my ears hurting from smiling so much. A custom seat is all the bike requires for me for serious riding (> 10 hours/day).

I think your Mustang will suit you fine for the togetherness you seem to require with the wifey. Why not use the FJR to do some serious riding & have the wife fly/drive out to meet you at interesting places. You could always rent a car there to see the local sights. Then she could fly home & you could ride home. The best of bith worlds.

 

[JamesW]

Eight years ago, I bought my first FJR, a brand new 2005 model. I had a number of great rides on that bike. I loved it so much that after 42,000 miles (and one Iron Butt SS1000 certificate) I could not resist the temptation to trade it for the 2013 model that now sits in my garage after a 3500 mile solo round trip to the West Coast. I got heat exhaustion on the way back in southern Arizona, thank you. It was my fault of course in a hostile environment that left little margin for error. That did not make me feel any younger or smarter.
I was 48 in 2005. I'm 56 now. I am in good overall health, and I try to work out regularly, but I am fighting a set of bad genes. Orthopedic and weight issues haunt my family, so I am swimming upstream. Time is not on my side. I am wiser than I was in 2005, thanks to many chronic errors in thinking that I have worked hard to correct. I am starting to feel my age physically and mentally despite my efforts to push back with diet and exercise.

Then there's my wife. God bless her. I love her so. She learned to ride (I mean got her license) back in 2011. She has a bike but her attitude toward riding is more one of fear than respect for the process and the machine. She sees riding as something we can do "together" not a sport or hobby she wants to pursue on her own. She likes to ride but it makes her (and me) extremely anxious. She's a great partner but it exhausts me to take her riding, with me on my bike and she on hers. We do much better two up, but not on the FJR. We have been on two trips together on the 2005 FJR. They did not go very well. Comfort issues predominated for her. She is 2 years younger than I am and while she has a far better gene pool to work with, she does not exercise at all.

Back in 2010, we flew to Phoenix, rented a Gold Wing and rode to the Grand Canyon, Zion NP etc. We had a glorious time. I loved the Gold Wing for all the reasons people love Gold Wings, she loved how comfortable, roomy and user friendly it was. It stuck with us, but I had it in mind that I could not, would not, give up my FJR. I don't want more than one bike. I did that and it's too much hassle. Several years ago, in a nod toward the conceit that I could remain young forever, I had two bikes. The other one was a Honda Blackbird. Fun yes, but a step in the opposite direction of the one I am now pondering.

You see where this is headed. I am toying with the idea of selling my nearly new FJR (now with 5,000 miles on the odo), selling her bike, and getting a true touring bike for us to use, be it Gold Wing, Victory or dare I say, K1600GTL. The obvious choice would be a Wing, Comfort and togetherness with the wife instead of storming around the nation solo on an FJR, in other words.

I fear I am thinking too hard about this, but I tend to see the FJR as a proxy for my desire to remain a "young man." It does everything you could ask of a motorcycle but on the long haul trips, however, between the riding position, the wind protection, and the tendency to break all speed limit laws, I sometimes just want a bike that is oriented more toward comfort and calm. I have added Heli Bars, a tall Cee Bailey wind shield, and a Corbin touring saddle. The recent trip out west took it out of me. I averaged 575 miles a day, which may be nothing to some of you (younger) guys but it's a stretch for me anymore.

I don't know why I am agonizing so much over this. I like taking my wife two up on Gold Wing, but I won't do it anymore on an FJR. She is simply not going to ride her bike anywhere long distance and I don't want to get into trailering two bikes somewhere just so she can ride her bike timidly and make me a nervous wreck at 8,000 feet somewhere in Colorado. I do want to spend more time with her on a motorcycle just not on an FJR and just not while she is riding her own bike (She scares me to death when she rides her own bike, let's just say it). I feel awful leaving her behind when I go on a long trip by myself. We are both acutely aware of how fleeting life is and we do want to spend as much time as possible together. If I needed a trip without her, say when my older brother comes to town with his bike (a very rare occurrence anymore) she would understand that and the Wing could obviously be put to good use solo.

I feel that if I give up the FJR, I am somehow surrendering something of my youth and masculinity (which time, entropy and gravity are taking from me anyway). I admit I love the FJR's ability to pass a line of six cars a time without breaking a sweat, but I also like to feel like I have not been caned at the end of the day's ride. There's no amount of farkling at my age that can overcome a family history of weight challenges and multiple hip, shoulder and knee transplants. Did I mention that I have bad genes?

Am I the only one who wrestles with these issues?

Thoughtful opinions welcomed.

Respectfully submitted....

Speaking from the far side of my 50s, a used wing would be a multi-functional acquisition, nothing older than 2006, and get one with the comfort pkg. DO NOT SELL THE FJR. I have both a 2008 fjr and a 2006 wing with the heated grips and seats (comfort pkg.)Love the hell out of the fjr but with moma or my hip acting up it is the wingabaggo. All however depends on you.

 

[Longrider]

You have it figured out, next step do it. My wife does not ride but I am over 78 years old. The FJR is becoming too top heavy and just plain too much for me to handle.

I want to keep riding, but shorter days and trips. Purchased a non current Yamaha Stryker and will probably sell my 04 FJR soon.

Keep up the exercise program and ride with your wife. Life is good on two wheels.

Longrider

 

[Yroundrdn]

Keep the wife happy I say. I enjoy the long rides too but much better with someone to share it with. For now my '05 is the perfect do everything bike. I commute daily, rip through the roads for the adrenaline as needed, and ride comfortably with wife. However, I know we/she will need a more comfortable seat back there some day. When that day comes I hope to keep the FJR running for me and something fat and squishy for us.

If you have to sell the FJR to make it happen, there are some great deals out there on low mile Gen 1's. Just a thought...

 

[Goodman4]

Good advice already given, but I'll add that I don't think you should feel the Wing is giving in at all. If I could afford one, I'd LOVE to have one. Actually I was shopping around for a used Goldwing at the beginning of last year for the wife and I to take longer trips when I found a guy in Hopkinsville selling a used FJR. She loved the way it felt and "talked" me into buying it. Now I'm taking Total Control classes and trying to figure out how I ended up with a sport bike that thinks it's a tourer. I'm loving the FJR, but I am hoping a Wing is in my future after my daughter finishes college. I want us to ride to Montana and my wife just isn't quite up for that distance on it even though we keep increasing our capabilities.

 

[Steel_Gin]

As they say, Happy wife happy life. I see a lot of people talking about the Gold Wing here, but don't forget about the Yamaha Venture. I think it's a solid touring bike that is worth the time to look over at the very least.

Good luck with your decision and say on two wheels as long as you can!! And since you are leaning toward selling the FJR, stick around, once you ride a FJR you will always have FJR running through your blood!!

 

[bbdig]

Sounds like you just want someone to tell you to buy the Wing. Do it. everybody is different and times change.

I am 71 and the bride of 46years is 69. We just came back from a 10,420 mile trip to the PNW and back over 34 days. The key for us riding the FJR was the Russel Day Long seat, we are both a little larger then average and it made a world of difference. However I have never let the bride get on a Wing, that way I don't have to listen to "maybe we should".

At the same time I must admit I was looking for a used Wing back in 04 when I bought the FJR.

We all get MMS(multiple motorcycle syndrome) sooner or later and must learn to deal with it. Have fun and enjoy the day

 

[garyahouse]

Why you asking us? There's only one person that really matters. Ask her. Make sure she knows that her opinion stands above all ours.

 

[Fred W]

Listen to bbdig. He may not know much about computers, but he knows how to live happily married (to the same woman) a long time, while also riding 2-up across country. Those two kids are a hoot.

As for you, Mr Original Poster, you are not "too old" for two up riding on an FJR. I know that with 100% certainty because I am precisely the same age as you, and I have no intent whatsoever to stop that activity any time soon.

As bbdig said, the key to two-up touring comfort is getting out your wallet and paying for a Russell Daylong seat no matter how much the shape disgusts you. That, a pair of bar risers, a touring trunk on the back (back rest for the missus) and you'll be in good shape for doing some longer tours on the FJR that you'll both love.

There is no need for an Old Wing. If you really want one, then sure... knock yourself out. But you won't catch me on one of those 2 wheeled land barges. I'd rather just give up 2 wheeling altogether and buy a little 2 seater convertible than ride anything that immense. I just do not see how adding a couple hundred pounds of bike will make riding any more enjoyable two up?

 

[bgross]

Why you asking us? There's only one person that really matters. Ask her. Make sure she knows that her opinion stands above all ours.

Gary, you hit it on the head... again.

 

[Fred W]

Why you asking us? There's only one person that really matters. Ask her. Make sure she knows that her opinion stands above all ours.

Gary, you hit it on the head... again.

If this stuff works for you guys, that's great. If I ever told my wife her opinion mattered more than anyone else's (including mine) our lives would never be the same. Our 36 years of relative bliss is predicated on equality not egos.

YMMV

 

[Geezer]

I tell my wife what to do and she does as she pleases.