My FJR killed a Harley today

[Ari Rankum]

I like this picture.

 

[Fjroamer]

... and then somedays, you have to eat some humble pie!

Anyone in the Pac N.W. is aware of the Mt. St. Helens "twisties".

Last summer a riding friend of many yrs. headed down there with the "corner scorcher" group. He rides a tricked out Boxer Cup Replica (which will give most any Feejer fits in the tight stuff), there were a couple Ducatis and a CBR 1000R. They left the parking lot after kicking tires and looking at a new Harley "Street Rod" model. Several miles later the Harley catches up with them and then passes to their astonishment. Occassional sparks were flying but he managed to pass all but the lead bike. A few miles later at a turn out, they all congregate and sheepishly approach the Harley to chat. Turns out the guy was a retired semi-pro flat tracker. These things happen and I do not question this episode in any way.

then you get to feeling somewhat invincible, sailing along at 150 mph in the wide open, only have a Hayabusa quietly glide on past, seemingly effortless.

I love my FJR but will never be deluded into thinking it's some "bad-ASS" machine. Egos fall, eventually.

Given the right road, bike and rider, most anything is possible!

 

[nusman68]

So I’m riding up I95 from Richmond to Woodbridge on my 90 mile ride to work this morning minding my own business running about 90 in the left lane. I glance in my mirror and see a Harley FXHTPQRT gaining on me fairly strong. No big deal he goes on by in the right lane normal Harley style, not even acknowledging me or my bike. So it goes like this he passes me, I pass him because I find a better way to thread through the traffic he passes again this time a little more aggressive. So we get a break in traffic and I roll it on a bit passing him. 100mph he's still behind me, 110 still there, 120 yep running strong, 125 fading fast, 130 were did he go? I have to look way back in my mirror to see the Harley decelerating rapidly while pulling of to the shoulder.
Chris G

Chris, the poor SOB pulled off because he had to dump the H-D brand oil that filled up his H-D brand boots that was burning his feet inside his H-D brand socks when one of the pushrods detonated after hitting 125 mph....after that, he had to consult his 'H-D edition' Rand McNally road map (yes, these exist, I kept seeing them for sale at truck stops from TX to CA) to figure out where the nearest H-D dealer was...

 

[Fred H.]

I like this picture.

Click here for the original full size version.

https://www.pbase.com/fredharmon/image/22645208/original

 

[evil_henchman]

... and then somedays, you have to eat some humble pie!
Anyone in the Pac N.W. is aware of the Mt. St. Helens "twisties".

Last summer a riding friend of many yrs. headed down there with the "corner scorcher" group. He rides a tricked out Boxer Cup Replica (which will give most any Feejer fits in the tight stuff), there were a couple Ducatis and a CBR 1000R. They left the parking lot after kicking tires and looking at a new Harley "Street Rod" model. Several miles later the Harley catches up with them and then passes to their astonishment. Occassional sparks were flying but he managed to pass all but the lead bike. A few miles later at a turn out, they all congregate and sheepishly approach the Harley to chat. Turns out the guy was a retired semi-pro flat tracker. These things happen and I do not question this episode in any way.

then you get to feeling somewhat invincible, sailing along at 150 mph in the wide open, only have a Hayabusa quietly glide on past, seemingly effortless.

I love my FJR but will never be deluded into thinking it's some "bad-ASS" machine. Egos fall, eventually.

Given the right road, bike and rider, most anything is possible!

No doubt! I took the lead on a group of CBR's and R1's on a KLR650 on Ice House Rd off of Hwy 50 below Tahoe. In the serious twisties that bike (or any large dirt bike) will keep up with anything. Didn't last long though. As soon as the road straightened out at all the sporties got really small really quick. What fun!

 

[Bounce]

Here we go again - Harley bashing. Well its been at least a day or two since the last tirade. Shouldn't these threads go directly to the Never Ending Pointless section?

Nope. They have a point. HD's suck ass cheese! :Snorkle:

 

[gr8eyes]

That KLR must have had supermoto tires, certainly not dual sport tires. Correct?

Glenn

 

[parnellIII]

Here we go again - Harley bashing. Well its been at least a day or two since the last tirade. Shouldn't these threads go directly to the Never Ending Pointless section?

Well I guess they get tired of bashing the heat issue on the bike of choice.

 

[exskibum]

No doubt! I took the lead on a group of CBR's and R1's on a KLR650 on Ice House Rd off of Hwy 50 below Tahoe. In the serious twisties that bike (or any large dirt bike) will keep up with anything. Didn't last long though. As soon as the road straightened out at all the sporties got really small really quick. What fun!

No doubt that a large dual sport with the right tires will handle twisties well. But let's be clear about the most important component -- the skill of the rider. You get an equally good rider on a CBR 1000RR, R1, GSXR 1000, RC51, 954, Mille, even a 600 or 750 sport bike and the difference is going to show up. A lot of these things ARE race bikes, modified jsut enough to be street legal. Not everyone can ride them to their potential, but put equally good riders on an R1 and a KLR650, and the R1 will pull away on every part of the ride (as long as you stay on reasonably smooth pavement). On the other hand, you put a top notch pro racer on most anything over 500cc with tires for the task while you or I ride the tweaked and tuned R1, and we'll either get drubbed or crash out trying to keep up.

While I think most Harley devotees are hacks in terms of skill, that's certainly not always the case. The V-Rod story is a great example, and that bike works well enough to allow a good rider to embarass a lesser one. Made me grin to read that, because a couple weeks ago I was riding with an ex flat tracker (a couple of them, actually) with his wife on the back of his XX. They ride a lot and all over together, and at 50+ yrs old, they will embarass many a solo rider when they're two up.

It's mostly the rider, not the bike.

 

[evil_henchman]

That KLR must have had supermoto tires, certainly not dual sport tires. Correct?
Glenn

If I remember correctly my favorite all around combo was IRC GP-1 on the rear (dual sport with lots of stick) and Metzler Tourance up front. A lot of knobbies will corner just fine too but they get destroyed in no time on pavement. A little squirrley feeling but plenty do-able.

exskibum you're right about the skill thing. Those guys clearly weren't very good. No wait! I meant to say that I'm clearly so outrageously good

 

[Powerman]

Hey Chris G, I think I've seen you a few times. I drive from Fredericksburg to Newington daily.

But not on my 06 FJR, I have to drive my darn work van! I see alot of nice bikes passing me in the HOV lanes.

I won money off two R-1 guys when the girl on the tweaked Honda 650 Hawk GT kicked their asses on the local mountain twisties. Fifty bucks each!

 

[ChrisG]

Hey Chris G, I think I've seen you a few times. I drive from Fredericksburg to Newington daily.But not on my 06 FJR, I have to drive my darn work van! I see alot of nice bikes passing me in the HOV lanes.

You may have but i never get on the HOV. I get off at Fort Belvoir RT1 because the HOV puts me to far north near Lorton to make it worth taking. If you see a guy on an 06 with a worn out Vanson and a red, white and black Colin Edwards rep Aria that's me. I used to be on an old BMWK100RT, ugly and green but it got the job done. What service van do you drive?

 

[Bikewhore]

Here we go again - Harley bashing. Well its been at least a day or two since the last tirade. Shouldn't these threads go directly to the Never Ending Pointless section?

I am with ya brother. People ride for different reasons. Why do people add pipes, cams, carbs, and stuff like that to a bike that's not built for performance?

Because they can. Most people who ride HD know exactly what they have and what it can do. There are tools who ride HD just as there are tools who ride other brands. I know more than a few newish sportbike riders with 185mph 600s (with lots of throttle left they say).

There are people who are clueless all over the place. It's not a "what you ride" thing ...it's a moron thing.

oh, and I live in Fredericksburg. Right on your way in to work. Only I commute to the east.

 

[Powerman]

Bikewhore, where do you live? I live on 17N just past Geico.

I drive a white Tate Engineering van, I work on boiler controls.

 

[krashdragon]

It's mostly the rider, not the bike.

I have to agree with that.... long story short... a good rider can slide an Electra Glide sideways on

Ca 101....

and yes..he used to race flat track...

Wasn't intentional but still..hey, it was a nice day for going fast!

Mary

 

[jdog109socal]

Dam i love these stories... HD they are built for slow short rides

Jdog

 

[Derek]

a harley rider told me that riding a jap bike was alot like face fucking a fag. it's alot of fun till somebody sees you doing it. i told him that i'd have to take his word on that one.

derek

 

[Bearly Flying]

So you took him up on his offer then.....

 

[exskibum]

Most people who ride HD know exactly what they have and what it can do.

I agree with a lot of what you say in this post, but not this -- mostly because of the adjective "most". If that were true, "most" Harley riders would know that hands at shoulder height and legs forward IS NOT a position in which you're really in control. And if that were true, we wouldn't have tools on Harleys think they're going to run down anything but a newby squid on a sport bike -- but many do think that.

There are tools who ride HD just as there are tools who ride other brands.

I dead flat AGREE with that statement!!!!

I know more than a few newish sportbike riders with 185mph 600s (with lots of throttle left they say).

You can only be talking about a factory race bike if it displaces somewhere around 600 CCs and will do 185. Nothing sold for the road will do that. Anyone who owns a 600 cc road bike and says it will do that has quickly proven your "tool" postulate.

There are people who are clueless all over the place. It's not a "what you ride" thing ...it's a moron thing.

Amen! But, keep in mind that Harley is one of the all time mareketing success stories -- if you're my age and have ridden most of your life, you know the story as well as I do. They took a company circling the Bankruptcy drain and not only turned it around, but sold the brand into business history -- WITHOUT significant technological achievements, despite the fact that competing RICER brands were charting new performance and reliability territory. I'm not only dumbfounded, but genuinely respectful of that achievement.

But . . . the fact is that THAT leads to some natural consequences. First, many of the middle age "RUBs" or overnight "bad asses" or suddenly enhanced phallus types that such marketing appeals to buy Harley, precisely because of that A+ marketing effort. Few of those types get riding skills from osmosis, or from reading Harley ad copy and they sell a metric shitload (or is that an SAE shitload?) of motorcycles. Hence: you get a disproportionate number of tools on Harleys. I've said it often: not ALL Harley riders are hacks and as soon as you think so, one's going to clean your clock on a V-Rod, but if you play the averages, you will do very well at the betting window -- WAY too many ego enhanced tools on Hardleys. (Saw it again today -- if you make a lot of noise in the straights and then park it in the corners, you do not have my respect as a skilled rider, even if I do give you lots of credit for "getting it" about why we all ride.)

Let's be clear on one thing. I've been riding a long time (though I'm not the best rider I know by some distance) and at one time during my riding life, Harley WAS the best big bike to ride. What I and others who feel like I do resent about Harley riders (the ONLY thing I resent about Harley riders) is that overbearing obnoxious attitude that THEY ride a real motorcycle, and that simply by paying the inflated price to own one (and by making it un-fucking-bearably loud), they're a REAL motorcyclist, but I'm not . . . despite the fact that I can take most of them to school to the point of crashing them out if we were really racing. NONE of that applies to a Harley rider who truly loves the way only a Harley feels and loves to ride enough to have also gained some skills. Still, he'd be at a disadvantage in terms of machine, though I'm the first to say that it's the RIDER that makes the most difference.

I have a dream --- and it's Rossi on a 74 CI Shovelhead riding twisties against me on an R1 after I've had lots of time to practice on it and he's had none. Hmmmmmm??? Is that ENOUGH of a handicap to beat him??? Would Rossi get on such a bike without being paid millions???

 

[Pepperell]

Amen! But, keep in mind that Harley is one of the all time mareketing success stories -- if you're my age and have ridden most of your life, you know the story as well as I do. They took a company circling the Bankruptcy drain and not only turned it around, but sold the brand into business history -- WITHOUT significant technological achievements, despite the fact that competing RICER brands were charting new performance and reliability territory. I'm not only dumbfounded, but genuinely respectful of that achievement.

Actually, the marketing BS came a bit later. The REAL achievement was lobbying your federal gummint to put an import duty on bikes over 700cc. (Side note: don't know who converted inches to cc's for these clowns.) This at a time when Japan's biggest sellers were all 750's! The result was that the Japanese learned how to get 750 performance out of 700cc's, which is why the fastest bikes are from not-USA.

Pepperell