sportTOURING.

[slomoshun]

For years I`ve owned sportbikes and apart from one or two race replicas I`ve found them to be O.K. for touring. Bikes like Honda VTR and VFR have taken me from Ontario to both coasts without undue discomfort and been very entertaining along the way. (The VTR`s range is a diferent matter, 40+ gas stops from home to B.C. :dribble: ) This has was my first season with my FJR and although the experience has been fantastic I find that for a sport tourer she`s a lot more touring than sport. She`s fast for sure, comfortable, with quite a decent range between fill ups and can be parked in any company with pride.

So what`s my point? I`m sorry but I find the riding position to be too upright and wish that the bars would give me a slightly more forward lean. It`s O.K. when I`m plowing on the highway miles or even railing through long sweepers but once on the back roads I feel detatched from the bike and it always seems to me that I`m driving the bike rather riding her. On the sportbikes that I rode in the past moving around on the bike felt natural but doing this on the FJR feels forced and uncomfortable. Hope I get the hang of it before I visit the rhubarb.

slo.

 

[bikesniffer]

For years I`ve owned sportbikes and apart from one or two race replicas I`ve found them to be O.K. for touring. Bikes like Honda VTR and VFR have taken me from Ontario to both coasts without undue discomfort and been very entertaining along the way. (The VTR`s range is a diferent matter, 40+ gas stops from home to B.C. :dribble: ) This has was my first season with my FJR and although the experience has been fantastic I find that for a sport tourer she`s a lot more touring than sport. She`s fast for sure, comfortable, with quite a decent range between fill ups and can be parked in any company with pride. So what`s my point? I`m sorry but I find the riding position to be too upright and wish that the bars would give me a slightly more forward lean. It`s O.K. when I`m plowing on the highway miles or even railing through long sweepers but once on the back roads I feel detatched from the bike and it always seems to me that I`m driving the bike rather riding her. On the sportbikes that I rode in the past moving around on the bike felt natural but doing this on the FJR feels forced and uncomfortable. Hope I get the hang of it before I visit the rhubarb.

slo.

You are without doubt a young pup with the need to move yer balls at all times

so get used to the idea to do the humpin at home and the relaxin' on the feejer :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

[Fred W]

For years I`ve owned sportbikes and apart from one or two race replicas I`ve found them to be O.K. for touring. Bikes like Honda VTR and VFR have taken me from Ontario to both coasts without undue discomfort and been very entertaining along the way. (The VTR`s range is a diferent matter, 40+ gas stops from home to B.C. :dribble: ) This has was my first season with my FJR and although the experience has been fantastic I find that for a sport tourer she`s a lot more touring than sport. She`s fast for sure, comfortable, with quite a decent range between fill ups and can be parked in any company with pride. So what`s my point? I`m sorry but I find the riding position to be too upright and wish that the bars would give me a slightly more forward lean. It`s O.K. when I`m plowing on the highway miles or even railing through long sweepers but once on the back roads I feel detatched from the bike and it always seems to me that I`m driving the bike rather riding her. On the sportbikes that I rode in the past moving around on the bike felt natural but doing this on the FJR feels forced and uncomfortable. Hope I get the hang of it before I visit the rhubarb.

slo.

Try bending your elbows more?

Seriously. there's nothing preventing you from moving around and getting as low as you want.

Hucking a 650 lb bike around... now that's a whole different dilemma. Maybe that is what you are really wrestling with, not the bar height?

PS - FWIW I feel the same way about the FJR. To me it is a sportTOURING bike, and my VFR is a SPORTtouring bike.

 

[user 6393]

I understand your "disconnect" with the bike due to bar position/height.

When I go from either of my bikes, to my friends Kawi ZX12, it's just a whole different game. I feel more a part of the bike in that position than I do when upright.

I have resigned myself to have the full gamut of riding experiences, I will always need more than 1 bike in the garage.

accept it...........move on

 

[blueman]

The obvious trade off is comfort in distance riding. Ever ride a R1 down the interstate for 500 miles.

Way back in the 70's I can remember my friend betting me I could not make it to his house before dark. I rode my 1977 RD-400 expansion chambers ringing in my ears for over 500 miles across the mohave desert in july into central L.A. . And I made it before dark to that dudes house. Its amazing what a 17 year old will do for bragging rights. That was a sport bike!! Just a suggestion, after I adjusted my suspension from info I got on this forum it made a huge differance.

 

[Fred W]

...and stability. Part of what makes the FJR stable at triple digits on the freeway, in dirty truck turbulent air, is the weight of the beast and the (comparably) lax steering angles that make it more of an effort to wrestle around.

 

[jzzmusician]

Had a friend stop by the other day. He rode his Honda 600RR (or something like that) from Seattle to Walla Walla. A distance of just under 300 miles. It did get a bit chilly on Snoqualmie Pass, but other than that it was pretty good weather.

He said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

And this from a guy who rides a bicycle 200+ miles in a single day.

I'll take the FJR anytime. It's fun in the twisties and comfortable on the slab.

 

[Fred W]

Funny that you mention that. I used to ride a bicycle feverishly just a few years back . Make that a decade. I'd jump on and ride all day long. I never did 200 miles in one "sitting" but had no problem knocking that off in 2 days. Remember that cyclists are covering the miles a whole lot slower.

My bike seats were skinny little sadistic rails that wedged themselves cruelly into the tender 'taint region. Yet, because the body was in motion and presumably the blood was always moving, and maybe since you'd get up in the pedals to climb sometimes, there was not much pain after the first few weeks of "training".

I think the problem with our MC positions is that we aren't moving around nearly as much or doing anything much to keep the blood flowing. Flow gets cut off and the tissue starts screaming of the impending necrosis.

Of course my Russell prevents that problem entirely and I really only have to stop when the gas tank is empty. Jumped on the bike today at ~10AM and rode all around Cow Hampshire for my Veterans Day Holiday celebration (yes I am one), rolling back in at a little after dark (5:30PM). Never stopped once except for gas. Not even food!!.

 

[fastpappy]

Adjust the bars forward and adjust the suspension. This bike is meant to do all things well not one thing perfect. ejoy the ride.

 

[RadioHowie]

Adjust the bars forward and adjust the suspension. This bike is meant to do all things well not one thing perfect. ejoy the ride.

Boy you Gen II guys are a spoiled (if not uninformed and/or reading-comprehension challenged) bunch!

"Adjust the bars forward....."

Not so easy on the (already perfect) Gen Is.

 

[slomoshun]

Adjust the bars forward and adjust the suspension. This bike is meant to do all things well not one thing perfect. ejoy the ride.

Boy you Gen II guys are a spoiled (if not uninformed and/or reading-comprehension challenged) bunch!

"Adjust the bars forward....."

Not so easy on the (already perfect) Gen Is.

Now I would have put it more politely, but then I`m Canadian.

slo.

 

[RadioHowie]

Adjust the bars forward and adjust the suspension. This bike is meant to do all things well not one thing perfect. ejoy the ride.

Boy you Gen II guys are a spoiled (if not uninformed and/or reading-comprehension challenged) bunch!

"Adjust the bars forward....."

Not so easy on the (already perfect) Gen Is.

Now I would have put it more politely, but then I`m Canadian a puss.

slo.

And I'm a *******. So :bleh:

 

[FJRBluesman]

Slomo - You bought a sport touring bike. It's not the best sport bike and not the best touring bike. It does both well though IMHO. Similar thoughts to yours with my old 1986 Honda XL600 (Dual Sport). A crappy street bike and crappy dirt bike. But, it did both OK. I still had a blast on it.

You obviously like more Sport then Touring in your bike. The VFR, DucST, and others give that.

I've ridden many sport bikes all over, commuting, touring, track, etc. What I really like about the FeeJ for me is, it's a bike that was comfy in body position, looked more like a sporty type bike then touring, and had some great power and torque. Best of all it handled very well in the twisties. For a 600# bike, it does excellent in tight twisties and big sweepers IMO! :yahoo:

So I give the FeeJ a huge thumbs up for sportiness, even though you're not all hunched over the tank with the handle bars down at the fork seals. Plus I can put tons-O-junk in the bags.

Enjoy your FeeJ for what it is.

 

[fastpappy]

Adjust the bars forward and adjust the suspension. This bike is meant to do all things well not one thing perfect. ejoy the ride.

Boy you Gen II guys are a spoiled (if not uninformed and/or reading-comprehension challenged) bunch!

"Adjust the bars forward....."

Not so easy on the (already perfect) Gen Is.

Spoiled - Guilty but I thought I've seen somewhere an adaptor for the Gen I bars. :blink: Not that they would need such a thing since the Gen Is are already perfect.

 

[MojaveFJR]

Interesting view. I have no problem peg dancing the feej through the canyons. Leaning off this bike to me is really no different then leaning the R1 through the canyons with the exception of my entry speeds are a "bit" slower. Something about physics and mass, velocity and all that nerd stuff. Yeah she certainly is no R1 but give her mad props for being right there at a hefty weight of 700 lbs wet.

Don't know your riding style but feel free to drive that knee into the outboard side of the tank and lean her. You just might be surprised, as was the guy on the CBR 600 RR last weekend when he attempted to give chase. :yahoo:

 

[slomoshun]

Could be that I`m making a mountain out of a molehill here and of course MojaveFJR is right when he posts that for a 700lb bike the FJR handles very well. Hell, I`ve even had the left footpeg feeler down a few times so it must be O.K. (Never the right side though for some reason :huh: )

slo.

 

[Wanderer]

I'm gonna be the minority here as a young pup(29), but more than once I've thought "The ergos on this bike would be perfect if I could take out 1/3 of the stalks that the controls attach to, moving the bars down and forward a bit. They are comfortable where they are, but if I could get the opposite of a set of risers, I would like to try them.

It's not gonna do much to balance the Sport with Touring, it IS a 650lb bike, but it'll make me feel more like Rossi.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

I'm gonna be the minority here as a young pup(29), but more than once I've thought "The ergos on this bike would be perfect if I could take out 1/3 of the stalks that the controls attach to, moving the bars down and forward a bit. They are comfortable where they are, but if I could get the opposite of a set of risers, I would like to try them.
It's not gonna do much to balance the Sport with Touring, it IS a 650lb bike, but it'll make me feel more like Rossi.

I'm with you on this -- right up to the point where there may be a little too much forward weight bias. But, certainly (for me) somewhat 'sportier' may be preferrable.

There has been some discussion on this over the years, here (very little) -- so, you may find some like-minded Forum members with a search (or, maybe some who've modded in this way will post-up?).