FastJoyRide
Well-known member
Some of you may recall from my deerstrike thread that my insurer finally decided to write off my beloved 2004A. After removing all of my farkles and reinstalling most of the OEM stuff, it was a very sad day when I went to give them my bike and they gave me their check... Of course I had been actively looking for a replacement. Even got a few guys excited when they saw Sylvia and I test riding Scott Cathey's GL1800 at NAFO!
I found a barely-used 2006A (5,000 miles) in NYC - on EZBoard ironically! After several rounds of back and forth, checking out import regs etc., we made a deal. So I flew to LaGuardia via Toronto on Friday morning, and a $100 cab ride later I was at John's house in New Rochelle. He had the bike ready, but as we were looking at it his phone rang as his dealer had just received his back-ordered ECU. So I rode the bike to the dealer who did the swap as I waited. I had ordered a cruise control on Amazon and shipped it to Smitty in Hooterville, MO, so it was time to make some miles! Don't ask me how much I enjoyed NY and NJ toll-roads, traffic etc! I bunked in Bedford Mills - barely into eastern PA that night.
After some beautiful (but cold!) riding through western PA and West Virgina and Kentucky's mountains I made it to Bonne Terre around supper time on Saturday - around 1,200 miles from mid-afternoon Friday. Smitty offered to do the instal while I slept so that I could get a quick start Saturday AM. We had breakfast at 6:00 and I was loaded and rolling before 7:00! That day was 915 miles and ended with darkness in Fargo, ND and lots of rat eyes shining from alongside the road.
Monday I had an appointment with US and Canadian Customs at Portal, ND and after 350 miles of rain before getting there, the formalities were easy and relatively quick. I brought the bike into Regina hoping that I could register it in Saskatchewan, but without the manufacturers recall clearance letter that wasn't going to happen, so I headed west again to Medicine Hat, AB, where I ended an 850 mile day.
Tuesday left me only 650 miles to get to my new home in Vernon, BC, around 300 of which are in the magnificent mountain ranges of eastern and central BC (Rockies, Purcells, Monashees etc). Total mileage was just over 3,500 in 4 days and a bit - not quite WC's HellWeek pace, but not too bad for a fat old guy on a bone stock bike!
I will post on his thread too, but the electronic cruise is the best thing I've ever put on an FJR - bar none. To see Smitty's workmanship and tidiness is a thing of beauty. While I hate slab riding with a passion usually, this ride required large gobs of it, and the cruise took a lot of the pain and risk out of it as I didn't even have my radar detector mounted.
Other thoughts from a died in the wool Gen 1 guy: The Gen 2 heat fixes work! - what a treat not to have to cover the fuel cap with my glove in case super-heated fuel comes boiling out... While I will probably install the G2 throttle to make it a little smoother and more progressive at low speeds, mine is pretty good as is. No flat spots in the power delivery at all so I don't see the need for a PCIII on this one. My fuel mileage (= range per tank) was very good - of course I was 1-up, not 2-up, I didn't have a barn door windshield, and I didn't have a PCIII.
Nicest surprise of all? The Gen 2 seats are just fine - no monkey butt, and I didn't even take my sheepskin with me. All of you bedwetters that I've been hearing whining about the Gen 2 seat, obviously didn't buy a BMW K bike in the mid-80's! My friend Pete described that seat (accurately) as a thinly-upholstered brick! When we would tour to California, we would both end up with massive welts on the insides of our thighs where the "bricks" cut into us.
Lots of work to do this week getting the FJR (and us) ready for the 3 Flags. I've got new PR2's being installed in Prosser on Monday the 25th and then we head it south to Mexicali.
Great to be back on the road - please support your local deer hunters!
I found a barely-used 2006A (5,000 miles) in NYC - on EZBoard ironically! After several rounds of back and forth, checking out import regs etc., we made a deal. So I flew to LaGuardia via Toronto on Friday morning, and a $100 cab ride later I was at John's house in New Rochelle. He had the bike ready, but as we were looking at it his phone rang as his dealer had just received his back-ordered ECU. So I rode the bike to the dealer who did the swap as I waited. I had ordered a cruise control on Amazon and shipped it to Smitty in Hooterville, MO, so it was time to make some miles! Don't ask me how much I enjoyed NY and NJ toll-roads, traffic etc! I bunked in Bedford Mills - barely into eastern PA that night.
After some beautiful (but cold!) riding through western PA and West Virgina and Kentucky's mountains I made it to Bonne Terre around supper time on Saturday - around 1,200 miles from mid-afternoon Friday. Smitty offered to do the instal while I slept so that I could get a quick start Saturday AM. We had breakfast at 6:00 and I was loaded and rolling before 7:00! That day was 915 miles and ended with darkness in Fargo, ND and lots of rat eyes shining from alongside the road.
Monday I had an appointment with US and Canadian Customs at Portal, ND and after 350 miles of rain before getting there, the formalities were easy and relatively quick. I brought the bike into Regina hoping that I could register it in Saskatchewan, but without the manufacturers recall clearance letter that wasn't going to happen, so I headed west again to Medicine Hat, AB, where I ended an 850 mile day.
Tuesday left me only 650 miles to get to my new home in Vernon, BC, around 300 of which are in the magnificent mountain ranges of eastern and central BC (Rockies, Purcells, Monashees etc). Total mileage was just over 3,500 in 4 days and a bit - not quite WC's HellWeek pace, but not too bad for a fat old guy on a bone stock bike!
I will post on his thread too, but the electronic cruise is the best thing I've ever put on an FJR - bar none. To see Smitty's workmanship and tidiness is a thing of beauty. While I hate slab riding with a passion usually, this ride required large gobs of it, and the cruise took a lot of the pain and risk out of it as I didn't even have my radar detector mounted.
Other thoughts from a died in the wool Gen 1 guy: The Gen 2 heat fixes work! - what a treat not to have to cover the fuel cap with my glove in case super-heated fuel comes boiling out... While I will probably install the G2 throttle to make it a little smoother and more progressive at low speeds, mine is pretty good as is. No flat spots in the power delivery at all so I don't see the need for a PCIII on this one. My fuel mileage (= range per tank) was very good - of course I was 1-up, not 2-up, I didn't have a barn door windshield, and I didn't have a PCIII.
Nicest surprise of all? The Gen 2 seats are just fine - no monkey butt, and I didn't even take my sheepskin with me. All of you bedwetters that I've been hearing whining about the Gen 2 seat, obviously didn't buy a BMW K bike in the mid-80's! My friend Pete described that seat (accurately) as a thinly-upholstered brick! When we would tour to California, we would both end up with massive welts on the insides of our thighs where the "bricks" cut into us.
Lots of work to do this week getting the FJR (and us) ready for the 3 Flags. I've got new PR2's being installed in Prosser on Monday the 25th and then we head it south to Mexicali.
Great to be back on the road - please support your local deer hunters!
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