The first 3500 on a 2013...observations.

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Whip

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Location
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Just got back from a 2 up 3000 mile(+500 for breakin) round trip to Torrey UT (if ya have not been....GO!)....some observations

fjr12-L.jpg


Again...YMMV

I replaced the stock windscreen with the Yammie Touring...my passenger(wifey/Mrs Whip) did not like the buffeting. I had the seat in the high position and found by lowering it (and therefore me) the buffeting went away..????? I had a good friend order a Cee Bailey's 3 + 3(before I lowered the seat) and ship it ahead along with a set of bar risers. The risers put me into the back wash(with the Cee Bailey's) and caused me a lot of pain in my upper back/lower shoulder area so I took the risers off and everything was good. I left the Cee Bailey's on for the ride home and all is well in pillionville.

The CC is nice but did not help much on I10 because the speed limit is 80 and everyone is doing 90. On the secondary roads it was cool. Unlike my past experience with bike CC I guess the fly by wire allows the throttle to go back to it original place when set, which means when you rest your hand on the throttle and tap the brake to disengage the CC it shuts down rather abruptly...more so in S mode than T. You can of course turn the throttle before disengaging, but it isn't always an option.

I bought a Sargent seat that is comfortable enough.

I have a 55 liter GIVI Maxia III wired with the tail and brake lights (nice to have friends).....very high tech and cool looking.

We strapped Helen Two Wheels medium size duffles on to the top of the side bags and everything fit nicely.

Setting the CC at 40 and letting go of the bars caused a mild tank slapper and without the CC just coasting the tank slapper turns violent unless my hands are on the bars.(nothing like that happens without the passenger and gear) I have the suspension turned to hard and the damping to full strength....it ain't enough for two up fully loaded. I am looking at options now. Maybe Ohlins, bone riser, bigger rear tire..?????...will the fork brace help?...Bar end weights?

The latch screws backed out on the side bags, but we were able to find the missing screw on the motel floor...and then got some locktite.

Jury has not come back with a verdict on the tires...

There is fun twistie loop we call the Fish Lake Loop I took it at a very spirted pace (pillionless) it was a lot of fun and no hard parts touched.

Gas mileage was around 37 for the 8 days. Tank range was less than I remember on my previous FJRs. I put 6 gallons in a couple times at about 210-220 miles I had no idea how close I was to running out....cause I did not know about the range indicator or how much was left when the range went to zero.

I saw anywhere from 404 miles to 183 miles show up on the range indicator(found it
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) after fill ups.

The [ECO] flashing light is silly at best and annoying at worst......useless is prolly the best way to describe it.

Has to be one of the best bikes ever in heavy cross winds...rock solid.

Lots of rain(pretty good storm while riding on I40) got on the inside of the windscreen and onto the instruments....don't know if that is a Cee Bailey's thing or the new design, don't remember on my previous FJRs?

A little heat on my feet and ankles, but not enough to talk about.

The left hand controls are very intuitive and work very well.

I will get the trunk painted soon.

...any thoughts on the rear suspension are welcome.

L

 
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Setting the CC at 40 and letting go of the bars caused a mild tank slapper and without the CC just coasting the tank slapper turns violent unless my hands are on the bars.(nothing like that happens without the passenger and gear) I have the suspension turned to hard and the damping to full strength....it ain't enough for two up fully loaded. I am looking at options now. Maybe Ohlins, bone riser, bigger rear tire..?????...will the fork brace help?...Bar end weights?

...any thoughts on the rear suspension are welcome.
I think you already identified the problem, you need a heavier, probably much heavier, spring on the shock. Your steering geometry is out of wack causing the front end to be too light and its problems will probably go away once you use a heavier spring to correct the ride height in the back.

 
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I just ordered a set of BT023's and went with the 190/55/17 for the rear, will let you know how that works next week.

R

 
Sounds like a great ride!

Invest in a rear shock with a spring suitable for your intended use, add heavier fork springs to the mix and never look back. Total investment $1000+/- and you gain a much improved bike.

Good luck!

--G

 
You said you noticed a little bit of heat by your feet/ankles. What was the ambient air temperature and were you sitting in traffic when you felt this little bit of heat, or were you riding 40+mph?

 
Hey, Whip - how's Missus Whip???

How did you tie the H2W bags to the bike? I went on a week's ride a cupla weeks ago with SWMBO, and I had trouble finding places to put the straps (on my '08) on the extra bag I needed. I've got a givi bag also, and ran one strap around that, but I think the strap may get frayed because it falls into the vee of the cross brace and the fore-and-aft brace on the rack. I have bungee buddies on the RT, but nothing so far on the FJR.

Flars from the RT forum...

 
Hey, Whip - how's Missus Whip???How did you tie the H2W bags to the bike? I went on a week's ride a cupla weeks ago with SWMBO, and I had trouble finding places to put the straps (on my '08) on the extra bag I needed. I've got a givi bag also, and ran one strap around that, but I think the strap may get frayed because it falls into the vee of the cross brace and the fore-and-aft brace on the rack. I have bungee buddies on the RT, but nothing so far on the FJR.

Flars from the RT forum...
I will post some close up pix tomorrow.

Always good to connect with an old friend.

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You said you noticed a little bit of heat by your feet/ankles. What was the ambient air temperature and were you sitting in traffic when you felt this little bit of heat, or were you riding 40+mph?
It was around or below 40 MPH.

Temps were approaching 90.

I would say it is about the same as on my 1150 GSA.

L

 
Hey, Whip - how's Missus Whip???How did you tie the H2W bags to the bike? I went on a week's ride a cupla weeks ago with SWMBO, and I had trouble finding places to put the straps (on my '08) on the extra bag I needed. I've got a givi bag also, and ran one strap around that, but I think the strap may get frayed because it falls into the vee of the cross brace and the fore-and-aft brace on the rack. I have bungee buddies on the RT, but nothing so far on the FJR.

Flars from the RT forum...
I will post some close up pix tomorrow.

Always good to connect with an old friend.

no.gif
..a little flooding problem here is San Antone today. I will get the pix tomorrow.

L

 
How I carry H2W bags on my FJR.

I use D-ring straps now and have used Rockstraps in the past, both work.

fjr1-L.jpg


This bag is not full nor tighten down.

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Thanks for the update/feedback. I put a Hagon remote preload adjustable rear shock on mine and am very pleased with the improved handling. Stiffer spring raised the rear and gave a more responsive feel to the bike. Cost was about $600 IIRC. Hagon has a distributor here in north county San Diego. Great peeps.

 
I can't believe that you were able to take a passenger and full luggage with

the stock rear shock. I just installed a Ohlins YA-707 rear shock.

Ohhhhhh... What a difference ! Remote preload adjustment is the way to go !

 
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