SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN ....
a follow up from last years WCR crash survivor.
Wellllll,
mostly things turned out OK.
a MONTH of physio and HI POWER pain killers, and my beat up ol' body was as good as it ever will get. I still can't play the piano, but then I couldn't plat it before the crash either.
ICBC shorted me about $ 1500 on my insurance payout, refusing to cover my BMW jacket and boots, and also screwed me out of my $ 500 deductible [ the car I hit with my head had a dent in the bumper, and they had pictures to prove it ... so theoretically, I DID hit the vehicle in front of me - which we all know is a no no!]
The payout covered the purchase price of a similar FJR 1300, with higher mileage, but more Farkles. I went through with my original plan of trading an FJR for a boat, and ended up as the proud owner of a 27' Campion Toba Cabin Cruiser .... which costs me money every month for moorage just sitting at the dock, and MORE money every time I take it out for a spin.
But I do enjoy sitting on my top deck, on a sunny evening, eating prawns and drinking wine, feeding crackers and cheese to the geese, and watching the sun go down.
As for the SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN .... comment,
WELLlllll,
last week my wife Sharon talked me into a road trip to California, to attend her son's birthday. While we were waiting for our elk burgers at a diner in Placerville, I glanced through the local Placerville NICKELSAVER paper.
LO AND BEHOLD ...
there was a 2004 FJR for sale, at a very low price.
I called the number listed from my cell phone, and a few hours later was riding to Reno on my new-to-me FJR.
I never even bothered taking the FJR out of the garage for a test ride before I paid up.
1.] The bike had incredibly low mileage, and was offered for less than Blue Book wholesale.
2.] The reason the owner said he was was selling it was because he was getting too old to ride, and had too many moroncycles.
3.] The garage was a shrine to retentiveness ...
the garage floor was cleaner than my fridge,
The classic "only ridden on weekends by a little ol' man" story come true!
A few days and 1500 miles later here I am, back in scenic Victoria, BC, Canada, on beautiful Fantasy Island, riding around on my 2004 FJR.
The FJR now REALLY needs new tires [ 1500 miles at 80 MPH in 90 degree heat will do that ],and it is due for an oil change soon.
The only fly in the ointment was that the Throttle Position Sensor recall had not yet been done, and I needed to get the Recall Clearance Letter from Yamaha US BEFORE I could register the FJR in Canada.
After several futile attempts dropping in and/or phoning to find a Yamaha dealer who had BOTH the TPS part required AND the time to do the job, I called Yamaha USA. Leona, at Yamaha USA, did right by me. She found a dealer in Bellevue , WA who was very experienced with the FJR, who could squeezer me in for the job IF I was willing to let them have the bike for the day [ even though their service dept was booked up for two weeks ].
Kevin, the Director of Operations, and James, the service Writer, got the TPS recall install done, and got me the CLEAN letter of recall the next day.
THANKS and KUDOS to YAMAHA USA, and the team at Eastside MotoSports in Bellvue, Wa.
I had to tease them and say that,
"Their service was almost up to what a BMW rider would expect".
PS: Kevin tells me that even though they have about three times the number of FJRs that they have actually sold coming in for service ... so when it comes to FJRs, they must be doing something right.
I've been riding motorcycles for 45 years.
I've owned about 60 motorcycles,
and I've dealt with DOZENS of motorcycle dealers over the years.
I do NOT impress easily!
However,
the service I got from YAMAHA USA and Eastsidse MotoSports was, IMHO, OUTSTANDING!!!
Plus,
BSing with Kevin while at the shop, made the time just fly by.
SO, now that I have ANOTHER FJR [ my third] what to do with it??
WELLlllll ...
The Horizon's Unlimited 2011 Rally is on for Aug 25 - 28th at Nakusp, BC. Sharon, my favorite Wife Equivalent Unit [ so far], has her own bike now, so I can't call her my Power Back Warmer no more. She has us booked for the H/U Nakusp rally. We are discussing riding up [ Two up on the FJR like last time??? Side by side with her on her Bandit 600?] or bringing her 3/4 ton 454 powered BURB and her horse trailer, with the bikes in the trailer, and Ben, the Wonder Dog accompanying us to the rally. That is how we attended the BMW rally last year in Redmond, Oregon, and Ben was the hit of the ball.
After that,
If I haven't traded off the FJR for a WEESTROM 650, we may even consider WCR 2011.
Sharon grew up in Calgary,
I've lived in Jasper,
and we both love the area the WCR 2011 ralley is taking place in.
As a matter of fact, I consider the hiway between Jasper and Lake Louise as one of the BEST rides for a motorcycle that I have ever been on. But I also remember one July 04th weekend, at the Columbia Ice Fields, where we had about a foot of SNOW!!!
MAYBE SEE YA AT WCR 2011,
LAZ 1 & SHARON & BEN
[;{)
