zackbilly1 - Goldwing Gadget Dude, Now New '13 FJR Owner

[scubatech]

As far as trailer hitches that fit. I believe the Bushtec gen II hitch will fit. I pull a bushtec trailer with mine. Dauntless uised to make hitches that fit the gen 2 also. But I don't think they do anymore.

Depending on your tongue weight you will wnat to upgrade the suspension probably sooner than later. I know that GP Suspension is interested in working with a gen III owner to develop a complete cartdiged kit for both front forks. You may want to call them and see if you are looking into suspension. They have done systems for other brands with similar front fork arrangement.

I would recommend a Power commander V with auto tune module. It will give you power when you want it, but also gives you good MPG. It gives you the ability to have two maps loaded so you can have a power map and a economy map with the flick of a switch. I usually average 42 MPG two up towing the trailer and I am not to gentle on the throttle. I tend to play in the twisties as much as possible. The PCV works very well when towing. The stock brakes are very good and no reason to upgrade there. Even towing and riding agressively in the twisties, they provide plenty of stopping power. As you know when towing the transition from brakes to throttle is where the trailer pushes you and you have to account for that when making your turns.

I have the Remus exhaust cans on, but it is purely for noise candy. They sound great, they may add some power, but I have not done any dyno runs to verify.

The are some frankentank threads on here. I have the second one that dirtracker30 did. Basically he took a stock tank and modified, so it looks stock, Mine holds 9.6 gallons. He shows some very good pictures of how he did it, so if your inclined it is a great way to add capacity and keep the gas up front and easy to access. The tank extends my range to about 300 miles with plenty in reserve to find a gas station.

EDIT: here is the thread by Dirttracker 30 building my tank https://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=135505

here is another more recent thread showing more of his process: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=149373

here is a picture of the tank when I was painting it;

A side view mounted on the bike:

Another shot with the trailer hooked up

A different angle

From your GW pictures, I can't wait to see what you do with the electrical for all the farkles. I would like to know what switches, indicator lights and relays you tend to use. They look really clean.

Man......I like that red!!

 

[deanw]

I would recommend a Power commander V with auto tune module.

I was going to say I don't know how well that'd work with a Gen-III bike that has what must be an all-new ECU.

My second knee-jerk was that since a PC only futzes with fuel injection timings, it might not be anything to worry about.

My third knee-jerk was that I don't know what else the ECU is doing re: engine tuning.

My standard response is to ride the beast for a while and then decide what you feel needs changing; at least that gives Dyno-Jet (and suspension tuners, etc.) a chance to come up with solutions.

Too bad GP Suspension isn't in Oregon City any more, they could have my bike for development.

 

[Auburn]

I would recommend a Power commander V with auto tune module.

I was going to say I don't know how well that'd work with a Gen-III bike that has what must be an all-new ECU.

My second knee-jerk was that since a PC only futzes with fuel injection timings, it might not be anything to worry about.

My third knee-jerk was that I don't know what else the ECU is doing re: engine tuning.

My standard response is to ride the beast for a while and then decide what you feel needs changing; at least that gives Dyno-Jet (and suspension tuners, etc.) a chance to come up with solutions.

Too bad GP Suspension isn't in Oregon City any more, they could have my bike for development.

Good points. DynoJet may not have it worked out yet.

 

[Fairlaner]

What needs to be worked out......the bike runs perfect as it is...

R

 

[Auburn]

What needs to be worked out......the bike runs perfect as it is... R

Ya never know, somebody always want to tinker...But good to hear they have the stock maps right.

 

[zackybilly1]

I've just been riding the FJR trying to figure out what it needs but am having difficulty finding much that screams for help. I don't have the advantage of knowing the previous generations for comparison but this '13 doesn't seem to be lacking much straight out of the box as far as the basic bike goes. I stuck a Helibar triple tree on it and fixing to ship my seat out for tweaking but it seems to be a hell of a bike as is (with exception of the cruise cap at 82 mph)

I've been accumulating farkles and such but in the mean time, the bike rides good, the suspension feels good so far, it runs damn good, its smooth, shifts slick as a gut, no heat issues on warm days and mileage is good. Hard to find much to ***** about. I'm going to try a different windscreen on it for cold weather service but other than that, its refreshing not to have to do a lot to the basic bike to get it up to par and just focus on add ons.

At the moment, I'm gathering gear to add CB, GPS, XM, phone, V1 and iPod intergration. Doing some miscellaneous wiring (voltmeter, Tender pigtail, Gerbing connection), starting to focus on a pillion auxilary tank, auxilary lighting and looking at comfort mods (hwy pegs, hand gaurds, etc.). I'm trying to decide if I want to go the Top Box route or not but will need to decide soon. The bike isn't as cramped under the tupperware & seat as I thought it would be...there are more than enough good places to hide farkle related items.

After wanting an FJR for some time, usually, procrastination doesn't work out so well for me but waiting until the '13s came out seems to have been a good move for me for a change. I'm still impressed with how much bike and technology I got for my money. After so many years on the market, it seems that it has be refined to a point to where its hard to improve on it.

I haven't found out how many watts the bike puts out or if there was a change in the charging system with the inclusion of heated grips (or if it was just offset by the use of LEDs). Trying to detemine maximum draw (heated gear & riding lights). I'm going to rig up an ammeter to see what the bike draws but don't know what I'm starting with.

So far, so good.

Z

 

[CopB8]

Please spend all your time and extensive resources focusing solely on solving the cruise control limit issue. THEN the bike will be perfect!