nofreeride
Well-known member
All true adventures have unknowns. They wouldn't be true adventures otherwise. The hope was that the unknowns wouldn't be the undoing of the planned adventure. What's left undone just ends up leaving opportunities for more adventures. Wow, was that stupid?
I've wanted an FJR since before they came out. At the time I had an '02 Concours. I waited patiently until I could justify and afford a used one. At a minimum, I wanted ABS, fuel injection and and adjustable shield on my next sport touring machine. I liked the silver better than the blue, so I kept my eyes open for an affordable '04 with ABS.
The auction was already over when I saw the bike. There were no bids, and the starting bid was very attractive. The ad revealed high miles (60+), leaking forks, and some scratches. I made arrangements with the seller, and paid with funds I anticipated I would have back later from the sale of two other bikes. The seller assured me that he saw no reason why it wouldn't make the trip from Evansville, IN, to McMinnville, OR. I would stop in Lehi, UT at my parents' place, almost exactly 1500 miles into the trip. Good for a BB1500 if I made it in under 36 hours.
Through a stroke of genius or divine intervention, I got my company to pay for a business trip to St. Louis. All I had to do was drop off the rental car in Evansville and my adventure would begin.
Late on a Saturday morning in October, I headed west on my new mount. Wow, the bike felt great! This was going to be fun. Lots of power, very comfortable. Sure, the forks were a little oily. I wouldn't test the cornering of the bike or 2-up riding until that was fixed. And even though there were some scratches, it was really only slightly scratched. I probably wouldn't even repaint it. Other than that, a different windshield and some risers would make it absolutely perfect.
The honeymoon ended 60 miles later, when it started choking, sputtering, and acting very thirsty. I pulled over and filled it with premium, and figured it must be just a glitch. Well, it was no glitch. After a fill-up, it would go 40-240 miles before acting up again, but it would always start again, same symptoms of fuel starvation. If I stopped for some other reason, it didn't seem to help. Only stopping for gas would temporarily please the beast. And it didn't seem to matter what grade of fuel or whether or not i put in a bottle of injector cleaner with the gas.
The Yamaha mechanic that I spoke with on the phone in St Louis said it was something in the tank, probably had been sitting for quite a while. (He was right, the PO had two BMW's, both of which got more attention than Feej during his ownership). The Yamaha mechanic also told me I could stop looking stupid looking for the fuel filter under the tank in the middle of the Autozone parking lot because it didn't have a fuel filter just a stupid mesh screen inside the tank and that I should just go into Autozone and buy the most expensive bottle of fuel injector cleaner I could find and pray that I would make it out of St Louis so I could be somebody else's problem in Kansas City maybe. (I'm not quoting him exactly).
Oh well, I was making slow progress, but if I could make it to Dad's, we'd see if the situation could be corrected before I continue to Oregon.
Late at night in Eastern Nebraska, while contemplating a motel stop and enjoying the 75mph speed limit, I was greeted by headlights in the median that quickly became blue and red lights in my rear view mirror. Luckily, I was only exceeding by about 5, and the officer was more concerned about my COMPLETE AND TOTAL LACK OF TAILLIGHTS. The Bill of Sale and Title from the PO, along with my proof of insurance, satisfied her need for paperwork. I apologized profusely and assured her I had no idea that the taillights were not working. She escorted me to the next exit, where I found the last overpriced cheap motel room in the entire town, after checking a half dozen places.
Day 1 was a bust. But I could still make my BB1500 goal if everything worked out just right.
It didn't. Of course, you already knew that. The free 'hot' breakfast at the motel turned out to be a couple of cold pancakes and a glass of juice. It took over two hours to sort out the taillight problem. A trip to Wal-Mart yielded $20 worth of tools I already had at home. After unsuccessfully trying to figure out why no power was getting back to the bulbs, I was in the process of bypassing the circuit and running the taillights directly off the battery with a fuse, when, they suddenly started working. No more taillight problems that day.
The wind blew all day in Nebraska, gusts from the south up to maybe 50mph, whacking me repeatedly in the head. I hate wind. Now I hate Nebraska.
Wow, did it get cold in Wyoming! The PO had put on hand guards and heated grips; they worked well and I was grateful. For the last 20 miles going down into Evanston, the bike was short on power. Not the same fuel starvation problem I had been having the whole trip, but more like it was running on only three cylinders. I filled up in Evanston and tried again. No change. It also sounded terrible, like it was running on only three cylinders. I called my Dad in Utah and he came to get me and Feej with his pickup. It had been over 36 hours, and I was about 90 miles short of 1500.
The next day (Monday) we worked on the bike. The fuel starvation problem was easy. The tank was full of rust. The screen clogged beyond belief. The lack of power? Well, we figured out it was because it was running on only three cylinders. No. 2 had compression, spark, but no fuel. When we found out that the dealer didn't have the parts in stock, I gave up and bought a plane ticket. I had already missed an extra day of work, and Feej would be safe in Dad's garage.
Going back this weekend with a trailer to renew our relationship. She will have to stay in the garage, but I hope to exercise her as soon as I can get the bugs out.
I've wanted an FJR since before they came out. At the time I had an '02 Concours. I waited patiently until I could justify and afford a used one. At a minimum, I wanted ABS, fuel injection and and adjustable shield on my next sport touring machine. I liked the silver better than the blue, so I kept my eyes open for an affordable '04 with ABS.
The auction was already over when I saw the bike. There were no bids, and the starting bid was very attractive. The ad revealed high miles (60+), leaking forks, and some scratches. I made arrangements with the seller, and paid with funds I anticipated I would have back later from the sale of two other bikes. The seller assured me that he saw no reason why it wouldn't make the trip from Evansville, IN, to McMinnville, OR. I would stop in Lehi, UT at my parents' place, almost exactly 1500 miles into the trip. Good for a BB1500 if I made it in under 36 hours.
Through a stroke of genius or divine intervention, I got my company to pay for a business trip to St. Louis. All I had to do was drop off the rental car in Evansville and my adventure would begin.
Late on a Saturday morning in October, I headed west on my new mount. Wow, the bike felt great! This was going to be fun. Lots of power, very comfortable. Sure, the forks were a little oily. I wouldn't test the cornering of the bike or 2-up riding until that was fixed. And even though there were some scratches, it was really only slightly scratched. I probably wouldn't even repaint it. Other than that, a different windshield and some risers would make it absolutely perfect.
The honeymoon ended 60 miles later, when it started choking, sputtering, and acting very thirsty. I pulled over and filled it with premium, and figured it must be just a glitch. Well, it was no glitch. After a fill-up, it would go 40-240 miles before acting up again, but it would always start again, same symptoms of fuel starvation. If I stopped for some other reason, it didn't seem to help. Only stopping for gas would temporarily please the beast. And it didn't seem to matter what grade of fuel or whether or not i put in a bottle of injector cleaner with the gas.
The Yamaha mechanic that I spoke with on the phone in St Louis said it was something in the tank, probably had been sitting for quite a while. (He was right, the PO had two BMW's, both of which got more attention than Feej during his ownership). The Yamaha mechanic also told me I could stop looking stupid looking for the fuel filter under the tank in the middle of the Autozone parking lot because it didn't have a fuel filter just a stupid mesh screen inside the tank and that I should just go into Autozone and buy the most expensive bottle of fuel injector cleaner I could find and pray that I would make it out of St Louis so I could be somebody else's problem in Kansas City maybe. (I'm not quoting him exactly).
Oh well, I was making slow progress, but if I could make it to Dad's, we'd see if the situation could be corrected before I continue to Oregon.
Late at night in Eastern Nebraska, while contemplating a motel stop and enjoying the 75mph speed limit, I was greeted by headlights in the median that quickly became blue and red lights in my rear view mirror. Luckily, I was only exceeding by about 5, and the officer was more concerned about my COMPLETE AND TOTAL LACK OF TAILLIGHTS. The Bill of Sale and Title from the PO, along with my proof of insurance, satisfied her need for paperwork. I apologized profusely and assured her I had no idea that the taillights were not working. She escorted me to the next exit, where I found the last overpriced cheap motel room in the entire town, after checking a half dozen places.
Day 1 was a bust. But I could still make my BB1500 goal if everything worked out just right.
It didn't. Of course, you already knew that. The free 'hot' breakfast at the motel turned out to be a couple of cold pancakes and a glass of juice. It took over two hours to sort out the taillight problem. A trip to Wal-Mart yielded $20 worth of tools I already had at home. After unsuccessfully trying to figure out why no power was getting back to the bulbs, I was in the process of bypassing the circuit and running the taillights directly off the battery with a fuse, when, they suddenly started working. No more taillight problems that day.
The wind blew all day in Nebraska, gusts from the south up to maybe 50mph, whacking me repeatedly in the head. I hate wind. Now I hate Nebraska.
Wow, did it get cold in Wyoming! The PO had put on hand guards and heated grips; they worked well and I was grateful. For the last 20 miles going down into Evanston, the bike was short on power. Not the same fuel starvation problem I had been having the whole trip, but more like it was running on only three cylinders. I filled up in Evanston and tried again. No change. It also sounded terrible, like it was running on only three cylinders. I called my Dad in Utah and he came to get me and Feej with his pickup. It had been over 36 hours, and I was about 90 miles short of 1500.
The next day (Monday) we worked on the bike. The fuel starvation problem was easy. The tank was full of rust. The screen clogged beyond belief. The lack of power? Well, we figured out it was because it was running on only three cylinders. No. 2 had compression, spark, but no fuel. When we found out that the dealer didn't have the parts in stock, I gave up and bought a plane ticket. I had already missed an extra day of work, and Feej would be safe in Dad's garage.
Going back this weekend with a trailer to renew our relationship. She will have to stay in the garage, but I hope to exercise her as soon as I can get the bugs out.
