FJRiders.com

Hppants wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:15 am Wow - Joe. You ain't scared of some frozen crapola on the streets?

That's what northern winter riders do. If the roads are relatively dry, yer good to go if you don't mind cleansing the salt from your bike.

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:10 am Did you crank the heated gear? or just go in your shirt sleeves?

t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops...

Hppants wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:15 am Wow - Joe. You ain't scared of some frozen crapola on the streets?

Only came across one spot, where the traction control kicked in...

Rode mine to work as well. Couldn't let Joe be the only Yankee to do so.

I have my forks off waiting on two bushings to install the Andreani Misano cartridges which I hope to have done by this weekend. While waiting on the bushings I installed taper roller bearings from All Balls for the front steering bearings. I bought my 2013 last Oct with 50k miles on it and I am getting it ready for a 5k mile ride this July. I also have a Penske 8987 shock at Traxxion having it rebuilt. Then I will do the rear end maintenance that needs to be done, then I will be ready to ride

It's presidents day weekend so I had an extra day off. Then, the nasty rain and cooler temps moved out and yesterday it was 74F and sunny. But, I chose not to ride. Instead I pushed the FJR out of the way so I could get to the camping gear for an impromptu camping trip with the kiddo. Would have been a great time to ride but I don't regret it a bit.

We did get out on two wheels though inside the park. Just not the motorized kind.

Rode it to work. Cool and foggy/cloudy. Closing in on 40,000 miles. I need to part with it for a day and get the first valve check done. It’s overdue.

Removed the PAIR system from my 2008...almost,I think...this connection has to be unplugged here?

ice_station_zebra wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 7:03 pm Removed the PAIR system from my 2008...almost,I think...this connection has to be unplugged here?

Yes.

Scheduled the valve check. Drop off Friday afternoon. Pick up Saturday whenever it’s ready. Tried to delude the astronaut known as Jwilly into a Sunday ride, but he’s doing grownup stuff.

Rode it home from work in biblical rain. Up to the bottom of the fairing in some places. Forgot to change and left my waterproof riding boots under my desk. Bad choice.

Continued my normalization training of local Publix staff by grabbing a couple of things on the way home wearing (with drenched aerostich) the Neotec. Super cold or monsoon rain, I leave it on there with the chin bar all the way up in the locked position. Much better quality of life. No compliments or complaints. But what are you going to say to a guy dressed like that buying carrots and a jar of popcorn? And who needs carrots and a jar of popcorn bad enough to stop and get it in a flash flood?

This guy. This guy right here.. The one wearing the helmet pumping Iron Maiden in the goddamned produce section..

Finally got around to installing the wife’s Valentine’s Day present- a Sena SRL for her Neotec 2. Then, of course, on the way home today, my SRL mike stopped working, at all. Dammit....

Nice.

Took a fantastic 200 mile ride yesterday on a beautiful 60 degree day even up near the parkway. I am always on the hunt for next years calendar photo as well You have to love living in a place where you are so close to some of the best riding in the country and can spend a whole day out there in February! Life is good.

^^^ that's some pretty good calendar porn right there!!!

Blueridgerider wrote: ↑Tue Feb 18, 2020 8:10 pm Took a fantastic 200 mile ride yesterday on a beautiful 60 degree day even up near the parkway. I am always on the hunt for next years calendar photo as well You have to love living in a place where you are so close to some of the best riding in the country and can spend a whole day out there in February! Life is good.

Very nice. The BRP is my wife's favorite road. We love to ride it.

My son had an apartment in Candler (West Asheville). It was minutes to 151, then right up to the BRP. We used to go up and stay with him while visiting the area. That was nice to wake up and be so close to great riding!!!

Thanks for the nice comments, its much appreciated. On this cold dreary day with a fresh cup of Jo sitting next to me, I thought I would toss out a couple more photos and some thoughts. Before the FJR I never thought much about riding in the winter. It was always this loonnnggg awful periods of months you had to grind through to get to warmer riding weather. Plus before moving to Upstate SC I lived for 20 years in the Va Beach area which was flat and uninspiring to say the least for motorcycling. I just never felt it if you know what I mean. Moving close to the mountains was always a dream of mine for years thinking ahead to retirement. I finally retired, made it happen, and now am living the life I had envisioned. I could not be happier here.

Since buying the FJR I now enjoy riding in the winter season more and more. Certainly its much more enjoyable than summer for me. When the weather is 50 or above you can stay warm (even lower temps with heated gear). The air is crisp, no bugs, and with the leaves off the trees you can really see the running rivers and streams much more than in the summer months. Man were they running strong too from all the rain we have had recently. I love riding through the mountains with the streams roaring along side. A couple other great things about winter riding I like is you do not have to deal with pop up thunderstorms. In the winter when a dry day is forecasted you can usually count on it. Also like most of us I am a AGATT rider and in the winter its great to "Gear Up" as opposed to the summer when you do not want to ride given the agony of heat and humidity.

With the days getting longer and daylight savings time kicking in shortly we will be in for some of the best riding of the year, no tourists yet, longer daylight, and even warmer weather etc. The FJR has certainly made riding exciting again and now I enjoy it all year long. I have another bike without a windshield and the weather has to be much warmer to take a long ride like this especially in February. I also had Goldwings for 17 years and sold my 08 to buy the FJR. Of course it had a big ole windshield and was a great bike for many reasons but I never just felt like just jumping on it to ride like do now.

I just love the FJR. It does everything so well especially its torque, handling, and comfort. What a great feeling to know its just sitting there in the garage ready to rock anytime I am. Speaking of handling, I just put on a set of PR5 GT's and it was a blast scuffing up the outside of them on those great twisty roads. The bike handles flawlessly now with them. As we all know it is a great feeling putting on new rubber. The bike will never handle better than right after mounting a set of new tires and there is no better place to break them in than the mountains. I really like these tires and feel they are going to hold up well. Time will tell. I read Bill's comments regarding braking in corners maybe contributing to scalloping. Makes sense to maybe ease off the front brake some as the PR4's front had some of the worst scalloping I had ever seen on a tire. It drew a crowd at my local powersports dealer as they all agreed it was some of the worst they had seen especially after only 7K. Also Rays comment about keeping the front pumped up to 40 psi. Another great suggestion I will be following hoping the 5GT's will fare much better.

Well the coffee is gone and hope you all did not mind me sharing my thoughts along with the photos this morning. As you can probably tell, I enjoy writing. I also am looking forward to enjoying some of the fantastic roads and areas we are lucky to live close to, hopefully soon with some of you when the time is right.

The first picture in your last post...... I cannot see how I would not have to vote for that in the Calendar contest if it were to be included. That one particularly speaks to me. The others are good, but that one is great.

Thanks for sharing. I am cold and wet up here for the time being. Just biding my time until the weather breaks or I head south over Spring Break.

Cav47 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 4:09 pm The first picture in your last post...... I cannot see how I would not have to vote for that in the Calendar contest if it were to be included. That one particularly speaks to me. The others are good, but that one is great.

If that picture was taken at Jones Gap State Park, that is 20 minutes from home. Nice hiking around there, too. Either easy trails for guys like me, or adventurous trails for people that don't mind the chance to cheat death.

Installed a set of PIAA slim line horns on Renee. Road down to Northside Hospital to visit a friend. Upon leaving the traffic on 400 north was packed. Disappointed that I never had the opportunity to use my new Buick LeSabre horns!! But, I guess that's a good thing.

Today, the red head gets new shoes....

nfa1eab wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:29 pm ...Disappointed that I never had the opportunity to use my new Buick LeSabre horns!! But, I guess that's a good thing.

You just weren't payin attention I guess.