Where I am at in my journey.
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 9:35 pm
I purchased my 2003 1300R from about 6 hours away in the rural nether regions of PA on a trip that rained almost the entire time. I knew when I began the actual shopping phase of my FJR seeking I wanted the original US bike and I wanted around 40-50k on it. From everything I had read and learned in the months prior that was going to be my sweet spot for getting a near perfect engine and hopefully from someone that just saw the FJR as just another motorcycle. It took some time but I found exactly that and at a price I still have guilt disclosing considering what we all know about these marvels of Japanese engineering.
This was at the end of Nov. last year.
I checked some safety bits, replaced a horn relay, scrapped a faulty hand warmer wiring, changed some oil's, flushed some coolant and took her around 200 miles just around my home city of Albany, NY just to really put her through he paces and make sure I was confident she would run. Two days later I took her a little over a SS on the "Ride Around New York State" (which I botched) and I learned a ton of things about my new friend.
A: At 6'4" and with seriously bad knees I was either going to have to do serious yoga and hydrocortisone shots if I planned on riding this on 1000 mile days in the spring to come. The ergonomics are clearly more inclined to suit the ... "Japanese crowd"
B: The engine and power delivery was exactly what I had though it was and I loved the bike even if it made my body ache to get off it.
C: It desperately needed a car tire because it isn't a race bike or a supermoto and it weighs 650lbs. No brainer.
Most important thing first I threw a CT on the back and immediately felt 10 times better.
I learned about all the seats and the lowering pegs etc. etc. but I had already scraped the pegs on my "warm up" ride around town and I am a mildly aggressive rider so that went out the window quick. Nobody made a seat that was what I wanted and I am a cheap bastard and can't see forking out 1k for a totally custom seat so I looked into making my own.
So through trial and error I have remade the seat three times now and also learned how to build a mold and pour foam so that when I get my exact seat position and size I will create a full single piece with gel lined top. I already have gel pads and a more enduro style seat and I am gaining about 5" up from stock. I would love to insert pictures but this forum is a lot less modern than it's other counterpart and lacks the creature comforts of a simple "insert picture". (Yall should fix that btw, the UI reminds me of 1997) Do I really need to post the picture on a 3rd party site and then manually insert a hyperlink?!?!? If I am just missing it please let me know.
I then attacked the handlebars as I was not a fan of the look or the sweep angle of the stock bars. I prefer a more commanding feel and had to figure out a way to mount universal bar risers on the GEN 1 top clamp. I fabricated a base plate to fit in the bottom section of the clamp that spans across the entire platform out of 1/4" stainless and then using a template drilled holes where the OEM handlebar holes are and then shortened the bolts and smoothed them off reinserting them and affixing the plate from the underside. I then lined up and drilled out 2 holes on top of the clamp to fit the universal clamps and let the tightening nuts go against a washer and the stainless plate.
MX bars and grips on a FJR. #feelsgreatman
They sit about an inch back and an inch up but have a flatter fisted approach angle as you can imagine. I love it, you don't have to.
I also made a homemade aluminum/plastic top "case" (more like a little truck bed) that will hold the equivalent of three full paper grocery bags completely full of stuff. Aluminum bar stock and a black heavy duty plastic bin cut down as I ride the bike everyday for work as a courier for various things and it comes off easily in case I just want to take a long ride or have a guest pillion. Super simple yet super effective. Not the prettiest but it can hold a ton of stuff up to about 75lbs and all the weight is forward and directly on the main frame. I have had if loaded with 2x30 racks and a 18 pack of beer and no problems. Pretty handy but not pretty.
Next up I am going to be installing a custom heat shield under the tank as the GEN 1 only comes with a heat reflective tape on the underside of the fuel tank and not the sexy one most of y'all have.
I am also going to be getting rid of the 2 pumpkin signals and installing low-profile LED signals. I very very very rarely use my signals anyway unless it is night and I am approaching a stopped car so I am not worried about brightness or how visible they are. I just don't like the look of the big orange pumpkins hanging off the side lol.
After that I am not sure, I may beef up the front springs, I may do a engine guard I am not really sure. I MAY turn this thing into and ADV and mess with both suspensions and put knobbies on it I dunno.
If anyone want's to help with me getting some pics up I would love to show anyone interested.
This was at the end of Nov. last year.
I checked some safety bits, replaced a horn relay, scrapped a faulty hand warmer wiring, changed some oil's, flushed some coolant and took her around 200 miles just around my home city of Albany, NY just to really put her through he paces and make sure I was confident she would run. Two days later I took her a little over a SS on the "Ride Around New York State" (which I botched) and I learned a ton of things about my new friend.
A: At 6'4" and with seriously bad knees I was either going to have to do serious yoga and hydrocortisone shots if I planned on riding this on 1000 mile days in the spring to come. The ergonomics are clearly more inclined to suit the ... "Japanese crowd"
B: The engine and power delivery was exactly what I had though it was and I loved the bike even if it made my body ache to get off it.
C: It desperately needed a car tire because it isn't a race bike or a supermoto and it weighs 650lbs. No brainer.
Most important thing first I threw a CT on the back and immediately felt 10 times better.
I learned about all the seats and the lowering pegs etc. etc. but I had already scraped the pegs on my "warm up" ride around town and I am a mildly aggressive rider so that went out the window quick. Nobody made a seat that was what I wanted and I am a cheap bastard and can't see forking out 1k for a totally custom seat so I looked into making my own.
So through trial and error I have remade the seat three times now and also learned how to build a mold and pour foam so that when I get my exact seat position and size I will create a full single piece with gel lined top. I already have gel pads and a more enduro style seat and I am gaining about 5" up from stock. I would love to insert pictures but this forum is a lot less modern than it's other counterpart and lacks the creature comforts of a simple "insert picture". (Yall should fix that btw, the UI reminds me of 1997) Do I really need to post the picture on a 3rd party site and then manually insert a hyperlink?!?!? If I am just missing it please let me know.
I then attacked the handlebars as I was not a fan of the look or the sweep angle of the stock bars. I prefer a more commanding feel and had to figure out a way to mount universal bar risers on the GEN 1 top clamp. I fabricated a base plate to fit in the bottom section of the clamp that spans across the entire platform out of 1/4" stainless and then using a template drilled holes where the OEM handlebar holes are and then shortened the bolts and smoothed them off reinserting them and affixing the plate from the underside. I then lined up and drilled out 2 holes on top of the clamp to fit the universal clamps and let the tightening nuts go against a washer and the stainless plate.
MX bars and grips on a FJR. #feelsgreatman
They sit about an inch back and an inch up but have a flatter fisted approach angle as you can imagine. I love it, you don't have to.
I also made a homemade aluminum/plastic top "case" (more like a little truck bed) that will hold the equivalent of three full paper grocery bags completely full of stuff. Aluminum bar stock and a black heavy duty plastic bin cut down as I ride the bike everyday for work as a courier for various things and it comes off easily in case I just want to take a long ride or have a guest pillion. Super simple yet super effective. Not the prettiest but it can hold a ton of stuff up to about 75lbs and all the weight is forward and directly on the main frame. I have had if loaded with 2x30 racks and a 18 pack of beer and no problems. Pretty handy but not pretty.
Next up I am going to be installing a custom heat shield under the tank as the GEN 1 only comes with a heat reflective tape on the underside of the fuel tank and not the sexy one most of y'all have.
I am also going to be getting rid of the 2 pumpkin signals and installing low-profile LED signals. I very very very rarely use my signals anyway unless it is night and I am approaching a stopped car so I am not worried about brightness or how visible they are. I just don't like the look of the big orange pumpkins hanging off the side lol.
After that I am not sure, I may beef up the front springs, I may do a engine guard I am not really sure. I MAY turn this thing into and ADV and mess with both suspensions and put knobbies on it I dunno.
If anyone want's to help with me getting some pics up I would love to show anyone interested.
