Jolene, Jolene, Jolene...

[Festus]

Wait....the guy who screwed up taking 2 parts apart has been busting my chops for taking a 13,000 piece motorcycle apart?

Just kidding. That’s exactly the reason I’d prefer not to work on them without adult supervision.

Took JoJo for a ride tonight. Got to stretch her legs a little. Rode for almost an hour. Ran great. Shifts so smooth. Came back at dark and started Eleanor to put her away and she didn’t sound happy for being ignored, so put my helmet and gloves back on and took her for a run and filled her up with gas. Really interesting to get off Jolene and onto Eleanor. Jolene definitely shifts smoother than Eleanor. No bar risers on Jolene and risers on Eleanor.

At the end of the hour, happy to report no leaks or drips yet. I think it’s about 60 miles on her since her operation.

[ericboutin]

Well that's a couple hours of my life well spent!! Definitely a most awesome thread! Kudos Mr. Festus!!

[raYzerman]

Festus: How do I remove the handlebars? How do I disconnect the throttle? I'm gonna fully rebuild these forks!

Oh wait, nevermind, I'm the wrong person to be making these comments...just don't "GixxerJasen" your forks.

I'm actually more frightened by the forks than the transmission. That shit is a black art to me. I might have to connect with Bob and see if he'll give me a hand if I bring the forks to him. I don't think he's doing a tech day this year, is he? Anyone know?

Well then..... Bob has a press to push the seals out hydraulically, and good idea to have adult supervision first time around.... EZ after that.

[Viper_Dad]

<snip> .... however, having seen the FJR in yellow, it really doesn't work for it. Don't know why but it doesn't.

I am also a big fan of yellow-painted vehicles, but I'd like to utter something close to heresy: in the world of motorcycle styling, FJRs take the place of big Buick SUVs. Not your grandfather's Buick, perhaps, but something more akin to the newer, slightly jazzed-up Buick SUVs. We have big bags, a bulky (though aerodynamic) fairing, and most of us carry a topbox and assorted devices scattered across our handlebars. The FJR disguises its sportbike DNA very well.

While I dearly love the Kenny Roberts paint scheme, it's probably not the best idea for a Buick SUV or an FJR.

Ironically, I recently bought a Buick Enclave in the most gorgeous of GM's colors: White Diamond Tricoat. The pearl in that color is unbelievable, and even though I'm not yet 80 years old I still love the styling, amenities, and comfort of my Buick! The analogy to the FJR is perfect... I believe they are both the best in their categories.

[Festus]

Viper Dad stopped by today to go for a ride on Jolene. We managed to log 120 miles on the girls today. Not bad considering we didn't leave until some time after 2:00 and he had to be back by 5:00. I think it seemed like 45 minutes, so either it was really fun, or we were going really fast, or both

Such a fun afternoon and to hear Viper Dad on the Sena calling his '08 a fat pig after riding Jolene for about 60 seconds Made me laugh. So funny. I have some video, but nothing earth shattering. I have been troubleshooting the 20S and had 2 of them, with different firmware on each, so after about 45 minutes, we stopped and I swapped out the 20S and didn't take the time to pair it with my camera, so I lost the ability to tell when it was on or off, and apparently, it was off the rest of the trip Through the fun stuff, of course. We turned onto a long, straight road, in the middle of no where and Viper Dad was in front, pushing really good. He backed off, I kept rolling, and blew by him. When I left off, he said "Dude, your license plate is hanging on, it's about to fall off". Then I remembered, I had swapped plates and the nuts were nylock nuts and I needed a wrench to hold them. Then I got distracted and forgot about them, so we were lucky that the one bolt was still holding it on. That's the truth, but my story was that apparently I only had 100 mph bolts on the plate and pushing over that must have caused them to fail

Great fun, and Viper Dad took some photos of her today. And some of you bitches think she needs to get gussied up with Kenny Robert's attire. Bite your tongue! She's beeeeeyouuuutiifffffuuulllllll.

[wheatonFJR]

Sweet!

[gixxerjasen]

Hey now, I just said if you can't match it, try something new. Matching it seems to be a pain and it'd be a shame to see mismatched stuff on Jolene when she could have a pretty new dress that's all the same color.

Looks like a good ride, glad I haven't ridden one of these new ones because I have too many miles left in my heavy old 07.

[LKLD]

My heart is filled with joy...seriously.

[Viper_Dad]

For those who have not had the unique opportunity to switch between a Gen II and a Gen III, I have some advice for you: don't do it unless you are prepared to open your wallet, turn it upside down, and empty it into the pockets of whomever is offering it for sale. Maybe it was the new shift fork and gears, maybe it was the heated grips, cruise control, and Mode button or maybe it was simply Jolene's spirit speaking to me but that was the best few hours of 2018 for me so far. I have been converted to the church of Jolene, drinking from the cup of seemingly endless horsepower she offers, blurring all outside thoughts except being on her.

I had never ridden a Gen III before, my '08 (Raven) is the only FJR I have known. Festus, gracious enough to let me have a taste of what Jolene has to offer, had me begin the journey in Sport Mode. I spent the first few minutes overrevving the engine, desperately trying to reprogram my brain to a new(er) bike. The throttle response was instant, in a way that Raven has never been despite syncing the throttle bodies. In my defense, Raven has old school throttle bodies and Grip Puppies while Jolene currently has a digital heart and naked grips (excuses, excuses, I know). Riding Jolene was sensory overload: She's so fast! She's got so many buttons on the bars! Why are my hands warm? The dashboard is so different! Am I already going 90mph?! I could sense Festus wincing through the Sena as I reprogrammed my riding style but he patiently waited for my feedback about the riding experience. When we turned onto a straightaway and I could finally "accelerate briskly" (moto talk for obtaining speed at a rapid rate), I heard a string of expletives coming out of my mouth. The acceleration was beyond exhilarating, a never ending wave of power pushing me off the bike... and remember, I've been riding a very nice FJR for years. It was as if someone had tightened every bolt, cable, and joint on an already awesome frame... she accelerated quicker and stopped harder than anything I had experienced. There was no comparison between Raven and Jolene.

Given our limited timeframe, our ride took us through urban and rural areas, a great opportunity to fully explore the clutch, throttle, and brakes. I found myself stopping short, shifting early, clutching too little or too much... it was a complete change. Everything worked with such precision, so different than the rubbery feeling of the controls on Raven. The suspension was hastily setup and the rear tire was down to 36psi so the conditions were not ideal, but Festus had done so much to this point there was no fault. I am spoiled by the new PR4GT tires I put on Raven, they really are an amazing balance of control and performance, so the older Bridgestones (is that right?) on Jolene were letting her down. I could certainly lean into the corners like a Moto GP rider (at least in my head) but she was a bit skittish, a bit unsettled during harder riding. No doubt a new set of shoes would transform her into a road-carving beast. Raven has a couple different windscreens, a CalSci tinted shorty and a giant Rifle screen I use for winter, so I was shocked at how quiet Jolene's stock screen was, it offered me really good protection at highway speed and plenty of air down low (but I'm only 5' 8"). How does it work so well when it's so small? We pulled over to let Festus switch his Sena and he showed me how to switch into Touring Mode. Instantly, Jolene felt like Raven. The throttle suddenly contained sludge, responding much slower and gentler. "Hmm." I thought, "This could work really well for when my wife's riding with me." I was now riding like normal, my brain knew exactly what to do in this mode. After a few miles, I turned it back to Sport Mode because I am a speed junkie but how cool was it to have the choice? Jolene is quite the saleslady.

I have enjoyed Raven and had certainly never suffered until this point but now I knew too much... Jolene was light years ahead of Raven. I could have ridden until the sun faded away but I had to return her to Festus and take Raven home. Hopping back onto Raven was like taking a step back in time, everything suddenly felt "dated". As I approached an interstate on-ramp I downshifted, pulled the front brake, and immediately realized I was overriding the abilities of the bike. In just a few short hours my brain had readjusted to Jolene. But then it happened... I grabbed third gear, stayed on the power, and leaned hard into the on-ramp. Raven held like she was stuck with glue, I leaned far enough to almost glance the foot peg on the asphalt. As I entered the straight I accelerated hard, ducking under the windscreen and touching the tank with my chest. Raven, you're still a great ride.

So that is my impression of both Jolene and my simple brain trying to adjust to a Gen III. It was unendingly fun, eye opening, and a bit overwhelming. It has taken me a couple days to settle down (I spent my Saturday showing the pics of Jolene to anyone that would look, then boring them with her incredible story of rebirth). The Gen III is a transformative leap forward for the FJR, I recommend everyone get one. Then again, if you currently own a Gen II then don’t , don’t, don’t ride a Gen III if you can’t afford it, you’ll never want to go back.

In the end, she lives up to her name, employing all of Dolly Parton's lyrics in full force. All I could hear was my inner voice saying, "Raven who? There is only Jolene."

[raYzerman]

Dolly? Maybe try this too... what is the speed of light? The pace of the music is like a ride?

[wheatonFJR]

That "touring" mode was made for me. I am too ham fisted in the tight twisties to trust myself in them with sport mode, as I would be in full traction-control actuation, repeatedly.

I do love it for those cases when I am 700 miles from home and am forced to commune with heavy interstate traffic to get home that day. When it is in sport mode, when you do something, you are already there.

Mebbe one day I will be good enough to control the throttle in the posted 25mph curves, mile after frikken mile...but right now, I will just keep it in the high revs and whack that throttle open while chasing that double yellow down the mountain side.

[gixxerjasen]

Back when I'd gotten my first DRZ400SM I took it straight to the track. A guy pulled up next to me while we waited to be sent out for our session and he was on a fully tricked out KTM Supermoto. We chatted and he offered to let me take a session on his bike. Nice guy but I told him that my bike was too new for me to hate it so soon so I'd pass. Same thing here. I'll pass on any offer to take a Gen III for a spin. I'm not ready to be RFH and say that I'd rather push a Gen III than ride an Gen II.

Oh yea, and one thing Jolene doesn't have to tempt me with is the fancy extra buttons on the left in place of a clutch lever. I'm good for a while, but look forward to the eventual upgrade. Maybe a Gen V FJR for me.

[Festus]

A little footage from Friday....

https://vimeo.com/260663624/013d73370a

[wheatonFJR]

A little footage from Friday....

https://vimeo.com/260663624/013d73370a

Awesome post!

Loved it.

[LKLD]

A little footage from Friday....

https://vimeo.com/260663624/013d73370a

Wow, that was awesome! Marie and I watched it together, with smiles on our faces, and Marie with chill bumps. Marie said after watching it;

" Oh my God, that was so great! To see the transformation, this video, and Steve keeping her name....I'm so glad we sold it to him! Now we can still follow Jolene on her adventures...this is so wonderful!"

Seriously, who sells a bike and gets to stay in touch with what's going on with it, like this? I feel very lucky.

Best part of the video, was hearing Viper say "I'm going to jail." Too funny!

Oh, Viper, Marie loved your post too, along with myself, as it was a very accurate, descriptive post of how I felt when I first rode her 5 yrs ago. Thanks for that memory.

[bungie4]

That "touring" mode was made for me. I am too ham fisted in the tight twisties to trust myself in them with sport mode, as I would be in full traction-control actuation, repeatedly.

This.

[silverback]

That "touring" mode was made for me. I am too ham fisted in the tight twisties to trust myself in them with sport mode, as I would be in full traction-control actuation, repeatedly.

This.

S mode is 06-07 throttle mapping.
T mode is 05 with an upgraded throttle cam and the springs unwound a turn.

I like ripping around town in S mode, but then the chips are down and it's leaned over, its T mode all the way.

Little known fact, you can engage cruiser mode by turning the rotory selector between the handlebars fully counterclockwise.

[raYzerman]

What the heck is T mode, LOL.... S mode is late Gen2 mapping without the snatch issue or hesitation. I really didn't think there was any power difference between Gen2 and 3, just that it's more instantly responsive. I tried T mode, but my wrist had to turn more to get it to go, so never use it.

[Uncle Hud]

T mode = Hud stays in the saddle.

S mode = Hud is sprawled on the pavement watching his FJR bounce down the highway.

[bill lumberg]

A little T mode in the rain Saturday and today make me think that my traction control system isn’t working at all. No joke.