New PNW owner

[KMW]

Hi all. Just thought I would drop a note to say hi. I made a long time dream come true a few weeks ago. I have been out of street riding for about 15 years, but never lost the longing!

I always dreamed of something like an R1 or CBR1000, but as I got older and started reaching a point in life where I was close to getting another bike, I started researching with a more practical goal in mind. My wife likes riding second seat with me, and that pretty much rules out a straight sport bike! So my sights settled on the FJR1300. It seemed to be the perfect compromise for room for two up, and the power and performance I wanted.

So, a few weeks ago while browsing craigslist for used ones, I found that a local dealer had a smoking deal on a brand new 2014 model that they had scratched one of the hard bags on. One thing led to another, and I ended up with it in my shop!

Hard part was I bought it, rode it 17 miles straight home and parked it in the shop, and we left for a two week vacation the next morning! But, now we're back and I just rolled it over 400 miles today. Been making lots of small around-home trips, but today was the first day trip, doing 167 miles two up.

I have yet to wring this bike out yet, and it hasn't seen redline. In fact, I've barely ridden it in sport mode, but WOW! I absolutely love this bike! What an amazing machine!

So far all I've done to it is move the handle bars all the way back. I plan to just ride and get some time in it before I go changing or adding anything. I can maybe see some risers for the handle bars in the future, but we'll see if I just get used to it.

Anyway, great forum here! I lurked here for quite awhile leading up to this, learning. Thanks for all the info!

Oh, I'm in NW Washington.

[fontanaman]

Welcome to the nuthouse and congrats on the new FJR.

[Old Guy]

Welcome aboard.

[KMW]

Thank you all!

[Auburn]

Welcome. I host a tech meet each Spring and Fall just outside Auburn. This Fall will likely be in early October. There are usually 30-40 FJR's there and about 50 people. Good way to meet locals and some travelers and see what people have done to their bikes. As well as we do quite a bit of maintenance, tire changes, fork rebuilds, throttle body synchs, and occasionally we will do a valve check/adjustment.

If you haven't already joined, you may want to also try FJRForum.com too. Many frequent both forums.

[KMW]

Thank you! That sounds great. I'm have to keep an eye out and try and make that.

[wingshot]

Congrats on the new ride. Auburn and his wife are amazing people and hosts. The rest of the PNW crew is sketchy... Just sayin. Also don't leave a pie any where it will disappear.

[fontanaman]

Sketchy no independent yes. Pie certainly.

[Harald]

Welcome from another PNW rider near Tacoma. I usually hang out in the other FJR internet sandbox, but check in here occasionally.

I haven't dealt with your dealership, but have experienced the same kind of frustrations with companies that need to learn about customer service. I bought my 07 from Renton Motorcycles almost 8 years ago and have been back a couple times for warranty work. On one occasion I had scheduled the bike for work that day and arranged to drop the bike in the morning (key in drop box) and pick it up after work. When I arrived after work, I found that they hadn't even started the work because they forgot my bike was there. Arggh! In their defense, the manager came out and apologized and gave me a $50 store gift card and voucher for dinner in their diner (they had a restaurant overlooking their indoor dirt bike track) which is what I would expect if they want to keep customers they've screwed over. But alas, they went out of business.