FJRiders.com

Good idea.

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:09 pmGood idea.

Thanks. I also found my new fave FJR engine oil- Mobil 1 4 Stroke Motorcycle Engine Oil Racing 4T Full Synthetic 10W-40 from Auto Zone. Silver bottle, red banner that says "Racing 4T". Bike shifts like butter, totally different from the best shifting from my Gen2 bike.

I normally use Valvoline but the store was out so I just bought the Mobil1 instead rather than run around town trying to find Valvoline. Musta been divine intervention or sumpthin!

Continued to make adjustments on the new to me smuggler. Adjusted the hinge and latch as best as possible so hopefully it's now waterproof/resistant. Adjusted the air pressure in the tires and went for another little shake down ride to test my newly lightened feej. Was running about 3/4s of a tank and I have to say it was a very different feeling this time out. Nearly Flickable! was planning a good ride for tomorrow with my brother in law and a guy I haven't seen in about 10 years since our trip to the dragon in 2010. Hopefully we won't get washed out as now they're forecasting thunder storms and strong wind gusts..

Dug it out of the shed, yamafitter has got nothing on me. First time it's seen daylight since last October.

My FJR has been sitting more than ever. It's been really, really hot and rainy. More so than usual. This weekend was finally kind of nice. Little rain and just did break into the 90s. I can live with that.

Getting maintenance done on the FJR. I will ride it just enough to make sure the maintenance was done right. My day rides will be with the MT09. It rides cooler this time of year. Plus I need to finish off the front tire on it. I have a new one waiting. I will save the FJR tires for out of state trips. Soon........

Unpacking it.

Finished a 7 day ride Saturday with a mad dash through a monsoon in upper Michigan. Ride report forthcoming - as I work through it, I'm contemplating whether I should publish it as I work on it (aka cliff hanger style like 1911) or post it once complete.

extrememarine wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:08 am Unpacking it.

Finished a 7 day ride Saturday with a mad dash through a monsoon in upper Michigan. Ride report forthcoming - as I work through it, I'm contemplating whether I should publish it as I work on it (aka cliff hanger style like 1911) or post it once complete.

Looking forward to the report and detailing the time spent with Tim on Saturday........... you know during the monsoon.

TIm should ride out to the western states, fires would be gone in a week.

There was a significant disturbance in the force this past week - in 7 datys of riding, we did not see a drop of rain until we were about 5 miles away from Tim Saturday morning. Tim made the better choice that day- getting across the bridge to Mackinaw City and waiting out the weather.

Me, being the knucklehead that I am, choose poorly, and rode into the heaviest section of the storm. I had one piece of rain gear that worked flawlessly...

Cav47 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:30 am

extrememarine wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:08 am Unpacking it.

Finished a 7 day ride Saturday with a mad dash through a monsoon in upper Michigan. Ride report forthcoming - as I work through it, I'm contemplating whether I should publish it as I work on it (aka cliff hanger style like 1911) or post it once complete.

Looking forward to the report and detailing the time spent with Tim on Saturday........... you know during the monsoon.

TIm should ride out to the western states, fires would be gone in a week.

extrememarine wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:08 am Unpacking it.

Finished a 7 day ride Saturday with a mad dash through a monsoon in upper Michigan. Ride report forthcoming - as I work through it, I'm contemplating whether I should publish it as I work on it (aka cliff hanger style like 1911) or post it once complete.

As long as you don't publish it Spawn style.

extrememarine wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:08 am ... I'm contemplating whether I should publish it as I work on it (aka cliff hanger style like 1911) or post it once complete.

I've given this some thought lately. I think I understand the pros and cons for either way. It's kind of coming up "50/50" for me. The dilemma is thinking about which way would the reader prefer? And the answer I imagine is "it depends". On the one hand, people that don't have time to sift and read through my diatribe, a "daily dose" might be better. On the other hand, someone who is just looking for ride tour ideas, having the whole thing together might be more efficient.

(sigh)

From a marketing standpoint, you'd probably want to do it pieces at a time to keep people coming back "I wonder how far they got today", let me check

I do like the daily update thing. However, if you ever are late to the party for an RR, it SUUUUUUUUUCKS to go through all comments looking for the next installment, especially if there's a delay between updates and certain parties end up off on a tangent.

I simply do not understand folks who can update during the ride, like nightly. You folks are on another level altogether.

Rode it to Mt. Rainier National Park to take a few photos, enjoy the sights, see to trees, mountain flowers, ferns, lakes and blue sky.

Caught up to a bunch of slow vehicles including semi's so pulled over here at Rimrock Lake to enjoy a sandwich for lunch.



Mount Rainier at a scenic pullout along Hwy 12 just west of White Pass, where the Mahre brothers skied back in the day.



Add some wild flowers.



Stevens Canyon road with the FJR and Mt Rainier.



I was last to get through a one lane closure just before this so I was able to stand in the road.



Stopped at Reflection Lakes for a photo. It was breezy so the mountain reflection was missing today. Photographers flock to this spot early in the morning hoping for the perfect photo. In this photo there is a starburst of light coming off the FJR - appropriate!



Traffic got thick again so pulled over at this little used observation point for a photo op.



It was a great day to be on the FJR.

Calendar worthy shots!

Changed out the radiator fluid over the weekend as it was due and I wanted to creep up on NAFO prep.
Will be ordering RS4 shoes from my local guy shortly, to replace the excellent RS3's that are ready to go.

Guy was supposed to come and see the bike tonight. So i spent all day Sunday with a front end loader trying to excavate it from my shed.

Got it out. Washed it. Monday, i figured if better get the old gas or of it. Luckily shitty gas burns of quick. Put in $10 of fresh.

Today is the big day, buddy is coming to see it. I picked up some detailer and metal polish and spent about 3 hours detailing it. Man, it cleans up nice. I've never done that to that bike before.

Buddy contacts me. He can't make it tonight. He'd better not make haste, I'm rapidly reconsidering selling it.

Ever since reading about Cav's bearing failure on his trip, I've been having nightmares of this happening to me as my bearings have around 90K miles on them. With the forks shipped off to Traxxion and thinking about my trip coming up I decided to do a check of the front bearings. They felt a little notchy, bumpy to me. I pulled the rear wheel and those were smooth as butter.

I ordered up some bearings, a puller kit and a driver kit. Tonight I set about changing the bearings hoping to not create another "GixxerJasen" event.

I started with the non-abs side and man that thing did NOT want to budge, but eventually I persevered and it started moving and finally came free.

Sonofabitch. Once out the bearing feels butter smooth. WTF? Oh well, after the slide hammer operation it's not going back in especially with new ones sitting right there.

Started on the ABS side. Man, I'm glad I started on the other side because this side was twice as stubborn to get out, but out it came. Tapping the new ones in the ABS side was still the more difficult and I did it first. I was surprised at how easy the other side went in.

Slid the axle through and set it on a set of jackstands for a test spin and it spun long and smooth.

Oh well, probably didn't need doing after all but now I've done that task and know what's involved and my fronts are good for another 90K miles hopefully.

And I didn't "GixxerJasen" it up.

Rode it to Windy Ridge at Mt St. Helens viewpoint.

It was a nice day to be on the FJR.

gixxerjasen wrote: ↑Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:32 pm Oh well, probably didn't need doing after all but now I've done that task and know what's involved and my fronts are good for another 90K miles hopefully.

And I didn't "GixxerJasen" it up.

Cheap insurance, bearings are relatively cheap. I had a heck of a time removing with a blind bearing puller. Made an installer with some threaded rod and big washers, used the old races to push the new ones in. Still tricky with bearings frozen and wheel heated.... Fun little job that.

rbentnail wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:20 pm

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:09 pmGood idea.

Thanks. I also found my new fave FJR engine oil- Mobil 1 4 Stroke Motorcycle Engine Oil Racing 4T Full Synthetic 10W-40 from Auto Zone. Silver bottle, red banner that says "Racing 4T". Bike shifts like butter, totally different from the best shifting from my Gen2 bike.

I normally use Valvoline but the store was out so I just bought the Mobil1 instead rather than run around town trying to find Valvoline. Musta been divine intervention or sumpthin!

I can't find that Mobil 1 here, been looking..... I heard Chevron Delo has m/c specific, but no Chevron stuff here. Have to wait for a border opening so I can go shoppin'.