Introduction - Phoenix rider

[DrDan17]

I understand I am to introduce myself. My name is Dan, I have lived in Phoenix,AZ since 1965, when I was 14. I was an everyday rider from 1968 thru 1973, but sold my trusty CB160 when I moved to St.Louis to go to college. Back to Phoenix in '78. Kept my ticket active, but did not buy another bike, a 2006 Suzuki SV650S, until 2013. High-siding at 1 mph in a parking lot convinced me a refresher course was in order. Amazing how the hardest part of riding a motorcycle is at walking speeds. My wife complained that I was having all the fun, but she wouldn't get on the back of the SV, so I did some research and discovered that an FJR was just what we needed. I found several on Craigslist & bought my 2005 FJR1300 for $5000 in December of 2014. No, I didn't sell the SV. Yes, my left thigh gets really hot on the FJR, especially in the summer. Oh well; still love the bike, and so does my wife. We've put about 18,000 miles on it since purchase. The SV's only gotten 6,000 in that same time. Took another Team Arizona class last month on the FJ; good class; low speed is still an issue, but getting better. We took a ride to one of the local casinos today; temperature about 92 . . . groan, summer is in the near future, so it will be back to night touring soon. Riding is a year-round activity, so if I ever find a way to stay "cool" in the summer, I'll post it here.

[fontanaman]

Welcome to the Riders forum.

[wheatonFJR]

Welcome!

[raYzerman]

Welcome aboard!

[Teehaml]

Welcome Dan..

Yes our feejers will take a low speed nap very quickly... IMHO

[Red]

My name is Dan, I have lived in Phoenix,AZ since 1965, when I was 14. an FJR was just what we needed. I found several on Craigslist & bought my 2005 FJR1300 for $5000 in December of 2014. Yes, my left thigh gets really hot on the FJR, especially in the summer. Riding is a year-round activity, so if I ever find a way to stay "cool" in the summer, I'll post it here.

DrDan,

Welcome to our madness.

There are two different fixes for the Gen1 FJR heat problem, one for each side. Not too difficult, with some attention to detail. Each one is not an absolutely perfect fix, but they are touted as being good improvements. Please post if you can add anything to them later, for heat relief. One guy claims his ATGATT armor alone is a good fix for the heat, too. Not a bad idea. For the bike first:

Right side
http://www.fjrowners.com/forum/messages/6/10235.html?
Left side
http://www.fjrowners.com/forum/messages ... 1063970531

Feel free to search (or ask) for solutions to any such problems, on your FJR. Chances are, somebody has addressed and posted about those exact issues. The FJRowners site has a lot of tech available, also the FJRforum (a nice place to visit, when necessary). These five sites are a good start, for FJR tech articles:
http://www.fjrowners.com/
http://www.fjrforum.com/forum/
http://www.fjr1300.info/index.html
http://fjr-tips.org/
http://www.fjrtech.net/

[huron52]

Just spent last month in Phoenix(Feb).... if I had known we could have gone out for rides together. Welcome to the forum.

[LKLD]

Welcome, Dan!

[Uncle Hud]

1) Welcome.
2) Solve your heat issues by obtaining a 2017 FJR and moving to eastern Tennessee.

3) Practice your low speed maneuvers in a vacant parking lot using this. Use your rear brake (NOT THE FRONT!), keep your clutch just at the friction point, and don't be afraid to goose the throttle. Remember, you need to keep up your speed if you're going to lean, and if you're going to lean, you need speed to keep you from falling over.

I "ran the dots" ten or twelve times before starting any rides, and my low-speed capabilities were markedly improved after a few weeks.

[baowow]

Welcome. Fellow SV owner and soon to be fj owner here. Can hardly wait until April 1st...

[HTW1300]

Welcome

[Uncle Hud]

My sweetheart owns a yellow SV650.

[wheatonFJR]

My sweetheart owns a yellow SV650.

How about Aunt Kelly?

[baowow]

That's an sv with USD front suspension...:drools:

[BkerChuck]

Welcome aboard!

[Redfish]

I figured this guy must be important since his introduction was in the Announcements section.

As Hud says, the newer FJRs do manage their heat better. They made an improvement in '06 and again in '13. All it takes is money...

Welcome to FJRiders.

[Hppants]

Welcome, Dan. The FJR is a wonderful motorcycles, but as you will no doubt attest, are significantly heavier than an SV. I moved to the FJR many years ago from a Honda Nighthawk, up 175 pounds, 75 horsepower, and MUCH better brakes. I made the critical mistake of not respecting that change, and that coupled with hard old tires, contributed significantly to a low side crash just 2 weeks after I bought the FJR.

So I plead with you, sir - please don't make the same mistake. Take your time and go conservatively. Learn the limits of the bike (and your own limits) very gradually.

I hope you enjoy your FJR.

[NTXFJR]

Welcome to the asylum. Just a thought, my son bought the '04 I had from me last year. It had the same heat issues you spoke of. One of the mods we did was to buy some self stick foil covered insulation sheet, it was around 1/2" thick iirc, and it made a huge difference for him.

[CollingsBob]

Welcome!.dedicate a few days to practice at the start of every season will save your butt, and your dignity

[extrememarine]

Welcome - I suppose you have a more favorable riding weather for a greater portion of the year out there as compared to Michigan...

Heat fix for Gen 1 mentioned above will improve things; had reflective material under the tank of my '04 and it made the SC summer heat tolerable.

That slow speed stuff can be a challenge, but the bike will do it and the key really is practice, as mentioned above. I used to teach MSF when I stationed in SC; I used the FJR to demo most of the time - it was the practice that got me to the point of running the cones and u-turn box smoothly.

Wayne