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Avon Storms

February 3, 2008 in 06 FJR 1300, Motorcycling by MAD | No comments

At the last tire change I put on a pair of Avon Storms.

I decided to try the Storms because many folks claim the are “the @#$@$”. Outstanding handling and performance as well as reasonable life.

I had to replace the first rear right at 6k, which considering I got a good 7k out of the previous Metzlers wasn’t what I had in mind. The front still looked ‘great’ although the handling was starting to deteriorate. I mounted a new rear and marched on.

We’ll 5000 miles later I was very sorry. The front went to hell at about 8000 miles total, but we were on our way to the Void Rally and didn’t have time. The tread still looked good but it had started to wear really lopsided.

After the rally I ordered up a new set of Pilot Road 2’s. Now weather and other factors meant it would be about 3 months before I’d get those mounted.

The following are photos of the Storms:

2nd Rear after 5k miles. Well into the wear bars but probably has another 2k left in it. Somewhat flat spotted in the middle but I’d venture out of those 5k miles, only 1200 are slab, so I’m not impressed.

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The front:

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I didn’t like the Storms and won’t buy them again.

  1. They took a crap load of weight to balance.
  2. I didn’t like them on tar snakes and painted lines. Very, very slippery.
  3. I felt their wet weather performance was only mediocre, not outstanding.
  4. Life is poor in my opinion. To me there were a step backwards from the Metz Z6’s

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My FJR thinks it’s a Harley…

October 7, 2007 in 06 FJR 1300, Motorcycling by MAD | 1 comment

Ugh… My final drive has been weeping, and it appears to be getting worse.

After the ride today, it only took 15 minutes to create this:

This after just 380 or so miles. That rear wheel was just cleaned, so clean you could eat off of it.

I’m sure this would fall under warranty, but I don’t have a clue as to who I’d trust with the bike for what will amount to a $12 seal?

UPDATE:

By the looks of things externally, based upon where the leak appears to be… I need one or more of the following seals (in the red Circles)

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Of course none of the local dealers have these parts so I’m giving University Motors in Fargo North Dakota a shot at them. If I have to wait, might as well get decent pricing on the parts. How bad could this repair be? We shall soon find out.

Update:

I’ve recently learned that…  I’m probably over filling this thing.   Now at my first ever fluid change I was careful to put in just the required amount.  It seems to me that that volume of fluid filled it to the bottom of the threads for the fill plug.  But allegedly that’s not right.  If you have that much in it, it’s too full and has no where to go but to get pushed past the seals.

So, I’m going to do my 20k maintenance soon.  Install 2 new tires, plugs, and change all the fluids.  When I do that I’ll clean everything up and make sure I have just the 8 ounces or what’s required and see if it still leaks.

Prior to the void rally, I topped it off (to the bottom of the threads).  It leaked/weeped like a SOB the entire time but when I checked it.  It’s still full, so I must be over filling it.  Or at least that’s the current logic.

Are the current seals ruined?  Not sure.  I still have them on order and will replace them if necessary.

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Garmin Zumo is the shizzle.

May 21, 2007 in 06 FJR 1300, Motorcycling by MAD | No comments

Wow,

As indicated, I’m participating in a rally this weekend. Because my right hand man at work will also be unavailable (out of town) this causes a small dilemma. We need to be reachable, because it seems that Murphy always shows up when we go somewhere together.

Previously I had the Scala-Rider Bluetooth headset that I used so that I could be reachable. I don’t like to ride and talk on the cell phone, there’s already enough going on that I just don’t like it, but it is hands free so that’s a plus.

Last fall I migrated/upgraded my onboard entertainment to a StarCom1 intercom with iPod music input, as well as Radar (when needed) and the GPS audio. This system just rocks. For the rally my GPS was getting a bit dated. The Garmin Quest 1 is fine, except that it’s internal storage for maps isn’t all that large. I couldn’t load enough maps to potentially cover the rally area. I lucked into a Quest2 which holds all the maps for the US, but man is it slow.

That brings me to the Zumo. This brilliant GPS is designed for bikers. It’s designed for gloved touch screen use, can interface with XM, and has bluetooth.

After reading a few reviews on the FJR board, and doing a little digging it became apparent that this was the way to go. This baby puts me back into a situation to be reachable on the bike as well as upgrades my GPS considerably.

The unit is mounted on a Tech Mount Stem Mount, audio and mic cables are plugged in to the StarCom1. Audio isn’t ‘perfect’ but similar to most of the bluetooth head sets I’ve used with the Treo 700p which has a crappy bluetooth implementation anyway.

With this I have crazy fast and accurate GPS, 2gb of mp3s for it to play (as well as my iPod pumped into the StarCom1), and now bluetooth connectivity for my phone. I mounted everything tonight (had to wait on cables for the StarCom1) and it works great!.

Photos:

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One other thing, the Zumo motorcycle mount is brilliant. It’s water tight, and has this crazy magnetic cover to cover the contacts with the Zumo is out of the mount.

To keep your Zumo, there’s a ’security’ screw that you screw in. The basically keeps the mount from releasing your Zumo from the bike. It’s just a funky screw with a funky screw driver. You’re supposed to mount this on your key ring, but the brilliant minds at Garmin didn’t realize that they put the hole on the wrong end. Basically the screw driver stayed attached to your keys which made it darn near impossible to use. (It’s a really tiny screw).

I fixed that by drilling an identical hole in the cap and attaching that to the key chain. We’re good now.

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Getting someone’s attention

May 13, 2007 in 06 FJR 1300, Motorcycling by MAD | No comments

The stock horns on the JFR are a joke. FJRandy on the FJRForum makes a ready made wiring harness for the 138db Magnum Blasters.

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I’ve ordered up a set and will install them when the arrive. (although I didn’t opt for chrome, they’ll be black as all horns should be)

I need to redo all my electrical farkles. I have far too many things attached to the battery now:

- Battery Tender lead
- Lead for the gerbings heated gear (of which I need to add another for my passenger)
- Power for the Starcom1

The battery tender does dual duty, I power the GPS from that when it’s not tending to the battery.

I picked up a 6 outlet BlueSeas fuse box to redo all of this but don’t know if I’ll have time before the next ride.

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More details later when I get to hook all this stuff up.

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A good way to start the season.

March 26, 2007 in 06 FJR 1300, Just Ramblings, Motorcycling by MAD | No comments

Yesterday I took off early to meet some folks from the FJR Forum.

I got up at 0 dark-thirty and took off to meet up with Nate and Mike. Nate was riding in from West of Indianapolis, and Mike from Louisville. Our meeting point was exit 112 on I-70. I got there promptly at 9am, which was a task given all the fog.

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The three of us then rolled on over to exit 202 I think, to meet the rest of the gang at a little po-dunk gas station.

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We rolled away from there around 10am, and ran route 800, 255 (which was horrible from a gravel stand point), 26, and a few other numbers.

We stopped and took a little break then picked up a tag-a-long VStrom which made us a pack of 8.

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The roads were all good except for the one that was 25 miles of gravel, sand and cinders. It was pretty amazing that no-one went down considering the conditions.

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We rode a good few hours and ended up in Marietta for lunch at a Ryan’s steak house. It wasn’t my pick, and surprisingly everything was pretty good. Good time, good riding, good company. That’s what it’s all about.

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After lunch we headed back to where we started. Another good hour and a half of riding through more twisties up 26. We stopped that the gas station, and said our goodbyes.

Mike, Nate and I headed back towards home. We arrived together, we might as well leave together since we’re all headed the same direction. Things were fine until we started to get on I-70. The entrance ramp there is a bit funky. You cross over the highway, turn left on a side street, then an immediate left onto the ramp. Mike almost over shot the ramp, turned left quickly and then *boom* down he went. The exit ramp was covered with gravel and sand.

He went down hard and fast, then slid a good 25~30 feet off the side of the road into a ditch.

Nate and I stopped and helped him pick up the bike. Mike was fine because he was AGAT (All the Gear All the Time). His jacket and pants saved him from any road rash and his helmet kept him from busting his head wide open. He went down pretty hard and bounced right back up none the worse for wear.

His bike though didn’t do so well.

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Damage included pretty much everything on the left side, upper and lower fairings, his highway peg was trashed, as were his aux lighting on the left as well. Left side exhaust was scraped up, and he even got the left side of the top case.

Again, Mike was fine, because he was covered. His bike mechanically was Ok too. He rode it home to Louisville. Nate and I followed him to make sure he and the bike were OK.

Outside of Mike’s episode, it was a great day. I put down almost 700 miles and Mike and Nate did almost a 1000.

 

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Time for tires…

March 10, 2007 in 06 FJR 1300 by MAD | 1 comment

I ordered up a set of Avon Storms to replace the original Metzler Z6’s about a month ago, but the weather has been too poopy to get out there and get anything done.

I did get the bike out Friday and commuted to work, made a lunch run, and made it home.

I got 7857 miles out of these original tires, although you can certainly say I pushed that rear a little far. It wasn’t showing treads when I left work Friday and I almost went for a ride today. Good thing I didn’t.

Dad purchased a no-mar tire change for us since we tend to go through some tires and paying someone else to change them is getting old.

First order of business, remove the wheels from the bike. I put the FJR on the center stand then with the help of my daughter Maggie, I ‘rocked’ the center stand up on two 2×4’s to get more clearance.

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I then removed the rear tire first. Paying special attention to the ABS sensor. I found an old sock in the tool shed and put it in that to keep it covered and off of any other metal parts.

After removing the rear tire I pushed down on the bike and had her stick a 2×4 on top of the two stacked 4×4’s under the header to get the front off the ground.

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I needed to put the front ABS sensor in something and couldn’t find another sock so I used a plastic bag that I had laying around. That should work just as well.

Here are the stock Metz’s after 7857 miles.

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There’s still some life in the front, but I’m going to replace them both.

The back is SHOT… Ack!

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More fun tomorrow with the No-Mar as we figure out how to get that thing mounted to something… Dad was right we should have just bought the hitch mount thing and I may order that in the future.

 

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2007 Polar Bear Ride

January 1, 2007 in Motorcycling by MAD | No comments

Gar started this mess two years ago and it was supposed to be an annual thing.

I don’t know what happened last year. The first year there was snow on the ground but it wasn’t as cold as today.

When I lift the house this morning it was a tepid 42 degrees. It had to warm up right? Yesterday the weatherman (first mistake was believing them) was that it would be a high of 50.

It just got colder as the day wore on.

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We hooked up at the gas station in front of the drawbridge inn around 10am. Pat then took us on a quick ~30 mile ride around the Rabbit Hash area. We stopped at the country store (same as last time) and warmed up by the stove.

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Then off to the Hofbrau House for some good eats. My hands nearly froze on the ride to the Hash, but then I wised up and put on my heated gloves. Once they were in place all was well. I think everyone had electrics so no one froze to death.

We left the hash and headed straight towards the Hofbrau for some good eats.  Good ride, good time, good company, and good food.  Can’t ask for any better than that.
For the ride home it was a balmy 36 degrees and the wind was brutal, but I was as toasty as could be.

Thank you Mr. Gerbings ;)

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So when is leather not leather?

October 9, 2006 in Commentary, Just Ramblings, Motorcycling by MAD | No comments

When it’s plastic that’s when.

OK so it starts like this:

I buy and sell things on ebay from time to time. Yes, it’s true, you can get decent deals on some things on ebay. But you have to know what you’re looking for and be patient. There is a lot of ‘crap’ on ebay.

I do some pretty routine searches for things like, FJR1300 for things for my motorcycle. Occasionally I’ll look for other motorcycle gear too. I ended up getting a great deal on a used Joe Rocket Jacket. A $250 jacket for $65 bucks plus shipping was $80 and it was like new.

So once in a while I’ll search for something like “Yamaha Leather” or “Yamaha Leathers” or what not.

Well, one day this turned up:

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Now, I need another jacket like I need a hole in the head. But this is a Valentino Rossi replica GO!!!!!!!!!! ‘Leather’ jacket with CE armor (good stuff) and I could use it on a track day with appropriate pants. Two piece zip-together.

It was advertised as:
Go ! Team Yamaha Moto GP leather Jacket in Size L & XL
and it was cheap, $115.00 US buy it now.

What in the world? So now if something is too good to be true it usually is. I have bought a couple XL things from over seas and their XL people are not the same size as our XL people. So I was a little concerned about that. But no, the fine print says an XL should fit me.

Hrm…

I kept looking. Now if this was a single item from an individual I wouldn’t be so skeptical but it isn’t, there are a few of these things.

Then I find it. In the fine print:

Features: AAA synthetic leather.

Just what is Triple-A synthetic leather anyway? Sounds like plastic to me.

So I asked the seller: Hum, You say leather in the title, but synthetic in the fine print, that’s a little miss leading don’t you think?

The response? “There are lots of different type of leathers. The one we are selling is synthetic PU leather which provides better breatheability and advantages over other leathers such as : Easy to clean with a sponge and water. Impervious to absorption (sweat won’t cause rotting). Highly flexible in cold weather.”

Yeah, that’s plastic. While that’s fine, it’s not good to crash in, which is what this jacket is supposed to be for, to keep you from getting road rash. It’s made from PVC and is very dangerous stuff for motorcycling. This stuff will more than likely melt to your skin in the event of a crash. No good.

Leather is animal hide, like from a cow or better yet a kangaroo if you’re going to drag across the asphalt.

Thanks but no thanks.

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FJR 1300 Police Bike

August 7, 2006 in 06 FJR 1300 by MAD | 1 comment

The Netherlands are using the FJR as a Police Bike.

And it looks pretty sweet:

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2006 FJR Steering Head Service (Check and Tightening)

August 3, 2006 in 06 FJR 1300 by MAD | 1 comment

OK, so I’ve had my 06 FJR for almost a month. About 2400 miles or so into ownership I noticed a little thunk up front every time I hit something hard.

I checked the front end as part of the 600 mile service, but while in Vermont, when I checked I felt a little play in the steering head.

Not to worry, it just needed a little TLC and tightening.

To do this on an 06A really couldn’t be easier. Put the bike on the center stand and support the front end. (Get it off the ground). I do need/want to build one of those front end stands that straddle the bike and support it with straps but I haven’t had time to do that yet. For today I just stuck my floor jack under it with a board on the headers and gave it a couple easy pumps.

The tools for this are really simple.

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