daboo

James (jtvisions) and I looked at the weather, and after a long spell of rain, we saw our chance. So with promises of dry weather and sunny skies, I headed north to James' house to meet up with him. Unfortunately, before I could get there the Puget Sound Convergence Zone reared its ugly head. Once I got north of Everett, the bad weather was behind me, and beautiful skies lay ahead. Deception Pass and the bridge. If you have time, read the description on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception_Pass It's a place worth spending a couple hours at, though we didn't this time.

Rosario Beach.

I totally understand. I had a bad experience with Avon tires on a previous bike. I suspect they have changed for the better since then. I've had RS3s twice...maybe three times. They've worn well and the front did not cup. I feel like the Conti RA3s are better. But!... ...The RS3 and Conti RA3 are several years old by now. The Dunlop RS3s were good...very good. Otherwise, I'd never have bought multiple sets. Nor would I have seriously considered them as the next set for my bike. But the Conti RA3s are phenomenal. It's an intangible feeling. But you won't feel that freedom of totally committing to the corner if you don't trust the bike...and the tires that are the thing keeping you from sliding out. I'm thinking there's a very real possibility that the Dunlop RS4s will be marginally better than the Continentals. I'm hoping anyway that 4 years of R&D will make that happen. Don't hold your breath on the review. I'm taking advantage of the rebate. It'll be a couple months before I need to replace the Conti RA3s. I have 10,000 miles on them now and they aren't close to replacing. Chris

Beautiful area. Thanks for sharing. Chris

Cool! Thanks. Chris

That's why I don't end up with a new bike every couple years. Or a new car for that matter. It isn't like there are quantum leaps in technology or the experience. If there were such quantum leaps...why are there the retro models? It probably would...but it would be fun reading. Chris

That's why I wrote that it seems no online orders are being accepted. Cycle Gear matched the price with no hassle at all. But I also made sure to walk into the local store to make the order so it qualified for the rebate. Ordering online from Cycle Gear wouldn't qualify. FWIW, my reason for ordering from Cycle Gear is simple. I change my own tires now. But if I run into an issue while doing so, I can take them to Cycle Gear to be mounted for @ $25 a wheel...if I bought the tires from them. Chris

Back when Olympia was still operating, I used to compare things like my AST2 jacket against Klim and wonder why anyone would pay that much more for Klim. I really hope my current Olympia gear lasts for the rest of my riding career because I see little that compare for the quality, attention to detail and price. Chris

I was hoping that we'd see some comparison reviews from one of the remaining motorcycle magazines about the bikes in this category. The Tracer GT obviously. But add in the BMW F900XR, the Triumph, the Multistrada 950, and the Versys 1000. Didn't happen. Chris

I was a project manager. I find it hard not to plan ahead. Chris

I just ordered my new Dunlop Roadsmart IV tires. The rebate is good through 11/30. If you buy just the tires, the rebate is $40. If you get anything else done as part of purchasing the tires, like installation, balancing, etc. then the rebate goes up to $60. The rebate website is https://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com/experience/promotions/ I advise you to check to ensure the place you plan to buy your tires from, is one that Dunlop accepts for qualifying for the rebate. For instance, Revzilla isn't accepted, nor is any other online source that I can find. I went to Cycle Gear to check the price online, and found the tires were $30-40 more per tire than Revzilla's price...even though they are owned by the same company. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, I stopped in to my local Cycle Gear store and talked to the manager...and she immediately matched the Revzilla price. So I was able to buy my tires, from the store I had planned to order them from...and get the rebate. FWIW, I wrestled with which tire to buy. It was down to the Dunlop Roadsmart III and IV, and the Continental Roadattack III. I like the Conti RA III tires very very much. With the rebate, the new Dunlop RS IV tires were actually just a few $$ less...and I'll get to see if the newest technology has made a difference. If no difference, then I'll go back to the Dunlop RS III...for a hundred dollars less, or the Conti RA III tires. None of the others are on my radar. I don't need tires today. I probably won't need tires till next January or February. But no one will have a rebate for months after I need tires. It makes sense to me to get them in my garage now, and save a few bucks. If I run out of room in the garage, I can also put them in my living room with a sheet of plywood on top and use them as a coffee table. I'm sure the wife won't mind. Chris

I ride with some Kawasaki Concours owners who have the keyless fob. It all works great till it doesn't. One guy put the fob in a pocket that turned out to have a hole in it. The bike ran great for miles and miles and miles till he stopped. When he tried to restart it, the fob was nowhere to be found. Another instance I read about is when a couple of them are together and decide to swap bikes. They don't think to swap fobs too. They're close enough to start both bikes, and the bikes keep running afterward. But somewhere along the ride, one stops to take a picture or something. When he gets back on the bike...it won't start. Chris

Good to hear. My slightly more expensive $50 battery is still doing well. No battery tender either, but then I ride almost every day. Chris

Now that post I made was worthwhile, just for the laugh I just got from keithu's post. See, this looks beautiful to me. The lines flow. The colours are nice. This would be on my short list. On the other hand...only a mother could love this. I'm not impressed by the electronic wizardry. I've ridden BMW's with it, and found my "inferior" suspension to actually be better in comparison. And in talking to others who have the "Dynamic" suspension on a BMW model, they turn that off because it is too harsh to be enjoyable. But...it sounds cool when you're trying to justify why you spent $15K to buy this new bike...after the trade-in. The only thing that is appealing, is the LED lights. And I can retrofit LED lights to the 2019 model just fine...for pocket change in comparison to the new model. The increase in gas mileage...hah! You lose that much by sitting in traffic for a few minutes. I'm just saying that you already have an excellent bike. And the new offering isn't so much that it is "better", but that it has toys to entice you to sell what is already good to buy what is not that much better. But it is your money, not mine. And I've already learned that I keep up with bikes just fine that have double the hp that I have. More hp is only good for the marketing execs to convince you to buy a bike, and for you to justify why you spent that money when you had a wonderful bike to begin with. Chris

A thought occurred to me while reading this. Actually, two or three thoughts. First, this is a good distraction while the weather turns lousy for riding in the Northern Hemisphere. 🙂 Second...I'm always amazed at the interest in the new bikes. Sure, its a cool distraction, but... What's wrong with what you have? I thought the FJ-09 and the Tracer that followed it were great bikes. You guys seem to love them. But then I can sense the drool on your keyboards as you want to have this new, better, more improved, model that the marketing folks say "you just gotta have this". I look at a bike like this and ask myself what it gives me that I don't have already. Then I look at what that will cost me. MSRP isn't where it stops...it's only the beginning. My current bike has about $3K of add-ons, and I suspect a new bike would end up with a few as well. Plus, there's always dealer prep, transportation and taxes. And then I get on my bike and ride away into the sunset (or rain now) with a smile on my face. Chris

You're allowed to have up to 30 people at a funeral. So have a funeral procession. The dearly departed can be a poor cow in a hamburger that you will all celebrate their passing. Chris

I thought it was ugly. Then I did the 360 degree spin view...and confirmed it. It is ugly. Chris

I got out of church today, and the rain hadn't started yet. In fact, it looked pretty good, even if it was cloudy. I checked my weather app, and it looked like I'd get caught in it at some point if I took a ride, but I decided to anyway. I headed out to High Bridge Road. It's close by, goes through some farmland and woods. Has lots of twists and turns. And it is good enough to ride, that many people would go quite a ways to ride it...and it is in my back yard. That's an interesting pattern. Chris

The weather forecast yesterday showed 10 days of rain, with one bright spot...today. James (jtvisions) invited me to come along and get out of the house while we could enjoy it without liquid sunshine coming down on us. So I put on two pairs of socks, long johns (top and bottom), my heated gear and riding gear and set out going north to meet up with James in Arlington. I didn't show the route below, but this is the area we headed to. It was foggy this morning, and fairly cold. The low I saw was 34F. We didn't see any grand vistas, but we saw some nice roads and farmland. Our first stop at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Pioneer Park in La Conner. From there, we headed to Washington Park. This is looking out to Burrows Island and Burrows Bay. And yes, the water looked that green. Rosario Beach I have to admit that when I woke up this morning, I didn't want to go. But I also knew that if I could get myself out there, it would be a wonderful day. And now, let the rain begin... Chris

We do have some beautiful scenery here...but a very limited window with which to enjoy it. The passes have been getting snow. Places like the North Cascades Highway are still open...but I wouldn't think of taking a motorcycle through there now. Artist Point on Mt. Baker is closed. The ski lodge will open soon. The ride I took a few weeks ago to Hurricane Ridge...has snow on it. What's left are the more boring roads in the Puget Sound lowlands. Or commuting to church and Costco. Mustn't forget Big5 Sporting Goods...you can tell my scenic rides for the next couple months are pretty much done. It'll be commuting only for awhile. On another forum, a doctor from New Jersey came out in April to explore the scenery. He didn't like to ride in rain, so stayed cooped up in the place he was staying for about 5 of 7 days in the area. A friend took him up to Mt. St. Helens. Beautiful ride in July. The snow made a dense fog so bad they turned around...and almost were hit by cars going too fast in the snow and fog. The temp outside is just above 40F now and will drop into the 30's in the next couple hours. But I think you have some great riding weather coming up. That's my chance to be jealous of you. Remember...take pictures, or it didn't happen. Chris

I took a "Sanity Ride" on Saturday. By the time I got moving, it was 2pm so I didn't have much time. It gets dark here at 5pm. I headed north to Lake Cavanaugh, taking a back route through Granite Falls. It was a nice road. Lots of twists and turns. The leaves were past their prime, but still colourfull. Chris

Just a thought, if you want more sound...how about using a clothespin and playing card to touch the spokes on the wheel like we did when we were kids? Cost...very low. And it used to make us feel really good. And I totally agree with dazzler24. This thread was totally worth looking at, just for her. Chris

The throttle is why I don't own a FJ-09. I took it out and couldn't wait to get it back to the dealership. Just one trip around the block, even though I was offered the opportunity to take it for as long as I wanted. Reviews at the time focused on how you could pop wheelies on the bike very easily. But all I could think of was sitting in rush hour stop-n-go traffic for miles and trying to control that abrupt throttle. Coupled with a narrow clutch friction zone, and it was a no-go for me. I had no doubt I could learn how to manage it, but I didn't want to. It's good to know though that others have found ways to smooth it out. Chris

That's why I take tire recommendations with a grain of salt. I get better mileage than riders in Texas do. I'm guessing it is because of the heat and road surface. What I do like, is when someone can tell me how different tires are like when ridden on the same roads with the same bike and by the same rider. The variable then is clear, it is the tire. Not where we live. This is a really good review of a couple of the tires we've been discussing here. I think you'll find it interesting. Chris