hlmiskelly

I've been running 10% ethanol blend with a 93 octane rating in FJ-09.  While the non-ethanol 91 octane rated fuel is available, I've refrained from using it for this bike as the manual recommends premium fuel (with up to 10% ethanol).

But in my XSR700, for which the manual does not specify premium fuel (but does limit the ethanol blend to 10%), I do run the non-ethanol 91 octane rated fuel.

My other bike is an '18 XSR700 and for some unfathomable reason Yamaha chose to invert the turn signal and horn positions relative to my '15 FJ-09.  I frequently hit the wrong switch if I've ridden one bike predominantly and then move to the other.  One would hope that even if all the motorcycle companies can't agree on a standard layout for switch gear that a least a manufacturer - Yamaha - could adopt a standard layout across all their models.

On 7/24/2020 at 3:17 PM, Stew said:

Is that a wee nod to SAHB on the side panel?

Absolutely!

A little off topic, but I also owned an '09 Bonneville.

I previously owned an '07 Triumph Tiger 1050.  One of my favorite bikes with a butter smooth engine.

1 hour ago, betoney said:

How do you like the 700 compared to the 900?  I have heard nothing but great things about that motor.

Both are great.  The 700 has a lot of grunt, lots of low end and pulls hard from a stop, perfect for twisty county roads and city riding.  It sounds great with the cross plane twin and the aftermarket exhaust I have on it.  But the bike seems comfortable right around 70 to 75 mph. 

The 900 has a lot of high end and is comfortable running 90 all day long, so perfect for the light touring I do with it.  Plus it sounds like a box full of angry hornets. 

In the end, both engines are excellent - as expected from Yamaha.  In my past I owned a Triumph Tiger 1050 and I can honestly say that I prefer the Yamaha 9000 engine.  While not as smooth (I've made no modifications to the ECM) as the 1050, it has real character and feels quicker.

My wife says three are too many.  When I pointed out to her that three bikes would fit comfortably in the garage without taking room away from her car, she pointed out to me that three bikes and a cot would not fit comfortably in the garage.

So I am currently limited to the '15 FJ-09 and an '18 XSR700, having gotten too damn old to be sleeping on a cot in the garage.

12 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Nice fastest RED 15, I have mine set up very similar.  Can't tell whose case guards you have,  I have the Givi's and Pyramid clear PC headlight protectors and the rubber pegs too.  But whose hand guards are those, the look ginormous, BarkBusters?  I have the usual KTM Adventurer units.

The panniers are from a Yamaha FJR1200.  The hand guards are Puig covers over the stock frame.  Looking to change them out for Barkbusters, similar to the ones I have on an XSR700.

My wife suggested I needed a break from work (and perhaps away from the house for a while), so this past Thursday I took a way off work and road up into the southeastern Tennessee mountains with stops at Sewanee and Chattanooga.  All together, a nice combination of curves - going out - and high speed straightaways - coming home.  Five hour ride round trip in perfect weather.

Here is Alabama there are no specific directions regarding motorcycle riding, which I guess can be considered to be an "outside activity", which is allowed.  I have been going for short 2-3 hour rides on the weekends.  But I ride alone, refuel at home (I typically keep 15 gallons of fuel at the house for the emergency power generator) and don't stop where there are other people. 

I've owned two Triumphs in the recent past, a 2007 Tiger 1050 and a 2009 Bonneville.  When Triumph pulled their product from the reputable dealer who had represented them for decades and moved to another dealer with a poor reputation I quit Triumph.  Glad I did as I love my 2015 FJ-09.

Nothing epic, just a few overnight trips, the first to the Georgia Guidestones near Elberton, Georgia, and the second to Robert Johnson's supposed grave in Greenville, Mississippi (with stops at Elvis Presley's birthplace and William Faulkner's home).  These are two sites that have long been on my things to see.

12 minutes ago, angusmcoz said:

No. They have helped define who I feel I am. Years ago, on a two lane road in the Colorado Rockies, I came to the realization that nothing else in my life gave me the same joy as a mountain road and two wheels. Now, at 60, I still feel the same. 

In two weeks I'll be turning 62 and I wholeheartedly agree.  The thrill of the wind, the road, the bike are still there.

I was really anticipating the release of this bike but was disappointed to see the styling take on the Ducati Diavel rather than remaining true to the Indian FTR750 flat track racer.

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain...

I have opened the season '17 with a 200 km ride to northern Hungary. This bike makes me smile   

Oh, I can only wish... 2 more weeks I say. This first shot... colours work very nicely, but... how uplifting.

..I have never wheelied a motorbike. There, I feel better now.   
Just about every review of our bike mentions the ease with which you can pop the front wheel up and I often read it in threads on here. But I always ride with TC on, and I'm too chicken, so the wheel stays where it was designed to be.
 
So to the questions. Do you have to be a demi-god in terms of "feel" for the bike to wheelie in a controlled manner? Isn't it pretty easy to make an arse of yourself when bringing the wheel back down again and lose control?
 
Browsing youtube brings up lots of videos of failure, as well as some very talented skinny girls holding wheelies for long stretches (but that's more a comment on my browsing history) so I'm guessing that it can't be too difficult, but costly if you get it wrong.
 
Power on wheelies seem to be the most difficult to control, clutch popping seems the preferred method. Or am I way off base here?
 
Where does a wheely virgin start or should I give it up as I'm just too sad, old and risk-averse?