chitown

Those Michelins are no good. I'll give you $40 to ship them to me What the others said.

Curious what makes that "correct"? NGK doesn't actually list an iridium for the FJ-09 do they? There's more than one that will work IMO. Some are rated 40k others 80k with platinum tip. I've been using the 40k version in extreme conditions and working well.

Glad it all worked out. I'm still on a ride. Every day saw triple digits until today. Vegas, North Rim x2 (staying at the lodge for two nights and riding to the lookouts and hiking a couple trails is bucket list material), Cortez, Salida, Moab, Cedar City, Tonopah, Tahoe x2, not sure where I'll be tomorrow. There are no ailments known to man that cannot be fixed with more throttle and more beer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Roadmaster with wood paneling. A proper Family Truckster!

Interesting, thanks for the report. Re suspension help: google says Queensland has a few "raceways" offering motorcycle track days. In the US it is common for a local suspension shop to be at the track with a shop-in-a-trailer doing track setups and trying to drum up new business from riders both on and off track. Even if I don't need their setup services I always chat them up and grab a business card. Has come in handy in the past when a friend's rear shock dumped its oil the night before a trip. If there are any local racing forums you can usually find discussion of suspension vendors there as well. Good suspension isn't just for the track but it's often the small shop's bread and butter.

+1 There are places in the east I don't want to spend the time to get to and there aren't always many options for rentals or they're limited to cruisers. Been using Turo (same concept) locally and have a Tesla X right now. Did a Performance 3 awhile back. I'm in an ev-related field so it's a nice option for research. And omg the acceleration

When I was researching rock protection for my Alaska trip popular options were: Gaffers tape, 3m vinyl clear paint protection film, a few coats of spray on Plastidip. I ended up using Gaffers tape.

One thing I should mention to anybody from out of town doing Angeles Crest... from a distance Google and some others make it look like you can connect it to CA-39 San Gabriel Canyon. But the top 4 miles or so (between Crystal Lake and Angeles Crest) has been closed since the 70s. Google does show a much shorter temporary closure with Traffic and will not route you through it. It's still a state highway closed due to construction. There's a weird soap opera behind that along with a $100 million rock and mud slide.

That's always a good option but there's a rental pick up involved. Another thing I try to keep in mind when doing a loop is starting and ending direction. I'd rather have the sun in the oncoming traffic's eyes than mine. There are downsides to that too but I assume they're blind anyway I don't want to be blind too

They both offer good roads and plenty of elevation which is usually what we like in the summer. Big Bear has a lot of traffic on the weekends as it's a destination. Angeles Crest isn't and in fact has one slide closure that's actually in your favor as it's keeping the number of squids and CHP down on the stretch I always avoid anyways because of, well, CHP and squids Depending on how long a day you want here are some various loops / suggestions Big Bear and east 138 toward Arrowhead/BigBear - 18 - 38 - 10 (freeway, but only to get to the next good road) - 243. This puts you in Idyllwild. If it's not hot I'd consider taking 74 Palms-to-Pines out to Palm Desert, maybe eating there, reverse the route (243 is worth several laps) or slab back via 10-15-138. Angeles Crest CA-2 west 138 toward Wrightwood - 2 - stop at Newcomb's - Upper Big Tujunga - Angeles Forest north - if you want a short day you're not far from Palmdale at this point.. but you could extend this by Mt Emma - El Tejon - Valyermo - Big Pines Highway - back in Wrightwood. This is one of my favorite loops and is scenic with very good roads. Angeles Crest when it's open and clear is one of the best roads ever. Once back in Wrightwood you could reverse some of this to Palmdale or do 138 which isn't really fun on that stretch but gets you where you're going and at least it's not a freeway. Another option from Upper Big Tujunga is to take Angeles Forest south. Make your way to 210 freeway, north for a few miles to Osborne road - Little Tujunga - Sand Canyon - Vasquez Canyon - Bouquet Canyon - Spunky Canyon - San Francisquito Canyon - San Francisquito Mountain Way (mostly paved, may be some gravel at the ends) - Lake Hughes - stop at the Rock Inn (limited days/hours) for a bit -- either Elizabeth Lake and local roads back to Palmdale or continue west on to Pine Canyon Road. At Three Points make the left on to road N2 - Ridge Route Road - 138 back to Palmdale. Another option is to go north on Angeles Forest, but turn west on Aliso Canyon - Aliso Arrastre - Soledad Canyon - Escondido Canyon - Sierra Highway + everything above from Vasquez Canyon on. For a longer day you could combine parts of the above as well. There are good places to eat and fuel in Wrightwood (Grizzly Cafe), Big Bear (Maggio's, family owned, away from the more touristy part of BB), and Idyllwild (several). There's a popular bike spot, Newcomb's Ranch, on Angeles Crest but it has limited hours and food at this point as the closure (farther south than I have you going) is impacting them. They always have food on the weekends tho. Usually there is some pretty exotic machinery in the lot. Bikes, car clubs, etc. There's more, depends on how much your butt can handle There are frequently zero tolerance areas for CHP on Angeles Crest south of Newcomb's which I (and the closure) have you avoiding, and south of Idyllwild in every direction. You can have fun trying to keep at 55 all the places it's signed 55 and it will require the fewest passes as far as traffic goes. Angeles Crest is still recovering from big fires but pretty. Big Bear and Idyllwild have scenery and nice panoramas if air quality is good. My choice would probably be Angeles Crest + Aliso + Bouquet etc... the last option I discussed above.

My reasons are more about touring. The few times I've re-geared it's been for touring. Nearly always do some unpaved on my tours (like taking a shaftie up the Dalton) and the stories I've encountered on belt replacement when they've failed premature from getting a rock stuck in them have not been kind. Then there's parts, tools, and expertise required for fixing any of them far from home in an unforeseen failure. Ymmv.

Just did coolant a few weeks ago. Only the best for my baby: Wally World premix. Am I confident? Well, it handled multi 105F + ambient days on the last big summer trip. Took this in my driveway

Won't be around that weekend but can give you route suggestions if you provide where you want to start and end, what type of roads you prefer, how long a day you want, scenic vs twisty etc. DavisS' includes some really good stuff. If going more desert in July you'll want to check temps depending on how far. EG I've got to go through Vegas on the 13th and I'm seeing 108 for the weekend. Oh joy.

Wanted an FJ-09 badly when they first became available. Held off until fall of 2015 for a used one but the only ones that came up for the right price were snapped up quickly so decided to eat the depreciation. Generally keep bikes 5+ years and usually have multiple. Will be four years with the '15 in the fall. Believe it is bike number 16 for me. Other than windscreen and some protection rode it stock for a year before putting any serious money into it. By then knew it was a keeper so invested in suspension. It's a fabulous, fun, do it all bike with the best legroom ever. Still have an 05 FJR picked up used for a song and will probably keep forever. It's a bullet proof beast that came with great suspension upgrades. Also fun to ride (just not to push).

Ultimately the helmet that works for long distance for one rider may not work for another. Weight and aeros don't get enough discussion in reviews for me. Would not wear even the quietest of helmets I've owned without hearing protection. Some of that is shape. There's only so much that's achievable and even super quiet helmets can create wind noise issues if they can't make the padding work with their head and jaw shape. It can help to pay attention to SNR/NNR when selecting hearing protection. Whether you achieve hearing protection by means of a quieter helmet, ear plugs, etc they can all reduce situational awareness. The ability to hear emergency vehicles before most cage drivers, hear the FJ's clutch basket if riding next to K rail, gives me some reference points to judge attenuation. With all that said I have used my Scorpion EXO-500s for many long days of riding. It fit me better than anything and had the features I wanted. Discontinued so I've moved on to a Scorpion AT950. Loving the enlarged eyeport for safety reasons.

Like Yamaha says in the manuals, more frequent air filter service may be required if riding in unusually wet or dusty areas. I'm fine with the stock oil coated paper filter. Checked at 8, going to check again at 16 and probably replace because I do a lot of dusty riding. Not sure why 10w-40 barrel oil would be an issue. I'd ride it like I stole it.

Been using Held Steves for many years on the street. Various of their other more armored stuff on the track. Steves aren't inexpensive but they last and the per year cost works out better than going with cheaper stuff. And, most of them can't compete with the comfort, etc. Nice range of sizes. Who doesn't love an integrated squeegee? You indeed can find lower end made in Asia gear from Held like any other large manufacturer. My first Held's were made in Germany. Later pairs made in Hungary with virtually no drop in quality. When they first began to do mfg outside of Europe it stirred up drama with Helmut and his wife that run Helimot, a former US distributor for Held. If you ever talk to Helmut he'll tell you all about it. Whether you want to hear it or not lol. While we don't seem to get much of the other products Held offers here they make a ton of stuff. Made a point of stopping at the factory store in Sonthofen when riding in the area. It even has a bar. To bring this thread full circle, one of the bits of history picked up while there is that Held was a big time work glove manufacturer back in the day

What they said. This guy here has a matching hook that it needs to slide on to and looks like it didn't make it

If the FJR needs mods, the Tracer will need a healthy amount of mods. If the Versys looks are off-putting I'm not sure why anybody would look at the Tracer. I find it pretty ugly. But I don't buy them to look at them. I've owned a Gold Wing, FJR, Versys and FJ-09 for reference. If I want looks I'm probably buying Italian. There's no pressure on the wrists in a stock Tracer setup so don't think that's an issue for you. Vibration, noise, range are probably the things most touring bike oriented folks would notice. It's a busy machine. But, on the plus side it has the best leg room of any bike I've owned. IMO working on the software between the bars is the best method of increasing safety and works on all bikes. Lights, horns, pipes, hi viz used to be part of my plan but didn't decrease the blind and deaf trying to kill me. Now I spend the money on suspension, tires, gear with best impact and abrasion protection, and training. Not a popular opinion here but decades in Los Angeles traffic makes me old, crotchety, and set in my ways. Yes, it's just my anecdotal data. Ymmv.

Don't have a vibe a 90 but am probably not going to see what my calipers are doing at that speed unless I set up the go pro to get a look. An out of balance front might have that effect. For me the sensation is a vibe that pulses across a certain speed range. Usually lower than that but I encourage riders to purposely remove all weight, one wheel at a time, and ride the bike at a range of speeds so they know what to expect from an out of balance condition. Would expect to see some weight on the front rim but newer bikes are coming with rears that don't need it so with the right brand of tire wouldn't be surprised. Am now in the habit of taping weights as well. One, because color-matched tape is easier than stocking different color weights for various bikes. Two there's nothing like riding in August and seeing the trail of goo from a stick on weight working itself to freedom

Value is in the buyer's perception. Time on a warranty is sweetener but doesn't add to the price I"m willing to pay when buying from a private party. They add something for some buyers going to dealer if the prior owner and history might not be known. If I'm buying from a private party I'm buying the owner and the bike and history. If there's a red flag the warranty won't persuade me. You may find a buyer that feels differently but won't know until they come along. Advertise it, lower the price if you can't wait for the right buyer. GLWS

I've mentioned it before but Motorcycle Consumer News used to have some great articles by a doctor on numbness issues and they were often eye-opening with regard to how very small changes in head/neck angle and arm/wrist angle can have dramatic effects. In addition to grip and any tension in the arms (you should be able flap your elbows like chicken wings) you might have someone take some photos of you from the side in riding position. Examine them to see if the angle between arms and wrists is natural. Bars and perches can be rotated to achieve more relaxed angles. Next head and neck. The reach to the bars might be causing your head and neck to be at a poor angle. This can induce numbness issues. Sometimes the angle can force the neck roll of the helmet to press down and that can contribute as well. You can spin the clamps to move the bars closer to you. Risers can achieve the same effect. Turbulence can also induce fatigue to the neck and in turn numbness and there are many variables with regard to rider trunk length, arm length, helmet profile, windscreen, bike aeros. Tougher to pin down. I'll often experiment on new bikes with no screen at all but usually end up trying to find a screen that allows as much air as possible without having to fight helmet turbulence with the muscles in my neck. In my case just spinning the clamps, plus 15mm risers, put me in a more relaxed riding position. I also trimmed nearly an inch from stock FJ bars and brought the controls closer together which relieved a bit of an ache between the shoulders.

Not sure it exists. Have done a lot of the bucket list, top 10 stuff, in and out of the states. NorCal is still my Mecca for pleasure riding but not sure I want to live there. There are worse places than the San Diego area (have done a lot of all day runs from Big Bear to Tecate and back). When work no longer means staying close to a large urban area could see living near Paso Robles. Maybe western Nevada. Anything with a day's ride access to the Sierras and NorCal in the summer. Reasonable access to OR, WA, UT, and CO. This summer's big trip is fast approaching. North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Colorado and Utah roads for days. Then over to the Sierras.

It's a Death Machine. The self-proclaimed experienced riders say it tried to kill them and sold it. FJ-09 is only a 51/49 weight bias stock naked. But, combine poor aeros, mediocre and severely undersprung suspension, short wheelbase, and notorious overpacking and it's going to feel much less stable than many bikes. Most I've experienced is a slight wobble when the front end gets light in turbulent air, passing a semi at high speed for example. Nothing I wouldn't ride right through. Have raised forks in the triples, have upgraded suspension. Didn't like the handguards anyway so they came off early. Not buying a damper. Still love the bike and it's a keeper but it's not for everybody. It hasn't killed me yet

Pressures as well make a huge difference for me. After that and style, road composition, ambient temps, etc. At 42 psi cold about the only way I'd get more than 5500 from a PR4 rear would be strictly freeway commuting which for me means 35-75 mph and far less acceleration/braking/heat cycles than my typical pleasure ride.