nhchris

In this era of shrinking ad revenue and page counts, it must be difficult to get a critical bike review past the Editor in Chief and Publisher. Plus, these guys want to keep the bike for a year! I usually look to Motorcycle Consumer News for unbiased reviews (they don't accept advertising) but lately their content has gotten watered down and a bit weird. The long slow demise of the print media I guess... cb

I was lazy and did not take the fender off the bike when I installed my R&G. Riveted in place! cb

Hey guys, Is the CCT issue strictly a 2015 problem? Or does it also apply to "early" 2016s that have the old 2015-style oil pan?? cb

I recently bought a Bilt modular model with a drop down visor. I love the visor feature and find it works well and is easy to use. Does not seem to fog as long as you are moving. The helmet itself is OK for $119. It has loosened a bit after 50 hours of use but fits me well and seems a good value for the $$. I had Shoei modular previously, but I am now replacing helmets after a few years of use. cb

Run thin oil, maybe -40-0 weight! cb

I did a fall foliage ride this week through northern VT and NH. Tue and Wed were in the 80s and foliage amazing. Thursday it dropped to 50 with steady rain. Coldest and wettest 150 miles I've ever ridden (in a mesh jacket no less)! But with global warming's weird weather patterns there is always a day or two each winter month where it is warm enough to ride here in NH. So no longterm storage for me. cb

Took a 300 mile fall foliage ride through NH and northern VT. Spectacular color and some thrilling riding. FJ life is GOOD!! NH CB

What brand of tires are they? I'll need a pair soon and those look nice. cv

Light is right! You'll love throwing the 900 around. cb

What is the behavior of the gage when you first turn on the key? Do all segments sequentially illuminate? cb

They got me at 57 in a 30 zone right at the western exit of the Dragon near the lake. He was sitting in the parking area on the right. Cop told me to call an 800 number to take care of it when I got home. I did. $300 fine, AAA driving class, and ticket wiped from my record. TN never notified my ins company or home state. Painless! I think they ticket in Blount County mainly for revenue, not to be mean! cb

Great info and I appreciate it. Time to start tweaking! Thanks, cb

Which Dunlops? The stock tires? Have you tried to set the sag? Running Sportmax D222 front n rear. I did set sag. Rear shock set to 6 out of 7 for stiffness. Did not touch rebound damping Front set to 5mm adjuster height I think. (I need to check.) cb

Yup, reduced speed always helps as does staying on the gas through the apex. It's just so hard to reduce speed when you're having fun! I think my suspension might be set a bit stiff / hard. Does anyone have some broad guidelines for suspension settings for a 200 pound rider on a 2016 FJ 09? I'm running 38 lbs front and rear in the Dunlops. Is that correct for my weight on this bike? Getting to know her is getting to love her... cb

Today (yesterday actually) I did 250 miles of mostly 2-lane country roads in western Maine and Northern NH. It was an interesting ride because the last time I traveled the route I was on my ST 1300. So I was able to do a good comparo of how each bike handled the same roads. The route was basically Rt 16 from Kingfield Maine to Portsmouth NH. Long story short: Compared to the ST my FJ was a twitchy girl, especially in the high speed sweepers. I could feel that shorter wheel base letting the bike wander a bit in 70 mph corners, especially if the road surface was bumpy. Just not as planted as my STeed. But a joy to rail on sections of the road with brand new tarmac. I was lucky to ride stretches so new that no lines were yet painted on that beautiful black stuff. I mostly used compression braking setting up for corners. In a few places where I felt I carried too much heat into the turn leaning the FJ over more got us around just fine. The bike really is a great leaner. I've not touched-down the feelers on the stock pegs as I did regularly on the ST. On the FJ the outer edges my boots were dragging but not the feelers. Getting used to this increased lean angle is taking some time. Plus I have low confidence in the Dunlop OEM tires (ran Angel GTs on ST) and that gets in the way too. I was more aware of miles traveled on the FJ... because of the fuel range issue. Got the flashing gage at about 190 miles. Big difference from the 300 mile range of the ST with its massive 7.5 gal tank. I've taken to filling the FJ up to slightly above the tank baffle holding the bike level. Every little bit helps. I experienced less leg fatigue on the FJ due to the greater leg room. But overall the FJ offers a more physical riding experience that the old ST. It was a joy to wrestle with for five hours and I have no complaints about the comfort seat. For longer rides I now wear bicycle shorts under Fieldsheer leather riding pants and the combo works great. Anyone want to buy an AirHawk seat cushion... slightly used? cb

I am a fan of private sales not dealers. Too many games seem to go on with dealers. I bought my FJ in March from an ad on NH Craigslist. Guy was about 2 hours from me and had a fully stock 2016 with 3,200 miles on the clock. He wanted a firm $7,300 and that's what I paid. Included factory bags and comfort seats. I did not want a bike that had been heavily modded with exhaust, flash, electrical work, etc. I prefer to do those things myself, if at all. His story was good in that he wanted to tour two-up and needed a bigger bike. (He bought a new Multistrada as soon as my check cleared!) Here in New England Fall is best time to buy a bike since winter closes down most riding by December. I suggest you check your local Craigslist regularly looking for a good, low mileage ride. cb

I have a Parabellum 26" screen on my 2016 09 and it has cutouts for the hand guards that fit perfectly with stock bar location / height. Lock-to-lock steering is no problem. In looking at this screen I would guess that installing a riser for the bars would foul up the fit and reduce the steering arc. cb

Wow, That glue costs more than the RG extender! I used the plastic rivets (3) to mount mine, but I do like the clean look of your glued unit. I hope it stays on for you. cb

The Angel GT offer I saw was on the cover of a printed mailer booklet I got from Cycle Gear after making an online purchase. Ran GTs on my ST and loved them. 10k miles on the rear no problem on that heavy bike. cb

Angel GTs on sale now (July 2018) for $220 a set at Cycle Gear Stores/catalog. Mounting $25 per if you are near a store (wheels off bike). cb

Hi folks, For those of you that have moved your bars forward I have a question... Is there a significant improvement in position and/or comfort from the more upright stock position? If 10mm is the change, I think that equals less than 1/2 an inch. Does not seem like much! Thanks, cb

I use a mild hand soap and water applied by fingers to the outside. I then polish the. outside with Plexus. Rinse inside with water. Also use Plexus on windscreen.