duhg

This weekend I'm going to use my gps as an odometer (still not perfect) and see how that differs from the bike's odo.

I ran out at 189 last year and also was tantalizingly close to the next gas station.

Looking for someone to ride with? The MSTA has state chapters and regional events in many of the best riding areas of the US. Our national rally STAR 2019 will be held in Bristol, VA third week of June. Non-members are welcome. At STAR 2019 - "Free seminars on Tuesday evening. Venders will have booths open all evenings, and some in the mornings. Members meeting is Monday evening....please plan to attend.....and most awards will be given out then. Door prizes given out/picked up every day. Main door prizes and raffle prizes given out at the Banquet on Wednesday. They are working on setting up a Saturday evening pub crawl (transportation provided) in the downtown. But really it IS the riding that is the MAIN attraction for most attendees, is it not? And...you don’t have to ride “on your own”. There are always little groups going out that can take on an extra rider. We even have sign-up sheets so that groups can get formed easily. We just don’t do an “everyone line up and follow the leader” HUGE GROUP rides." STAR 2019 WWW.RIDEMSTA.COM STAR 2019 Follow the link to our 2019 schedule of events. http://www.ridemsta.com/Events/Events.php

My right grip is very hot on Level 2. The left barely warms.

My Puig screen moves forward and back, thus the wind pushes it back toward me. The stock adjustment knobs are as tight as I can get them.

Thanks. Next up - photograph your bike in front of a sign for an obsolete business. For example: typewriter repair, blacksmith or book binder.

How does my bike look from that observation tower? Small. Ariel-Foundation Park in Mount Vernon, Ohio

The Big Muskie Bucket was used to strip mine coal in southeast Ohio. Once the largest dragline in the world, Big Muskie's bucket could hold 295 tons of earth and coal. I did't have time to run to Casey, IL. 😉

Mine reads "SET -", but that is not what it does. It took me by surprise, but I caught on. I may have to change the markings. "SET" does indeed set the speed and "RES" does resume. But the acel and decel functions are swapped. I don't know if I installed a pair of wires incorrectly, or what.

I finally got out for a decent ride with the MC Cruise installed. I rode 168 miles today involving interstate and curvy rural roads. The cruise control was brilliant. In known speed trap areas I could set it and relax. One weird thing - the set switch is also accelerate and the resume switch is decelerate. I'm accustomed to the opposite. Other than that it works as expected. It is a great addition to the bike.

When riding I do not wear cotton, only wicking fabrics. For long-duration rain Frogg Toggs and Aerostich Triple Digit overgloves are my preference. They go on easily and are effective. Nothing is perfect. Boots have been a problem for me. I never seem to keep my feet dry for long. Helmet face shields are another sore point in the rain, especially at night. On one two-week tour It seemed to rain for a half hour, then stop for an hour and repeat for several days. This was maddening. Rain suit on, bake when the sun comes out, rain suit off, etc... I have never worn leather since. I currently wear an Aerostich Darien. It is less fiddly than most rain resistant suits. When the weather is HOT and I encounter a passing shower, I just get wet (I live at low altitude where it is humid). The wind will eventually dry me again except for my feet. I also tend to look at the weather radar and alter my plans by heading for the clear skies. An hour passing through the rain to get to 6 hours of dry roads is worthwhile.

Shoei Neotec - I have an Arai-shaped head, but Shoei makes at least 2 helmets for long oval types like me (the RF series is the other). The Neotec is comfortable, quiet and the flip-face is convenient.

Today I received and installed the under-the-windscreen GPS mount. Easy (good thing, because it came with no instructions). I got from Ebay. In the pics the GPS is mounted on a long stalk and could be on a shorter one.

I just paid the annual donation for a very useful resource. Thanks for putting this all together

I installed the MCCruise on my 2015 FJ09 just last month. It requires removing almost all the bodywork, but the instructions and photos are great. I took it slowly and did the job in small stages over a week of evenings. I got the Super Tenere harness from MCCruise and the Super Tenere switches from Yamaha, so it looks factory. Total for all that was under $1000 US. $460 if you stick with the MCCruise switches. MCCruise make their products in small batches. If they are currently unavailable, leave your email with them and they will notify you when the next batch is ready for purchase.

I think these are the connectors for the 2 open power connections behind the windscreen. One side is wired and ready to go already on the bike. However the Cycle Terminal website confused me with its labeling of male and female being opposite of what I'd have thought, so I ordered both connectors just in case the pics are labeled wrong. Will try them when they arrive. "2 pin MT .090 - 2.3mm Male and Female locking connector Comes with Terminals and seals Sumitomo p/n: 6187-2311 and 6180-2321" http://www.cycleterminal.com/mt-series-090.html

I knew I'd seen them somewhere around here... Rockwoodroo is selling a bike that has them installed. https://fj-09.org/thread/7336/2015-toronto-ontario-8000km-5kmiles

My most trivial of nit picking complaints... 🙂 That side stand gets me, too. I'm getting better at it but I can't consistently deploy it without looking, as I did for years on my two previous bikes. Foot peg often grabs my pants cuff as I swing the side stand out. ....Not any more. I deploy it blindly without issue. I installed a wider side stand foot and I've been riding the FJ solely this year. Also, I cannot use the foot peg as a stirrup for getting off the bike, as I can with my other bike, because the FJ will tip over. This is only an issue when I have the GIVI panniers on the FJ. ....I must have gotten over this one. Not a problem to saddle up like in a western movie. I'm not accustomed to having a fuel gauge, so I still try to keep an eye on the trip odometer. (only failed TWICE 😉 My addition to the list: Much of this bike is black. It's hard to tell if I've gotten it clean when it's still wet. It's a good thing I don't have a reputation for clean bikes. PS: Chains. Why are we still using chains? Cheap (good), maintenance intensive (bad) and dirty (bad). I'd appreciate a belt final drive. (I've been riding shaft drive bikes for 13 years, so the chain is bugging me) One more - I'd like to be able to program the sign-off message on the dash. "See you next time" is fine for the factory setting, but I'd like to personalize it for my own amusement. None of this keeps me from enjoying the ride or makes me regret the purchase. I've put 15k miles on and I enjoy the FJ more than ever.

My speedometer consistently reads 2 mph higher than my GPS. At least it does when I'm looking. ;-)

Today I disassembled the rear-facing cosmetic bits on the GIVI E55 Maxia3 trunk, applied reflective tape to the outward faces of the shiny silver sheets that SHOULD have been reflective, and reassembled. I used the half red/half white Solas look-alike trailer strips (2" x 24") found at the hardware store. It took 4 of them (pack of 4 was $9). I put down wax paper on a work bench, rolled cellophane tape to hold the silver sheets down, applied the reflective tape to the silver sheets then flipped them over and trimmed with scissors and a utility blade on a cutting board, removed the wax paper and inserted the sheets back into their original places. I don't know why I waited several years to do this. It was easy and effective. The white bit in the center is about as bright as my license plate, the red is less bright. Before and after photos, all with flash:

Today I installed new GIVI lock cores, so all three GIVI bags are keyed the same. Easy! The lock core kits come in sets of 1, 2, 3 and 5 identically keyed cores each with two keys. The bags are 2 Trekker 46 liter side cases and a Maxia3 E55 trunk. The trunk is an everyday accessory that holds my Aerostich Darien, a Camelbak pack and a few other small items when I'm off the bike. The Trekkers are for traveling. Tomorrow I will place reflective tape under the smoked lens pieces that wrap around sides of Maxia lid.