nevada72

From a recent group ride -

MY FJ is limited by the fact that it has no cruise. I didn't really buy it for that kind of riding though. Initially I bought the bike as an in-state sport tourer for the Driftless region (donk knows what I'm talking about) and sporting rides with friends locally. But the bike is so comfortable that I've pushed out further with rides to Iowa and Michigan for business. I've put 10 hours in the saddle and yeah, compared to my Harley Touring rig I get a little beat up. But the Harley is a minivan on 2 wheels and requires very little effort. I've done a number of runs to Denver in one day and I consider the bike ideal for that. The FJ compares very favorably to my GS though. With the right seat (working on that) and maybe cruise I could do much longer rides. I'm looking forward to some runs down to the Smokies and the Ozarks so I can tear it up more than when I'm on the minivan.

It's not surprising that we, as FJ/MT owners, agree on what constitutes a good ride. The bikes just do a lot of things well. If you're looking to win the armchair wars with stats, sure.....go buy the H2 and be done with it. But if you simply love sport riding, and like to be comfortable doing it, the FJ is a fantastic choice. And as mentioned, regardless of the other bikes on the ride, you'll never be more than 2 seconds behind. That may be a lifetime in racing, but on the road, it's just 2 seconds. And here in Wisconsin you never know what's lurking around the next curve or over the next hill. We had a kid recently ride faster than his line of sight allowed. Came over a rise and took out some guy on a riding mower turning around in the road for his next pass. Killed them both.

I agree. When I bought the FJ09 I was also considering the S1000XR and the KTM Super Duke GT. Clearly those are more advanced machines with higher levels of sophistication. But, they would have also cost roughly 3x what I paid for the FJ. I had to weigh the extra cost against, not only the difference in performance, but factoring the amount of time spent in the saddle. I have 4 other bikes I ride and I just couldn't resolve spending 3x the price for bikes that maybe, just maybe, would increase my performance levels by 10% when I'm doing that kind of ride. The decision to buy the FJ was validated with a few spirited rides with friends who have the BMW and KTM. Sure - they were fast. But I was able to hang in there. When it came down to acceleration, the FJ did surprisingly well. Zero to 60 there just aren't many bikes that can embarrass the FJ. Same with the curves. The only area I lost ground was when the bike maxed out at 115 and the others passed me like I was standing still. But honestly, I'm okay with 115.

Around now one may wish to own the 1250, which I'm told has quite a few improvements over the 1200. But if you're willing to take the outgoing model, deals can be had for sure.

In my travels all over the US I can say I mostly see Harleys out on the roads. Despite the decline in sales they sell pretty well still. And then there's decades worth of older ones out there as well. Despite the fun metric riders like to have at the expense of Harley riders, the bikes are actually pretty reliable and a lot of the riders tour quite a bit. The "armchair" position of the touring line lends well to our long, flat, straight interstates. Honestly, if my ride is over 400 miles I'll always take the Harley. It's just easy to ride for long distances. I've knocked out a number of 1000+ mile days on mine and if there were a better bike for me to do it on, believe me, I would buy it.

The new Beemer is a twin with less HP than the FJ09/Tracer, it's made in India, but costs more. Nope. No thanks. The 09/Tracer is a bargain. I don't get why they are such poor sellers. On the performance aspects of the more expensive bikes like the Duc, etc - I ride with a pretty diverse group. BMWs, Ducs, Aprilas, KTM etc. They may have some better components, but it doesn't make a bit of difference on who arrives at the stop sign first. I'm keeping up just fine. Except over 115 MPH. :D Also, I'm a BMW owner as well as a Harley owner. I'll return a wave at anyone on a bike. I rarely initiate.......to busy enjoying the ride.

Three things- 1 - Rear vent is always open. I live in Wisconsin and I want to be able to close that vent. One would think a rearward facing vent wouldn't be an issue. But on my large touring bike (HD) there is back-pressure and I can feel it in cold weather. 2 - Sun visor extends down further. I have a big nose - nuff said. 3 - Bluetooth ready doesn't appeal to me. I have yet to hear a system I'm happy with, so I don't want my helmet built to accept any particular one. Sure, one can still use any system. It's not a deal breaker, but I saw it as a "con". Also factor that I got my helmet on closeout for half of what a new GT Air 2 costs and it was a no-brainer.

I'm in the que for getting my TA seat. Looking forward to it.

I like Shoei. I just got a new old stock (but not expired) GT Air. I don't like the GT Air 2 and I was able to get a good deal on mine. It even matches my bike

Love riding that area. I could be interested. A run from Jasper to Ponca would be epic.

I'm actually in Pewaukee/Sussex area. I should update my location. I was told mid/late April as well. I wish I had it for tomorrow. Doing the Slimey Crud Run and I'll be feeling it by the end of the day. Are you having the front and back done or just the front?

Sent in my deposit today. The lead time is long - March last I heard. Which is okay because I don't want to lose riding time this Fall and March is lousy weather here in Wisconsin. I'm really looking forward to getting this done. The stock seat isn't the worst I've been on, but it gets pretty uncomfortable after 100 miles or so.

Awesome - thanks!

I need to tap the Protaper bars I installed on my bike for the hand guards. Anyone know what size tap to use for the threaded inserts?

Extenders arrived. Super easy quick install. I like the stock look and the results are perfect putting the mirrors higher and out. Best $35 I've spent in awhile.

Super happy to find this thread! I'm in the market and Terry sounds like the solution. I had a daylong on my R1200GS and loved it. As was said earlier, looks like some shared DNA, which is a very good thing. I sent him an email requesting info for the FJ09 as well as the Harley. Yup.........that is our long distance bike and it could use some help too. Hopefully he does those too. But the FJ09 is a given. Looking forward to it!

Nice low cost fix - just ordered a pair - thanks!

Can anyone tell me which deflector they are using? Puig make s two versions - one with one hinge and another with two mounting points. I'm inclined to choose the one with two mounting points. FYI I have the 25 inch Puig screen. Overall, not bad. I could use a little more deflection.

I just ordered the Cortech Super 2.0 24L bag. I had the older version (I have no idea where it went to oddly enough) so I know it's a great product. I got a really good deal by searching the net and then having Dennis Kirk beat the price. I ended up getting it for 108.99 based on them beating this deal - Cortech Bag

Any thoughts on the shied? I'm 6-5 and looking for a quieter ride as well. The Puig has my interest.

Thanks guys! Yeah, I felt like I did really well. I definitely would have paid more for the bike, but the seller named his price. I'm pretty sure we're both happy with the end result. On suspension, as mentioned my reference bikes aren't exactly known for having great suspensions. This bike seems pretty good to me. I'm sure it can be improved but I'll ride it as is until I get to know it better.

Great info. I'm going to give that a try. I managed to find the GT Air for $325 at Motorcycle Closeouts. I didn't want the new GT Air2 because you can't close the back vents, which doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, I got the GT Air and love it. Oh, and the date code was fine. Manufactured 8/2017 so it works for the 5 year lifespan and 7 years from date of manufacture.

I have about 200 miles on my 2015 (the bike has 2900 miles on it) and no stability issues at all. I read this thread before buying it yesterday so i was a bit nervous about getting it on the highway. But I've had it close to 100 MPH with no issues. I rode for many miles at 80/85 MPH.

Day two and about 200 miles on the trip meter. I'm still getting to know the bike but I have to say, it feels like home. I love this bike!