1moreroad

Kayak bags are bombproof, but I have had good experience with any good quality, claimed waterproof, roll top backpacking bag. Even the cheap ones - throw your stuff in a garbage bag if you're not sure. Add 2 or 4 Rok straps and you're good!

@draco_1967 is right. Figure out what you need to bring. I bought a 40L Nelson Rigg to supplement panniers, and it's overkill. Way too big. Easily swallows ALL camping and kitchen gear. Should have bought 30L.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/news/2022/july/yamaha-tracer-9-gt-radar-cruise-control

Don't know how I feel about this. I always say that I don't care about these tech advances - FI, ABS, TC, etc. - but I appreciate them when I get them. Hate that they can inflate the cost so much. 

That does look nice. I think the one I bought was from some guy in the US bending metal and spraying paint as a kind of cottage industry. The optional LED strip is not pretty but all of it has been functional and reliable for a cost between the Chinese stuff and the name brand stuff. 

Pretty sure front plastics are different from FJ to Tracer. Go to Partzilla and look up part numbers in the diagrams. 

Nothing like following a local in a beat up pickup truck and finding it a good pace. 😀

45 minutes ago, Greasyjonny said:

In New England. It’s not the gulf coast but it gets humid. Certainly not a “dry heat” place. The only thing I can say concerning under layers and individual tolerances is that it will be better with the under layer than without. 

All kinds of tricks with riding gear are out there. For about 5 years I toured exclusively in 2 piece leathers. In the desert (dry heat, obviously) I'd unzip the wrist and ankle cuffs and the fly (bicycle shorts underneath ) maybe 2" of the waist zip and maybe 2" of the neck. On my sportbike, I got a surprising amount of air circulation through the suit. If I wet the shorts and shirt down, it cooled well. For winter, zip everything closed for thick leather insulation. 

Funny story - I was walking around Bents Fort in East CO with my zippers open wetting down my shorts and shirt and got told to zip up because this is a family attraction! Park ranger didn't care that I was wearing shorts under my suit. She didn't like the "suggestion" of underwear. She might have been clutching pearls when she yelled at me.

https://ridermagazine.com/2022/06/28/nelson-rigg-hurricane-2-0-waterproof-backpack-tail-pack-gear-review/

I have the 1.0 40 L.  I bought it because I wanted a big waterproof bag for camping gear, and I had a trip where I needed a big backpack off the bike. 

 Pro - HUGE waterproof main compartment

Good size match for the FJ rear seat

Mixed bag - one large compartment means everything fits, but it's hard to find smaller items. 

Molle webbing seems gimmicky. I don't want things hanging on the outside of a moto bag flapping around. 

Cons - worst thing - the well padded backpack straps make this a mediocre tailbag. It sits tall on the backseat. Given the height and width, it's not as stable as I expected. The tie down straps that come with the bag to attach it to the bike are too short to tie down the bag securely when the bag is mostly full but not bulging. So I supplement with Rok straps. 

The backpack has no structure, so if you fill the bag it will be hard to carry as a backpack any distance.

The bottle holders lie at 90 degrees as a tailbag so you either completely secure bottles with webbing while riding or you make them easy to access as a backpack but not both. 

Conclusion - good dual use idea that's not great at either. I'll keep using it for really big trips, but if I had to do it again, I'd find a good quality dry bag with a bandolier strap and use it with Rok straps. It would have been cheaper. 

https://www.webbikeworld.com/honda-suzuki-yamaha-and-kawasaki-to-cut-37-motorcycles-by-2023/

Goldwing gone next year?!

I thought the FJR was already gone. 

Kawasaki is pushing plug in hybrids. Depending on weight, I would not be against these. Charging station access is an issue in Mississippi that would prevent me from buying a pure electric anything (car or moto) right now. I'm also an edge case with a 110 mile daily commute (down from a 250+ mile weekly loop with no charging stations earlier this year).

Mrs. 1Moreroad said we couldn't wait for perfect weather for a ride. So we rolled out to a nearby marina for a burger. It hit 100 degrees rolling home! Whew. She was a trooper on the back of the bike. 

Don't know availability or fit, but a couple of us have these for our FJs. OE part, easy install, different key but you should be able to rekey the lock. 

Hope you can ride. 

https://www.ridetowork.org/

https://www.nhtsa.gov/motorcycle-safety/ride-work-day

https://americanmotorcyclist.com/ride-to-work-day-2022

1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Hmm

 My FJ was the 1st bike in 40 years that I had a filter  Loosen slightly

 It just wanted to give me a nice sphincter moment when my peg got slippery running high speed down the road

 Tightened it up didn't lose much oil but put on a big hose clamp and safety tied it back

 

 

If you have to safety wire everything you might as well do track days. 

On 5/16/2022 at 2:22 PM, roy826 said:

The GT+ has arrived! Arrived late Friday and the lead tech at the shop fell ill. He’s in bad health shape and the only one I trust there to do the PDI on my bike. He was out Saturday and they’re closed on mondays. So I’m hoping it gets put together tomorrow Tuesday. The panniers ship separately due to their size. Hoping they make it by weeks end. I ordered the over priced oem heated grips Saturday for it. It should have come with these. But I see why Suzuki does it this way. Some buyers do not want them on their bikes and this model is sold as a GT and GT+. They are all GTs until you add the panniers and it becomes a GT+.

How is it compared to the Tracer?

On my MORNING commute, it was 86 degrees and 88% humidity. First time I can remember sweat stains commuting TO work. Might need to start commuting in shorts and t shirt and changing in the bathroom at work. 

Next week it's supposed to break 100 degrees 6 days in a row. And it's only June. The price we pay for a mild winter, I guess. 

Meanwhile an acquaintance is racing the Tour Divide bike race and is sheltering at a llama farm from a blizzard.

Vacuum on fuel tank?

Cracked wiring insulation and damp air? Did the temp/humidity change during the trip?

Beginning of the end of the battery? Maybe you left an accessory on? Enough juice to turn over but not start?

Did you give it throttle when you cranked it? If I get off the starter too quick, it does NOT want to start a 2nd time until I give it lots of throttle. This is a known issue with the 15-17.

Kids these days complaining about fuel bars! Half of my bikes have had carbs and the FJ is the 1st one with a fuel gauge.  For over 5 years commuting in LA traffic, my low fuel gauge was when the motorcycle started sputtering on the 405 during rush hour and I just reached behind my knee and flipped the petcock to reserve!  My first bike, a Kawi EX500, was already 10 years old when I bought it and a little rough.  After a couple of days of riding it, I discovered a slow fuel leak at the carbs.  For the weeks I spent waiting for parts* I figured out exactly where on my route that I needed to switch the petcock to off so that the carbs would drain and the motor die as I coasted into my parking spot at work.

Now get off my lawn!

(all typed with a smile, although I do use the trip meter on the FJ just like all of the other motorcycles I have owned)

*The parts were sitting on a ship just outside the port of Long Beach and < 5 miles from where I lived at the time - so supply chain shortages are nothing new either!

4 hours ago, Paladins31 said:

That area is definitely on my list of areas to ride.  I hear the Ozarks have great loops as well.

Ozarks, Ouachitas, Mount Nebo, Mount Magazine, Petit Jean Park, Talimena Scenic Byway, etc., etc.  So much good stuff north of I-40 and into southern Missouri.  The only downside is that all of the good rides run north-south, so it's hard to connect them if you're riding cross country.  Great as a destination, though.

9 hours ago, Rick123 said:

And another one just ready to go for 5 days road trip.

 

Nice color matched bags. 

Sport touring motorcycles in their natural resting location

8 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

hah every BMW GS owner I know has absolutely insane aftermarket lighting.  Usually $350-$500 worth.  Always name brand/oem dealer installed setups. 

If they only spent $500, they got the budget lights. 

https://www.clearwaterlights.com/collections/bmw

Ok... the problem with Ebay/Amazon lights isn't the light output but the beam forming and where that light is aimed (and sometimes temperature/color, waterproofness, etc.). I chose to pay $200 for the PIAAs because of their DOT legal claim - I can aim that light where I want it with cutoff. 

15 hours ago, Warchild said:

Why do you have those get big auxiliary LED lights, don't you blind people?" 

That's funny because every friend with BMWs (all are Iron Butt members and long time STNers) all have Clearwaters on their bikes. They think my PIAAs are cute. 

15 hours ago, Kemp said:

Nice ride. I never ride in the Delta but have always found it a strangely beautiful place. I need to ride Crowley's Ridge sometime, too.

There are little bits and pieces on some minor roads as well as sections that are dirt, but if you follow Rte 163 from Jonesboro to Wynne (take 14 east at Harrisburg) then 64 west to Bus 64 to 284 south to Forrest City. 1 to Marianna then head east toward Mississippi River State Park. From there you can stay on the paved road all the way to West Helena. 

I need to get back through WV. I haven't spent enough time there. 

4 hours ago, Heli ATP said:

What do we do when we purchase a new motorcycle? Farkle, Bling, Farkle, Bling ...

Well, I did🙄

Dave Moss tips

Bicycling has the Fit Kit and Body Geometry and a bunch of other systems to fit a rider to the bike. The same thing could be done with a motorcycle. I sometimes think about going to a narrower Tracer bar and rotating it slightly forward. 

It's NADA guide average retail for the non-Cafe.  Agree with @peteinpa.  Photos look good except that the tires might be squared off from around town riding or commuting.