Premium Member fddriver2 Posted May 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted May 4, 2016 I got the chance to ride to NC with some friends. One on a Super Tenere the other on a Road King. All that I had to do was meet them in Lake City Fl. Time was important so up the Florida Turnpike I went. It is a limited access 4-6 lane toll road with some of the worst drivers anywhere. They are all talking, texting, or otherwise distracted. Sniffing glue for all I know.... To make matters more complicated, it was the start of Leesburg Bike Fest. So every nimrod who owns a bike (Read HD) in SOFLA was heading north on the pike... ;-| A special shout out to the bagger riders with plenty of ape hangers who thought it was a good idea to ride in both lanes 10 mph below the speed limit. They made of a nice serpentine course. I got plenty of single finger salutes The route up. Full disclosure. I hate these F**king road(s).. I have been up and down this route 100's of times, it is the fastest way out of FL. Straight boring and full of dumba$$es... Did I mention the dumba$$es? :| The bike loaded. I have a MRA sport windscreen that was just fine for every part of the trip but this part. It just leaves you to exposed for long term high speed, highway travel. Some impressions and opinions. It is a bit buzzy at 80 so I spent most of my time around 75 which kept it in eco. It was pretty windy but the bike felt really stable. I upped the preload one notch front and back. If you want to run interstate highways you will need cruise control. All that I had was a "cramp buster". It worked, it wasn't fun, but it got me there... MPG was low 50's. Seat was acceptable-ish... So. That said. If you want to roll a lot of Interstate get an FJR or something. The FJ-09 will do it just fine, but that's really not its bread and butter. IMO The route up to Highlands. Basically 441/129 through Georgia. 2 and 4 lane open access highway with some nice hills and mild curves. When I travel on the bikes these are the kind of roads I look for. So this is not an unbiased opinion. This is what this bike is made for. We were in NC to open my friend's cabin after a hard winter. There was a lot of snow this year so we expected to do some repairs. There really wasn't much to do. 8-) Another friend rode his Can-Am from Norfolk to meet us. We rode the BRP out past Asheville, went to Wheels through time, stopped at Packs Tavern in Asheville, The Tipping Point in Waynesville and a bunch of the small local roads, 215, 276, 281, 107, Horse cove road, and others..... I thought that the FJ really shined on these small tight 2 lanes. Smooth and sure footed even when you hit gravel. Willing to lean over and pop right back up. The throttle was a little touchy, but that's all that I'll complain about. It would surely benefit from a better suspension. I've never seen a truly mass produced vehicle that wouldn't. I had my XR set up for my weight and style of riding and the difference was amazing. Now some random pictures... BRP Bridal Vail Falls The stable BRP again A plug for Nelson Rigg half cover. It was a last minute addition thanks to Amazon Prime. The medium fits with the MRA screen, it's waterproof and keeps the top half of the bike dry in a pouring rain. $30-$40 and well worth it. The route back to Lake City was the same as the route up, the route from Lake City back home was slightly different. Longer by 2 hours and still sucked, just not as bad... "It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same" Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member martyl Posted May 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted May 4, 2016 Good report! I think instead of taking the Turnpike out of Florida when I do my Georgia ride, I'm going to ride the west coast of Florida and then head north east into Georgia. Might as well see what northwest Florida has to offer.... The bike cover is a great suggestion. I have one I got as a prize at a bike rally and never used it. I think I'll follow your lead.... A Motorcyclist's Church is the open road.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fddriver2 Posted May 15, 2016 Author Premium Member Share Posted May 15, 2016 I don't know if you have taken off on your ride but a suggested route out of Fla would be 27 north to Lake Wales. Catch 60 to Bartow where you grab 98 through Lakeland. Lakeland stinks with the traffic, but I don't know of any good way around it. On your way out of Lake land look for 471 through the Green Swamp Wilderness or press on on 98 to Brooksville and get on 41 or stay on 98 to Crystal River. If you choose 471, the best thing to do is ride it to where you can get on I75 take it north to where it crosses 27 in Ocala and jump on it. It's about 35 miles on 75. If you find yourself in Newberry around lunch time try Newberry Backyard BBQ, or in Live Oak look for The Brown Lantern for a BLT... I have been on all of these roads and basically the bad spot is Lakeland..... If you take any of my advice let me know what you think... "It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same" Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member martyl Posted May 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted May 15, 2016 I don't know if you have taken off on your ride but a suggested route out of Fla would be 27 north to Lake Wales. Catch 60 to Bartow where you grab 98 through Lakeland. Lakeland stinks with the traffic, but I don't know of any good way around it. On your way out of Lake land look for 471 through the Green Swamp Wilderness or press on on 98 to Brooksville and get on 41 or stay on 98 to Crystal River. If you choose 471, the best thing to do is ride it to where you can get on I75 take it north to where it crosses 27 in Ocala and jump on it. It's about 35 miles on 75. If you find yourself in Newberry around lunch time try Newberry Backyard BBQ, or in Live Oak look for The Brown Lantern for a BLT... I have been on all of these roads and basically the bad spot is Lakeland..... If you take any of my advice let me know what you think... From where I live (Orlando area) I can head north and bypass Lakeland and into Ocala via Montevede and Howie in the hills. North on 441. There's a good breakfast place on the southwest corner of Ocala forest called,"The Dam Diner". You can google map it. Lots of good two lane and semi twisty ( For Florida) roads in that area. Haven't gone yet on my journey as my Mom is in bad health lately and I'm spending as much time as I can with her.when I do go I'll post my journey... A Motorcyclist's Church is the open road.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hawkeye Posted May 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted May 15, 2016 I don't know if you have taken off on your ride but a suggested route out of Fla would be 27 north to Lake Wales. Catch 60 to Bartow where you grab 98 through Lakeland. Lakeland stinks with the traffic, but I don't know of any good way around it. On your way out of Lake land look for 471 through the Green Swamp Wilderness or press on on 98 to Brooksville and get on 41 or stay on 98 to Crystal River. If you choose 471, the best thing to do is ride it to where you can get on I75 take it north to where it crosses 27 in Ocala and jump on it. It's about 35 miles on 75. If you find yourself in Newberry around lunch time try Newberry Backyard BBQ, or in Live Oak look for The Brown Lantern for a BLT... I have been on all of these roads and basically the bad spot is Lakeland..... If you take any of my advice let me know what you think... From where I live (Orlando area) I can head north and bypass Lakeland and into Ocala via Montevede and Howie in the hills. North on 441. There's a good breakfast place on the southwest corner of Ocala forest called,"The Dam Diner". You can google map it. Lots of good two lane and semi twisty ( For Florida) roads in that area. Haven't gone yet on my journey as my Mom is in bad health lately and I'm spending as much time as I can with her.when I do go I'll post my journey... I'm about 5 minutes from The Dam Diner, feel free to PM me if you're headed up this way and want to meet up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fddriver2 Posted May 15, 2016 Author Premium Member Share Posted May 15, 2016 Oh you live farther north than I thought. Looking forward to the trip report. Hopefully it'll get more hits than mine "It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same" Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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