dedsxy47 Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Thought I would try the bike out on some gravel roads today to see how stable it was. To my disbelief, it did surprisingly well even on stock tires. On a 1 mile stretch of wet gravel, I managed 6th gear and 70mph even doing some full rear braking while gingerly gliding through some open corners (saw that trick in one of the GS training videos haha). I was also surprised how well the motor pulled even in 4th at 20mph up to 60 in the loose stuff (essentially full throttle). They talk about the GS's pulling like a tractor well the little FJ zips right along even on the ole Dunlops. Couldn't imagine what it could do with proper tires. I am sure most will not subject their bikes to such treatment other than a road trek to Alaska or Mexico, but turning the FJ into a light adventure bike could be possible. Of course, a 1200 GSA ADV would be the preferred rig, but it is going to take me a few years to save up for a bike that cost almost as much as my car. Just a bit of dirt and dust after 30 miles of goofing around in the "rough stuff: Anyone else leaning towards the adventure side of these things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark&Stormy Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Its possible and capable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 I gots no hesitation doing some off roading with the FJ. Only because I've got a skid plate. Without the skid plate I'd be terrified haha! I pulled off the side of the road once for a break. Turns out there was a rather large ditch between the road the pullout I'd identified as being a good stopping opportunity. By the time I noticed it was too late and I had to muscle through. The FJ did just fine. However getting back on the road was rather intimidating. But again, FJ did just fine! '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alquimista Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 For me, the problem are the stock tires and not enough clearance to the floor. Got a mototech skid plate and Conti trail Attack 2 back tire. Things are bit better now when it's necessary to do light off road. Yet I'd not treat this bike as a full multipurpose... I see my FJ-09 as a perfect ship for on road trips.. For off road is still a heavy bike and I'd not want to fall down with it... I see it kind of fragile. I fall down several times with a tenere xt660z I had and I didn't care... It was a tank, strong, built for full off road purposes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trokarr Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Thought I would try the bike out on some gravel roads today to see how stable it was. To my disbelief, it did surprisingly well even on stock tires. On a 1 mile stretch of wet gravel, I managed 6th gear and 70mph even doing some full rear braking while gingerly gliding through some open corners (saw that trick in one of the GS training videos haha). I was also surprised how well the motor pulled even in 4th at 20mph up to 60 in the loose stuff (essentially full throttle). They talk about the GS's pulling like a tractor well the little FJ zips right along even on the ole Dunlops. Couldn't imagine what it could do with proper tires. I am sure most will not subject their bikes to such treatment other than a road trek to Alaska or Mexico, but turning the FJ into a light adventure bike could be possible. Of course, a 1200 GSA ADV would be the preferred rig, but it is going to take me a few years to save up for a bike that cost almost as much as my car. Just a bit of dirt and dust after 30 miles of goofing around in the "rough stuff: Anyone else leaning towards the adventure side of these things? I have done some gravel riding on my FJ-09, probably over 200 km. I like to ride down gravel farm roads to find out-of-the-way or interesting places. I have the stock front tire and a Dunlop RS3 rear and it does fine in both packed and loose gravel as long as you don't go too wild. The downside is that the fine gravel dust gets everywhere in your bike (including under the seat) and is a PITA to clean. I've never tried mud yet, but I imagine that it would be a whole other story lol. This is an old church I came upon in rural Manitoba as I was racing ahead of the storm you see in the background: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fijiman Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Surprisingly I loved doing gravel roads on this bike, on B mode, they work pretty well....just have to get more beefier tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedsxy47 Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 On 2/18/2019 at 12:12 PM, fijiman said: Surprisingly I loved doing gravel roads on this bike, on B mode, they work pretty well....just have to get more beefier tires I looked into tire options, bought a KTM 1090 Adventure R instead, got a stellar deal. Anyone who says the stock Dunlops do not stick should try riding on knobby tires on the street. The bike does very well on flat gravel but the suspension is really soft for anything more. I do not plan on conquering rocks the size of cars or anything, but some of the trail conditions I see people encounter would have the FJ buried in a second. Perhaps a set of TKC-80's would even things up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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