Moving on to other pastures, so to speak

[Trobinson]

Good morning all,

 

I've been looking to "upgrade" the old '96 R1100RT for some time now and decided now is the time.  I'll be picking up a 2012 FJR1300 in a couple of weeks (so long as it's in the condition the pictures show) and retiring the beemer.  My plan is to dismantle it and sell some of the parts.  I'll post in the classifieds once I'm ready.  I'll note here the mileage is high (190,000 miles), but everything works.  The final drive is in excellent condition with a slight weep of oil at the front seal.  The gearbox has roughly 70K miles (I bought it 4 years ago from JamesW, IIRC, with 50K on it) and I have the original torn apart ready for rebuild.  Anyway,  I'll post up when it's dismantled.

 

I'll likely hang out here once in awhile.  The help here has always been great and appreciated and who knows, I may one day own another beemer.

 

Tom

[Paul De]

The big thing is to keep on riding, and to that hopefully congratulations on the new to you ride will be in order.  I have always like Yamaha's, particularly their 3 cylinder models.  soft spot aside, I am coming to a decision to sell my '99 R1100RT for an on-off road bike for use on the fire roads near where I will be living, but still have a newish Waterhead to go long on.  Don't forget about us as it is always nice to read about what others are up to regardless of brand.

[Skywagon]

You will like the FJR....except for changing the battery which is a Jay Oh Bee.  My  best friend rides one.  He bought it new in 2013 and says when he is ready for a new bike he will buy another FJR.  You can still hang out with us....we don't care what you ride....

[Trobinson]

I'm sure I'll still hang out here.  Hopefully some of you will take advantage of some good used parts.  I was going to offer up the rims, but found out an object I hit a few days ago bent both.  Tires didn't break the bead, but I'm no longer riding it since I know about it now and you never know when one will decide to let go.  Anyway, look for parts in the classifieds in a couple of weeks or so.

[JamesW]

On 11/16/2020 at 11:40 AM, Skywagon said:

You will like the FJR....except for changing the battery which is a Jay Oh Bee.  My  best friend rides one.  He bought it new in 2013 and says when he is ready for a new bike he will buy another FJR.  You can still hang out with us....we don't care what you ride....

 

Actually, getting the battery out of a generation 2 FJR which a 2012 is is pretty easy.  The trick is to trim just a tiny bit off the edge of the black plastic piece that covers the battery.  I did this to my 2010 generation 2 and now accessing the battery is easy especially compared to an oilhead.  I don't remember the exact location on the cover that needs the modification but he'll figure it out the first time he tries to remove the cover.  Maybe the present owner has already taken care of it.  Oh, and this modification is completely invisible.

 

I'll say this about the FJR; it's a fantastic motorcycle no doubt about it but I have never been able to make it fit ergonomics wise like a BMW does for me.  I've installed handlebar risers, changed the seat to a Russell sport saddle, and installed a Cee Bailey windshield which is no longer available and still it isn't quite right.  I also changed the rear shock to a gen3 unit and swapped out the center stand for a gen3 stand.  The gen3 center stand is 3/4" shorter than the gen2 stand and makes a huge difference when it comes to hefting that 640 lbs up on the center stand. The gen3 rear shock is just a beefier unit and  a perfect fit.  I will say the FJR seems to have a lower center of gravity than did my '04 R1150RT and handles in some ways slightly better.  Then we have what happens when you roll on the FJR throttle and that huge grin forms on your face.  Kind of makes it worth it, kind of.  I also had the ECU flashed by Ivan and for $350 it's worth it.  Ivan is a great tuner and knows what he is about, just google him.  I wish I could figure out what it is that doesn't quite fit me on the FJR.  For that matter I've never found any Japanese made motorcycle that really fits me like a BMW.  Gonna keep my R1100RSL.  Oh, and when it comes to a valve adjust I will definitely keep the BMW, no contest there.

[Trobinson]

Thanks for the input on the battery removal James.  I'll have to check into that.  She's on the way home with me as I write this.  

 

I really love the power compared to my R1100RT, which has the LC-1 you gave me set to 13.8:1 AFR, and is certainly no slouch.  The FJR is much smoother as well and quieter.  I'll be donating the LC-1 to whomever wants it by the way, unless I can use it on the FJR.  That could make things interesting, no?  Hmmm....  I'll check out Ivan as well, although I won't be doing any tuning for some time.

[JamesW]

Hi Tom, I swear I can't remember giving you my old LC-1 but I guess I did.  In fact I can't remember what I did with it.  Anyway, it won't work on an FJR but you won't need it anyway.  You can do the mod on your FJR to allow you to access the CO settings which will richen the AFR at idle and maybe 1 or 1.5K revs above idle.  Right now your FJR CO settings are all set to zero and the previous owner may have already done the Barbarian Jumper Mod as it's called.  I set all 4 CO's to +12 and it did smooth performance a touch at low revs.  After Ivan's flash all COs get set back to zero anyway.