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June BOTM

5K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  cra-z1 
#1 ·
Welcome to the June Bike of the Month Competition!

Tire Wheel Fuel tank Vehicle Sky


Congrats to our May winner, @David Shelton

Please follow all instructions posted below

  1. You must add 3 Photos; no more, no less. NO Collages. Pictures must be of the current state of your vehicle. Avoid having any people in your images.
  2. List any/all Legal Modifications to your vehicle if you have done any.*
  3. The vehicle must be yours. Vehicles waiting to be purchased may not be included
  4. Include a short description of your favourite aspect of your vehicle, or your favourite memory or ride taken with your vehicle*
  5. Votes for the month’s winner will be tallied by the number of “Likes” your post has on the last day of the month. The winner at the end of the month will win a free 1 Year Premium Membership for the forum and a custom flair under their username. If the winner is already a premium member, their subscription will be extended an additional year.
  6. Remember, please post your entries and pictures in this thread.
  7. If you have won in a previous month, you can no longer enter for the rest of the year. However, if you have a second car that meets the above criteria, you can enter that.

* These are optional but encouraged


Winners will be featured on the sites gallery, found here. Gallery
 
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#2 ·
I call this, "Still Life: Garage." This is the very current status of the bike.

Motor vehicle Wood Floor Automotive design Automotive tire


Partial de-farkling in process as I'm preparing this bike to move on to a new home, hopefully in the near future as we'll be acquiring a 2014 ES this week.

Near Garrison, MN on the shore of Lake Mille Lacs (behind me):
Tire Wheel Vehicle Plant Automotive tire


Lunch break on a hot day:
Tire Wheel Land vehicle Vehicle Automotive lighting


We decided that since we aren't getting any younger and wanted to take some trips, a better mount than our 2003 V-Strom might be in order. We found on Craigslist this 2007 AE, acquired in 2019, to see if the FJR is right for us; we just can't get our heads around a Gold Wing. We're at least the third if not fourth owner of this AE. We've put about 15,000 miles on it in that time, and like it well enough to go for another in Gen 3 style. Hopefully, this will go to someone wanting an economical entry to the world of the FJR!

We've ridden all over Minnesota and Iowa. Last September, we rode from MN to Gettysburg, PA for the Tour of Honor "Ride-To-Meet." Two weeks with one side case per person and a trunk with shared necessities for the wife, the bike, and me, made for a good adventure. We managed to stay off Interstate highways for most of the trip. We learned that Garmin has some interesting concepts for "Avoid Highways," that seem to include farmyards in West Virginia. US-30 in western PA was a trip in itself! Planning to go to Idaho this fall.

What's been done to the bike?

I have added:
New PR5 GTs before the PA trip
Gen 3 rear shock (great upgrade!)
T-Rex bars, front and back
Sargent saddle, which I liked and my wife didn't. Replaced with a custom Seth Laam creation
GIVI SR357 replaced the factory rear rack to better support the trunk & sub-frame
HeliBars plate with risers because I'm tall
Cortech 18L tank bag
Real Time Industries front reflectives
MRA X-Creen
Denali horn mounted to the T-Rex left guard
LED headlights (Katana brand)
RAM mounts, left & right for phone & Garmin XT
Blind spot mirrors

It came to me with:
CalSci XL windscreen.
Real Time Industries rear reflectives
Grip Puppies
Frame sliders

Have a great June, everyone!
 
#3 ·
Tire Wheel Sky Plant Fuel tank


My 2008 FJR A, photo taken at the original Woodstock site - rear right of photo


I bought this bike a year ago May. I'd been looking diligently for a 2008 or 2009, as I wanted the Five-speed, and it just had to be black! A Triumph dealership buddy found this on one "national" Craig's List, looked like a cherry... but it was way out in central Michigan. I spoke with the owner, made a deal, flew from NY to Detroit, took a two-hour bus ride past Ann Arbor... met the (older) gentleman, shook hands and rode it home.

Along the way I imagined hearing... noises... stress on a long trip can DO that sometimes.. freaked out along the NY Southern Tier and brought it to a Yamaha dealer at Hornell. I was SURE that there was something grinding in the drivetrain.. and they agreed! I started seating bullets as they discussed times and hours involved in pulling the motor to get to the forward gear bearing (inside the motor). I freaked.. but eventually decided to "chance it" and ride the bike the remaining four hours home.
Well, of course it turned out to be nothing worse than dry driveshaft splines... and my inexperience with the normal noises that a driveshaft makes. Live & Learn!

Sky Wheel Tire Fuel tank Vehicle


I've looked at FJR's for many years, always expected them to be overly heavy, (they truly aren't light of course), and avoided them as being too "boat-like". But I always imagined how I'd "mod" one... and when my trusty Bandit got turned back way up in the Rockies due to altitude sickness (it's carbureted), I swore that next time I went that way, I'd have a Fuel Injected bike to tackle the job.

Now- I'm leaving in two days for Oregon; yup, on the FJR this time.

My intent on this bike has been to move it more into the "sport" side of Sport Touring. While I understand this is no R1, and that many guys enjoy these bikes with tall fairings and handlebar risers, I wanted a slightly more...cafe.. feel. So I cut an inch out of the bar height, (had an expert Ukranian welder from work TIG the halves together nicely).. cut an aftermarket, tinted screen down and shaped it... added some DominatoR cans.. sent the ECU out for re-flash... sliced-off the rear fender for use of a "tail tidy".. added an Adaptiv TPX radar detector... Sonic straight-wound springs up front (to my weight) and a new Hyperpro shock to the back. The bike feels much more responsive now, both in fueling and handling.. and I've found the 1" drop (and slight narrowing) of the bars is excellent for my back.

I've just mounted a pair of Shinko Raven 009's for my trip; I decided not to go with more expensive rubber as I'll just be burning these down on the Inter Slab.
For the next 10,000 miles and three weeks... we should really get to know each other!

Tire Wheel Cloud Sky Fuel tank
 
#4 ·
New to me!😎
Tire Wheel Fuel tank Vehicle Automotive tail & brake light


My Christian buddy from Orlando approached me with the offer to purchase her a month ago. He was hanging up his spurs and wanted me to have her at a really, really good deal. Could not see letting go my Royal Star Tour Deluxe. My baby and I had been to Nova Scotia. Been to British Columbia. Been to the Pacific Coast Highway. Been to the Outer Banks. Even been to Texas🤣. Rode her in the snow when it was all I had! How could I let her go?

We decided to pray 🙏 about it. If I sold mine I would buy his. Before I advertised her, while changing all the fluids, my Jacksonville Christian buddy bought her. Happened fast, no time for remorse. Just peace over the whole thing. Three of us blessed!😎
Tire Wheel Fuel tank Vehicle Automotive tail & brake light
 
#5 ·
Here is one for July. Just completed the rebuild on my 1982 GS1100GL purchased last summer. The bike started out with a complete Vetter package. The bike had 24,000 miles on it. I split the cases to inspect everything and replace all the seals. The output shaft/gears runs in gear lube on this bike so those seals also needed to be replaced. On these 40 year old bikes I look at everything. I ended up putting in a 1134 Wisco kit because you can no longer find oversize pistons for this bike. 1134 is 2mm overstock. I also could not find new OEM rear cam chain tensioner but did find a company in the UK who made them for this 8 valve engine. The bike came with a Dyna 2000 ignition so I re-used that. I decided to dump the bulky stock exhaust in exchange for a Delkevik 4 into 1. Inspection of the rear drive showed it was at the point of failure. I found the rear splines for the wheel in Israel for a good price and also two used drives at our local junk yard for a total of $15.00. I decided to replace the speedometer and tach because they were faded pretty bad. I found the speedometer at CMSNL, it should have been a MPH unit but came in as KPH. I decided to use it since the units cant be found. Anyway the bike runs great and im getting used to converting KPH into MPH in my head. Here are a few pictures of before doing and after.
Before rebuild

During rebuild, worn gear, split cases




Finished
 
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