Topic: Big News from a Little Farm

[BomberMann650]

Kickstands go up in 20 days!

Still time to make the gofundme goal!
Click the link and follow the directions!

https://www.gofundme.com/nathans-futuretech-mmi-fund

754(Frank) gets an honorable mention for sending his donation by airplane

The Demon Queen and a Mr. B.W have also pledged their support to the Cowmanns Grass is Greener Tour! 

(Additional material support from Freelove Fabrication, Urban Upholstery, Iron Horse Apparel/Accessories, and Grandma)

Success is; making the people who believed in you - look brilliant.

Made a list of my stops along the way.  It should be a decent ride.  Will definitely have to film the twisties coming out of Prinville, OR.  Also looking forward to Hells Gate and Lake Havasu.

Day 1 - Burns, OR - 436mi
1st Stop - Bridge of the Gods
       Cascade Locks, Oregon
              145 miles
2nd Stop - truck stop
        Madras, Oregon
               129 miles
3rd stop - Hwy 27 from Prinville to
        Burns, Oregon
               162 miles

Day 2 - Reno, NV - 386 miles
1st stop - chevron
         McDermitt, NV
                147 miles   
2nd stop - marzen house
          Lovelock, NV
                  146 miles
3rd stop - Circus Circus
            Reno, NV
                    93 miles

Day 3 - Las Vegas, NV - 505 miles
1st stop - Ordnance Museum
          Hawthorne, NV
                   124 miles
2nd stop - Rebel Oil
           Tonopah, NV
                     103 miles
3rd Stop - Eddie World Gasoline
            Beatty, NV
                       94 miles
4th stop - Amargosa Opera House
             Death Valley Junctiom
                        70 miles
5th stop - fuel up
             Pahrump, NV
                        30 miles
6th stop - The Strip
              Las Vegas, NV
                         58 miles
                                 
Day 4 - PHOENIX 376 miles
1st stop - Lake Havasu
            Desert Hills, AZ
                        149 miles
2nd stop - Travel Stop
             New hope, AZ
                          116 miles
3rd stop - The Motorcycle Mechanics Institute
              Phoenix, AZ
                            111 miles

That's 1,703 miles in 4 days.

D.I.Y. or DIE sticker available from The Moto Meetup etsy store!
             

[BomberMann650]

13 days to go.
Met a friend and went for a ride today.
These fjr's are brilliantly capable machines.

[754]

 You must be getting excited, a very worthy adventure that will change your life.,
 I surely hope it will be a nice ride down, and school will be exiting..
 We are rooting for you... not in the Oz sense.., lol..

[Kelly E]

I see you are using a throttle rocker. I use a "Throttle Rocker" brand rocker on both sides, they make right and left side rockers. They roll to the inside with the contour of your hand. Having them on both sides just about eliminated my hand cramping on long rides. You don't have to hang on as tightly but still have great control with the heels of your hands.

[BomberMann650]

Kelly - that was actually my first time trying the kramp buster throttle rocker.  I can't say I was disappointed.  After a while I hardly noticed it was there. 

The big difference for me was raising the seat height (an untapped factory option i recently discovered) - for the past two years I've dealt with some pretty quick onset shoulder and hip cramping, with the saddle set to low.  Going high seems to have eliminated that. 

I felt really in control of the bike, despite its cargo and apparently cupped front tire (why does that keep happening damnit!). A few simple suspension adjustments should help things settle in for the long haul.  I noticed my compression damping was a little much up front and the rear felt a little springy.

I'm not sure if its the tires or the preload that contributed to a little head shaking when i released the bars.  It didn't shake until after i reduced preload, and splitting the difference on preload adjustment seemed to remedy that.

[Kelly E]

I also have a first gen Concours and one thing I learned is on these big front heavy sport touring bikes is you need to run about 40psi to 42psi in the front tire to prevent the cupping, it works!

[BomberMann650]

I was fairly certain my tire pressures checked around 40-42.  Oh well, I pumped em up to 43/44 last night.

I wish I could say I was 💯 about the metzeler roadtec 01 hwb's - but the overall sensitivity to pressures and noise from the front has been issue from day 1.  The rear is fine, even with the factory centerline tread area being broader than the competitions.  The sides get a bit diggy, which is to be expected with a motogp rain traction inspired tire.

Having absolutely destroyed a set of pr4 gt's (front wears in a high bump plus side cupping) and no word on the release of michelin road 5 gt for heavy tourers - I'm considering the new bridgestone tire for my next set.  The sales ad not only features an fjr, i hear rumor the bike police are getting good lifespan and performance from the design.

[Kelly E]

My friend also trashed a front PR4 GT on his FJR from running the front too low. He has replaced them and is now running the higher pressure and is happy.

[BomberMann650]

33 hours until launch.

[754]

Cool , have a great trip.

[754]

Ooh man looks like showers part of the time in Portlandm hope you miss any rain and get thru to nicer weather.
 Have a great ride..

[BomberMann650]

I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

[BomberMann650]

Gonna start a thread for the ride photos

Cowmanns Grass is Greener Tour

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176911.0.html