July (14 Months to go)

Well here it is the first of July and no motorcycle (totaled ST1300 in June) and a lot of rides coming up in August. I started to do a lot of comparison shopping, after I found out my ST1300 was being totaled. I checked out the Yamaha FJR and Kawasaki Concours forums asking what they liked and disliked about their motorcycles. I really liked my ST1300 but wanted to see what else was out there. I finally decided against the Concours seemed big and the fuel capacity was low for a touring bike (5.8 gallons). I couldn’t see a hugh difference between the FJR and ST so decided to let the salesperson’s deal make my choice for me.
The Yamaha dealership gave me the best deal on a new 2007 FJR1300A so I purchased a 2007 Black Cherry FJR. I'm planning to pick it up July 24th and hopefully get 500 miles on it before I head to the IBA National Meeting in August. I need to get those miles on so I can get the first oil change and the break in period completed before I shoot straight down the interstate to Tulsa, OK. I also have the Ride What Ya Brung (RWYB) the first of September. I'm going to let the ride to Tulsa tell me if I have recovered enough from the accident to make the RWYB.

Well I picked up my 07 FJR1300A July 24th. My wife dropped me off at the dealer and a few friends came over and we went to lunch in the mountains. My first experience on the bike was a 110 mile trip stopping for lunch. The bike performed well and the break in directions are easy. Keep the bike below 4500 rpm and vary the speed. At 4500 rpm that's like 85 mph. After completing the ride, I was a little sore from my injuries but overall the ride went well.

I also went on a 275 mile ride Saturday and all went well, these short rides really gave me a better idea on what I need to do to set the bike up for LD Riding. A few of the items I'm in the process of adding will be 3 different RAM mounts (Garmin, SPOT and XM Radio), handlebar risers, vista cruise throttle lock and sliders. Can't wait until my wife sees all these boxes show up in the mail. At this time, I have another 175 miles to go till the first service that I'm going to let the dealer do. After that I'll do my own work (hard to give the dealer that money).

Looks like I'm still on schedule to make the IBA national meeting in Tulsa, OK in August. I'll use that ride to see how I'm doing and decide if I can make the RWYB in September.