Ordered a new bike last week. After 6 months of reading and talking to others I decided to order the new 05 FJR1300. It won't be here till July and I have from now to July to sell my other bike. This bike is the bike of the year for 2003 and is more suited for touring. The only apprehension I have is that this bike is faster than fast with 145 hp and 0 to 100 in 7.2 seconds. I will have to be careful to not get into the throttle. Here are some pics on the new bike.
Took delivery of the FJR in August and then started to work on it for 5 weeks. Added on GPS, XM radio, Cee Bailey windshield, electronic cruise control, StarCom 1 with bike to bike communication, frame sliders, PIAA driving lights, and a louder magnum blaster horn. By September I was on my way to Texas for a 6 day shakedown trip.
I bought a bike back in January 2002. It had 5500 miles on it and the price was right. I worked on the bike for a month going through things like the brakes, valve adjust, cyl head torque and then put on a stage 1 kit with a K&N filter. This bike is a 600 cc 4 cyl with 72 HP and red line is 12000 RPM stock. It is reported in Motor Cyclist Magazine to do 12.59 sec and 106 MPH in the 1/4 mile. Not bad for a beginner bike. It has been many years since I have ridden a bike again and after reading many magazines and looking for 4 months I decided to get a Bandit. It is considered to be a good beginner bike for someone that hasn't been on a bike for a while like me. I like the looks of the engine and not having all the farings that the Katana has where you can't see the engine. This bike goes and it's nothing like what we had in the old days.
98 Suzuki Bandit
First Trip (April 15 - 18,
2002)
This was my first touring trip on the bike. I had gone out and bought a tank bad and saddle bags for the trip up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I already had a lot of camping gear left over from my backpacking days on the Appalachian Trail. I started out on a Monday, April 15 and came back on the 18th after traveling 728 miles. I first went up to Deal's Gap a famous road with 318 curves in 11 miles. What a road this was. After going through Deal's gap also called Tail of the Dragon I made the loop trip up to the Cherohala Skyway and back to Robbinsville, North Carolina. This loop trip is about 110 miles. So after the run up to Deal's Gap and then the loop I bedded down for the night in Robbinsville at a small motel for the night.
The next day I left out at 8:00am and went to the Natahala Outdoor Center and had breakfast next to the river. After breakfast I left out for the Blue Ridge Parkway and was finally on the BRP at 11:00am. The weather so far was very nice and the Parkway was empty still being a little early for the spring foliage to get on the trees yet. I did the rest of the day on the BRP up to a small town called Spruce Pine. Not sure I would stay there again but all the stops can't be perfect.
The next morning I was ready to get out of town. It was a little nippy in the morning at 7:00am but I was ready to ride. I went up the BRP to Boone and then decided to drive back the next day.
I dove down to South Carolina to highway 11 the Cherokee Foothills Parkway. This was a long boring ride till out in the middle of nowhere was an ice-cream and shop. I stopped to see what was there and here was an organ being played outside on the porch and a lot of people from all over. In the back was a restaurant. They also sold candle and novelties. This was a pleasant stop but in the middle of my ice-cream cone came a clap of thunder and it was time to move on. I was able to outrun three thunderstorms that day in South Carolina. When I got to Georgia the thunderstorm threat was over and I only had another 90 miles to go. When I got back home it was 728 miles and I had driven 290 miles that day to get home. This was a great trip for me the first time out and now I know that with a little more planning the next trip will be even better.
New place to go
I found a new place to go to and it's only 38 miles from my bike's home. It's called Hans Restaurant and Lounge in Helen, Georgia. It's a great place to go for lunch and have a beer. Most all the customers are coming in on all sorts of bikes and you can set out on a porch, have lunch or a beer and watch all the motorcycles go by. The other places I frequent are T.W.O and Toosy's
Weekend Trip (July 7,2002)
Got out early Sunday morning to ride some. Took north on 400 up to T.W.O for breakfast and sat outside for a while getting some coffee in me. Then went out hwy 180 and then to US 129 past Turner's Corner and up to Helen for lunch at Hans. It was a good ride but looked like rain was threatening most of the morning. Just before Helen there were a few drops. After lunch I started back towards Cleveland and over to hwy 400. Stopped at Toosy's and then headed home. This seems like a nice little half day trip with 110 miles of a little of everything.
Weather at Deals Gap (the Dragon)
