Airborne FJR

JQL

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Err, Erm... Yes I had my FJR130 airborne yesterday. All 295 kg + me, about 365 kg (800 lbs) in total, off the ground! Yes, I'm totally certifiable!

OK, it wasn't an Eddie Kidd type jump but we did leave the ground and the tires squealed a bit on landing. The bike was superb. No wobbles or interesting moments.

Pictures or it didn't happen... video here: Airborne FJR
 
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Nice commentary during the video. A little bit slower rates that I am used to.

I noticed the following:

  • You put the bike in neutral when waiting at the lights.
  • You were "Filtering" in traffic. - In California, we call it lane-splitting and we now have state laws that support it.
  • You were riding at about 120 KPH or 74.5 MPH for a brief while. - Cars in my area will be blowing past you as if you were walking.
  • 13°C is about 55.4°F, which is a chilly morning for Los Angeles.
The COVID Lockdown in the California and rest of the United State was a joke. Good luck with your second lockdown leading into the holiday.
 

ST1100Y

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G'Day from AuSTria (long time member @ ST-owners)

You put the bike in neutral when waiting at the lights.
SOP, avoiding excessive wear on the lifter/heating up clutch hydraulics...

You were "Filtering" in traffic. - In California, we call it lane-splitting and we now have state laws that support it.
hmm, we're dividing that more specific:

- filtering: passing between stationary cars (red lights, backlash...)
- lane splitting: passing between moving vehicles (like the M4/M1 entering Paris, cars rolling ~80kph and "ze motos" gun by in between with 120~160kph... ;) )
 
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Coyote Chris

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The video itself was very interesting. I am not sure I would have called that catching air but its your call. The few times it has happened to me in the last 50 years I wouldnt have kept on talking,,,and the words I would have used would not be printable.
It was good to see people wearing masks and If they werent, it would be easy to catch them but what is the fine? Here, they just educate you. I wear masks that protect ME, not others as many here wear ineffectural masks,,,some you can see through....there are basically NO rules about the mask performance.......but the traffic load presents an interesting issue for law enforcement.
With so many vehicles, how do they enforce the certificate rule? Also, there must be a plethora of food markets as one km walking rule in the US would get you about no where. Good luck with the holidays. Canada is paying the price for being arrogant and I am sure the US is next.
 

Coyote Chris

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G'Day from AuSTria (long time member ST-owners)


SOP, avoiding excessive wear on the lifter/heating up clutch hydraulics...


hmm, we're dividing that more specific:

- filtering: passing between stationary cars (red lights, backlash...)
- lane splitting: passing between moving vehicles (like the M4/M1 entering Paris, cars rolling ~80kph and "ze motos" gun by in between with 120~160kph... ;) )
Thanks for clearing up the filtering vs lane splitting thing.....I am not into either but its good to know. I only visit Northern California in Rural areas and have never seen it done.
Many motorcyclists believe that its best to keep a bike in gear at a stop light so that if you see things going badly around you, you can get out of the way quicker. Hydrolic or cable clutch.
At some US stoplights, that could be one to two minutes. I have arthritis and holding in a tough clutch for that long could make my hand such that killing the engine during an attempted get a way would be a possibility. In the age of texters and idiots in the US, if I am number 2 or greater at a stop light, I am in neutral, leaving pleanty of space in front of me and I am mostly in the outside lane with an escape route planned. Leaving pleanty of room between me and the car in front and watching the mirrors like a hawk. I do cover the clutch lever and the shifter and my Suzuki XT has launch assist and the FJR is pretty hard to kill the engine. If I am number one at a light, its a possible blessing and maybe a curse. I was at a stoplight...number one....at an intersection of two, four lane surface streets. The traffic was light, thankfully and I was in my Isuzu trooper with a clutch. It just started to drizzel after a long drought period.
I watched a semi coming up on my rear go sideways on the slick pavement as he tried to stop for the light but was going too fast for conditions. I didnt think twice. I put the Isuzu in first, checked the traffic and drove right through the red light. Since the semi now had an unobstructed road he was able to straighten out his truck and run the light behind me.
If I am on a bike and see trouble brewing behind me, I am not ashamed to just take my escape route into a parking lot or ? out of an abundance of caution. But in 54 years, I have never been in a situation where I wished I had been in gear with the foot/hand clutch actuated.
 

ST1100Y

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Many motorcyclists believe that its best to keep a bike in gear at a stop light so that if you see things going badly around you, you can get out of the way quicker.
Even in the very crowded, often crazy traffic here I never felt the need for such...
I do keep situational awareness though and rather place myself in a less exposed spot at intersections (filtering places you rather aside the vehicles) , but as a bike is in gear and off within a second...

With the vast majority of cars being stick-shift, you're trained at driving school to not stay long with depressed clutch unless you can move in foreseeable time (also not to let your hand/arm rest on the shift lever as this will wear out linkage/cables yet even gearbox parts prematurely...)
 
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JQL

JQL

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25 or so years ago I used to race ATVs and instruct on them so I'm used to being airborne. I wasn't expecting to be airborne there and I was changing lane so not quite vertical on the bike which is why I went quiet in case I had to "control" the bike. You can see me lift out of the seat for about a second. What surprised me was how stable she is especially as I had the panniers and topbox on.

The FJR speedo is not accurate and is, at best, 10% out so I was travelling at least 10% slower than indicated. I usually have my GPS on to measure my speed accurately.

The speeds on Urban motorways are quite low in Europe. Each country has their own speed limits. Typically 70 - 90 kph (45 - 55 mph) with an occasional 110 kph (70 mph). On the Dual carriageways and normal roads it is 110 kph (70 mph) and, on the Autoroutes (Toll Roads) in France it is 130 kph (80 mph) and is enforced with speed cameras (known as RADAR in France) and unmarked camera cars (DAMHIK). Though a lot of Speed Cameras get vandalised on a regular basis. The police keep complaining about it but absolutely no one is interested as they are just seen as another form of tax.

Neutral and traffic lights. It depends. Most of the time, because we can filter, I will be in a position between vehicles so, most likely, won't get rear ended. Therefore neutral is the default. If I'm not happy with the traffic or position for some reason, I'll stay in gear. We are taught in cars to be in neutral when stopped. Although not strictly necessary for bikes because of the wet clutch, we tend to do it anyway. Although not unknown for people to be rear-ended, people do tend to be more attentive on the roads in Europe. Again I believe it is due to manual gearboxes which are the norm over here. In the UK it's possible under certain circumstances to lose your licence if you just touch your phone while driving. Distracted driving is not tolerated and you cannot do anything which distracts you from driving. So no eating, drinking, putting on make-up etc...

As to enforcement of the travelling rules. The police are basically just checking if you get pulled over. They occasionally have roadside checks but, with the new terror level in France after the latest 3 attacks, they've got more pressing duties. I do believe though, at the fortnightly review, that the lockdown will be more severe.

I've cancelled Christmas. I believe there will be a minor relaxation of the lockdown for about 3 weeks from 14th December where we'll be allowed to buy presents etc. We'll be allowed a maximum of 6 people in any family gathering (no bars or restaurants), a curfew from 9.00 pm to 6.00 am and that's it! I'm more than a little miffed at this Chinese Bat Flu and now we've got Danish Mink Flu as well.

Keep safe everyone.
 
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G'Day from AuSTria (long time member @ ST-owners)


SOP, avoiding excessive wear on the lifter/heating up clutch hydraulics...
Well, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation training I had to take in order get my license back in 1991 stated differently. They stated its more safer to keep your bike in gear and holding in the clutch when at a stop. The reasoning was if you ever needed to take evasive maneuvers in a split second you didn’t have to fumble trying to get the bike into gear.

I also had a GL1000 that I put 100,000 miles on it myself holding in the clutch as stoplights. The clutch never wore out or showed signs of wear or other signs of degrading.

I personally I cannot speak for other people on the subject of when it comes to line-slitting practices. I personally will not line-slitting in heavy traffic moving above 50 MPH. I see guys doing it at 80 mph prior to COVID during my daily commute.

We all have free will to follow the rules or simply ignore them. To each his own. I’m just saying…
 

Phil Tarman

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I rode my first Concours 115,000 miles and my first NT 138,000 miles. I almost always have stayed in gear and held the clutch in while stopped and I've never had any clutch issues with any of my bikes. IMNSHO the wet clutches are immune to the issues with throwout bearing wear that bother automotive dry clutches.
 
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SOP, avoiding excessive wear on the lifter/heating up clutch hydraulics...
I am also own an NC700X with DCT. That bike is always in gear then put into any of the 3 driving modes (D-Mode. S-Mode, MT-Mode). So, there's that too.
 

Coyote Chris

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Even in the very crowded, often crazy traffic here I never felt the need for such...
I do keep situational awareness though and rather place myself in a less exposed spot at intersections (filtering places you rather aside the vehicles) , but as a bike is in gear and off within a second...

With the vast majority of cars being stick-shift, you're trained at driving school to not stay long with depressed clutch unless you can move in foreseeable time (also not to let your hand/arm rest on the shift lever as this will wear out linkage/cables yet even gearbox parts prematurely...)
It is interesting to me that most of your cars are still stick shift. In the last century in the US, if you wanted the best fuel economy at the best price and the best brake wear, you drove a stick. My 2006 Toyota Matrix is geared perfectly and gets 38 mpg with gasoline and I have never had the brakes done.
Now, in this century, engineers HATE sticks. A computer with a CVT transmission is the best way to get not only the best fuel economy, but the best emissions to make the govt happy. Put in a stick and you add the human bean factor that gums up the works.
Now I have my first CVT car...a 2018 Subaru Forester. The CVT computer simulates an auto 6 or 7 speed. Its much bigger and heavier than the Matrix and is all wheel drive and it gets 33 mpg or better......I love it.
 

Coyote Chris

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25 or so years ago I used to race ATVs and instruct on them so I'm used to being airborne. I wasn't expecting to be airborne there and I was changing lane so not quite vertical on the bike which is why I went quiet in case I had to "control" the bike. You can see me lift out of the seat for about a second. What surprised me was how stable she is especially as I had the panniers and topbox on.

The FJR speedo is not accurate and is, at best, 10% out so I was travelling at least 10% slower than indicated. I usually have my GPS on to measure my speed accurately.

The speeds on Urban motorways are quite low in Europe. Each country has their own speed limits. Typically 70 - 90 kph (45 - 55 mph) with an occasional 110 kph (70 mph). On the Dual carriageways and normal roads it is 110 kph (70 mph) and, on the Autoroutes (Toll Roads) in France it is 130 kph (80 mph) and is enforced with speed cameras (known as RADAR in France) and unmarked camera cars (DAMHIK). Though a lot of Speed Cameras get vandalised on a regular basis. The police keep complaining about it but absolutely no one is interested as they are just seen as another form of tax.

Neutral and traffic lights. It depends. Most of the time, because we can filter, I will be in a position between vehicles so, most likely, won't get rear ended. Therefore neutral is the default. If I'm not happy with the traffic or position for some reason, I'll stay in gear. We are taught in cars to be in neutral when stopped. Although not strictly necessary for bikes because of the wet clutch, we tend to do it anyway. Although not unknown for people to be rear-ended, people do tend to be more attentive on the roads in Europe. Again I believe it is due to manual gearboxes which are the norm over here. In the UK it's possible under certain circumstances to lose your licence if you just touch your phone while driving. Distracted driving is not tolerated and you cannot do anything which distracts you from driving. So no eating, drinking, putting on make-up etc...

As to enforcement of the travelling rules. The police are basically just checking if you get pulled over. They occasionally have roadside checks but, with the new terror level in France after the latest 3 attacks, they've got more pressing duties. I do believe though, at the fortnightly review, that the lockdown will be more severe.

I've cancelled Christmas. I believe there will be a minor relaxation of the lockdown for about 3 weeks from 14th December where we'll be allowed to buy presents etc. We'll be allowed a maximum of 6 people in any family gathering (no bars or restaurants), a curfew from 9.00 pm to 6.00 am and that's it! I'm more than a little miffed at this Chinese Bat Flu and now we've got Danish Mink Flu as well.

Keep safe everyone.
Thanks! The drivers I have encountered in Canada tend to be much better than US drivers. More courteous. Aggression is getting worse in the US.
We usually do XMAS and Thanksgiving with friends.... Not this year. We are smarter than that.
I am not so sure where this current Covid SARS strain came from since the defection to the US of the Chinese Scientist, but the mink infection is very interesting. Its the only animal known (so far) that can get the covid 19 virus from man, mutate it, and give it back. (8 victums so far) Its in Denmark and they are killing all 17 million mink and thinking about shutting down the chinese business for ever, like the Dutch are doing. The covid is in Mink in Utah now....And Spain, IIRC.

I would say my FJR speedo is one mph high, according to speed readers. My XT suzuki is 10 percent high.
 

ST1100Y

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It is interesting to me that most of your cars are still stick shift.
Automatic trannys was always frowned on over the bad mileage...
Also that they didn't work on small displacement engines, of like 1100, 1300 or 1600cc...
Now their slowly dawning again with more refined 7-speed TDC boxes, still won't make much sense with any block smaller then 2000cc...

Another big issue are winter conditions or getting stuck in snowdrifts, mud, soil... with manual transmission I can rock the car back and forth to free it eventually...
 
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JQL

JQL

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I use my GPS to check my speed on the FJR because the speedo on the 2019 is so inaccurate. On the Deauville (NT700) the speedo is exact to the GPS most of the time - slight variations based on tyre wear.

In France the speed limit varies depending on the county or part of the county you are in. Just to make matters worse, they don't, in general, post the speed limit on the open road (Autoroutes are different). You have to guess! Therefore, when I'm outside of the Parisienne region, I use the GPS to tell me what the speed limit is.

The Spanish Covid strain is 20A.EU1. I understand (though this needs confirmation) the Danish strain is 20A.EU5. Where are the others in between????
 

ST1100Y

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In France the speed limit varies depending on the county or part of the county you are in.
Unless a posted sign tells otherwise (i.e. rappel) I'd expected:
- urban areas/city limits: 50kph
- rural roads: 100kph
- motorways: 130kph
(never got "nailed" in France... yet... ;))

BTW: what happened to that emission zone issue?
Had to register/found for my ST1100 in 2018 (visiting my friend Xavier), seems I wouldn't be allowed to enter the inner townships of Paris anymore...
 

Coyote Chris

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I use my GPS to check my speed on the FJR because the speedo on the 2019 is so inaccurate. On the Deauville (NT700) the speedo is exact to the GPS most of the time - slight variations based on tyre wear.

In France the speed limit varies depending on the county or part of the county you are in. Just to make matters worse, they don't, in general, post the speed limit on the open road (Autoroutes are different). You have to guess! Therefore, when I'm outside of the Parisienne region, I use the GPS to tell me what the speed limit is.

The Spanish Covid strain is 20A.EU1. I understand (though this needs confirmation) the Danish strain is 20A.EU5. Where are the others in between????
The article said the Danes have confirmed seven new strains created by the Mink. In August, there were 6 human strains. How many mutations come and go? Unclear.

We had/are having an outbreak due to idiots who think Halloween parties are a good idea during a pandemic.
aacovid halloween.jpg
 

Coyote Chris

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Automatic trannys was always frowned on over the bad mileage...
Also that they didn't work on small displacement engines, of like 1100, 1300 or 1600cc...
Now their slowly dawning again with more refined 7-speed TDC boxes, still won't make much sense with any block smaller then 2000cc...

Another big issue are winter conditions or getting stuck in snowdrifts, mud, soil... with manual transmission I can rock the car back and forth to free it eventually...
The CVT changed the world for small engines. Here where black ice and 44 inches of snow each winter is common, many have AWD /4WD systems, most computer controled. I am trying to remember if I have ever had to rock an AWD vehicle. My 2004 HOnda CRV has a fairly primitive AWD system but it works well. The subaru has traction control along with AWD modes.
 

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We had/are having an outbreak due to idiots who think Halloween parties are a good idea during a pandemic.
Just wait 'til post Thanksgiving and Christmas periods.. I work with someone that wants to ignore it all and go visit his brother and family 200 miles away for Thanksgiving just because he misses them... ugh... short term sacrifices lead to long term benefits..
 
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JQL

JQL

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Unless a posted sign tells otherwise (i.e. rappel) I'd expected:
- urban areas/city limits: 50kph
- rural roads: 100kph
- motorways: 130kph
(never got "nailed" in France... yet... ;))

BTW: what happened to that emission zone issue?
Had to register/found for my ST1100 in 2018 (visiting my friend Xavier), seems I wouldn't be allowed to enter the inner townships of Paris anymore...
In built up areas, the default speed is 50 kph but can be 70, 40, 30 or 20 kph (the Mayor decides)! Usually signposted.

On Departmental Roads (A and B roads in the UK), the default speed is 80 kph. In some Departments (Counties) and communes the limit is 90 kph. If the road has more than 2 lanes (3 lane roads the 90 only applies to the side with 2 lanes in the same direction), the default speed is 90 kph unless otherwise posted. Unfortunately signposting is extremely poor so you don't always know what the limit is. It's an absolute nightmare which is why I use the Sat Nag (GPS).

On dual-carriageways, the default speed is 90 kph unless otherwise posted then it can be any speed from 110 kph - 30 kph! The lower speeds (70 kph and below) are usually enforced by RADAR.

Autoroutes are 130 kph except in the rain when they are 110 kph. Roadworks are usually 70 kph but, again, this varies.

LEZ (Low Emission Zones) are in all the major cities, not just Paris. In general level 0-2 can enter at any time. 3 and above is banned at times of high pollution - 3 is allowed in during low pollution periods, 4 and above - it depends on the city. Paris is trying to reduce vehicular traffic so they have more strict rules coming in (https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/france/paris):

Currently: Max is level 3 except at times of high pollution
  • From 2022 - 2024: Max will be level 2. Level 3 and above banned
  • From 2024: Max Level 1 (with exceptions for motos - level 2 allowed - Deauville (NT700) is level 2).
  • From 2030: All petrol and diesel vehicles banned. Electric and hydrogen only!

As to Chinese Bat/pangolin Flu (regardless of strain), I believe it'll be summer 2022 (July-ish) before we in Europe are back to a semblance of normality. A good source of information is: Dr John Campbell
 
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