Took a nice Cross Country Ride

[Mike Ramos]

Howdy gentlemen,

Several weeks ago with about 12K miles on the engine rebuild and finally having time to get out and about, I was able to head down into Texas for an enjoyable cross country ride; the first multiday sojourn of the year.

It has been an exceptionally wet winter in California as a whole and far northern California in particular.  With a significant snow pack that will linger far into spring, preventing serious back country mountain road riding, it seemed as if heading down south would be a nice change.  As I went along my way some delightful secondary roads were encountered as were some not so delightful highways which are in a rather sad state of repair.

The only problem encountered was at the very beginning when the volt meter was indicating an over charging problem.  The FJ still had the original regulator so at my first fuel stop a call was placed to RPM.  Confirming there was a new regulator available and that installation was possible despite their busy schedule [auto racing season has begun!] the route was altered and a stop was made at the palatial RPM facilities.  Normally it is about a 300 mile run to Oakdale, but because of rerouting, it was considerably longer.  Robert kindly installed a new regulator and the ride was once again resumed. 

After leaving Oakdale, I continued south in relatively poor & wet weather.  Outside of Bakersfield, I headed east up through the Tehachapi Mountains.  This has never been an enjoyable section of mountainous California as it seems the road surface does not impart confidence.  Also, it is usually very windy and the gusts are often unpredictable.  I have been told on good authority (it is settled science) that it is the many hundreds of windmills throughout the area which create and are responsible for the extreme wind turbulence... 

Anyways, with the weather turning dry the FJ simply motored through this section!  And that set the pace for the remainder of the ride.  Following the mountains is the desert, where I stopped for an afternoon nap. 

Thus rested, I was able to ride through the evening feeling refreshed, arriving in Flagstaff sometime after dark.  I do not know if it was because of a harsh winter or just normal wear and tear, but the last couple hundred or more miles prior to Flagstaff the road is so rough they placed quite a few temporary signs indicating rough road ahead.   

There were sections of the most pleasant high speed sweepers.  Throughout the late afternoon and evening, and especially into and well past the midnight hours, time was going by as fast as the road itself (or so it seemed).  An average run was 350 plus miles between fuel stops – it was just wild.  Adding to the surreal strangeness was the fact that there were almost no cars and only a few trucks.

I recall somewhere along the way thinking if I survive this run, I'll quit riding... but then there is the West Coast Rally to attend first! 

One item worth noting is at the time the newly rebuilt engine was installed, careful consideration was given to engine/frame placement, and wheel to wheel alignment was verified. The swing arm and especially the rear to front sprocket alignment received special attention.  As the FJ ventured into triple digits, unlike before the rebuild on this '92 FJ and the old '91 FJ, there is no indication given as to vibration differences or ride quality, almost no change in sensation at all.  It is no less than remarkable.  In fact it was bizarre in some respects – although the rider does get acclimated to the higher speeds after an extended length of time at those speeds, it would be noticed that the vegetation, trees & road signs would be passing through the lights at an accelerated pace; a quick check of the mph and uh oh (!) time to slow to more reasonable speeds.     

For this southerly ride, mph speeds were at least in the mid 80's and especially once out of California and into the late night hours and beyond, mph's were mid 90's and at times comfortably motoring right along into the triple digits.  All in all, the suspension is absolutely incredible.  It simply soaked up all the irregularities even on the roughest sections with a responsiveness and tractability that borders on the impossible.  Although the engine is bored to only one size over standard, the power is exceptional, with power delivery seemingly linear, smooth and robust. 

After another nap somewhere along the way, arrival in the Amarillo area was around sunrise.  The final 350 miles or so after Amarillo to my destination were rather quiet following the jovial night time happenings.

Perhaps the most interesting item of note is that upon arriving in Texas, after the hard use it had endured, the engine used absolutely no oil!  On previous long distance rides on either FJ, I have always needed to top off the oil.  So, as I usually do on long rides, I spun on a new oil filter and added oil to the top mark.  Upon my arrival home (via San Diego) the oil remained at the full mark.  Almost 4,000 miles round trip, the first half which was exceptionally demanding on the engine - and no oil was used.  Based on the 16,000 (of sometimes hard) miles to date, I believe that is a fine testament to the mechanical knowledge and engine building skills of the gentleman from RPM.

In closing: any doubts I may have entertained about having this engine rebuilt versus purchasing another low mileage FJ have absolutely and positively been put to rest...!  It could be said the evidence is empirical...!

Ride safe,

Midget       

[giantkiller]

Mike you are the toughest man I know. Most people would do a 4000mile trip, in a couple of weeks. Didn't see any mention of total time... but sounds like a couple of days

[ribbert]

Howdy gentlemen,...............

Mike, I notice you excluded me from your greeting but I'll reply anyway.

Good to hear your sweet running bike has re invigorated your passion for long distance riding. A well set up FJ with relatively few mods is a truly great open road bike despite its age, as you know.
I love hearing tales of marathon FJ rides. You should post more photos.

Noel