I tempted fate

[ribbert]

[/img]I Tempted fate.  I fitted adjustable cam sprockets, stripped the carbs right down and rejetted, fitted unipods, fuel filter, new rear sprocket, a bit of rewiring  then rode 2,800 k's over 4 of the last 5 days ( last week) with nothing more than a couple laps of the block to make sure it was running OK, and it ran like a swiss watch.  The fact I got away with it does not mean I recommend working on the bike so close to leaving on a trip.
I headed to the east coast through Noojee, around the bottom of the High Country, on to the Great Alpine Rd and joined the Pacific Highway at Bombala.  Headed North up the coast road, turned inland south of Sydney to the Blue Mountains and on to my destination in the Hunter Valley via Wollemi National Park and NSW's much touted Putty (not sure what all the fuss is about) Rd. It did however redeem itself at the Northern end.
Hardly a straight road for the whole trip.
God smiled on me, the weather was low to mid 20'sC, nil wind, not a cloud in the sky and being Autumn, hardly even any bugs - for the whole 4 days!!  My bike has been dirtier from going down the street for milk.
I cruised it, thrashed it, revved it, scraped it. 10,500,000 revolutions and it never missed a beat. 46mpg ( I think that's about 38mpg US).  I'm now even more impressed with the Conti 2's, the wear not being as significant as I had expected, on top of everything I already love about them.  I keep my std. rear shock hard to stop it wallowing in corners at speed and it was surprisingly comfortable with a bit of extra weight on it and even more surprising that nothing unsettled either end and at some point I encountered a bit of everything.  The only changes are 17"rear, raised back and lowered front.  The Delkevics provided constant aural pleasure ( bring on the puns if you must) without being intrusive with the newly fitted uni's chiming in when opening it up. I am happy with 38/41 gearing and since the engine mount fix it is no exaggeration to say it's turbine smooth at cruising rpm and above. Throttle lock is also a great add on, rests the whole arm, not just your hand.
The last leg home was over frequently ridden roads and it's amazing how much faster, and smoother familiar corners are when the brain's dialled in and you've had a couple of thousand corner warm up. The bike transforms from a beast to be tamed to an extension of your body. Throttle, gear changes, braking, weight shifting, arms, feet, entry and exit points, staying loose and holding lines all become more fluid requiring less conscious thought, one action instead of many.  I find on long rides like this, staying off the brakes a bit more and using one gear higher in the corners is smoother and more relaxing without losing any speed and still gives you plenty of punch on the exit and when you're spoiled for corners all day long you don't feel the urgency to ring the neck out of everyone you find.
Despite my age and lack of fitness, the length of my riding days were only limited by fading light.  In Oz:   Dark = Kangaroos
        Kangaroos + motorbike = Dead                  
                     
You can't help but feel a bit smug when most of the bikes seen on such a trip depreciate each year more than the total value of the FJ.
You might think, fun as it is, that after that much time on the bike I'd be glad to get home. Well, with only a 100k's to go, there was still a couple of hours daylight left, so I detoured and used up the last of it.
GPS, smart phone, Bluetooth headset, heated grips and modern clothing ( and better bikes) are all great improvements for touring.
Deciding mid afternoon where you'll stay that night. Looking up accommodation options, booking it and have the GPS take you there, ALL from the middle of a forest somewhere.  Brilliant!
The most difficult part of the trip was convincing my wife that I needed to ride, the long way, while she and the family drove up the Hume to the same destination. The Hume, for our non-Oz friends is 1000 k's of the world's most boring highway.
Motorbike touring – Great stuff!
The mighty FJ –what a machine!
Noel




Adjustable cam gears

8 & 12 litre fuel bladders. The 8 fits neatly in my bag

The bike still this clean after 2600km's

Even these guys pulling in after me could not have tempted me off the bike

160k's from first light to breakfast on Gods own roads - food never tasted so good

Souvenir of the Putty Road

[fj11.5]

nice slip on pipe,, love the souviner,, where did you get your rear brake arm from, make it your self or is it a suzuki one , looks good mate

[ribbert]

nice slip on pipe,, love the souviner,, where did you get your rear brake arm from, make it your self or is it a suzuki one , looks good mate

The slipons are Delkevics, quite popular around here.  They're relatively cheap, look good and sound teriffic.  The 17"wheel/brake and presumeably the brake arm are YZF600. (I bought the whole lot complete from an FJ)
I would normally be unhappy about the damage to the exhaust but when you're having that much fun, big deal!
Noel

[racerman_27410]

Nice ride report.....


i hope all that bulky gear up on the tail was lightweight stuff.....did you not carry sidebags?

I like the twisties better with less weight up high on the tail.


KOokaloo! (its good for the brain and soul)

[Steve_in_Florida]

Nice ride report. Your bike looks really good!

I love my bike so much. It's a timeless classic.

[The General]

I salivated over every sentence twice. Mate, you gotta be at bellingen next March. Doug

[andyb]

Where'd you put the cams?  When I had my head off for a minor problem (plug or cover sparkplug holes whenever holding/loosening/working with screws that will fit down them!), I found adjustable gears and things were adjusted... interestingly, so I put them to stock and got a shocking improvement over where they had been.

[ribbert]

Where'd you put the cams?  When I had my head off for a minor problem (plug or cover sparkplug holes whenever holding/loosening/working with screws that will fit down them!), I found adjustable gears and things were adjusted... interestingly, so I put them to stock and got a shocking improvement over where they had been.

I fitted the gears to return the timing to spec. (as per the punch marks through the caps).  I had previously noted how far off (chain stretch) the timing was when last installing the cams.  I rode it after doing just the cams, and before the carbies, so the effect could be assessed.  It made a big difference.
Noel

[ribbert]

I salivated over every sentence twice. Mate, you gotta be at bellingen next March. Doug

That's the plan!
Noel

[fj11.5]

they are popular these days,, brake set up looks great, much more eye candy than the gsxr solid arm

[ribbert]

Nice ride report.....


i hope all that bulky gear up on the tail was lightweight stuff.....did you not carry sidebags?

I like the twisties better with less weight up high on the tail.


KOokaloo! (its good for the brain and soul)

Yes it was all light weight stuff and I don't have saddle bags.  The bike felt very much like having a light, very light, pillion.  Even with the load well to the back and quite high it falls into corners much easier with the Conti,s than any of my previous tyres under similar conditions, and after the first hour or so feels completely normal, even on very tight twisties.  Gotta love those tyres.

I did a trip last year summiting three mountains and 1400 km's of alpine roads over 3 days with the bike similarly loaded,  I had new Michelin Road Pilots front and rear and by comparison they were disappointing and much harder work on the tight stuff.
Noel