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2008 Yamaha FJR1300A Rally Bike

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FJR Specific Mods

  • Russel Day-Long Saddle – Custom built motorcycle seats.  Stock motorcycle seats are painful!  They  use cheap foam and force you to sit on pressure points such as your tailbone.  A custom motorcycle seat is in my opinion the 1st thing that should be done to any motorcycle.  It will increase the amount of time you can spend enjoying your new toy.
    • I’ve also purchased an Ultimate Bead Rider that I’m going to try out for longer rides, especially in the heat to increase air flow between my butt and the seat.
  • Driving Lights – I installed the Solteks – If I had to build a bike now I’d go with LED so there was not so much weight on the bracket held on by the mirrors.  Additional lighting is the #2 thing that should be done to any bike if it will be ridden at night.  The FJR is know to have one of the best reflector designs of any motorcyle and its lights are still useless for seeing clearly.  It is amazing how many more deer you will see once you install good lights.  Not becuase they wern’t there before, but now you can see them.
  • Conspicuity lights
    • ADVMonster Model 60 – Almost as many lumens as the Solteks but with a less advanced and smaller reflector that makes for a less harsh light.  I find myself running just these without the Solteks unless I’m really out in the middle of nowhere where there are no signs reflecting the intense light of the Solteks back at me.
  • Helibars – moved my handlebars back and up about 2.5 inches.  The result was a much more comfortable riding position for me.  Ideally you want to be just slightly forward of prone and the stock bar position was too low and forward.
  • Fuel Cell – I designed my own cell in conjunction with a fellow LD Rider, Cruzin.  They hold 4.78 gallons and are mounted using the tabs for the rear seat and 2 bolts.  We thought we could save money… we were wrong!
    • The reason for that volume was the stock tank holds 6.6 gallons and we are allowed to carry 11.5 for the IBR.  This puts us at 11.38, close to the max and allows for some volume in the hoses.
    • Had we to do it again I’d consider just sending the drawings to http://www.boydwelding.com/.  A friend of mine had them custom make them a cell for under $200 pre finish.
    • I’d also look at Maple Farkles.  I was really impressed with the design I saw using tabs that would integrate with a rolling pelican case.
  • Tank Bag with map pocket big enough hold a rally packet printed in 8.5×11 paper without needing to fold.  I did decide to go with LindaT’s Custom Bag
  • N/Line Shelf for GenII – A shelf for farkles that installs above the factory dash.  This is where I have the SPOT, Valentine One and EZPass mounted.
  • WynPro Kickstand Pad – Adds an extra 1/2″ all the way around the pad of the side stand foot
  • Highway Pegs so I can stretch my legs out in front of me.  A variety of options for sitting on the bike is crucial for long distance comfort.
    • Wild Bill’s – with Kuryakin pegs (PNs 8015 and 8025)
    • Contact Garauld on FJRForum.com for them as he has taken over production.
  • Real Time Industries Rear Sidebag Reflective Decals – Cover the rear inside of the sidebags, look good in light and highly visible at night
  • The Darkside – After much deliberation, I’ve succumb.  I can get about 10K miles from my favorite motorcycle tire and costs $200.  The IBR is likely well more than that plus I need to get home so in 2011 I had a spare wheel with fresh rubber at a checkpoint and I swapped but that was planning and time on the clock I could have been resting.  I will get 40K+ out of a car tire that i paid $100 for.  Read the link to the darkside FAQ on the FJR forum for all the details.

General Farkles:

  • 3 GPS units
    • Garmin Zumo 590
      • Routes to next time sensitive bonus
      • Controls MP3 and phone
      • Weather Radar and Traffic
      • Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
    • Garmin Zumo 550
      • Routes to next bonus
      • Can control MP3 and phone if needed but the 590 is a better interface, however the 550 can nativly control XM radio and Audible Audiobooks, something has done away with in newer models
      • XM Traffic and XM weather but no radar
    • Garmin Montana
      • Used as a scrolling map because it can be zoomed a very long way out before user waypoints disappear.  I can see for hours in all directions which makes it very handy for changing my route on the fly since I can see anything within several hundred miles.
  • SPOT Satellite Tracking