The Yamaha FJR1300 is the latest subject to a NHTSA recall, as the the sport-tourer’s second gear can crack and break under high-speed loads.
Yamaha FJR1300 owners are advised not to operate their motorcycle until the repairs for this recall have been performed.
The recall affects 2,285 units – FJR1300 bikes produced between December 9, 2015 and February 2, 2020.
Things will be a little slow on Asphalt & Rubber today, as we are out near Willows, CA testing the new Yamaha YZF-R3. We will be spending the first part of the day on a 120-mile street ride, and then following that up in the afternoon by riding the new “West Course” at Thunderhill Raceway.
You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also try searching for the hashtags: #YamahaR3USA & #FirstRideR3 for the thoughts of our colleagues as well.
Yamaha’s entry into the small-displacement space, the YZF-R3 specifically fills a void in Yamaha’s lineup for a small-displacement, learner-focused, sport machine.
When it comes to the western states and motorcycling, California gets all the credit. But, Oregon has a thriving motorcycling community all of its own, especially in Portland — albeit, things can get a little weird up here, with influences like Moto Corsa, See See Motorcycles, Dirt Quake, and now Asphalt & Rubber.
On the vein of keeping PDX out of the norm, and reaffirming that there are no bad days on a motorcycle, we hear good news that the much-loved Alley Sweeper ride is back on for 2015.
For the uninitiated, the Alley Sweeper is an urband enduro of sorts, which takes place on the unmaintained alleyways within the Portland city limits. It’s part ride, part parade, part critical-mass….and usually more fun in the mud.
One of my favorite phrases has to be “no bad day” — as it encapsulates everything about a motorcycle. There are no bad days on a motorcycle. There can be bad weather, there can be breakdowns, and even crashes, but never a bad day. My second favorite phrase is “if you’re not having fun on a motorcycle, you’re doing it wrong.”
This ties into the prior idea. If you’re on a motorcycle, you’re exploring new roads, you’re hanging out with good friends, you’re living this short existence we call life. Even when the unthinkable happens on two-wheels, the moment right before was spent in sheer bliss. Since we all have to punch out at some point, that seems like a pretty good deal on an inevitably losing hand.
I feel like this is a mantra that goes well with the adventure-touring segment. Breaking free of our nine-to-five lives, getting outdoors, and seeing where the road goes once the sidewalk ends. That’s at least what the marketing materials from OEMs tell us; and of course, the adventure is what you make of it.
The third day of a trip begins the true measure of the adventure. You see, on the first day, you’re excited to be on the open road, and ambition mixed with some adrenaline fuels you. The second day, there remains enough of a connection to back home, that you haven’t truly left it behind yet. But by the third day, the miles being to take their toll, and a trip truly begins to gel. The Broventure is no different.
Despite being one of our shorter days, 210 miles in total, the 50/50 mix of off-road riding made it one of our hardest. We were truly off the beaten path, judging our route not by its direction or duration, but by the conditions on the various “roads” we were riding. They ranged from packed gravel, to loose rock, to rough dirt, and ended with a proper baptism of off-road fire.
Expansive views, sheer drops, and thirsty miles dominated Day Three, but you wouldn’t know it by our demeanor. Tired yes, but Oregon, Washington, and Idaho gave us plenty for our effort. The Bros are gelling too…and where perhaps Colin and Pete were resistant to the eyeroll-worthy “Broventure” mantle, they’ve embraced the spirit…or maybe that’s just the heat and dehydration talking.
Day Two of the 2014 Broventure sees us riding from The Dalles, and ending up in Northeast Oregon, near the town of Joseph. It’s our first proper day of riding as a group of five, and our route is a solid 380 miles in length, approximately 60 miles of which is off-road fire trails. This all means there has been plenty of miles through which to get to know my fellow companions.
I’m not sure what contribution my presence brings to the ride, other than some sort of written/photographic record, but the rest of the group is very dynamic. Ronnie likes to pop wheelies on his Triumph Street Triple, usually down elevated freeway on-ramps — he’s also putting us to shame with his Dunlop DOT race tires on the gravel roads.
Quentin is easily distracted by cats, even when negotiating with locals over a five-gallon can of gasoline — I worry about him. Pete is our rock, and if I can be a bit self-centered, I’m grateful for every mile that his eight-gallon BMW R1200GSA is near me…as I’ll be the first one stranded on the side of the road, looking for a gas tank to siphon.
Colin is the glue the binds us, as he’s probably the only one of us who actually knows where we’re going. He’s planned an amazing route for our trip, which has us connecting an epic series of remote roads. He’s also even reluctantly accepted the “Broventure” title that these pages carry, or so he says.
For the next four days, I’ll be on the road, riding and writing another Broventure for you all to enjoy. The plan is for our trip to take us through Oregon, Washington, and Idaho — through some of the best mountain roads in the Pacific Northwest.
If you’ve been following the Asphalt & Rubber social media accounts, you may have seen that I’ve been putting together a slightly modded Ducati Hypermotard SP for this trip (skid plate, radiator guard, heated grips, luggage rack, and Pirelli Scorpion tires), as our route includes both twisty asphalt roads and mild/moderate off-road trails.
I’ve always been a fan of the new Hypermotard, and I’ve been curious to see how it goes as a smaller ADV option to the more “purpose-built” Ducati Multistrada 1200. I have no delusions however about the bike’s small fuel tank and fairly uncomfortable seat — sometimes you have to roll a hard six.
Speaking of the magic number, six of us in total will be going on the trip, half of the group I haven’t met before; but all of us seem to be connected in multiple ways, and everyone shares the same passion for bikes and getting out of Dodge, and onto the open road.
I stumbled across this simple graphic ages ago, presumably on Tumblr if the file name is any indication, and only rediscovered it tonight while I was going through some old thumb drives. I think for many motorcyclists, it sums things up nicely in a succinct sort of way.
Things will be a little slow on Asphalt & Rubber today, as we are in the Palm Desert testing the new Ducati Streetfighter 848. We’ll be spending most of the day playing with its revised chassis & traction control, and getting used to the baby Fighter’s wet clutch & Testastretta 11° engine. You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Twitter, and our last five tweets will automatically display here on this post.
Things will be a little slow on Asphalt & Rubber today, as we’re in Los Angeles testing the new Ducati Diavel. We’ll be spending most of the day figuring out how to turn with a 240mm rear tire, and getting rocketed by the Diavel’s 162hp reported power figure. You can follow our thoughts on the bike via Twitter, and our last five tweets will automatically post here on this post. While we ride The Devil, the press photos of the Diavel after the jump should tide you over until we finish our ride report.
Things will be a little slow on A&R today, as we’re in Arizona testing the new Yamaha Super Ténéré. We already put 70 miles on Yamaha’s adventure tourer yesterday, and today’s route will take us on 200+ miles of mostly road, with a few dirt sections. You can follow our thoughts on the bike via Twitter, although admittedly they may come in spurts as there is limited cell phone reception here in Sedona (cell towers have been replaced with breathtaking views of mesas and desert). Some press photos of the Super T after the break should tide you over until our ride report.