Ownership Verified: RdKetchup X-Plane triple (2016 Yamaha FJ-09)

After last post, I was able to use the bike every day for a week, either to go drop my oldest daughter at her day camp, or running some errands.

Then, nothing for 2 full weeks.

I ordered and received a RAM Mount X-Grip setup to mount my phone, but I didn't even have a chance to test ride it.

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So today, given that the weather was a superb 21° C, sunny (albeit a bit windy), and that I was also out of beer, a perfect excuse for a small run was found.

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FJ09, the perfect bike for a beer run.

And the X-Grip setup is perfect, my phone lies just below the dashboard.
 
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I really thought my riding season was over in September.

I went to Germany for work in October, and what was planned for 2 weeks got extended to 3, and I had a mandatory 2 week quarantine when I got back home.

But to my surprise, the weather last weekend was absolutely perfect (sunny, 20 °C), and my FJ buddy messaged me to see if I wanted to go for another family ride. The timing was perfect, with my last day of quarantine being last Friday.

A third friend joined on his MT-10 with is daughter, and off we went on a short ride on one of the few nice roads within 1h of Montreal.

We stopped for lunch at our destination, a small village with a nice diner.

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My burger was average at best, but the "small" poutine I ordered as a side was delicious.

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When I stopped for fuel at the end of the ride I noticed I had just reached 8500 km.

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That put my total for 2020 at a pathetic ~700 km. Hopefully next year I'll use it more.
 
Yesterday I went for a short 75 km/1.5h ride by myself, just along the scenic lakeshore drive toward the western point of the island.

It was mostly suburban streets, with speed limits ranging from 30 to 50 kph, and stop signs and speed bumps everywhere. Return was on the highway.

It was my first time trying the first pair of riding jeans I ever bought, Klim K Fifty 2.

I will need to try them on a longer ride, but so far I like them.

I was afraid they would be too warm, and that the knee protection would be uncomfortable, but both concerns were non-issue.

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Small ride today with my FJ09 buddy and his son.

Felt nice to ride for a few hours.

Testing the "hey Google, take a selfie" voice command while riding.
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Stopped to get a Poutine for lunch.
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In my case, a small (really) smoke meat Poutine.
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Longest ride of the year so far.

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Last Sunday we went again for a ride with the kids, to the same restaurant...

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Went for a short ride tonight for a birthday dinner of a friend.

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10 cylinder and less than 3l of displacement.

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Was nice to ride without a passenger and do some uncivilized shenanigans.
 
Went for what was probably the last ride of the year.

Took the FJ to a fuel station to avoid storing it on a empty tank but then I over filled it, and did my very own replica of the Exxon Valdez in my driveway, so I took it on a 40km ride to burn some fuel.

Also took my wife's CBR for a 20km ride, just as a shakedown since it hasn't been run in 2 years.


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That CBR is so small, I love riding it.

But boy is it underpowered. Also it's geared super short, and it made me realize how much I am now used to having a gear indicator on the FJ09.
 
130 days later, I'm back on the road.

With the mandatory winter tire law preventing riding until March 15th, the earliest I could have been riding would have been yesterday, but with 15°+ weather forecasted for today, I decided to wait.

Went for a quick round trip to our offices to pickup some COVID related stuff.

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Damn it feels good.

Roads are still super dirty and slippery, so I took it extra easy.

Both wheels even stayed on the ground pretty much the whole time :LOL:
 
Last week I started thinking I should sometimes just go for late evening/night rides, when everybody else in the house is asleep.

Tonight I did exactly that, I took the bike for a 50 km ride (mostly highway unfortunately), just for the fun of it.

Left as the sun was about to set, cross the St-Lawrence river on the Mercier bridge, drove East on the South Shore, and cross the river back onto Montreal island on the Champlain bridge.

I should find a way to setup my GoPro again, the 2 bridge crossing were absolutely beautiful.

As I was leaving:
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When I got back:
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Wowzers, I’ve got some 13,500 mi aka 21,600 km in a bit under 3 years, and I feel like that’s a bit low. 😬
 
I'm definitely far from the 35k I rode in my first year of riding (and that's with Canadian winter).
 
Went to a bike meet yesterday, a lot of HD, but some interesting machines as well.

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Weather was stupidly hot and muggy, around 35° with the humidity factor.

I was one of the few wearing any form of riding gear more than a helmet and gloves.
 
Took the bike last Saturday to go pickup mini-RdK #1, and the bike sat in the garage since due to the cold and damp weather.

With the key in.

With the ignition ON :censored:

So when I tried to use the bike to go to work yesterday, the battery was completely dead. I put it on a trickle charger for the whole day, but when I checked again at the end of the day I realized it was not charging at all.

I used a booster pack, managed to get the bike started, and went for a short ride around town. When I got back I put it on the trickle charger once again and this time it worked.


Today the weather was just perfect, with a temperature of 20°. So I went for another ride, and made a pair a photo stops.

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