edgelett
Well-known member
cheers, yeah I like this app, it has decent edit ability and the flyover is done well with terrain etc.
Where did you ride your FTR today?
- Thread starter ferraiolo1
- Start date
Staedtler
Active member
Finally some sun here, off to my usual bike haunt..
View attachment IMG_7649.jpeg
View attachment IMG_7649.jpeg
Had the morning free today, so... 
When I used to live in Barcelona, Spain, it would take me 40-50 minutes to get out of the city and somewhere nice with curvy roads. Through the heat, traffic jams, etc.
Here in Andorra the first nice strech of curvy road begins 200 meters / yards from our home. I'm looking at it from the kitchen window
That said, in Barcelona I could ride 300 days per year - 360 if I didn't mind inclement weather. Here it looks like I'll be lucky if I get end of May till mid-October 😅
When I used to live in Barcelona, Spain, it would take me 40-50 minutes to get out of the city and somewhere nice with curvy roads. Through the heat, traffic jams, etc.
Here in Andorra the first nice strech of curvy road begins 200 meters / yards from our home. I'm looking at it from the kitchen window
That said, in Barcelona I could ride 300 days per year - 360 if I didn't mind inclement weather. Here it looks like I'll be lucky if I get end of May till mid-October 😅
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Nice! Empty roads (or so it seems) + good weather, what more can you wish for
I suppose the 'MC' in you license plate stands for 'Motorcycle'? So motorcycles have different license plates than cars (smaller, I suppose)?
If so, that's smart - here in Europe motorcycles must carry car-sized license plates in most countries, which is silly.
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Mountain passes. More mountain passes.
An ideal and balanced diet consists of 3 mountain passes per day: One for breakfast, one for lunch, one for supper. This is official and undisputed. 😊
The roads blissfully devoid of traffic on account of the low season. This is great.
An ideal and balanced diet consists of 3 mountain passes per day: One for breakfast, one for lunch, one for supper. This is official and undisputed. 😊
The roads blissfully devoid of traffic on account of the low season. This is great.
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Today I crossed into La Belle France. Andorra truly is a micro-state: You run out of country before you've had a chance to put the bike into fifth 😄
OK, that's an exaggeration, but not by much 😄
The first international trip for my venerable FTR! 😀
We don't come here much. When you cross over into Spain, you are in Catalonia, which happens to be the wealthiest part of Spain. Just accross the border there is La Seu d'Urgell - a beautiful medieval town with nice atmosphere. Mid-sized, with all manner of services. Barcelona is just two and a half hours away.
Au contraire, this part of France appears to be the poorest and/or the least developed from what I've seen so far in that country. Not a whole lot is going on there (if someone from France reads this, they might have an opinion). There are some nice roads, however, even an occasional mountain pass.
...
OK, that's an exaggeration, but not by much 😄
The first international trip for my venerable FTR! 😀
We don't come here much. When you cross over into Spain, you are in Catalonia, which happens to be the wealthiest part of Spain. Just accross the border there is La Seu d'Urgell - a beautiful medieval town with nice atmosphere. Mid-sized, with all manner of services. Barcelona is just two and a half hours away.
Au contraire, this part of France appears to be the poorest and/or the least developed from what I've seen so far in that country. Not a whole lot is going on there (if someone from France reads this, they might have an opinion). There are some nice roads, however, even an occasional mountain pass.
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Staedtler
Active member
Rode my FTR to the dealers to try this. Completely different animal, but I kind of liked the laid back pace, if not the lack of ground clearance!
View attachment IMG_7666.jpeg
View attachment IMG_7666.jpeg
So. Much. Chrome.
Only once in my life did I have a bike with chrome parts. Nunca mais. Never again. 😅
I recon this one you might spend equal time cleaning it as riding it 😄
Staedtler
Active member
Actually the chrome is not that bad to clean, at least when this new, but they do do a black version too I think.
AGV Pista GP RR Mono Iridium Carbon?
I'm in the market for a new helmet, and I really like these carbon ones for their lightness. But I wouln't go for this model precisely, because it is too 'racing' for me. It would write some cheques that the rider couldn't cash, as they say 😄
I'm more of a Schuberth C5 guy.
Would love to travel to Austria again, but won't be able to go before the Summer. In September, perhaps. I've done almost all of the Hochalpenstraßen and Erlebnisstraßen, except one: Silvretta. That's next on my bucket list. Have you been?
They have become a bit of victims of their own success. Especially Großglockner - too crowded, full of people on vintage tractors. What is it with people and vintage tractors?! Why do they all have to go to a mountain pass on a Sunday?!
I don't think I'll go back to Großglockner anymore, even though it is fascinating to observe how the Pasterze glacier retreats. When the Emperor Franz Josef visited the, well, Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, the glacier used to fill that enormous valley completely. Now? It's a shadow of its former self. Visiting this place is the best cure for climate change deniers: When you walk down the side of the valley to the glacier, you find marks of how high the glacier used to reach in 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000... And then you see it down there in the depth, shrunk to almost nothing. It's a sombering sight.
Anyways...
If I had to name my favourite mountain pass, it would be Timmelsjoch - Passo Rombo. I had visited the old motorcycle museum before it burned down - it was fantastic. Huge! Such a loss! But apparently, they have rebuilt it since. Must go back to check it out.
Drove many a lesser-known route too, and Kalte Kuchl, of course. Do you go to Kalte Kuchl sometimes?
Is it just me, or are Austrian riders among the most polite in Europe? Sometimes in villages, the good folks who live there put up a simple hand-made sign next to the road: 'Bitte langsam und leise fahren' - 'Please ride slowly and quietly'. And everyone respects that. People slow down. I do too, I mean, you would feel like a shit if you didn't respect such a nice and polite request 😅
Good memories, Austria. A nice place to ride. Will go back, hopefully before too late.
Peterson
Member
Haha, the Helmet - yes, it's a tricky one. I must confess, I bought it because of the looks: the Simpson Bandit didn't fit me well and then I saw the AGV - its much more badass imho ;-) But it comes with cost: first the prize (OK, this includes Pinlock, rip off plastic sheets, drink system, totally configurable with plastic sheets for individual fit, even the arrangement of the head padding can be changed, and: even with earplugs), then the MotoGP needs: the visor has to lock in a way, that it doesn't open unintended in case of crash. But that means, cause the release button is rather small, you have to train to open it quickly with your gloves on - otherwise if you run into an unexpected tunnel without lighting, the world turns dark ... Then the ventilation: really very good but permanently open. They didn't made a flap to close it, only added a few silicon pads to put manually on in case of rain = makes sense on the track, no sense in daily life - additionally I do think that after the first use they get lost forever. So: better no rain!
Goodies: perfect aerodynamics - the helmet is designed to pretty lose its entire weight by airflow above 170km/h. That really works excellent. It is also very comfy if you look at the side or back - hardly any annoying wind force. And the cooling effect through airflow also works excellent. Is it loud? That's 100% individual state. For me it is not the most silent Helmet I ever had, but by far not the loudest, for me it is quite OK.
The Kalte Kuchl is in 80min reach for me, I'm pretty often there, but it became a famous location, which means, it´s overcrowded even during the week, on weekends you hardly find a parking spot even for a bike(!). I usually do some sightseeing or better: show of force ;-) there and then ride on to my favorite restaurant 20min away.
Glockner I do here and there, my sister has a mountain hut on the "Alte Glocknerstrasse", but as you said: overrun too, especially in autumn before they close it for winter. The glacier shrinks, but that's the way it is - in the www you find cool animated maps of the Alps zone in Europe, where in time slip you can watch the glaciers growing and vanishing some many hundred years back from now. Often there had been no glaciers at all. Interesting.
The Nockalm is much better - not so overrun and better to ride anyway.
Silvretta Pass I only know from the high alpin landings course in our army Blackhawks, Bell 212, Kiowas (=Jet Ranger) and Alouettes.
Kaunertal toll street is cool!
Thank you for the analysis of the AGV, I'm sure someone who is considering this helmet will also find it helpful. Although I suspect there won't be so many takers, because it is the most expensive helmet in my local shop 😅
I understand it's designed for riding fast, like 170 (105 mph). I hardly ever go more than 130 (80), and even that only in short bursts. Exceeded 170 probably just once or twice in my life, like that time when I took my Honda CB1000R to the Montmeló F1 circuit in Spain, to see what circuit riding was all about. There I reached 228 km/h (142 mph), and that's the fastest I've ever ridden on a motorbike. Still remember the sensations - my heavy motorcycle-leather jacket was flapping in the wind like it was made of silk. I thought I had to be the fastest rider IN THE WORLD, but then I saw other bikes just zooming past me like I was standing still 🤣
It was fun. Maybe I'll do it again someday.
These days I'm more about riding in the twisties at a relaxed pace well within my capabilities, and stopping to smell the flowers 😄🌷
Thank you for mentioning the Kaunertal valley, that one wasn't on my radar. I know I have barely scratched the surface when it comes to beautiful roads in Austria. And that's just Austria, what about Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, and other countries with great roads! I have toured the main highlights in those countries, but... the life is too short!
And yeah, these famous places are becoming too crowded. But it depends on when you go. If you go at a weird time / season, you might find them empty. Once we had the whole Stelvio pretty much to ourselves, because we went on a Thursday evening before the last weekend of June. It was empty.
I've had several of these nice experiences. The leaning tower of Pisa with only a military guard for company - at 12:30 AM. The village of Hallstatt with streets completely devoid of people - at 6:30 AM in July. A private tour of Barcelona's La Pedrera, because no other tourist showed up on a rainy night in February. Rocamadour in France, only my wife and me hiking the Way of the Cross to the top - on an evening in the middle of the week in May. The streets of Colmar in Alsace with only street sweepers and a couple of photographers - at 6 AM in the Summer.
All these places would normally be crowded beyond reason. But if you go at weird times and / or in low season / shoulder season, you will find them empty. Most people still have this herd mentality, especially when travelling - everyone tends to go at the same time 😄
Of course in tle Alps and other high-mountain areas you do't have that much choice when to go. The season is short. Once I tried to reach Col du Galibier in French Alps by bike in the second half of September. It was very cold. I set myself a limit: I would ride only until the temperature dropped to below freezing. A few hundred meters before the pass it dropped to 0 (32F) and it started snowing. I turned around and went back.
So you were in the military? I thought Austria as a neutral country outside of NATO hardly had any military. Also in the news from time to time there is a story how the Bundesheer is chronically underfunded, with its capabilities impaired...
Peterson
Member
Last word about AGV: as I said, I took it because of its looks - but it is - for my needs - a very good and well made helmet. Yes, I´ve been in the military. Last 22 yrs my center of professional gravity was as a trainer for NATO. AUT can take part in the frame of the PfP Programme (Partnership for Peace). Moneywise you're right, but we got our budget stacked up recently, mainly due to UKR crisis.
How do you see the filling up procedure? Some are complaining about heavily. My approach: it takes some more time, yes, but is neither annoying nor rocket science.
How do you see the filling up procedure? Some are complaining about heavily. My approach: it takes some more time, yes, but is neither annoying nor rocket science.
Cool!
The filling up procedure is a non-issue for me. Honestly, if people didn't mention it as an issue, I would never have noticed. I am never in a hurry at a petrol station, and a few extra minutes filling up the tank don't bother me none.
I am more concerned about the jerkiness of the bike at constant throttle position and its inability to run smoothly at constant RPM. That really annoys the hell out of me. Does yours do that too?
The 2022 Sport I once rented for 3 days did not exhibit this behaviour. If it had, I wouldn't even have considered the FTR.
I'm hoping this will go away after the engine break-in period. If not, I'll have to apply one of the tunes people talk so much about, probably the Lloyd's tune. Or in an extreme case get rid of the bike, because this really ruins the whole riding experience for me.
One more question: Did your bike come with a pair of 100% sunglasses? I seem to have read somewhere that a pair of sunglasses are bundled with the bike as standard, but I didn't receive any. I might be mistaken - perhaps it's just that 100% have launched a special edition of sunglasses for the Indian, not that they come bundled.
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Great, thank you for the info!
I'll report how things evolve with the jerkiness / lurching in some appropriate thread.
Reno Deano
New member
I Rode into Reno Nevada today to pick a spot to take a picture of my odometer turning to 1901 miles. Then took the picture to the local Indian dealer for authentication. They had not been informed of the program.
Join the 1901 Club: https://www.ftr1200forums.com/threads/where-did-you-ride-your-ftr-today.133/
They took my phone number and said they would get back to me when the "Swag" came in.
View attachment Indian 1901 Club Photo Proof.jpg
Join the 1901 Club: https://www.ftr1200forums.com/threads/where-did-you-ride-your-ftr-today.133/
They took my phone number and said they would get back to me when the "Swag" came in.
View attachment Indian 1901 Club Photo Proof.jpg
Congrats on the nice 1901 Club mileage number! 😊
It looks dangerous to be standing in the middle of the lane, but it probably wasn't. Surprisingly little traffic on that street in Reno, is that normal?