Take Away Two Wheels And Cinch Him Into A Budget
When a gent by the name of Alex Jones completed a ride from New York to Los Angeles on his well-loved 2015 Yamaha FJR1300 in less than 33 hours, he wasn’t just finishing a list of goals by staying up stupidly late – he was also tracing a route typically completed by machines with a couple of extra tires.
“[The Cannonball record was] usually run in high-end German cars,” Jones explains. “And I couldn’t afford that. But then, a couple of years ago, I read about one run on a motorcycle. I could do that on a budget. So I found the right motorcycle with 80,000 miles already on it and bought it for $4000.”
The challenge itself – known as the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash – covers an eye-squinting 2800 miles from the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California.
As for the ‘one run on a motorcycle,’ was completed by a Calvin Cote, who claimed to have completed the dash on his BMW K1600 in 35 hours, six minutes – meaning that Jones beat the previous motorcycle record by a clear margin.
Jones, ever the fact-checker, recalls the event with fondness in an email on RoadAndTrack:
“On the morning of Oct 17th at 6:24 AM eastern, I set off from the Redball Garage in NYC on a 2014 Yamaha FJR1300 equipped with a 7-gallon auxiliary fuel cell, radar detector, laser jammers, two mounted phones, and auxiliary lighting.”
“The route went by interstate through the middle of the country, with considerations for traffic and construction. The drive was relatively uneventful, with weather being clear but windy.”
“During the ride, cruise control stopped working, and there were some issues with the electronics that did not go as planned. The auxiliary lighting failed right as night hit, and the rear tire was nearly bald on arrival, due to wind and road conditions.”
“Arrival to the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach was at 12:16 PDT the following day to make the total time 32 hours and 52 minutes.”
We’re also told the grittier details by a man named Smith:
“He stopped seven times total…and only for fuel.”
“He drank from a Camelback, ate protein bars, took caffeine pills to bolster his alertness, and used a catheter and condom to evacuate the generated urine through a tube and onto the roadway…Fun details.”
Today, Jones is purportedly looking to feed the banks of his various hobbies and has put the iconic bike up for sale here, on Craigslist (we’ll include those photos at the bottom of the article for you in a gallery.)
Included are ‘several phone mounts and power supply cables, as well as a hard-wired Valentine One radar detector and an Adaptiv TPX laser jammer.’…and of course, the necessary seven-gallon fuel cell (we’re told the original passenger seat and luggage mount will come included with the sale, seeing at the fuel cell replaced that).
There’s also a better windshield, highway pegs for more comfortable cruising, and a bunch of aftermarket lighting upgrades.
Maintenance of the machine included the recent changeout of brake pads and wheel bearings (done in the last 10,000 miles), as well as a new set of tires.
Let us know if you’re tempted to bite and drop a comment below – we love to hear from you.
In the meantime, be sure to check out other news from Yamaha as well as other records currently being bashed out by motorcyclists, and as always, stay safe on the twisties.