Fjr1300

[MasterGuns]

Anyone here ride a FJR1300A? I am about to write a check for a new one; trading in my Harley. Also promised the boss I'd sell my 86 that I love so dearly. Just can't have two bikes anymore but the one I will own, will be the FJR. Any comments about the FJR will be greatly appreciated. Unless someone changes my mind, I'll have the FJR in my garage by Saturday.

[Dave77459]

Talk to OWEN. He recently moved on to a FJR.

 

Dave

[KenP]

Anyone here ride a FJR1300A? I am about to write a check for a new one; trading in my Harley. Also promised the boss I'd sell my 86 that I love so dearly. Just can't have two bikes anymore but the one I will own, will be the FJR. Any comments about the FJR will be greatly appreciated. Unless someone changes my mind, I'll have the FJR in my garage by Saturday.

 

I have ridden both the FJR, and the Kawi Concours. My personal preference (based on the way it feels/fits me) is the Kawi. I like the fact that it has a 3 year mfrs. warranty, vs. the 1 year on the Yammi. You can get a 3 year extension (GTPP) beyond the original 3 year through the owner of a Kawi dealer in Richmond, VA for $399, 6 yrs. worth of no maintenance hassles/costs. The Kawasaki is the bike that I will be replacing my '84 VR with......eventually. They are both fine machines......after riding them both, I just prefer one over the other.

 

FWIW......

[RSTDdog]

Does your wife ride with you? I don't own one, but I test rode one and liked it. My boss has one, along with several other bikes. His wife doesn't care for the FJR from the passenger perspective. For the passenger it likely won't be as comfortable as your ultra or your First Gen.

 

Have you ridden one yet?? Given what your used to, you'll have more weight on wrists, of course they make risers to help with that. lurking around the FJR forums would also be a good idea.

 

RSTDdog

[jemorrisonjr]

I own an FJR...I'm lucky enough to have 2 bikes... Great bike, and the wife does love to ride with me. But I did upgrade the seat and but a trunk on it

[tomfromhull]

I have a '05 FJR and love it. For 2 up you definitely need a trunk or backrest and a seat upgrade is a good idea.

[Scooter Bob]

I own an FJR...and put a trunk on it

 

Do you put a trunk on everything?

 

[lonestarmedic]

I had a 1200 for a few years. I really enjoyed it. I think you will need a set of bar risers to get comfortable. Possibly a set of Wild Bill's pegs for the occasional stretch. The 1300 is wicked smooth and very nimble. Triple digits slide up very easy. You might want to keep the 1986 around for a few months just in case you miss the creature comforts. If not, then someone will get a very nice 1st Gen.

 

JB

[rowdy7]

Anyone here ride a FJR1300A? I am about to write a check for a new one; trading in my Harley. Also promised the boss I'd sell my 86 that I love so dearly. Just can't have two bikes anymore but the one I will own, will be the FJR. Any comments about the FJR will be greatly appreciated. Unless someone changes my mind, I'll have the FJR in my garage by Saturday.

 

 

I purchased a new '09 FJR 1300AE, the electric clutch model, in December and love it. It is smooth, powerful, nimble and just a fun ride. It will never be as comfortable on a long trip as my RSV but I believe the RSV is going to have to go. I'm 6-2 & 210 with long arms so I can sit more upright than some shorter people on it. I plan to order some of Wild Bills plates for forward road pegs and I feel a seat upgrade is in the future also.

You can buy and extended service plan from Yamaha to add years of service to your warranty. You have a year from the date of purchase to buy it but your dealer probably will not tell you this. Mine didn't. You can shop around on the net for a good price for the plan. There is apparently no set price.

I believe you will like the FJR. Give me a call if you have any questions about it.

Ride Safe,

Jim

[twigg]

The first rule of motorcycling is that the best bike is the one that fits YOU.

 

So, go ride them both before you decide, this is not a casual purchase.

 

Having said that .... The FJR gets the nod from the LD Community. They are well represented both in the entry lists and the winners podiums in most Rallies.

 

That is not a poke at the Concours, just an observation. The guys that put in the hours in the saddle are voting for the FJR.

 

Quite a few stick a car tyre on the rear too

 

Having said that, there appears to be little wrong with the Concours, and it might just fit you better.

[pegscraper]

For those who have ridden an FJR quite a bit, how bad is the wind buffeting on your helmet? Is it any better or worse than your RSV or RSTD? And how do your wrists feel after a couple hours of leaning on them?

 

I'd like to get an FJR at some point, and these are my two biggest concerns. Some years ago I had the opportunity to ride my brother's '95 Kaw GPZ1100 several times (which he still owns), and I found that I couldn't ride it more than a half hour and my hands would go to sleep. Not a good thing. However I know that the FJR does set you up quite a bit more than the GPZ does too.

[Owen]

I ride with the wind screen in the lowest position. I am looking over the top by about 3 inches. Helmet buffeting is not bad until triple digits. Even with bar risers, I find some wrist, hand hurting after a couple hours. Helibar riser should correct this by raising the bars like the risers plus moving them back 1 3/4 inches. I have zero issues with the foot position. I love the FJR and have no regrets about trading the RSV.

[OldBear]

I had an '07FJRAE. The powerplant, auto clutch and handling were exceptional. A VERY fast and powerful motorcycle. I initially had a LOT of wind noise/turbulance and worked my way through a BUNCH of windshields before I found a combination that worked well for me. I eventually went with a cut down windshield and a Corbin saddle and after that I could put in 450 mile days pretty easily (Wish it had cruise control!) Never could get my wife (5'2, 135) comfortable on it. I tried a passenger backrest, various passenger footpeg options, etc. put eventually gave up on using it as a two up bike (for us) and traded it off. If it had been me only riding, it would most likely still be sitting in my garage today. You will find the FJR is a sneaky fast motorcycle. You'll be cruising along at 60 or so and glance down to find the speedo bouncing off 100. On my bike there was VERY little perceived difference between the two speeds and I often found myself running a LOT faster than I thought I was. LOVE IT! Just be careful, else you'll be buying Smokey a tree! How fast are they? I dunno--road tests show quarter mile times in the low 11's and I saw (once) and indicated 130 mph on the speedo, and it was still pullling like a TRAIN! I ran out of road/nerve, the bike did not run out of "go". Enjoy!!

[twigg]

Considering the outrageous cost, I have yet to hear anything good about Corbin seats, apart from the fact that they look drop-dead gorgeous.

 

When they make a seat that is comfortable for double that 450 miles, I'll consider them.

 

Russell and Mayer both can, at a lower cost, and they don't look too shabby either.

[PBJ]

Never had one....Always wanted one.... Bought my 85 because I felt that was the closet thing to one that I could afford at the time. Have a toy one sitting on the shelf behind me. I can look at it and dream, or ride my comparable old 84 Honda V65 Sabre.

[jemorrisonjr]

Do you put a trunk on everything?

 

Sure did.... When you have a wife like mine you need the extra room for her stuff....

 

She hasnt learned to pack lightly

[motorcycle_1300]

I have 4 bikes one is a FJR 1300. I am 6'1" 200lbs. Almost never ride with a passenger on the FJR. but I would think seriously about a trunk if I did, not to store stuff but as a safety measure, these are powerfull machines and would hate to drop an unprepared passenger on the ground. I have made several mods to make the bike more comfortable. A Cal sci tall windshield (no wind buffet) motorcycle larry risers up and set back(also changes the angle of the bars so the grips are more comfortable.) lowered the rider pegs 3/4 inch I do drag them a little more often but not bad. Russel seat. after the mods went from good bike to great riding bike. I also ride a 2007 venture midnight, a 2004 goldwing(anybody want to buy it) the wing just isn't all that comfortable for a rider my size. 1992 project Venture Royale(will be on the road someday soon I hope).

 

Riding in the mountains I would pick the FJR, For cross country I would use the RSV.

 

Al

[MasterGuns]

I ride with the wind screen in the lowest position. I am looking over the top by about 3 inches. Helmet buffeting is not bad until triple digits. Even with bar risers, I find some wrist, hand hurting after a couple hours. Helibar riser should correct this by raising the bars like the risers plus moving them back 1 3/4 inches. I have zero issues with the foot position. I love the FJR and have no regrets about trading the RSV.

 

Owen, I shootin u a pm.

[Todd157k]

I had one too, but it was a Gen 1 FJR. It toasted my left leg like a backyard bbq. Not fun on hot days. I guess they corrected that a few years later. I'm 5'9" and didn't get any buffetting. After installing bar risers and keeping the windshield up all the way, I realized I was kinda done with the mid-sport riding position.

[GeorgeS]

Yesterday I pulled into Yamaha dealer in Olympia, Wa. An older gentleman, was just getting onto his FJ to pull out of the parking lot. The FJ was one of the first years, for the model.

My first question to him, was " How many mile on it ?? " and have you had any mechanical problems.

His answer's were, 68.000 miles, and " No " problems, just Oil changes, and new tire replacements. !!

Also, I asked about the seat comfort factory. His answer, was a trip with the wife on the back to Los Angeles, and back, he had no complaints.

 

The FJ is still on my list of possible replacement bikes,

 

I also spent a few minutes looking at the new Yamaha, Tenera On Off Road bike. ( did I spell that correctly ? ) It seemed to be a LARGER Bike, in real life, then looking at it in the magazine photo's.

Pretty Impressive looking machine.