Damn You Yamaha!!

[lonesoldier84]

I want that bike so bad it hurts.

For the supersport tourers there is nothing that really fits the FJR's slot like it does I don't think. It's wicked sporty (more than the Concours and the touring beemers from what pretty much everyone that has ridden one has said) but way better for touring than the K1300S and the like (just based off sitting on each of em).




[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lcwe8PrDOY]2013 revamped Yamaha FJR1300 A / AS official video - YouTube[/ame]

oooh hot girlfriend at 0:25. I'll take one of those too please!

God I love Yamaha. Why would anyone need to buy anything else? Boggles my mind it does.


Cruise control
Traction control (adjustable)
New dash design
Electronically adjustable suspension
Windshield with position memory
Heated grips
Redesigned headlight buckets with six LED positioning lights (running lights)
Inverted forks
Yamaha awesomesauce
Down another 7 pounds

^cool there's a screen on the right? I wonder what that does...

http://cdn.yamaha-motor.eu/product_...EU-Magnetic-Bronze-AccessorizedDetail-012.jpg

 

[mxgolf]

Those FJR's are pretty sweet. Would love to have one but the price! OUCH. You could by 3 motorcycles for that price. Dirt Bike, Cruiser and Corner carver.

 

[lonesoldier84]

Those FJR's are pretty sweet. Would love to have one but the price! OUCH. You could by 3 motorcycles for that price. Dirt Bike, Cruiser and Corner carver.

But sometimes, my man, it is worth it.

There is magic in them bones in this one. Real magic...


P.S. I also issue a challenge. If I am able to get this machine for the 2013 Cali Ride, I will follow anyone on any trail, any stretch of highway, and keep up pace on any stretch of backroad. Yeah you can buy three machines for the price of this one.....but will you be hauling EACH of them next August when we're tearing through the landscape?

 

[CowtownBiomed]

Don't get me wrong there Lonesoldier, i am sure the FJ is a fine machine, but everthing you mention there is already on the K series BMW's and has been since 2005.
(with the added BMW hyper awesomeness :BLAA

And the FJ is 116 (or so) (520LB to 637LB) LBS heavier too..
And is quite a few HP short of the awesomeness you speed of..

But I think I am compairing two different styles of bike,
the FJ seems more of a "touring bike with sporty tendencies",
where the K12/13S are more of a "sport bike with touring tendencies"

Kind of the same, but kind of different too...

 

[lonesoldier84]

Don't get me wrong there Lonesoldier, i am sure the FJ is a fine machine, but everthing you mention there is already on the K series BMW's and has been since 2005.
(with the added BMW hyper awesomeness :BLAA

And the FJ is 116 (or so) (520LB to 637LB) LBS heavier too..
And is quite a few HP short of the awesomeness you speed of..

But I think I am compairing two different styles of bike,
the FJ seems more of a "touring bike with sporty tendencies",
where the K12/13S are more of a "sport bike with touring tendencies"

Kind of the same, but kind of different too...

Ever sit on a K1300S?

Ever sit on an FJR?

The K1300S falls into a comfort range and rider triangle like the VFR1200. Both are much sportier for sure...

...but honestly the riding position is VERY close to my R1.

I would take my R1 touring with hardbags before I would take a K1300S.

The reason is I will be roughly as comfortable, and I will have a killer performance machine.

The FJR?

In a completely different league. You're comparing apples to oranges.

The Concours and BMW luxury sport tourers are a closer comparison. And the FJR is an athlete compared to them from everything I've ever read.

Seriously, I've tried to really research the other machines when I was looking at a used FJR two years ago. I spent a full month really figuring out what was best for me. So if you're anything like me (want comfort, enjoy touring, but will NOT give up the ability to rail through corners and flick a bike around) then the FJR is the best machine in that comfort range.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Ever sit on a K1300S?

Ever sit on an FJR?

The K1300S falls into a comfort range and rider triangle like the VFR1200. Both are much sportier for sure...

...but honestly the riding position is VERY close to my R1.

I would take my R1 touring with hardbags before I would take a K1300S.

The reason is I will be roughly as comfortable, and I will have a killer performance machine.

The FJR?

In a completely different league. You're comparing apples to oranges.

The Concours and BMW luxury sport tourers are a closer comparison. And the FJR is an athlete compared to them from everything I've ever read.

Seriously, I've tried to really research the other machines when I was looking at a used FJR two years ago. I spent a full month really figuring out what was best for me. So if you're anything like me (want comfort, enjoy touring, but will NOT give up the ability to rail through corners and flick a bike around) then the FJR is the best machine in that comfort range.

+1 on the above...

My 04 FJR NEW, in 04 was over $12,000. The FJR sits lower than the Kawasaki and your not leaning like the BMW's. Add in the cruise control, (a major bitch on the forums not having it) and the updated gauges and LOTs of changes (small but noticable from anyone who's owned an FJR) that bike is sweet.

You can't beat the ease of maintainance/costs on the FJR vs the others, hands down..... It is so much easier to get under the tank for maintainance (again like the FZ6) than the other bikes...

With the slightly higher gearing than the Gen I bikes, mileage should be at least 45MPG (I was getting over 42, fully loaded, two up, top case, etc on most road trips, averageing 75-80 MPH...

Like the FZ, oil changes are a piece of cake, rear drive lube, even easier.

The bike doesn't need a 6 six speed, it has plenty of torque to get to over 140MPH 2 up in a hurry... The engine is pretty just the same tried and true FJR engine with some major changes for the cruise control FI bodies.

And I'd definitly PASS on the keyless ignition. Had to pick up my friends BMW K bike (keyless ignition) when his security K pass failed.. Good thing I had a trailer and was home...

 

[lonesoldier84]

LOTs of changes (small but noticable from anyone who's owned an FJR) that bike is sweet.

Brilliant FJR machine re-tweaked and brought up to modern spec with an aesthetic redesign?

I knew within the first few seconds of opening this thread that I'd want to buy it.

Lol, I kind of was thinking of finally buying a new bike on a payment plan for the first time ever. Race bike was sorted now and was thinking about next year's big ride since I missed this year.

Had been thinking about an ADV bike, maybe the new ADV 1190.

I dunno, I'll see next March where things are at with downpayments/financinvg etc.

But if I get an FJR I am seriously going to start continent cruising. Just camp all the time and work from the road off my laptop......haha oh god that would be a dream life....... and it's actually somewhat feasible.....

 

[texcollect]

The engine is pretty just the same tIREd and true FJR engine with some major changes for the cruise control FI bodies.

Fixed it for you !! :innocent::innocent:

 

[PhotoAl]

Like many I have been thinking a lot about what bike I would like next. Love my FZ6, ride it pretty much every day. Commute, fun rides thru the twisties, 300 mile day trips, long weekend trips of 1,200 miles or more.

What I want is:
Start with a Honda CBR600RR (light weight and comfy for a sportbike) and add a better seat, more upright clipons (like the FZ1 bars on the FZ6), little more windscreen and a little more faring protection and removable hard side cases.

Or another way to look at it is a FZ6 with a little more power, fully adjustable suspension re-styled to have removable side cases, lower fairing and keep the weight at 450 or less ready to ride. I don't have to have the power of the power of the big sport tourers but I don't want a heavy bike.

Was riding with some other bikes a few weeks ago which included a Kawasaki Concours 1400, a Busa, BMW R1200 GT and an Triumph 600. The Connie rider complained of having a hard time getting his bike to turn while the Busa and myself did a pretty good job of scuffing up our tires. The ole FZ6 just turned where and when I wanted to with no drama and no particular effort. We weren't riding hard but were taking the turns quickly but not accelerating hard between the turns. Thought the Connie was a better handler that it seemed that day.

Just my thoughts.

 

[lonesoldier84]

Fixed it for you !! :innocent::innocent:

The 2000 R6 racebike I bought has an engine which is carbureted and "tired".

It spins up and whips me through the corners with instant response and solid pull. Very solid motor and very race oriented.

Yamaha makes all their motors a little bit retarded. They are always eager to build revs. For example, your FZ6....how hard is it not to get its engine just howling?

The FJR engine may not have had a complete rebuild in forever. But why would you? Everyone who has ever ridden one says it makes them giggle and piss themselves with its wicked pull at speeds and force you'd expect out of a big motor on big sweepers on highways.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Fixed it for you !! :innocent::innocent:

Yep, my boo, fixed it!! Great catch!!!

 

[CowtownBiomed]

Yes, what I figured, though both are classed as "Sport touring" the FJ is more of a "Touring machine" where the K12/13S are more of a "Sport machine"
(Apples and oranges as you say)

Ever sit on a K1300S? .

I actualy own a 06 K1200S, (78,000Km so far) but I wil admit I have not had the pleasure to ride a K1300S yet, though I would asume the ergo's are about the same.

Ever sit on an FJR?.

I have sat on one, though I have not been able to ride one (Yet.) it seemed too "couchish" for my liking. (to each their own on that one)

...but honestly the riding position is VERY close to my R1.
I would take my R1 touring with hardbags before I would take a K1300S. .
The reason is I will be roughly as comfortable, and I will have a killer performance machine.

Not really, more like the S1000 than the K's ( Motorcycle Ergonomics )
And of course you would, you own the R1, which I can only asume you have modified for touring.
Though keeping up with the R1 on my K12 isnt all that hard, depends more on the rider more than anything.
With the addition of all the trick suspenion gadgets BMW can add (ESA, ABS ect)
ESA in comfort mode all day or a R1 sport suspension all day? Serioulsy?

interesting compairson of the two bike we are talking about..
http://pirateslair.net/YamahaVS.htm

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Yes, what I figured, though both are classed as "Sport touring" the FJ is more of a "Touring machine" where the K12/13S are more of a "Sport machine"
(Apples and oranges as you say)


I actualy own a 06 K1200S, (78,000Km so far) but I wil admit I have not had the pleasure to ride a K1300S yet, though I would asume the ergo's are about the same.



I have sat on one, though I have not been able to ride one (Yet.) it seemed too "couchish" for my liking. (to each their own on that one)



Not really, more like the S1000 than the K's ( Motorcycle Ergonomics )
And of course you would, you own the R1, which I can only asume you have modified for touring.
Though keeping up with the R1 on my K12 isnt all that hard, depends more on the rider more than anything.
With the addition of all the trick suspenion gadgets BMW can add (ESA, ABS ect)
ESA in comfort mode all day or a R1 sport suspension all day? Serioulsy?

Just curious, have you seen/have one of these:?

The Easy Helmet Lock for the BMW K1300S, K1200S, K1300R, K1200R, & R Sport

 

[CowtownBiomed]

Hey Townsends, I havent seen a lock like that here, no..
I have the sport paniers on mine so I just toss my helmet into one of them, and ususaly the wifes into the other depending on if I have my rain gear with me or not..then she locks her's to her FZ6..

 

[SweaterDude]

I keep telling myself to hold out for a crossplane fz1 but I'm not sure if its ever gonna happen...

ive always been a fan of the genesis 5valve, and correct me if im wrong but i think the crossplane is a 4valve motor.

 

[Cloggy]

Yamaha published their new price list yesterday (after the 2% increase in value added tax in Holland) and it shows that a FJR is aprox twice the price of a fully equiped FZ8 GT (with lower fairing, ABS, touring windscreen, heated grips) . For this reason the FJR stays on my dreamlist but wouldn't be a practical commuter for price reasons.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I love my FZ and for the current riding I do, it'll stay in the stable.. Should I do any touring in the future, it would be the FJR. HP wise, it is lower than the Kaw, certain BMW's, but its got plently of get up and go and as stated earlier, is considerably easier to do maintainance to, especially under the tank and basic maintainance (without the killer BMW dealer costs for basic service). The Yamaha is much more user/maintainance friendly.. ( I have worked on two separate year Concours and numerous BMW's(newer versions) as well as both generation Yamaha FJR's (including my own Gen I)

The price did rise some here as well for the 2013 model, however to put on an aftermarket TRUE, cruise control ALONE, costs considerably more than Yamaha's price hike (that's NOT counting labor, mounting a vacuum can, etc). The CC set up appears to be set up very, very slick, electronic, new TB's, no vacuum cans, etc...

 

[Dave.TX]

I went from an FZ6 to a BMW K1200GT. It's a much bigger bike and I feel much more comfortable on it being 6'4" with a 35" inseam. The 180 pound weight gain is noticeable (at about 630lbs for the K12) but when riding I don't care. A supersport touring bike upgrade is like going from a Miata to a Porsche. You won't shift gears as much, more comfortable ride and the torque from the liter plus bikes is phenomenal. I still routinely get over 40mpg even when riding with the sport bikes in the twisties of the Texas hill country. At just under 10 months of ownership and 8,800 miles it's averaged 41.1mpg, and that has gone down since winter gas has arrived. It'll go back up when summer gas comes back.

I use cruise control every time I ride. I don't commute and live outside of town in the 'burbs. It soaks up the bumps much better, has better protection (rode the other morning for an hour in drizzle and didn't get wet except my visor) from wind and bugs and is vastly better at 2 up riding than the FZ6 was. I don't have to downshift much to find that gear that gets us going, there's gobs of power at lower RPM's that remedy that.

Granted there's times I wish I had a lighter, more flickable bike better suited for city riding but it's rarer now than before. This bike, even though it's over 600 pounds, is fine in the city even with its size. I'm convinced you can do quite a bit on any bike with experience.

I can set my cruise control at 100mph and it'll hold it. The new FJR is limited to 82mph and that could be a problem here in TX when on the 130 toll road (the south half has an 85mph speed limit, the rest is 80mph) and Interstate 10 west of San Antonio to El Paso (where the limit is 80mph). Sport tourers eat up miles whether it's slab or twisties. But for the most part it's not so much a limitation. A friend and I rode to Alabama last year, I set my cruise at 80 for the trip and his non-cruise capable Honda ST1300 stayed with me just fine. I was just able to stretch both my arms and flex/rest both of my hands at any time.

I rarely have the side hard bags on my bike as it looks much more sporty without them and I don't need them unless on a long haul. The FJR looks mighty sporty without the bags attached too. The C14 looks mighty good also. The ST1300 looks aweful without it's bags.

One main reason Yamaha did not do more updates to the FJR is because globally sales are down, thus less revenue to spend. They're in business to make money and new products cost more with research and development. Every manufacturer is having the same problem. Until sales pick up for several years you won't see any significant changes. Even Suzuki is no longer making automobiles and now only focusing on motorcycles. They had to stop R&D for a while because of the hit they took after the Japan tsunami. I think they stopped making bikes for a year. It's just not a good time now to bring out substantially new models and magnanimous upgrades to existing models. The money just isn't there.

This new FJR is a good step to an already good but aged bike. Honda hasn't done much to the ST1300 either and folks still buy it. Kawasaki did a good upgrade to their C14 pushing it to the forefront of ST bikes. The BMW K1600GT is still a sport tourer but getting more like a Goldwing though not there yet. The discontinued K1300GT is a great bike.

Everyone has their own likes/dislikes, wants, desires, opinions, etc. I really like the FJR but not enough to get rid of my 2008 K12GT, think it would be a step down. Moving up from an FZ6 it's leaps and bounds. I considered the FJR pretty hard but found a great deal on the BMW. If I were to get new I'd consider the Triumph Trophy more than the current FJR but would still check them all out. I just can't get a bike without cruise so a C14 and ST1300 are out of the running. Electronically adjustable suspension is the poop. I love it. No more getting under the seat and using a wrench to adjust for 2 up. I can set it between comfort, normal and sport so the damping is soft to firm depending on how I'm riding all with the press of a button.

Would I want a second bike? Yes. The second bike I want is a dual sport like a KLR650 or so. I'm content with this being my only street bike. A supermotard would be fun around town but also has its limitations. The FZ6 is the best at what it does in its niche, no doubt. I figured out after I bought it that I desired something else, bigger, more powerful... and a sport touring bike fits my wants and desires. The sport bike crowd I still ride with have no problems with me joining them on the twisty backroads being I can hang with them just as well as I did with the FZ6.

 

[Dave.TX]

Forgot to mention, the new FJR is throttle by wire - all electronic. So the CC is a basic issue and much easier to do than traditional. Went on a ride with a guy that has one just last Saturday and he loves it. He remarked on the cruise max speed of 82mph being a limitation he hopes a future software upgrade will fix. He said the windscreen is really good, mirroring what previous reviews have said. It only comes in a silver color this year. He loves it and is glad he bought it. I can't recall what bike he went from though.

 

[SweaterDude]

Since the start of this year, at demo days, I have ridden the FJR, Kawasaki C14 and the BMW K1600GTL. I was hoping that Yamaha would, to quote the salesman at my local dealer, "launch a bike that would put Yamaha back at the front of the Sport Touring market"....

....Where's the 1400 crossplane engine, 6 speed gearbox, electronic suspension, remote key........

Signed

Disappointed of Texas

Exactly, where's the 6-speed. just like honda's new CB11, a 5-speed, why wide-ratio blah blah, id like another tall cruising gear. when im not "lugging" it ill click down and enjoy the bike, but i want to cruise at 80ish while gettin maximum MPGs with fewer vibes through the bike. And thats the main reason why everybody i know has a Connie14 instead of the FJR, 2 of which traded their FJs for the Kawis.