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.
