northfork Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Hello all! Excited to join this community - and even more so as a new FJ will be joining our stable later today. So much for being able to concentrate at work today... A long time Versys rider, I was looking for a replacement bike that would offer the fun-factor of the little Kawi in the twisty bits, while allowing for easier pillion capabilities when my rapidly growing daughter rides with me (mom rides her own bikes). Was on the fence about this bike for a while, but was able to take an extended test ride and, well...here I am. Our local rides usually start at about 100mi, and all too often extend beyond 300 - most of this over passes and a healthy dose of corners (ah, bliss..). Looking forward to a long relationship with this Yammy, and all the little adjustments and mods that usually accompany bike ownership. Also always happy to meet new riders, so if any of you are even remotely in the area (North Fork Valley), let me know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Hi and welcome. I made the mistake of opting to pick mine up in the afternoon and went to work in the morning, not much work done but the upside I was able to have a bit of 'longer' ride home (by going in the opposite direction). Your rides sound great, just a tad envious of being able to do passes etc, living in London those pleasures are treats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highplainsrider Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Congratulations on the new bike. I'm a new western Colorado owner too. I just got my FJ a couple of weeks ago. My rides are all based out of Eagle. I'm coming from a heavily modified Ducati Hypermotard 1100 Evo SP. I'm looking forward to the lower cost of ownership and better dealer network of the Yamaha. So far so good. The FJ handles the high speed I-70 runs as well as the canyon carving along the Colorado River. I'm trying real hard to avoid doing mods. I want to stay as close to stock as possible for reliability and ease of servicing. That quiet exhaust is killing me though. I miss my 1100's termignoni sound real bad! My Duc had a lot of fueling and idling issues that seemed to get progressively worse with every ECU and exhaust tweak. I would rather not go down that road again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northfork Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks @steve and @highplainsrider! Work is a little sketchy, I will admit that, though currently it is raining anyways....hoping for some clearing within the next few hours. Having the riding that we do around here is truly a blessing. We have also had 3 Ducs, one of which is still with us - my darling wife still has her 696. We've always had good luck with them, and I do enjoy riding with the Erico group out at High Plains raceway. However, the Versys was my go to, general ride, and I built up a healthy dose of respect for what that little bike could do. Highplainsrider: if ever you fancy a ride, let me know. Lots, as you certainly know, of great rides around our little corner of the world. Depending upon weather and other obligations, I hope to be well on the way to breaking in the FJ's mill by the end of the weekend. Steve: have good friends in the UK, and really hope to pop over for a visit and ride! Thanks for the welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jimf Posted September 16, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 16, 2015 the Versys was my go to, general ride, and I built up a healthy dose of respect for what that little bike could do. I rented a 2014 Versys 650 while I was touring in California last year. While the engine was pretty flat on top, and I wasn't a big fan of the suspension, I put 1,000 miles on that thing in four days including one thirteen hour haul from SF to Pismo down the PCH, including some super-tight twisties through the sequoias. When I rented it originally I figured it would do well enough; by the end of my trip I was very impressed. That thing ate up everything I threw at it and only started to show its limitations when I was pushing it rather hard in the canyons and mountain roads. When I got home the Versys went right near the top of my new-bike-next-spring list, although I still had a strong preference for the Street Triple R with its excellent suspension and motor. Then that Yamaha went and came out with the FJ. All the versatility of the Versys and a sweet and even more flexible triple than the StTR. What's not to like? (Well, ok, there are one or two things, but really ... it's a great bike right out of the box.) 2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate) 2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.) 1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.) 2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.) 2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northfork Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 @jimf, I am glad you got some seat time on a little Versys. In the end, the FJ09 did exactly for me what you had described also: fairly light, good handling, and a bit of a power boost. In short, almost like a little bigger Versys. Only put 80 miles on the Yammy today, but I can already tell that we are going to be getting on quite well. All the best from the Rockies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highplainsrider Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Always good to have other bikes for comparison. The FJ-09 has a similar seating position to my Ducati. I like how it seems to have a lot of the things I liked best about my Hypermotard but is more refined and has the added bonus of ABS and traction control. I'm really enjoying the 3 different throttle modes as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Then that Yamaha went and came out with the FJ. All the versatility of the Versys and a sweet and even more flexible triple than the StTR. What's not to like? (Well, ok, there are one or two things, but really ... it's a great bike right out of the box.) I had a similar experience. I probably would have ended up with a Vs last year had my wife been comfortable on the back. It would have made more financial sense as I could have saved nearly half of what I spent by buying used or leftover. Thankfully she wasn't comfortable on the Vs because I'm very happy I waited on the FJ. I mulled over a v strom as a compromise before I knew of the FJ but I never had the same feeling about is as I did the originally about the Vs. I felt stronger about the FJ than Vs though so again I'm glad I waited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jimf Posted September 17, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted September 17, 2015 After I bought the FJ I ran around for weeks saying "I LOVE MY BIKE". I have enjoyed all of my bikes, but the FJ hit a sweet spot like no other. Of course, a lot of that might just have been the utter joy of not being curled up like a pretzel on the Daytona 675 anymore. Truly not a bike meant for touring. :-) 2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate) 2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.) 1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.) 2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.) 2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northfork Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Reading through the responses, I am reminded as to why we, as motorcycle riders, have it so good right now! There is a model and configuration out there that appeals to us all - sometimes the idea ends up being better than the actual application, and other times we are very poitively surprised by a bike we really had not given much thought to. I have always enjoyed riding different bikes, or at least trying them out, as every experience has helped answer questions (or sparked new ones). While looking for a replacement for my Versys, I cast a fairly wide, initial net, and the FJ09 occupied both the most favored as well as least favored spots during the filtering process. Triumph, Ducati, BMW, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha were all in the mix, and all had plenty of worthwhile attributes to offer. In the end, I cannot say that I chose the best bike of all, but rather I chose what I consider to be the best bike for me, at this time, and I cannot wait to see how my choice plays out over the long haul. Going to be great fun, no matter what! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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