New member fro RI

[rhodetrip]

Hi, new member from RI.  The FJ-09 is on my short list;  I presently ride a large bagger and want to go lighter.  Looking forward to gaining some insight here.
Jim 

[jimf]

Welcome! I'm also Jim, from the Boston area. I don't know what kinds of things you are looking to find out, but I'll throw out a couple that I think might be interesting to you.
 
In a lot of ways the FJ is a comfortable sportbike. I came to it from a Daytona 675 most recently, although I had a couple of small cruisers in my past. The FJ doesn't have the lean clearance of a full-on sportbike, or brakes or suspension quite up to that quality, but it is not half bad in any of these areas. You can ride the FJ very much like a sportbike if you like. For a lot of us that's the biggest part of its charm. Compared to a bagger the FJ's going to be a big step up in handling and performance.
 
The FJ's motor is a peach even compared to full on sportbikes, and the triple has enough torque to be tractable down low where many sportbikes struggle. It won't be anything like a big twin in off-the-line grunt, but light weight makes it quick off the line nonetheless, and when the big twin is running out of oxygen the FJ's motor will just be opening up. It's a completely different experience, but I think it does a good job of cutting the difference between a bike where you want to ride the torque all the time, like a bagger, and one where you've got to keep it on the boil all the time, like a sportbike. It's a little like either of those, and a little like both at the same time.
 
While the FJ is hundreds of pounds lighter than a bagger this is less apparent at stop and slow speeds than you might think it would be. It carries its weight fairly high, like a sportbike. Once you're moving the weight distribution leads to very nimble handling, and the wide handlebar makes for easy agility. Puttering around town I'd take the bagger any day, with its low center of gravity and seat height, but get deep into the mountains and the FJ is pretty near ideal.
 
Where the FJ is going to compare especially poorly to a bagger is in carrying capacity. The FJ's maximum rated cargo capacity is not that great. It's adequate for one-up touring, especially if you like to travel light, but very marginal for two up. The Yamaha luggage is good quality but hardly spacious, and very expensive (although perhaps not so much by H-D standards). If you're looking for cargo capacity you should look to the aftermarket; Givi in particular makes nice bags at decent prices. Yamaha recommends against using both side and top bags simultaneously; I personally think they're being too conservative in this respect, but it's certainly true that it would be easy to overload the tail section with all three bags. Something to consider if you pack heavy.
 
Whether the FJ is all-day comfortable depends a lot on your body shape. It has more legroom than a typical sportbike, and with a 28" inseam I have no problems with it all day long, but taller riders do complain about it. If you want to throw highway pegs on it for another foot position then that can be done, but the best way is to add crash bars and then bolt the pegs to that. That's moderately expensive although very easy to install. Even if you do that you won't get the really stretched out position of a bagger with highway pegs. Whether or not this is particularly bad is going to vary person to person; I prefer a more upright position to the laid back cruiser seating most of the time, but others disagree.
 
I found the stock seat to be adequate, but hardly great. It's nowhere near as bad as some of the other Japanese bike seats I've had to deal with (Suzuki, you suck at seats!) but my old Daytona's seat was significantly better, and that's a racebike with lights. I've tried a couple of others at this point and can't say I'm ecstatic about any of them, although the Yamaha Comfort Seat comes the closest to date. Its foam is pretty firm, though, and that tends to make itself known by the 90 minute mark for me. The stock seat had some hot spots that drove me a bit nuts by the end of a 9+ hour day, and the Comfort seat doesn't, but I can't say that either of them was particularly troublesome.
 
The most common complaint, particularly amongst distance riders, is that the stock windshield is very noisy. This can be remedied easily -- there are many aftermarket choices, all of them an improvement -- but you won't find anything as full coverage as a typical bagger full windscreen. If you're used to a half screen on your bagger then the effect is similar, but the FJ has nowhere near the hand protection of a bagger fairing, and no real option for wind management around the legs. So, expect yourself to be more exposed to the elements on the FJ unless you ride your bagger without any kind of fairing or windshield.
 
That's all I've got off the top of my head. If you have specific questions throw them out and I'm sure you'll get a lot of responses.
 

[nihilist]

I think I can comment here, because I switched to this bike from a cruiser.  My cruiser was only a middle-weight V-Star 950, but with Tsukayu Jumbo Strong hardbags, and all the touring trimmings, it probably tipped the scales at close to 700 pounds.  I used to ride 2 up frequently, but eventually the cruiser seating position got to be too much for my poor arthritic back.
 
Cut to the FJ-09, my experience in making the switch:
 
1) All your instincts are wrong.  I'm still trying to retrain myself that high rpm is good - this bike just gets smoother as you rev higher, vs cruisers with the down low torque are better at much lower rpm.  It's a much more engaging experience, however, where the cruiser ride is very lazy and uninvolved in comparison.
 
2) High centre of gravity doesn't mean unstable.  I'll admit that it very slightly harder to balance in creeping stop and go traffic, but it's not problematic.  What I'm impressed by is that the tight rake and trail makes it incredibly maneuverable at low speeds which makes u-turns trivial compared to turning a boat around in the street.
 
3) Riding 2-up is still definitely a go.  I actually find the added weight of a passenger increases the stability, and I enjoy the overall 2-up riding experience much more than on the cruiser.  
 
4) It's way more fun.  I enjoy the tight handling, quick revving engine, insane lean angles (compared to cruiser), and just the overall experience far more than I ever did on a cruiser.
 
5) Your back will thank you.  The neutral position with weight centred over your feet, and the open hip angle both result in radically decreased pressure on the lower back.  You can also change position far more easily.  I'm acutely aware of this due to the arthritis in my lower back.  This has put long trips back on the table, whereas my back felt like broken glass after two hours on the cruiser.
 
Hopefully something in my rambling helps you.

[bobbycnote]

Welcome!  Traded in my Road King a few weeks back. I look forward to every minute I can ride this bike.  It's just full of fun.  I have always owned cruisers and wanted a switch.  Very happy with my decision at this point.  Although my Harley buds think I'm a lunatic.  Not gonna lose sleep over that though.

[rhodetrip]

Thanks all for the input. My Vic is 850+ dry so it is 900lbs wet, my knee doesn't like the weight when stopped on an incline and not getting any younger. Throwing this thing around the Dragon last week to keep up with buds was a workout; a lighter more nimble ride would sure be nice. When I ride it is typically 100+ miles even if just going for a coffee (not a lot of around town riding).
Thanks again,
Jim

[steve]

Hi and welcome, if you haven't already, try and see if you can get a test ride.