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Another guy considering the FJ-09


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Hi all,
49 y/o Dallas,TX area rider here.  13 yrs riding experience, currently on a 2012 Street Triple R.  Prior bikes were a GS500 and SV650.  I've had some reliability issues with the Triumph, and I want some bona fide touring capacity in my next ride.  With my 50th birthday coming up I am planning a 2-week solo tour (with wife's permission!) that I am calling the midlife crisis tour.
 
I've test ridden the F800GT (too much handlebar vibration, a bit "rattly," and too expensive).  Also rode the Versys 650 and found power & fun factor lacking.  Hope to ride the FJ-09 today, and am also considering the VFR800 and Bandit 1250s.
 
Much of my riding is commuting (40-mile round trip) in all weather except snow/ice.  I enjoy "spirited" riding but nothing crazy.  I've read lots of reviews by the moto press and have viewed many vlogs.  The FJ-09 seems like it will tick my boxes.  
 
I plan to lurk and learn on the site.  I'll check in officially if I make the purchase!
 
 

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Enjoy the test ride.
 
I find the Tracer/FJ a good bike if you only have one in the garage - I commute, have fun rides on the weeknd and ride all around Europe on mine. Off to tour the Ardennes, Mosel & Eiffel regions in France, Luxembourg, Belgium & Germany at Easter.
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Hi all, 49 y/o Dallas,TX area rider here.  13 yrs riding experience, currently on a 2012 Street Triple R.  Prior bikes were a GS500 and SV650.  I've had some reliability issues with the Triumph, and I want some bona fide touring capacity in my next ride.  With my 50th birthday coming up I am planning a 2-week solo tour (with wife's permission!) that I am calling the midlife crisis tour.
 
I've test ridden the F800GT (too much handlebar vibration, a bit "rattly," and too expensive).  Also rode the Versys 650 and found power & fun factor lacking.  Hope to ride the FJ-09 today, and am also considering the VFR800 and Bandit 1250s.
 
Much of my riding is commuting (40-mile round trip) in all weather except snow/ice.  I enjoy "spirited" riding but nothing crazy.  I've read lots of reviews by the moto press and have viewed many vlogs.  The FJ-09 seems like it will tick my boxes.  
 
I plan to lurk and learn on the site.  I'll check in officially if I make the purchase!
 

The FJ-09 is a great motorcycle and hard to beat for the price. I'll share my personal opinion between VFR750 and FJ-09 as I own both. But many would disagree with what I say about the FJ-09's suspension and throttle.  
My VFR750, carberated not injected, with quality suspension upgrades is a wonderful, very reliable motorcycle. But I don't ride it much anymore. I ride my FJ-09 because of the upright ergonomics which is the primary reason I wanted another sport tourer. I must say, as I've previously posted here, my first test ride on the FJ-09 was less then impressive. I don't ride city streets much. I ride back country twisty roads. The twistier the better, so I was looking for something more on the sport side and upright. I'm 57 years old and I can't handle bending over for very long. If I could, I'd still be riding my VFR. Several weeks after my initial test ride, having test rides on several others bikes, I road my VFR a short 60 miles to a dealers Yamaha demo day. Road the FJ-09 again, FZ-09, Super Tenere, FJR1300, both of which were very nice but I didn't want to get anything over 500 lbs. I also road the R3 just for fun but ultimately kept going back to the FJ-09 as it fit my criteria the best. After five or six test rides that day, with nothing  on anything twisty or much of anything less than pretty decent road condition, I still didn't know which way to go. Knew I liked the weight and the engine, wow. It's great. But had I been able to test ride twisty roads, I may have made a different decision and spent more money on something with sportier suspension. No idea what though.
 
Throttle response on the FJ-09 is jerky with stock ECU file IMO. High spirited cornering, 60-85 MPH is just barely OK. I'm not a racer or good enough rider for high speed cornering 85 MPH+. ECU flash resolves this and there's many other benefits to having this procedure done IMO. But following the flash, I find the real short comings of the stock suspension. I can roll into and out of the corners faster but the suspension soon shows its inability to keep up on less than perfect pavement. But the stock set up is more then adequate for slab touring or reasonable curvy stuff. Just not in the mid speed range and not on choppy roads.
 
The FJ-09 is very easy and quick to turn, quite fun at reasonable speeds. Get up in the digits a bit, things change. The two primary things listed above is what keep the FJ-09 from being an extremely nice "sport" touring motorcycle, with emphasis on the sport side. The Cross Plane Triple engine, CP3, is the bomb. Great power to weight ratio and the stock suspension may be just fine for you. But coming from your Street Triple R, you may notice a difference.
 
Windscreen, stock seat and mirror extenders. Many dislike the first two and I think the extenders are a necessity. But that's fun stuff and everybody loves to add farkles. So you may or may not NEED to do any of these. I did my seat because I have a shorter inseam. The stock 33 height was too much for me to touch down with uneven surfaces. Modifying the stock seat is relatively easy and inexpensive to do. Several posts on the forum on "how to". Replacing the seat still has limited options but Corbin's seem to a popular choice. Just not my style for the FJ-09. I have a Corbin on my Shetbox 650 and like it. Do a forum search and look up Wessie and his "Bagster" seat. Now that's more like it. It's so nice looking my arse will get used to it no matter what, I hope.:)
 
The VFR is 525+ lbs while FJ-09 is 460-470 ish. FJ-09 feels even lighter as the weight is low and well balanced. FJ is very easy to ride. Its way more than adequate for commuting and or having loads of fun in the back roads. Another very nice bike is the new Versys 1000. 550 lbs dressed with factory side bags was 50 lbs more than I wanted and I felt every pound of that weight. The included factory side bags are nice to have for week longs and weekend trips but for me, the bike has to look decent with the bags removed. The FJ-09 fits this criteria perfectly IMO. I don't always need or want side bags on. Soft bags work fine and are lighter. When I'm riding with a faster group of buddies, I want nothing. Hard bags are just that much more to replace in the event of a mishap. Traction control is new to me but I think its saved my hide a couple times so its nice to have and included as standard on the FJ-09. I imagine most newer bikes have it. I don't keep up with them all so no idea.     
 
Nobody has to make the major expense of upgrading the  FJ-09's suspension. I can ride mine just the way it is and do so often. But coming from the VFR with Traxxion and a smooth throttle, the need for me is there. Flashing the ECU makes most riders quicker in the corners on this bike and improves on most other things. It removes most of the felt 4,200 to about 5,500 RPM bar buzz, removes 115 MPH US model speed limiter, lets you set your desired coolant temp before the electric fan kicks on, stock is 221 ish, shuts off the emissions, turns off the fuel shut off with throttle closed and makes a nice motorcycle an even better one. $350.00 and your good for free reflashes in the event you want to add performance options like exhaust in the future. Just ship it to 2 Wheel Dyno Works in Washington. Great bunch of guys and we are talking about a custom flash here. Best upgrade I've done so far.
 
In closing, ride the FJ-09 a few times before deciding. Try to test ride it on similar roads you'd be using it on. It does get better once everything loosens up and settles in. I'm just a little picky, as I think most of us are. For the needs you have listed above, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better for under $12-15K. IF you felt the need to upgrade suspension, you could be in that price range and would have to love everything else about the FJ over a higher priced bike. 2015 models are going as low as $8,000-$9,000. With tax and license, you'd probably never find a better motorcycle unless purchasing something second hand, which is also an option with the FJ-09. Good luck in your search.
 
 
 
 
Everyday's a good day when your able to ride
 
15 FJ-09 - 2WDW ECU flash, Givi SV201, Nelson Rigg tail bag, OES sliders, Koubalink extenders, Ermax Sport, Vista Cruise, OEM seat mod, (smiles)
07 Honda ST1300A (sold)
06 Kawi KLR650 - Big Gun full exhaust, Corbin, Givi, PMR racks, carb mod (keeper)
97 Honda VFR750 - Traxxion Dynamics, Penske, Givi 3 piece, carbon exhaust (keeper?)
20+ years of snowmobiles
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