shingo Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Here's a quick look at the motorcycle I owned in the last 15 years Yamaha R6 2003 Honda CR250R 1993 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 2005 Honda CX650E 1983 Yamaha FZ6 2006 Suzuki DRZ-400S 2003 (owned right now) Yamaha V-star 1100 2003 (owned right now) I want to sell the V-star because we have really poor road condition here in Quebec and the suspension is not good enough on the V-star. So far the most comfortable bike I had for the poor road condition here was the Yamaha FZ6 and the suzuki DRZ-400s How's the suspension on the FJ-09? Can it be adjust for really poor road condition and light offroad? How's the fuel range? Beside that what's the good and bad point? I'm looking at a couple of different bike at this point : BMW F800 GSA (18k$) KTM 1190 Adventure (18.5k$) Triumph tiger XcX (14k$) Yamaha FJ-09(8K$) The difference in price for the FJ-09 is HUGE I would keep the DRZ for hard offroading, I just want to be sure the Yamaha's suspension is soft enough for my needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humblebub Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 We too in PEI have poor road conditions. I find the stock suspension on the FJ to be harsh on squared off bumps. It is not harsh enough for me move on but it is not even close to the BMW F800 (which I had and sold). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeetea Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 There have some people comment how rubbish the suspension is. Some that it is adequate, and some that (given the price of the bike) it's great. I've just got rid of a BMW R1200GS with Nitron aftermarket shocks (about the best set up you can buy)...the Tracer (FJ-09) is pants in comparison - BUT it is far better than the TDM900 I had, and for a budget bike, its adequate. I say that. I weigh in at 70kg - those weighing in at 250lbs may have a different view. What I would suggest is that, given the price of the bike, you factor in another $1000 just in case (to get a suspension shop to give you the very best suspension) try the bike and see how you get on. If it's okay for you - spend the $1k on a holiday (or donate to me for giving such good advice) or, take it along to get the suspension sorted. EeeTea Honda SS50, Kawasaki Z200, Honda 400/4, Yamaha TDM900, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1200GS, Mr Stevens, and my favourite of all: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer...a bit like FJ-09 only properly named :¬P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeetea Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 PS. Fuel range is great, about 56mpg from mine..and it's not run in yet. Honda SS50, Kawasaki Z200, Honda 400/4, Yamaha TDM900, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1200GS, Mr Stevens, and my favourite of all: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer...a bit like FJ-09 only properly named :¬P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 The FJ really isn't built for off road. I would certainly spend some money on protecting the underbelly. The oil pan is notoriously vulnerable. The suspension is good for sport touring but again not designed for off road. I'd plan to upgrade it for the use case you are describing even though it works fine for me. You can probably do these few upgrades for less than the other bikes you are looking at but the price certainly creeps up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shingo Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 There have some people comment how rubbish the suspension is. Some that it is adequate, and some that (given the price of the bike) it's great. I've just got rid of a BMW R1200GS with Nitron aftermarket shocks (about the best set up you can buy)...the Tracer (FJ-09) is pants in comparison - BUT it is far better than the TDM900 I had, and for a budget bike, its adequate. I say that. I weigh in at 70kg - those weighing in at 250lbs may have a different view. What I would suggest is that, given the price of the bike, you factor in another $1000 just in case (to get a suspension shop to give you the very best suspension) try the bike and see how you get on. If it's okay for you - spend the $1k on a holiday (or donate to me for giving such good advice) or, take it along to get the suspension sorted. EeeTea Most of the suspension upgrade I see are for performance improvement, can we get some for comfort increase? I tried the KTM 1190 Adventure and the suspension was great for my need out of the box, but it's way more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panooch Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 There have some people comment how rubbish the suspension is. Some that it is adequate, and some that (given the price of the bike) it's great. I've just got rid of a BMW R1200GS with Nitron aftermarket shocks (about the best set up you can buy)...the Tracer (FJ-09) is pants in comparison - BUT it is far better than the TDM900 I had, and for a budget bike, its adequate. I say that. I weigh in at 70kg - those weighing in at 250lbs may have a different view. What I would suggest is that, given the price of the bike, you factor in another $1000 just in case (to get a suspension shop to give you the very best suspension) try the bike and see how you get on. If it's okay for you - spend the $1k on a holiday (or donate to me for giving such good advice) or, take it along to get the suspension sorted. EeeTea Most of the suspension upgrade I see are for performance improvement, can we get some for comfort increase? I tried the KTM 1190 Adventure and the suspension was great for my need out of the box, but it's way more expensive. Traxxion, so far from what I've read, is the best. Way more then $1,000 for a full set up installed with your forks shipped. They dyno every build that goes out the door so its worth letting them do it IMO. But they put too heavy of springs in, racing set ups, UNLESS you specify otherwise. I'd drop 10-15 lbs or so of your true dressed, ready to ride weight and only through direct discussion with them. They will have a cartridge, rear shock spring designed around that. I made a big mistake when I had them do my VFR suspension. I factored in my travel gear to last a week while I was touring around. WAY to stiff. I adjusted rebound and compression as much as I could. Ended up buying an ST1300 which was a much better bike for longer touring and used VFR for shorter spirited rides. Still waiting to see how the Matris stuff gets reviewed. Which according to Pattonme, is higher build quality then the Italian stuff. It just may be a do it yourself set up. But covering all the different rider weights, sprung correctly for comfort and performance, trade off, valved according to preference, your looking at a custom build in most cases. I'm still waiting to see how Pattonme's set up works out. I may tear mine down this winter and give him a go. In the mean time, dropping change in my cookie jar. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeetea Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 yes the suspension is more than $1000 I guess (it was an arbitrary figure I invented). I know for the GS (telelever front / paralever rear) it was about £1200 - what's that in dollars, $1600-1700? Still for $1000 you would get something a lot better than what's currently on there. But really upgrades can be whatever you want. If you tell your vendor you want comfort and plushnessness then they should oblige with, probably a progressive spring, and damping to suit touring and comfort. Do agree about the underside protection. Nothing between the collector box and the ground - but, hey, some guy rode an R1 across africa, so never say never. I go off roading on mine all the time (well. okay. I have a gravel drive that I have to go over to get to the street...sounds cool though) Mind you if you saw the state of some of the roads in the UK (we sit right in the freeze/thaw action bit of the world's climate, with a govmint with no money to spend on decent road repairs) potholes is our middle name! Honda SS50, Kawasaki Z200, Honda 400/4, Yamaha TDM900, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1200GS, Mr Stevens, and my favourite of all: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer...a bit like FJ-09 only properly named :¬P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shingo Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Does your buses get stuck in the pothole? Here they do This is an average Montreal Street, you can see the car go off road because it's better than on the road : I'm also thinking a KTM Enduro R might just be perfect for the road we have. I could try to jump with the potholes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 If those pictures are the norm, my previous comments still apply mostly. I think you could probably modify the FJ to work but you'd probably be happier with the KTM Adventure as you said you rode it and liked it. There's no guarantee you will like the mods for what you need on the FJ. Yes you'd save some money, but you run the risk of it not being the right tool for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeetea Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Does your buses get stuck in the pothole? Here they do This is an average Montreal Street, you can see the car go off road because it's better than on the road : I'm also thinking a KTM Enduro R might just be perfect for the road we have. I could try to jump with the potholes. You win Honda SS50, Kawasaki Z200, Honda 400/4, Yamaha TDM900, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1200GS, Mr Stevens, and my favourite of all: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer...a bit like FJ-09 only properly named :¬P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sined Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 http://www.elkasuspension.com/ its in boucherville QC they have a fj 09 rear shock from 600$ cdn to 1100$ cdn good service they speak french and english imagine 600$ to usd a joke! i had this setup in my last 1200GS http://i.imgur.com/LZ2XJ0k.png http://i.imgur.com/L2RRLit.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7bIDKbm.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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