Greetings some advice please

[nsrrider]

I would not be concerned about "all day comfort" on the FJ.....it has all the comfort of an FJR or Concour, so long as you put a seat on it that you like. I find a light and nimble bike to be less fatiguing than those bigger bikes after a day of riding. Boxer motors are a bit of an acquired taste for me.....new ones better than the old ones.....still probably my least favorite piston configuration.

[trokarr]

The Ducati Multistrada 950 looks like a cool bike, but is anyone else bothered by the fact that the exhaust exits right where the side bags sit?

Looks like they've designed it with the luggage in mind 

 

 

Actually, it is the following picture that has me wondering, since the exhaust appears to exit directly onto the bag:
 

 
 

 

[clint]

There appears to be a cutout on the right bag, ala BMW GS, and probably some heat shielding too.
 

[duhs10]

The Multistrada 950 looks nice, but if I ever go that route, I'm definitely going for the 1200. I do like the price point on the 950 though.

[Guest]

I know the RS is a better bike in many ways, but the primary question is, is it worth double what the FJ costs? 9k vs 18, literally. Its not a matter of being able to afford it, rather is it worth double? is

I hope I'm not too late to the party.  The RS is NOT a better bike than the FJ-09!  I've owned both and the FJ-09 is an amazing bike that with a little tweaking gets 10X better.  The RS has issues and BMW is in no hurry to deal with them.  My advise, avoid BMW like the plague.  You can't go wrong with either Yamaha, the FJ-09 turns a little better and the FJR might be better for long days on the interstate.  Comes down to which one fits you better. 

[DavidS]

The Multistrada 950 looks nice, but if I ever go that route, I'm definitely going for the 1200. I do like the price point on the 950 though.

If you do decide to go that route, better save some money for your mechanic!

[pcarnut]

I've got both an FJR and an FJ in the garage. Most of the time I pick the FJ, even for 4-5 day touring. With the factory bags, more upright riding position, it's a great all around bike. However, I don't care for some of Yamaha's costing cutting measure and the bike feels a little plasticy to me compared to the FJR.
 
I played with the suspension some and have a set of K-tech cartridges coming from Matt so hoping these give me the compliance I'm looking for. The stock forks have poor compression compliance, way too harsh and will give you a good jolt through the handlebars. Changed out the rear shock for an Ohlins and that made a huge improvement to the rear.
 
Another issue I've got is vibration. I've tamed the bars by putting in bbs as recommended by another inmate here and it worked fairly well, but the footpegs/frame, at 11k miles vibrate way too much. Going to replace the chain and sprocket shortly to see if that helps.
 
So, a mixed bag of feedback. HTH
 

[duhs10]

The Multistrada 950 looks nice, but if I ever go that route, I'm definitely going for the 1200. I do like the price point on the 950 though.

If you do decide to go that route, better save some money for your mechanic!

Yeah no kidding.. that's why I've always owned Japanese bikes and plan to stick to with the FJ-09 for the forseeable future.

[payback1]

Power to weight ratio between the FJ and FJR is about the same.....Ive done roll-ons with my buddy's FJR and they are dead even. I'm guessing that since I installed a full exhaust w/remap I would pull away from him. Coming off a Concour 14 and a 1290 SA, I will NEVER go back to a big-ass motorcycle. Light and nimble bikes are just too much fun. I've added heated grips, heated seat and quick-shifter to mine (plus a s**t-load more) and still have less than than $12K in it. 
 

This.  I came from a 2014 Victory Cross Country and am loving the nimbleness.