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FJ 09 NEWBIE


ladyinred

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Hello Forum!   Newbie here from NM.  After perusing FJR forum for months, thinking I would purchase FJR, I came across an FJ 09 at the local BMW dealer... research & YouTube vid's  convinced me this was the bike for me.  At 70 I was looking to downgrade from a Honda 1800vtx, a mere 880 lbs. bike.  Low ctr of gravity made it very manageable and enjoyable, but frankly I was getting tired of the big cruiser bike.  I looked online at hundreds of FJR's, great bike, low maintenance and reliability, yet I didn't feel comfortable  since I couldn't flat foot or half flat foot on FJR that I sat on at the local Yami dealer, even when the seat was in low position.  I'm 5-8, 29" inseam.  My other delightful bike was a 1994 Yamaha virago 1100 - a really fun and easy to ride bike.  Never had any issues with the virago, plugs and oil changes were Std maintenance.  I'm sold on Yami for reliability. Sold both bikes this winter.   Tuesday I stopped at the Beemer dealer, demo 2015 FJ09  for 2 hours, 17,700 miles, WOW an incredible bike, nibble, fast, comfy, joy to ride, soft butter turns... dealer was asking 6,900 - got it for 5,500.  All recalls have been addressed. Has side and top GIVI boxes, heated grips, cagers, bar risers, Vstream screen.  Seat doesn't fit me well, I keep sliding Fwd some, though it's set on high.  I need seat on lower setting.  I'll take it to the  upholstery shop and have the front horn of the seat raised up a bit and the butt part lowered some.  I think this will allow me to sit more upright.  The handle bars seem to be further out stretching my arms out more then normal.  I think the previous owner was a taller fellow.  Hopefully with seat adjustment the bars won't be an issue.  I'll try to add a pic of "Ladyinred" not sure how to do it yet. "Add image to post" won't accept bike image regular or thumbnail. 
 
Any suggestions on handle bar?  
Recommendations for seat adjustments for custom fit?
Anything I should know about the Fj09?  
Is the riding position up against the tank?  dumb Q I know!
 
All comments appreciated. Thanks y'all .. ! 
George.
 
 
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Welcome to lady in red, .
The handlebar clamps are reversable snd may be in forward position. My bars were set up in high roation position, so i rotated down and adjusted lever angle and miroor mounts accordingly. Worth trying. At 79+, i found going to less heavy bike keeps me riding with less stress and anxiety.
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Any suggestions on handle bar?   Recommendations for seat adjustments for custom fit?
Anything I should know about the Fj09?  
Is the riding position up against the tank?  dumb Q I know!
 
All comments appreciated. Thanks y'all .. ! 
George.
 
 
Welcome. 
The seat is a known weak spot for most on the FJ-09.  Recently there has been a lot of praise for Terry Adcox Seats
 
When I was first shopping for bikes and looked at the FJ09, the first thing that jumped out at me was the excessively wide handlebars.  Not only are they very wide, they have very little rearward sweep.  Upon buying the bike, I immediately ditched the hand guards and replaced the handlebars with a more comfortable bend, and even cut about 1" off each side. 
 
Stop by a local Yamaha dealer and have them run your VIN to verify any recalls have been performed.
 
To add a photo to a post, you simply click the button "add image to post" and select the photo that is saved on your computer.  Too simple.
 
 

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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Welcome and congrats on the new bike. As Betoney said, the seat is a known sore spot (no pun intended) I didn't like the stock seat either, and went with a Corbin after market seat. It's much more comfortable, and lets me ride all day
 
You will love this bike, it's a blast to ride....
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Hello ya'll ...  it was weird, every time I tried to log in with ladyinred I kept getting error msg, acct not found... so I re-registered under fjmistress.  Works fine now.  
 
 
I appreciate the comments.
Betony - thank you for the seat info.  I checked Terry Adcox Seats, definitely will order from Terry.  Seats scream "butt pampered long rides"  
 
 
 LeonardLloyd - thanks for the heads up.  My bar position are set on high.  So easy to rotate down.  yea at our age we need all the help we can get and then some.  Enjoy your bike for years to come and be safe.  
 
Cold front swept through this weekend so I couldn't ride my mistress, although I must have gone in the garage 20 times to look at her  - still in awe.   I'll take her out mid week for a good spin, thinking 100 -125 miles joy ride.  
 
George
 
 
 
 
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