Hanzach Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Okay, I suppose I should start with greetings and a quick explanation. I live in Washington (State, not the Capitol), born and raised Seattle area but now live on the dry side of the mountains. I also have a new nest in Arizona (near my brother) for winter escapes. I'm 50 years old and detest the "snowbird" label because snowbirds are older than me (right?). Besides, I'm not retired. That work thing still gets in the way of riding, but not as much as it used to. I bought the FJay (red) to ride forth from Arizona so I didn't have to keep sneaking off with my brother's Buell down there. I rode the FJay to Tucson in a torrential downpour the week before the Super Bowl (yes, I'm a Seahawk fan, no I didn't buy tickets to the game - I bought the FJay instead and still saved money). I ride a 2003 BMW K12RS here in Washington, and the Mrs. rides her own Diavel in AZ and the little Monster here in the Northwest. So, I am very fortunate to have a bike in the Northwest and one in the Southwest and a female who not only refuses to ride bi^&*, but is pretty hamn dandy with tools. I know! Needless to say, I look forward to putting in some miles this year and would like ideas, reasons and/or excuses to venture out of Phoenix on the FJay or Washington on the K12RS. She works too, so I may or may not have a Ducati in my jet stream on any given adventure. I have a son (non-rider) going to school in L.A. so there's one. What's next?! I've owned 12 bikes in my 35 years of riding and, with only a couple hundred miles under drenched Arizona skies on the FJay, I only have a few impressions of her so far. First, I love the looks - everything except the stock windscreen. I've already ordered the tinted shorty from the Calsci link I found on this Forum. The stock screen caused a lot more turbulence than I'm used to anyway. I also love the economics of the FJay: I mean, I didn't notice enough of a difference to jump up to the Triumph or the BMW in price for the type of riding I'm going to do. My track days are long over. I almost went naked, but in addition to not wanting to scare the children, I just didn't think an R1200R, CB1000r or Speed Triple would be as comfortable for distance. The FJay price, to me, also makes most of the low mile used bikes out there look absurdly overpriced. Having said that, I'm used to a lot more torque than this bike has. I'll adjust. I really like the ergos too; it's the tallest bike I've ever owned. I'm 6' 0" and I'm not sure how anyone shorter than me would be comfortable on this without lowering seat or springs. I'll give the stock seat another chance before deciding its fate. I type fast and think slow, so I hope to participate in a few more threads in here and maybe even run into a few of you out on the road. Safe travels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris618 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Welcome! I just came back from Flagstaff 3 weeks ago and am waiting for the snow to melt here in NY so I can ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member ULEWZ Posted March 3, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 3, 2015 Welcome. I am 6' and have no problem flat footing, but I have a 32 inch inseam. I also have the seat in the low position as I like riding in the bike, not on the bike. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Bikes: 2015 FJ-09, Seat Concepts seat cover and foam, Cal Sci medium screen, rim stripes, factory heated grips, Cortech Dryver tank bag ring, Modified stock exhaust, FlashTune with Graves fuel map, Cree driving lights, Aux power socket. 2012 Street Triple type R (Wifes) 2007 FJR1300 (Sold!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfjniner Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Welcome to the site. You made a good choice. I'm sure the transition won't be disappointing vs. the K12RS. I'm already riding the FJ more than my 05 FJR. That's a first in ten years for the other bike. I have only done one 500 mile day and found the seat fine, I weigh 160. I made a touring windscreen form an old FJR touring windscreen and that improved the air flow for here in the PNW (Vancouver, WA), but I felt the stock one would be best for the spring, summer, fall or until the temps got below 60. Since you are in AZ, maybe a beaded seat cover would work? I had BMW's before the Yamaha FJR, and I am happy to report, that not seeing the BMW shop so often has been a great pleasure. This FJ is an answer to my request to Yamaha, for 8 years, to produce a 500 lb sport tourer. Thank you Yamaha. Hope you enjoy the FJ as much as you enjoy your fine K1200RS. Ken, Candy Ass L.D.R. Sleeps 8 hours (2)2005 FJR1300abs: 230,000 m 2015 FJ-09: 114,000 m (Replaced engine at 106K) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eatpasta Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I'm 50 years old and detest the "snowbird" label because snowbirds are older than me (right?). Besides, I'm not retired. That work thing still gets in the way of riding, but not as much as it used to. I had never heard the term snowbird until I spent a month in Baja a few years ago and MAN when it rains it pours! Canadians everywhere. welcome to the site man! Hope you enjoy the bike and splitting your time between two pretty cool places.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deersSlayer Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Okay, I suppose I should start with greetings .............I really like the ergos too; it's the tallest bike I've ever owned. I'm 6' 0" and I'm not sure how anyone shorter than me would be comfortable on this without lowering seat or springs.Welcome! Height & bike comfort: Inseam is what counts. I'm 5' 7" with 30" inseam. I can't flat-foot the FJ-09, my ankles bent about 35 - 45 degrees. So I'm careful when I stop: Does the road slope? Is there road spooge? (liquid, sand, etc) Is it windy? If you're new to riding it's important to flat foot your bike. If you're experienced you learn to adapt. I'll be getting a KTM 690 Enduro soon. Its unladen seat height (35.8") is 2.5" higher than the FJ's is in the low position. But the 690 is about 110 lb lighter than the FJ, so I'll manage. Barely. FJ-09, 690 Enduro R. Back Roads. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanzach Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Welcome! I just came back from Flagstaff 3 weeks ago and am waiting for the snow to melt here in NY so I can ride.I like Flagstaff: high altitude college town (N. Arizona Lumberjacks, I think). I spent the night there many years ago dragging the kids towards their Grand Canyon Griswold family photo op. I am really looking forward to a Payson to Sedona to Flagstaff ride on the new FJay soon. I can't tell you how good the empty-nester phase of life has been so far! And it can only get better when I'm done writing college checks too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanzach Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Okay, I suppose I should start with greetings .............I really like the ergos too; it's the tallest bike I've ever owned. I'm 6' 0" and I'm not sure how anyone shorter than me would be comfortable on this without lowering seat or springs.Welcome! Height & bike comfort: Inseam is what counts. .... If you're experienced you learn to adapt. Definitely. I'm 6'0" but my inseam is only 31". I can flat-foot the FJay, and the riding position feels real good to my legs. I have the relatively short inseam/long arm body, which is why one of my so-called friends says I look like a monkey humping a football when I ride his Aprilia RSV4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jimf Posted March 22, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 22, 2015 it's the tallest bike I've ever owned. I'm 6' 0" and I'm not sure how anyone shorter than me would be comfortable on this without lowering seat or springs. If you're vertically challenged, as I am with a 28" inseam, you get used to managing bikes with as little as one toe. It takes a little skill but it's not as bad as you think. The FJ is actually one of the better bikes in this respect, though, because of its narrow seat. It's quite a bit easier to manage than my Daytona 675 where I can get only one toe down, and that's leaning off a little (I literally wear through the toes of boots). At-stop tipovers were common for awhile after I bought that bike and I have to be extra careful not to stop on the crown of the road. The Tiger 800s are even worse in that respect, and even the F800GS is pushing it (although with a lowering kit that becomes quite tractable, too bad about the boring motor). I compared the 2015 Versys to the FJ back-to-back a month or so ago and the wider-seated Versys was far more difficult to manage. I can do it (I spent most of a week riding a rented 2014 Versys in Cali last fall and came away unscathed) but it's pretty ungainly and one of the reasons the Versys fell off my list of possibles. (Plus the engine, while certainly capable enough and waaaay more interesting than the F800, doesn't make me giggle.) Being so short does remove a whole lot of bikes from consideration. I can't ride a GSW at all, my feet dangle in the air like a kid in a chair at Big And Tall, and I'm not doing dirtbike style running starts and dismounts on a 600lb bike TYVM (yea yea I hear you laughing, Lon, but you're a better rider than I am and it's a $20,000+ bike I'd be dropping every other day). The Speed Triple makes me drool, but it would be quite a handful too, so it's the Street Triple instead. (Not that that's a completely bad thing, the little Speed is a trip too.) And amazingly I found that an R1200RS couldn't be managed not because I couldn't put my feet down, which was easy, but because I couldn't reach the $@^@! kickstand to put it back down when I stopped. That caused a lot of laughs from my friends before someone had mercy and helped me out. I'd never even considered that as a possible problem before. So the FJ is really not that bad. I had been considering the lowered seat for the FJ but in the low position the stock seat works fine, with the ability to toe down both sides. It's still not an SV650 but it'll do just fine. 2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate) 2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.) 1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.) 2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.) 2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deersSlayer Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 And amazingly I found that an R1200RS couldn't be managed not because I couldn't put my feet down, which was easy, but because I couldn't reach the $@^@! kickstand to put it back down when I stopped. That caused a lot of laughs from my friends before someone had mercy and helped me out. I'd never even considered that as a possible problem before. On advrider someone had that issue with a KTM 690 Enduro. Ram ball mount to the rescue: http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26410177&postcount=2404 FJ-09, 690 Enduro R. Back Roads. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted March 22, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 22, 2015 Overall height does not correlate to inseam length. I am only 5'8" tall but take a 32" leg length in trousers. I can quite easily flat foot both feet on a Super Tenere or R1150GS. I would be 6'0" tall if I had a proper length neck! The Tracer is a doddle on the lower seat setting at least. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jimf Posted March 23, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 23, 2015 And amazingly I found that an R1200RS couldn't be managed not because I couldn't put my feet down, which was easy, but because I couldn't reach the $@^@! kickstand to put it back down when I stopped. That caused a lot of laughs from my friends before someone had mercy and helped me out. I'd never even considered that as a possible problem before. On advrider someone had that issue with a KTM 690 Enduro. Ram ball mount to the rescue: http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26410177&postcount=2404 I had been thinking I could put some kind of tab on there, but I never thought of a RAM ball. What a great idea. 2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate) 2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.) 1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.) 2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.) 2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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