I made the mistake of going to a Triumph open house.

[superfist]

So, I got to ride the new Tiger 800 XCa and the Street Triple 765 RS.  Both were amazingly smooth and capable bikes and the new Street Triple made me miss my old '15 Street Triple R.
 
 
I would put the FJ-09 squarely in between these two machines.  The Street is everything I love about the FJ-09, amplified.  Both motorcycles have the feeling of urgency when you twist the throttle and the Triumph exhaust note is intoxicating.  It's so light and nimble and I found it's faster around a bend at much less lean angle than the FJ.  It was also the first time I got to use a quick-shifter and it's every bit as amazing as others try to tell people it is.  It really does enhance the ride and I never thought I'd say that.  It seemed like a frivolous add-on, but that was before I used one.  Oh my god, when the pull of acceleration doesn't have to be broken up into shifts and is simply accentuated by the exhaust changing tunes, it's an experience all its own.
 
 
The Tiger 800, feels like it's a LOT less powerful.  I couldn't figure out at first and attributed it to just being so much smoother.  I was thinking the FJ-09 put out 105 at the rear wheel and the Triumph is supposed to be 95hp.  With a littler research The 95 is at the crank and it actually puts out closer to 80-85 at the wheel and still only has about 50ft lbs of torque.  It's also a good bit heavier than the FJ even though it feels about the same.  Oddly, I think with the increased torque, the FJ could beat the Tiger off road with a proper off road suspension, ride height, front wheel and tires.  We need a Tenere' 900 World Raid.  Anyone?  Yeah, I'd be all over that.
 
 
The Tiger 800 ergos are nice though, and standing and riding was a breeze.  I didn't get to take it offroad and I think that's where it would shine vs the 2015 FJ-09 I've been riding.  I really liked the slightly forward lean the Tiger has as well.
 
 
Anyhow, I thought I'd share my observations.  As much as I miss getting off-road and as much as I've been yearning for other bikes because of the FJ shortcomings... It's still a great machine.  My dilemma on whether I should sink multiple thousands for suspension, exhaust, ecu tune, and handlebars to make the FJ-09 a better all-rounder, or buy something else.  I'm having a hard time justifying the money spent when the resale value is not very good.  The Street Triple RS would be near perfect, but I wouldn't want to take it on gravel, dirt roads, camping or long trips.  The Tiger 800 is great off road, but it's doesn't have the excitement of the FJ-09 on the pavement.
 
 
My conclusion is that I need more than one motorcycle for everything I'd like to do.  Canyon carving, track days, camping, off road and touring...  but the FJ is a wonderfully capable bike that will do it all, just not the best at anything.  If I'm limited to one motorcycle, I think the FJ-09 is still a solid ride =)
 
 

[angrygirafe]

I loved my Tiger 800 when it didn’t require a SCHEDULED 1200$ timing service. I also loved it when the stepper motor did it’s f***ing job and I didn’t need a tow truck. Twice. And then a custom fuel map to finally fix that particular problem. It was a really fun bike when it worked though. ?
 
I agree, I don’t think the FJ is worth configuring for exploring dirt trails, but based on my very expensive 4 months of owning a Tiger, and my much happier 17 months of owning an FJ, I’d look at literally anything other than Triumph for an additional bike. Those Africa Twins sound fun. ?

[suitedsevens]

I was definitely tempted by the tiger when I was shopping for the fj, but as you said the fj seemed a lot sportier and even living in the mountains I knew that almost all of my riding would be on pavement. I can see myself owning a street triple at some point seems like an amazing bike and I love the look.
 
As far as whether to sink the money I went for it and no regrets for now. I'm pretty new to motorcycles in general but it seems no matter what you get there is going to be some tweaking required to get it in the sweet spot. Resale value is a little depressing but I imagine I'll have the fj for some time and most likely will add a sport/track bike and a dirt bike to scratch those itches instead of trying to press the fj into stuff it wasn't really designed to do.

[superfist]

Wow angrygirafe! Did you buy new? What year was it? They have 2 year unlimited mile warranties now and I thought maybe the quality had improved. If it had more power, I might have been sold. Also, I'm a little wary of buying the first iteration of an all new engine, though the new 765 seems to be pretty well made. Considering it's going to be used for Moto2 racing next year, I would hope it was more thought out than most new releases that had bean counters poking into business.
 
I agree with you suitedsevens, about some tweaking needed to get things right on almost any motorcycle.

[angrygirafe]

Mine was a 2012 with 8k miles on it. I put another 10k on it during the four months I had it, so it was obviously fun to ride. The maintenance costs, lack of mechanics willing to work on it, and its habit of stalling and not starting again when it got warmed up (in gear, in neutral, not overheating) made it frustrating.
 
I had been looking at an FJ but got the Tiger on the recommendation of a cousin with a 2013. He got married and sold his after I sold mine. The guy he sold his to had to replace the ECU shortly thereafter. Maybe we both had lemons, but...
 
Triumph makes a fun bike, but browse some of those forums and look at all the maintenance/problem threads.

[superfist]

Ouch!  Yeah, maintenance costs are a pretty big deal and I didn't give dealer network much thought.  I have 2 triumph dealers in my city, but Triumph America is also HQ'd here.
 

[kw86er]

Owning a motorcycle can be like being a human conduit of money. It's relative to your bike and budget but you never get good return on your investment. I look at it this way, how much does a person spend to go on a vacation including flights and hotel... allot right and all you get to keep is your memories. I do my vacations on my bike. I keep my memories and my bike. The depreciation on a motorcycle is replaced by improved quality of life and to me that is the balance.
 
 

[pfontainejr]

Owning a motorcycle can be like being a human conduit of money. It's relative to your bike and budget but you never get good return on your investment. I look at it this way, how much does a person spend to go on a vacation including flights and hotel... allot right and all you get to keep is your memories. I do my vacations on my bike. I keep my memories and my bike. The depreciation on a motorcycle is replaced by improved quality of life and to me that is the balance.  

Very well said....

[Cruizin]

When Triumph has an open house, be sure to also try and sneak back into the repair shop and take a look there too, lol. Promise it's never empty.
 
 

[superfist]

When Triumph has an open house, be sure to also try and sneak back into the repair shop and take a look there too, lol. Promise it's never empty.  

 
Oh it's not.  Especially when it's a Triumph/BMW/Motus dealership.
 
 

[kiwicanuck]

I give my Fj09 another year then I be eyeing the speed triple rs

[pattonme]

[span style=font-size:12pt]the FJ could beat the Tiger off road with a proper off road suspension, ride height, front wheel and tires.  We need a Tenere' 900 World Raid.  Anyone?[/span]

Nitron Adventure shock - basically their RACE model revalved for ADV use. Want one, PM me. I have 2 on order - a special request I made of the factory because they weren't planning on offering it otherwise. 
The FJ/GT forks can be lengthened though various tricks but I don't think the inner+outers of the Tenere will fit though (43mm?, vs 41).

[superfist]

[span style=font-size:12pt]the FJ could beat the Tiger off road with a proper off road suspension, ride height, front wheel and tires.  We need a Tenere' 900 World Raid.  Anyone?[/span]

Nitron Adventure shock - basically their RACE model revalved for ADV use. Want one, PM me. I have 2 on order - a special request I made of the factory because they weren't planning on offering it otherwise. 
The FJ/GT forks can be lengthened though various tricks but I don't think the inner+outers of the Tenere will fit though (43mm?, vs 41).

You're a beast Pattonme.   When I think a conversion like that wouldn't be possible, you offer a path. Thanks, now I need to start searching for a second job or a good side hustle. 

[superfist]

So, I have an update!
It would take WAY more than I'd be willing to do to the FJ.
I found spoked wheels through Motodemic. They have a kit for about $1200 for the XSR900 that has spoked hubs and 17" wheels and the hubs will fit the FJ and FZ motorcycles as well. I figured I'd see if there was a price for the hubs only and thought maybe they could be laced to a 21" wheel like the BMW 1200GS front wheel. Apparently, someone else had the same idea last year and Motodemic attempted to assist them in turning the FJ into an offroader. Here's Brads response:

[em]Hey Robert, 
I can tell you that you are on your way to some major headaches. We assist in a build last year where the builder was trying to make an Adventure bike from an FJ-09 and attempting the same things. All of the geometries of this bike are meant for 17's. The angle of the steer tube in relation to the engine will not allow for a wheel bigger than a 19 and changing the exhaust manifold is a must to allow for full compression. Adding a longer rear shock caused problems in the linkage and the chain was put at a very odd angle (would slap the swing arm).
 
So to answer your question, no, we do not sell the hubs separately but Cognito Moto can supply them - https://cognitomoto.com/
 
Good luck!
Brad Wood
Founder[/em]

So in order to attempt this, it looks like an entirely different front end and swing-arm would be needed.  Even then, the neck angle of the frame might not allow the clearance needed.  At that point, it's not even an FJ-09 anymore, but getting into truly custom build territory.  I think it might just end up being easier to shove the CP3 into a different motorcycle than try to build a different motorcycle around the engine and frame of the FJ-09.
Or...  just buy a T7 when it finally goes into production for less than what a conversion like this would probably cost in the end.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[skipperT]

That’s interesting stuff. I’m glad to know that a kit is available though!
 
So sounds like the best scenario is to buy their kit and stick with the 17” wheel sizes.
 
Otherwise you’d probably need a Tenere or the like swingarm (which is shaft drive!) and possibly a different triple tree setup to increase the rake/trail thereby lengthening the wheelbase to allow for suspension movement/ex. clearance.
 
Darn it. Our CP3 engine is so much more fun than a CP 2 (mt/fz/T) 07 in a lot of ways. I’ve been waiting for mother Yamaha to pull the trigger on the T7 as well. Looks so good!
 
-Skip