vs FJR???

[dedsxy47]

My first full-sized sport touring bike was a 2005 FJR, which I managed to put 24K miles on in only two seasons here in MN.  From there, I went to a 08’ Ducati 1098, managing 33K miles on that bike before the dealer screwed up the third major service, forcing me to unload it as they would not claim responsibility for their error.  After a few more bikes, I eventually ended up with a 2016 FJ-09, 20K miles in 2 ½ seasons.  My total lifetime miles on two-wheels are 227K, so I feel I can contribute to this posting.

The FJR remains one of those bikes I should not have parted with.  The features I miss the most are the electric windshield and weather protection, and, the hard bags.  I never really managed to tour on the FJR as I had intended, rather spent most miles commuting and hotrod-ding around rain or shine.  After spending so much time on sportbikes, I rode the big bike in much the same manner leading to one of my dislikes, the soft front suspension.  Riding an FJR like an R1 will cause the worst front tire cupping.  So bad, when the dealer emailed pictures to Yamaha corporate, a tech came out to see the bike.  When the technician saw me coming off the freeway, he instantly knew what the problem was.  My comment to the tech, “hey, Yamaha FJR1300 Sport Touring bike.”  His response, “big touring, little sport.”  Our solution involved stiffer Progressive springs and heavier weight fork oil which help to handle and nearly eliminated cupping.  Future bikes saw a stiffer suspension as others complained of similar problems.  My longest trip in a single day was Minneapolis to Lincoln NE and back, around 820 miles. As others stated, the seat to peg height is short, causing cramped hamstrings.  But the thing powered through the miles rain or shine with no issues.

Fast forward to 2016 and the FJ-09, zippy, triple engine fun, very easy to ride, almost too easy.  Steering force was almost effortless, making the bike too twitchy, in my opinion, especially at higher speeds.  However, my first trip around Lake Superior dubbed the Lake Superior Circle Tour saw 1600 miles in 4 days with rain all four days.  Weather protection is poor with hurricane-force water guided directly onto one's feet like the engineers spent their entire budget on water channeling vs. the worthless windscreen.  I did change the screen out for a tall touring and rode from MN to Boise ID, 3250 miles round trip in 6 days.  The ability to stand up and stretch while riding made this trip very enjoyable.  I would like to combine the weather protection of the FJR with the ease of riding the FJ-09. 

My current stable pony is a 2018 KTM 1090 Adventure R.  Yamaha could take a Q from WP on how to do a proper suspension set-up.  Weather protection is poor, but then again, big dirt bikes are not meant for riding in the rain, especially on knobblies.  I managed to demo a BMW K1600GT and instantly fell in love, the sound, the feel, supreme power on rails.  But that price, ouch.  Some teased me, “you know what BMW stands for don’t you?  Break My Wallet.”  The FJR was a bargain back in the day, but at 18 grand now, it’s touching R1250RT territory. 

A future job may have me commuting nearly 80 miles a day so the BMW would be a great mount.  We will see where life takes me.  If more distracted people keep trying to run me over, I may just opt for a new or new/used Corvette so there’s a bit more plastic and metal between me, the road, and all those idiots out there.

Edited June 3, 2020 by dedsxy47

[betoney]

10 minutes ago, dedsxy47 said:

The FJR remains one of those bikes I should not have parted with.

I have not come across a single owner or previous owner who hasn't said the exact same thing.  I have never owned one but have ridden both Gen II and III a fair bit and love the bike, I just wish they weren't so heavy. 

Since the current FJR is in its twilight years, I'm hoping Yamaha eventually comes out with something similar to a Tracer/FJR hybrid, all of the features and comfort of the FJR with lighter weight and agility of the Tracer with maybe a few compromises/ trade-offs concerning comfort/weight/agility. 

[daboo]

The FJR was my dream bike for years and years.  I loved the looks, and eagerly read the reviews where it set the standard for a sport-touring bike.

But I have to say that one will never be in my stable.    I've discovered that lighter weight bikes, will serve me very well for my sport-touring desires.  My BMW F800GT weighs only 470lbs wet supposedly, and I don't miss the extra couple hundred pounds to move around in a parking lot, or on a twisty road.  My 470 lb bike has taken me across every state west of the Continental Divide except New Mexico, as well as Alberta and British Columbia.  After finding that you can tour with a 470 lb bike, as much as I loved the FJR and it was my dream bike...nah.  I can do without it.

Chris

[keithu]

9 hours ago, daboo said:

After finding that you can tour with a 470 lb bike, as much as I loved the FJR and it was my dream bike...nah.  I can do without it.

Very true. I think a lot of riders are stuck in a paradigm that says a touring bike must be heavy and large displacement to provide "stability" and "smoothness." But any motorcycle can be smooth and stable if designed properly.  

When most people plan a motorcycle tour, the plan is often to see interesting sights and discover distant roads that are twisty and scenic. Sometimes we have to spend hundreds or thousands of miles on boring highways to get there. A sportbike would be a lot of fun on those far away twisties, but it would be torture on the long drone to get there. By the time you arrive at the twisties you're too exhausted to enjoy them. So you buy a two wheeled dreadnought that rides like a couch on the superslab, but it's heavy and exhausting in the twisties.  

20+ years ago on sport touring forums, Usenet groups, and mailing lists we dreamed of a perfect sport touring bike. It would have a comfortable, upright riding position; decent power; room for some luggage; a strong enough alternator to power heated grips and jackets; and weigh under 500lbs. This was the elusive Perfect Sport Tourer. It took a while, but someone finally built it!

[LizN]

Hi. This forum came to my attention  and especially this topic because I have a big decision to make. I have owned FJRs for nearly 20 years. Currently on number 4. Use it for touring long distance through Europe each year. But the tracer has caught my eye. I have a test ride on Friday. I could keep both, but have to be honest. I can only ride one bike at a time. It's looking positive for the tracer, but feeling afraid to move on from a very old and dear relationship with the FJR. I have come to terms with the downsides. Smaller tank, no electric screen, chain (argh) and the answers here are very helpful. The main thing I noticed sitting on it is the leg position. Feet felt a long way back. So that is what I shall be looking out for. I have long legs and don't want to compromise there. Anyhow. A useful and informative thread. Thanks for the insight.

[betoney]

9 minutes ago, LizN said:

The main thing I noticed sitting on it is the leg position. Feet felt a long way back. So that is what I shall be looking out for. I have long legs and don't want to compromise there. Anyhow. A useful and informative thread. Thanks for the insight.

If you look at cycle-ergo you will see that the FJR has a fair bit less leg room than the Tracer, the FJR's seat to peg measurement is less so will feel more cramped than the tracer.

https://cycle-ergo.com/

[BBB]

When I’m doing a blood delivery, I ride my Tracer from home, then pick up an FJR (fully liveried, looks just like a police bike, with a huge rack for the insulated box on the back, panniers etc) to do the run, the back to the Tracer for the ride home again. It’s about three hours all in, back-to-back on the two different bikes, a mix of traffic, motorway and slow riding around the hospital, plus manhandling both bikes into small storage sheds. So I get a good comparison of the two.

FJR : feels heavy/solid to ride, short geared, lower seat, and the screen is still too short for me on the motorway, even when electrically driven all the way up. I don’t like tight, slow manoeuvres as it feels like it tips in. A brute to move around into the storage shed.

Tracer: feels light, narrow, hooligan. Wide bars make it easy to manoeuvre at any speed. Revs easily, taller gearing. Upright sitting position but the seat feels unpadded after the FJR. Easy to push around into sheds.

I’m biased, but the Tracer is better for me for most things and can tour. The FJR seems like it is good for touring and a poorer bike for everything else.

Chain maintenance is easy by the way.

[LizN]

Helpful thanks. NW UK? I'm from Manchester, but now a Dutchie. Had a 4 week UK tour planned for this year. All cancelled of course.

[betoney]

3 minutes ago, BBB said:

When I’m doing a blood delivery, I ride my Tracer from home, then pick up an FJR (fully liveried, looks just like a police bike, with a huge rack for the insulated box on the back, panniers etc) to do the run, the back to the Tracer for the ride home again.

You get an FJR as a 'work vehicle'?  Not too shabby. 👍

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, keithu said:

Very true. I think a lot of riders are stuck in a paradigm that says a touring bike must be heavy and large displacement to provide "stability" and "smoothness." But any motorcycle can be smooth and stable if designed properly.  

When most people plan a motorcycle tour, the plan is often to see interesting sights and discover distant roads that are twisty and scenic. Sometimes we have to spend hundreds or thousands of miles on boring highways to get there. A sportbike would be a lot of fun on those far away twisties, but it would be torture on the long drone to get there. By the time you arrive at the twisties you're too exhausted to enjoy them. So you buy a two wheeled dreadnought that rides like a couch on the superslab, but it's heavy and exhausting in the twisties.  

20+ years ago on sport touring forums, Usenet groups, and mailing lists we dreamed of a perfect sport touring bike. It would have a comfortable, upright riding position; decent power; room for some luggage; a strong enough alternator to power heated grips and jackets; and weigh under 500lbs. This was the elusive Perfect Sport Tourer. It took a while, but someone finally built it!

I make a point of avoiding those boring highways.  Turns out, you can get pretty much anywhere completely or at least nearly so avoiding such highways, and it makes trips *way* better.  Just gotta spend a bit more time plotting out routes, and talking to people as you go to find the best roads.  

[Wintersdark]

30 minutes ago, LizN said:

Smaller tank, no electric screen

Smaller tank, but much better gas mileage.  You end up with a shorter range, but not much shorter.

But, my question here - and clearly a feature I wasn't aware the FJR had - what is an electric screen?

[draco_1967]

There is an element of stability that a heavy bike provides, and that is on the long highway hauls across the US, where you deal with strong cross winds, turbulence from trucks, etc. On my FJR, that did not have the impact that it does on the Tracer. However, the percentage of riding on long highways compared to twisty byways does not justify the extra weight of the FJR. I don't miss the extra stability enough to outweigh the extra fun in the twisties. 

[betoney]

6 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

Smaller tank, but much better gas mileage.  You end up with a shorter range, but not much shorter.

But, my question here - and clearly a feature I wasn't aware the FJR had - what is an electric screen?

Motorized windscreen, operated with a push button.  A lot of the bigger touring bikes have that feature.

[LizN]

31 minutes ago, betoney said:

33 minutes ago, betoney said:

If you look at cycle-ergo you will see that the FJR has a fair bit less leg room than the Tracer, the FJR's seat to peg measurement is less so will feel more cramped than the tracer.

https://cycle-ergo.com/

That's a fab tool. Thanks. Looking even better for the tracer. Liking that hip angle. I'm a bit older than I was in 2001 *cough* when I got my first FJR. 

 

[draco_1967]

26 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

I make a point of avoiding those boring highways.  Turns out, you can get pretty much anywhere completely or at least nearly so avoiding such highways, and it makes trips *way* better.  Just gotta spend a bit more time plotting out routes, and talking to people as you go to find the best roads.  

Sometimes time dictates the need to use highways. Last year, I headed out to NC/TN to enjoy the amazing roads out there. There are some nice sights to see on the way out if you take the scenic route, but that would also add 4-5 days each way. As it was, nearly doing an iron butt on the way out, it still took 2 full days of travel each way. I did take more scenic highways back (50 through Kansas and Colorado). When you have limited time off, sometimes you can't avoid the super slab.