Said Goodbye today

[Hyena]

5 hours ago, betoney said:

The only thing that would suck is having to join one of the FJR forums.  👎

I cross shopped FJR'S when looking for my FJ. Is the community seriously that bad? I feel like it's a bunch of dudes in aerostitches and modulars but maybe I'm just profiling. 

[betoney]

1 hour ago, Hyena said:

I cross shopped FJR'S when looking for my FJ. Is the community seriously that bad? I feel like it's a bunch of dudes in aerostitches and modulars but maybe I'm just profiling. 

I joined one of the FJR forums (I don't remember which one) to do research and ask questions and ***at least in my experience*** they were not welcoming to a new guy asking questions.  I was bluntly instructed on how to use their forum search feature.  I clearly wasn't old enough to be apart of their "good ol' boy" network, and they weren't about to share their secret handshake.

When I would ask a question like whether the bike needed an ECU flash or how it responded to an exhaust system, I was treated like a fool for second guessing Yamaha engineers and how they designed and delivered the bike, with return questions like "who in their right mind would ride this bike at 5,000rpm or above?" while they cyber-high 5 each other about riding at 45mph in top gear getting almost 50mpg. 

Now, if I want info, I just google it and lurk through the forum info instead of asking direct questions.  Maybe they have changed now? 

[Hyena]

Yup, that sounds exactly like the stereotype I have of that community. Thanks for confirming it a bit, 😅

[betoney]

16 minutes ago, Hyena said:

Yup, that sounds exactly like the stereotype I have of that community. Thanks for confirming it a bit, 😅

And that stereotype DOES NOT fit the individuals when I meet them in person out on the road, very nice and genuine people, eager to share info. 

[Wintersdark]

The 390's a fun bike - KTM's in general are a blast, and super fun for their respective niches.  I really enjoyed test riding a 390, but IMHO it just doesn't compare to a MT07 in that role (small, nimble, torquey hooligan bike), as for me it just didn't have enough power.  But if it's got enough juice for you, it's a hell of a good bargain, and so much fun to ride.

My concern with KTM's, though, is reliability - at least coming from Yamaha.  My brother in law and all his friends ride KTM, and *all* of them have warranty claims as a matter of course.  Still, it's warranty covered, so... *shrugs*?

[Brian V Paigo]

Yeah it’s enough power for me, I love it. I was thinking about the warranty claims as well, but I’ve heard great things out of the 2nd gen 390 dukes. Sounds like they fixed all the bugs in the 2nd gen. I’ve got 286 miles on mine for now, and soon I’ll be riding it every day, so I’ll be able to tell ya for sure. The KTM dirt bikes are in the shop a lot, but the street bikes are better. However you gotta remember, KTMs are high performance machines. Yamahas are as well, but the R6 and R1 are up there with performance of KTM, but the difference is all KTM bikes are extreme high performance, not just 1 or 2, so it’s expected to run into reliability issues. We have 5 other Honda’s, so I understand reliability. Maintenance is key with those KTM’s, you can’t run them into the ground like a Honda or Yamaha. 

[spitfireorca]

What a switch! You'll have to come back and give us the 6 month review of your 390 and if you miss the FJ. Cheers! Nice color on the 390!

[Brian V Paigo]

3 hours ago, spitfireorca said:

What a switch! You'll have to come back and give us the 6 month review of your 390 and if you miss the FJ. Cheers! Nice color on the 390!

will do, and thanks!