A reveiw of riding two up

[adjuster]

Day one, I removed the grab handles. Simple, easy and I think it looks better too, and you don't have them trying to cut up your shins/ankles every dang time you ride the bike. Yes, I can lift my leg, but they add height that's not needed, and if I wanted a strap, I'd add a strap to the seat, simple. And it does not look like a trident is stuck in the back of my bike either.
 
I liked the grab handles on my 2006 FZ1. They were useful too when taking the bike on and off the center stand, but these on the FJ09 are torture items as designed.
 
A smooth grab bar with no trident spikes would be fine too I suppose.
 
The trick is using stainless fender washers on the rear mount after you remove the handles. The bolts under the seat are not a problem, but the two rear ones are up on top, and the plastic has bigger holes than the bolts. I used the stock bolts back again with the fender washers, and they fit perfect, and nice and tight.
And I have not ridden this bike two up yet. But I'm a pretty large economy size human. LOL Only 6'2" tall, but I did ride this bike when I was 470lbs without my gear on. Since have lost 40+ pounds, but really think the suspension is not too bad on this bike compared to others I've owned and ridden. Back when I used to rock climb, ski all day and climb the Grand Teton, I was only 245lbs, and I'd like to get back to that weight, but it's not going to stop me from enjoying riding motorcycles.
The funny thing is when I had the FZ09, it was so much fun, for me it was lighter than the rider, so felt like a supermoto does to you smaller guys.   The suspension on the FZ was way too soft however. Silly soft. Even on the firmest preload, it was silly to ride, but still fun around town. The FJ09 has much firmer springs in my experience, on full shock preload, it's much firmer, and I have not had to crank down the fork preloads at all yet with much less front dive than the FZ on the brakes.
And it's still a nice "lightweight" feeling bike like the FZ was.
Now, I get crap every time I point out I'm over 400lbs, and even have dudes telling me I should not ride. I say thanks for the advice, now let's go ride.
An no, I don't want a Harley, other cruiser or a Goldwing. I like dirt and more sporty bikes. They are the most fun.
 

[marind]

well, i went for it and i must say that the bike handles quite good at the max load, even on stock suspension settings .. i had to run-in it first, so i can't say much about the top-end performance .. but after adjusting the suspension and fine tuning it i think there should be no problems with 2 up and luggage .. and i speak about cruising type of riding, not sport ..
must be something wrong with you if you load your bike on max (or a bit above that line) and expect the bike to perform the same as if you ride alone with no luggage .. is someone's brains are not capable of clear judgement about that and is not able to constantly adjusting his riding type, he should anyway stay away from bikes .. not pointing to anyone directly on this forum, speaking just generally ..
 
so, if you're in doubt because of the combined weight of you, your loved one and your(well, mostly her) luggage reaching the max defined weight load, don't worry and go for it, you'll love the fj-09 ..

[paulsmith]

well, i went for it and i must say that the bike handles quite good at the max load, even on stock suspension settings .. i had to run-in it first, so i can't say much about the top-end performance .. but after adjusting the suspension and fine tuning it i think there should be no problems with 2 up and luggage .. and i speak about cruising type of riding, not sport .. must be something wrong with you if you load your bike on max (or a bit above that line) and expect the bike to perform the same as if you ride alone with no luggage .. is someone's brains are not capable of clear judgement about that and is not able to constantly adjusting his riding type, he should anyway stay away from bikes .. not pointing to anyone directly on this forum, speaking just generally ..
 
so, if you're in doubt because of the combined weight of you, your loved one and your(well, mostly her) luggage reaching the max defined weight load, don't worry and go for it, you'll love the fj-09 ..

Some people migh[span][/span]t think there must be something wrong with a person who can't start a sentence with a capital letter and finish it with a single full stop, and maybe they should stay away from computers, but I don't think that. Just as I don't think the bike handles well at or over full load, and just as I don't think the standard FJ-09 is suitable for extended two up touring. Can it be done? Yes of course, I have done it. Does it do it well? In my opinion, no, but my opinion of 'quite good' may not be the same as yours. In my opinion, being able to stay on line as I go around a corner at or below the posted speed is the minimum requirement for good handling. The standard suspension on the FJ-09 (even after adjustment) does not have the range to do that when two up with luggage.  
I can't buy tighty whities in size small and expect them to fit, so why should I expect budget suspension on a budget bike to cope with me, my missus and our luggage?
 

[paulsmith]

...Yamaha built the stock hardware (includes the suspension, brakes etc.) to perform up to the rated loading for the bike.

Close, but not quite. Yamaha built it to be 'good enough' up to the rated loading. Your idea of good enough is probably different from mine, and both are probably different from Yamaha's. And being on a very tight budget, you can be reasonably sure that Yamaha did not spend money to make it 'good enough' when past the rated load and that is the area we are talking about. Two well fed north Americans or two western Europeans with even a small amount of luggage, puts the bike outside its design parameters. I am not criticizing the bike for this, these are just facts, but I am criticizing people who think it is Ok to say the bike will be fine no matter how big you are. It wont be, and people will end up on a bike that does not met their expectations and blame the bike instead of their expectations.  
I used to ride one of the best Sports-Tourers ever sold, the Aprilia Futura, but bad press based in incorrect expectations meant it never sold well and was soon discontinued. People expected it to be something it wasn't and so were disappointed instead marveling at how good it was at what it was. The FJ-09 is probably one of the best budget on-road adventure bikes ever launched and should be enjoyed and appreciated for that. It is designed for day trips or short weekends, and that shows in the seat and suspension choices made by the designers. It was not designed to be a cross country tourer so people should not be surprised when it turns out not to be very good at cross country touring. It can do it of course, but other bikes can do it much better. 
 
 

[aussietracer]

Plan B was to travel almost 2000km over a weekend.
Sheesh..

[wessie]

thread swerve: Aprilia Futura: yes, a very under-rated bike. I went to look at one with a friend - going very cheaply due to the age, light blue colour and lack of awareness from the buying public. The mate was very keen until it dawned on us something wasn't right. The tank was pear shaped, wider at the bottom. Seems Aprilia didn't factor in that all unleaded petrol/gas in Europe can contain up to 5% alcohol without any declaration. As a result, most fuel now has some alcohol. Could be 5%, could be 3% depending on where the petrol is sourced from - rarely is it from just a single refinery so probably gets 1 delivery of alcohol free every now and then to dilute what is already in the bunker.
So, due to the alcohol attacking the composite material forming the tank, gravity had caused the lower part of the tank to swell. We looked into a replacement tank but could not find a source as the bike was discontinued so none were made with alcohol resistant tanks. No pattern parts and none on Ebay. So we moved on to an alternative model.

[paulsmith]

Close, but not quite. Yamaha built it to be 'good enough' up to the rated loading....

...didn't see 'good enough' in my post...and of course it's all matter of perspective, unless you go outside the design envelope... there are so many variables... and no suspension is 'good enough' if you really dig deep. This is a song that never ends .

You were close when you used the word 'perform', which implies it meets certain standards and qualifications and sounds good in marketing material, but the reality is that somebody in the process said "we can spend more money and make it better" and somebody else said "No. It is 'good enough'".   

[badger]

thread swerve: Aprilia Futura: yes, a very under-rated bike. I went to look at one with a friend - going very cheaply due to the age, light blue colour and lack of awareness from the buying public. The mate was very keen until it dawned on us something wasn't right. The tank was pear shaped, wider at the bottom. Seems Aprilia didn't factor in that all unleaded petrol/gas in Europe can contain up to 5% alcohol without any declaration. As a result, most fuel now has some alcohol. Could be 5%, could be 3% depending on where the petrol is sourced from - rarely is it from just a single refinery so probably gets 1 delivery of alcohol free every now and then to dilute what is already in the bunker. So, due to the alcohol attacking the composite material forming the tank, gravity had caused the lower part of the tank to swell. We looked into a replacement tank but could not find a source as the bike was discontinued so none were made with alcohol resistant tanks. No pattern parts and none on Ebay. So we moved on to an alternative model.

Actually, it was the plastic fuel line quick disconnect that would corrode and leak, not the fuel tank itself.  I also owned a Futura and replaced the plastic quick disconnect with a metal one and it was no problem.  I still say that bike had the most comfortable seat of any bike I've owned, bar none!  I rode mine to both coasts of the US.  The problem for me was that the bike liked to fall down when I was riding it.  But I still miss it sometimes...
 

[paulsmith]

The Futura was an exceptional bike and could so easily have become near perfect with even minor upgrades. Of course we wished for a bigger engine and stuff like that but an upgrade with slightly heavier gauge wiring throughout would have eliminated most issues that most owners had. Throw in a metal quick disconnect and a reinforcing plate under the tank. Easier access to spares and maybe revisit the rear hub design (or at least lube it in the factory) I would be riding my third or fourth one by now.