A good friend of mine just dumped his R10 in favor of a C14 to complement his stable of a ZX14 (which he's spiced up by changing sprockets and exhausts, installing a PC3 and pulling the secondary butterflies) and a heavily modified Harley Road King that sees almost no use these days. He took delivery last night and we're scheduled to ride tomorrow (Saturday).
He owned an '04 FJR (that was replaced by an '05 Hyabusa, which, in his never ending quest to rip his arms out of their sockets was in turn replaced by his ZX14) and so has the experience to compare.
His initial report can be found here:
https://www.bikeland.org/board/viewthread.p...4200&FID=42
I can't comment yet on the rolling dynamics of the C14, but the bikes are priced the same (I'm getting tired of seeing people compare ABS against non-ABS pricing, because that is simply an unfair comparison price-wise, though if ALL you care about is price, I guess you could make a point with it).
In my opinion, the bikes are, statistically speaking simply *the same* in terms of performance. I've seen timings of stock FJRs roll faster than reported quarters with the C14. In other words, at these performance points and given the weight differential between the bikes it is more about the rider than it is about the machine.
I sat on my friend's machine when it was a showroom queen. It is tall. Taller than my FJR with the seat in the *low* position. The bags are high. Higher than I like for my 5'11, 32 inch inseam leg swing. Mirrors see the bags - then again, I rarely have bags on when I ride on week-ends with the FJR - and in any case, on the Yammy I see elbows, so which is better? The Yamaha is because overall it is a considerably narrower machine. The Gen-II is narrower even than the original version of the model, so concerned were the Yamaha designers about those of us who lane split (even if we don't live in California).
Features? The TPM system is neat - I could add it to my ride if I want, but I don't want. KiPASS? A really neat toy - until the transponder dies - but then I'm in Canada and we have the immobiliser, so I guess if I drop my key in the wrong way and break the active part I could be just as stuck. Gear indicators? They both have 'em. Mine has a thermometer? Whooppie. Again, they are pretty much the same there as well.
Heat? Well, my friend says it is an issue and he had a Gen-I, which seems to be the gold standard of how NOT to do air management on a motorcycle - then again, the ST-1300 is another machine that they say is even worse than the older FJRs!!
Would I like a 6th gear? Absolutely. Did I want a 7th gear when I had my C10? Absolutely. If they gave me an 8th gear would I want a 9th? Yes - it is just human nature.
Now, do I NEED a 6th?
The answer is that while droning along requirements are statistically unaffected by the gear setting because you need to make the same power to go the same speed, so spinning the engine faster (which makes more HP and more Ft-Lbs) is actually probably somewhat more economic. The best fuel economy for an engine is at the torque peak - i.e. at or close to red line with these designs. Spinning the engine slower means a downshift is almost absolutely required for fast-passing - I often blip down from 5th to 4th to 3rd when I need to zip past a slow(er) moving vehicle on a double yellow (only in Vermont, of course!!). On the C14, that means one more down shift and shifting more often.
Yes, I suppose that revving lower while touring is a good thing in terms of engine wear - but I really do wonder what percentage of FJRs aren't purchased more for their refined *sport* abilities than for the long range multi-day touring. I suspect that if the latter was the primary reason for buying an S-T machine, the designers actually would have provided us with standard or a factory-optional cruise control.
I'm not changing bikes. I wouldn't get a helmet lock (so no gain) and I'd lose my locking storage box.