I just bought a 2008AE!

I just bought a 2008 FJR AE from Action Powersports in Tulsa based on their Ebay ad. The first thing I did with it was ride from Tulsa to Austin (~500 miles). :bike:

I have a lot of questions and comments, but I'll save most of them of them for latter.

Just a few quick comments:

I did do some investigation on auction bike warranties, which I posted in the 'nightmare test ride' thread. Bottom line, call Yamaha customer service FIRST with the VIN before buying a 'left over'. They'll be happy to tell you the exact status of the bike in question. The dealers are NOT a reliable source of information on auction bike warranties.

Am I the only FJR owner in history who promptly melted some of the left heal of his new Cruizerworks boot on the left pipe?

Why would anybody buy a bike with a manual clutch when you can get one with a paddle shifter???? :lol:

Congrats on the new bike. You'll love it...guaranteed!

--G

Congrats on the buy..

Melting boot...perhaps your foot was looking for a floorboard to rest on..not gonna find it on the spirited FJR, not for cruising--well maybe at 90 or so.

JimNtexas said:

Why would anybody buy a bike with a manual clutch when you can get one with a paddle shifter???? :lol:

Click to expand...

How many reasons do you want?????

R

+1 congrats. AE smooth move.

Congratulations!

FJR-RemingtonRider said:

Congrats on the buy..
Melting boot...perhaps your foot was looking for a floorboard to rest on..not gonna find it on the spirited FJR, not for cruising--well maybe at 90 or so.

Click to expand...

Thanks, most of my experience (in this epoch anyway) is on a Ninja 250, so I'm not used to floorboards.

You're probably on the right track though. I think I touched the foot shifter about 3 times in 500 miles, so my left foot may have gotten bored and moved around some.

Congrats on the purchase.

+1 on the melted left heel on my Cruiserworks boots. Small price to pay for all the fun I've gotten from the FJR!

I've had the same issue with my Cruiserworks boots-- could even smell a slight burning odor while stopped at a red light. Fortunately cleans up easily.

Jim,

Congrats on your purchase! So how was your ride other than your boots? Inquiring minds want to know.

As for your boots, there is some after market Carbon Fiber Shields made for this area of the exhaust pipe if you want one.

Enjoy your ride!

JimNtexas said:

I just bought a 2008 FJR AE from Action Powersports in Tulsa based on their Ebay ad. The first thing I did with it was ride from Tulsa to Austin (~500 miles). :bike:
Am I the only FJR owner in history who promptly melted some of the left heal of his new Cruizerworks boot on the left pipe?

Click to expand...

Congrats on the new bike! And no, I burn my cruiserworks all the time.

03HiYoSilver said:

Jim,Congrats on your purchase! So how was your ride other than your boots? Inquiring minds want to know.

As for your boots, there is some after market Carbon Fiber Shields made for this area of the exhaust pipe if you want one.

Enjoy your ride!

Click to expand...

I definitely want a heat shield, I was thinking about calling a friend who has a business fabricating oil field equipment and asking him to see if he could make something for me. If some one could PM me with a link to a source of a heat shield that would be great. I found a place that makes them for the passenger, but not the rider.

I should mention that one of our members works for Cruiserworks and has contacted me about repairing my boot. That's what you call a pro-active company. The boot doesn't really need repair yet, I don't notice it walking. It just looks like something took a bite out of the heel.

The low point of the ride occurred with 3.0 miles on the odo when I refueled for the first time. After I remounted the bike and raised the kickstand I dropped a glove on the left side. I started to reach down for it and the bike started falling. I was able to slow the fall, but couldn't hold it up. I now have scratches on the left crankcase housing and the left bag, and a scratch on the left mirror. The dealer was out of frame sliders, so I gambled that I'd get it home before I dropped it the first time. I lost that bet.

The only other anomaly occurred when I plugged my heated vest into the glove compartment socket. I've measured the current draw from my Tourmaster vest, it's 3.0 amps on the medium setting and 3.8 on high. It worked fine on medium, but when I selected the high setting it died. I had assumed that the outlet was good for 10amps the way most car outlets are. That was before I read the label on the socket cover which clearly says the socket is limited to 2.5 amps. As soon I can figure out how to remove 'panel A' I'll replace the fuse. It never got below 50F (hey, this has an outside air thermometer) so I really didn't need the vest at all, wind is managed really well on the FJR compared to my Ninja 250.

Once I got out of Tulsa it was around 52F. My chin started to get cold and i was thinking 'perhaps I need to stop and put on my terrorist mask'. Then I realized I could raise the windshield! How cool is that! No need for my ski mask!

Having rented an St-1300 two weeks ago I was pleased that the heat is clearly better managed on the FJR. I have to give the nod to the ST-1300's seat, it's wider and lower than on our FJR.

The FJR seat wasn't bad, but I can see why it seems most long distance riders wind up replacing the seat.

I was concerned about the stories of throttle abruptness, but that was not a problem at all. I felt like the throttles on both the 2010 FJR I demoed and the 2008 that I purchased were both very smooth and predictable.

I plan on taking my bike to Kerrville in the not too distant future for a cruise control installation.

The only thing I really don't like about the FJR is backing the darn thing out of my garage. My driveway in not steeply sloped, but its a nerve racking exercise to get it out and pointed down the street.

Quote: Why would anybody buy a bike with a manual clutch when you can get one with a paddle shifter????: ahem, you'll see.... :assassin:

QUOTE (JimNtexas @ Nov 30 2009, 04:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...

As soon I can figure out how to remove 'panel A' I'll replace the fuse. ...

Your driver's handbook tells you; there are some pictures here that might help, start at the one captioned "Panel screw ...", click on any for a larger view. (There is one plastic rivet not shown, it's on the inside of the panel, low down towards the front.) And it is awkward persuading the plastic out and back in. Note how the pieces overlap each other before you remove them.

The plastic rivets are removed by pushing the centre in by an eighth of an inch (I use a small hex key), they will then pull out. To put them back, pull the centre out, it's obvious how it works once you see it.

Hope that helps, and enjoy the bike.

Why buy a manual clutch? Your the one who fell over, you tell us. :assassin: AE's and low speed turns don't mix!

NMRoadRunner said:

Why buy a manual clutch? Your the one who fell over, you tell us. :assassin: AE's and low speed turns don't mix!

Click to expand...

I fell over in neutral while stopped with the engine off. It was pure bufonery on my part , no fault of the bike.

So what did YOU pay for it?

terp84alum said:

So what did YOU pay for it?

Click to expand...

$10795 OTD.

Thanks Jim. So your base price was probably pretty close to $10k. You may want to post this on the other thread where the poster is getting hosed by the WA dealer.