Ready to pull the trigger

Been a member of this great group of pooled expertise for awhile. Same for the ST1300 and the new Nt700 forums as well as the BMW R1200RT. I am looking for the right re-entry point. Long time rider, but that was a long time ago. Empty nester, sort of retired and well, the itch for the ride is back. Been an avid bicyclist for a long time too, and see those motorcycle groups out there enjoying the same country roads, but not having to work so hard for the view.

Re-took the Motorcycle Safety Course to a) see if this was just a passing fling (now convinced that its not just a fling, its the real itch); and B) to update overall safety awareness and current rules of the road. Good program, learned alot.

Although I have not found the dreamland that one can go and test drive all his favorite rides to make a final selection, I'm about to pull the trigger: the FJR1300 is my current favored target. I'm very impressed with the AE electric clutchless shift. There are several unsold 2008 and 2009s out there in dealer-land. There are several used 2006+ A models on Craigs List, et al. I like the AE because - well just because these 59 yr old hands are starting to show some wear and might even have some early arthritis. So not having to pull the clutch is interesting, and the paddle shifter and / or the foot shifter still offer the fun of selecting your own gears, as the mood fits.

So I've used this slicko forum to poll a few questions from this extraordinaire group of experts. And of course, would welcome your comments - especially from someone who has had both the A and AE models and can speak about which they prefer and why.

Thanks!

I was faced with a similar situation. Arthritic hands , but add a fused left ankle. I went with the AE, I could shift the A without any problems, but after considering I was not going to get younger, and I wanted it for long rides it was a no brainer for myself.

I have an A but am seriously looking at the AE as a 2nd bike (wife will kill me and I will show up missing but what they hey?!)

I enjoy rowing through the gears but heck you can still shift using the left foot shifter if you want.

Either way you cant go wrong IMO.

Good luck with your quest

I had an 05 I loved. Altogether, I've ridden for about 15 years. I was a little skeptical about the AE at first but with the blowout prices and what I was able to learn from reading as well as input from this forum I decided to pull the trigger. I have less than 100 miles on the clock but so far so good. Shifts are smoother with the computer and solenoids operating the clutch for me. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Welcome, I bought an A and have enjoyed it and not questioned the choice, not sure if an AE is my "cup of tea" at this point. Have not ridden an AE either so I cannot give a reason why other then I'm used to using a clutch Have fun making your choice then enjoy the ride!

Total AE fan here. I liked the A as well, but the deals on the AE out there were outstanding this winter, so I made up my mind and only looked for AE for a while. I would definitely choose an AE again, the system works really well and I'm having a blast with it.

BTW, your poll doesn't work! It errors out after you hit the vote button; maybe because there is no way to give you input on the happy factor?

Welcome to the Forum regardless of which model you decide upon!!

Thanks for all the comments thus far. Cruppelt, thanks for pointing out that the poll is not working -was wondering why nobody was voting. Tried using the search feature to figure out how to edit my poll, but its not evident how that works. I'll try to fix or delete it later.

So, after searching around the Internet, found a new 2008 AE at my local dealer today. Went in and sure enough, dark granite brand new 2008 FJR1300AE staring back at me, luring me in for a closer look. Posted price was 12,600 - new 2010 AEs are about 15000. I really was not ready to start up any serious negotiations, but as I was ogling it a bit, I posed what I thought would have been a hypothetical question: what would be the lowest they would take to get this 2 yr old model off their show room floor? They came back with this deal:

revised price: 10899

transport: 396

assembly: 157

doc fee: 50

TX sales tax: 716

Title, Lic, Insp: 96

VIT: 20

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drive away $ 12,344

I'm thinking I gotta pay the good-4-nothing Governor's tax, title, license - but they already got it here and put it together, so nix the transport and assembly charges. Maybe counter at 11.5k (max 12k) out the door. What say you , oh wise ones? Includes OEM factory warranty, but would be extra for a YES or other extended warranty. Still, that's more than I was planning to pull out of my stocks, and I'm still searching for a good used '06-'08 AE in the 8-9k range.

Like I said, I'm a born-again-virgin since its been so long ago that I was in the motorcycle buying game. Not sure this is the trigger pull point, or wait a bit and see what they say in a week or so. I'll need the time to line up insurance. Any suggestions on that?

SailRider said:

Thanks for all the comments thus far. Cruppelt, thanks for pointing out that the poll is not working -was wondering why nobody was voting. Tried using the search feature to figure out how to edit my poll, but its not evident how that works. I'll try to fix or delete it later.
So, after searching around the Internet, found a new 2008 AE at my local dealer today. Went in and sure enough, dark granite brand new 2008 FJR1300AE staring back at me, luring me in for a closer look. Posted price was 12,600 - new 2010 AEs are about 15000. I really was not ready to start up any serious negotiations, but as I was ogling it a bit, I posed what I thought would have been a hypothetical question: what would be the lowest they would take to get this 2 yr old model off their show room floor? They came back with this deal:

revised price: 10899

transport: 396

assembly: 157

doc fee: 50

TX sales tax: 716

Title, Lic, Insp: 96

VIT: 20

--------------

drive away $ 12,344

I'm thinking I gotta pay the good-4-nothing Governor's tax, title, license - but they already got it here and put it together, so nix the transport and assembly charges. Maybe counter at 11.5k (max 12k) out the door. What say you , oh wise ones? Includes OEM factory warranty, but would be extra for a YES or other extended warranty. Still, that's more than I was planning to pull out of my stocks, and I'm still searching for a good used '06-'08 AE in the 8-9k range.

Like I said, I'm a born-again-virgin since its been so long ago that I was in the motorcycle buying game. Not sure this is the trigger pull point, or wait a bit and see what they say in a week or so. I'll need the time to line up insurance. Any suggestions on that?

Click to expand...

I just bought the same bike 3 weeks ago. 10,900 plus T&L, none of the other add on charges. 11, 6 OTD. I suggest spending the money you'd spend on the extended warranty on...well....farkles as I've seen them referred to.

Dang, I would have just bought it right then and there.. I have no self control.

Hope you get it, and good luck... Only advice would be to make sure they change the oil if there is anything in there. Good possibility its been sitting in there for a while, and old oil is not much better than dirty oil.

I have an A, and never considered the AE, but I can understand why some would. That's really a personal choice that only you can determine.. Unless either model was prone to more failures, and I'm not aware of any...

SailRider said:

So, after searching around the Internet, found a new 2008 AE at my local dealer today. Went in and sure enough, dark granite brand new 2008 FJR1300AE staring back at me, luring me in for a closer look. Posted price was 12,600 - new 2010 AEs are about 15000.

Click to expand...

Correction: There are NO NEW AEs. They have discontinued the autoshifting FJR in 2010. Lookie here: 2010 model overview

You will still be able to find brand new '08's and '09's on some dealers floors (and back rooms), which is part of the reason there are no new 2010 AEs. They were not selling well enough.

The silver bikes are the A's for 2010. Apparently 2 years of black was enough.

So, this means two things: If you really want an auto-shifting FJR you had better snap up one of the remaining ones out there. Just be aware that you will be buying a "lame duck" bike. There will be no more of them made.

I know it's the day after Friday but....

Here's the AE option.

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FJRBluesman said:

I know it's the day after Friday but....
Here's the AE option.

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Click to expand...

Love IT!!! Saturday's are just as good for this sort of thing...

Fred W said:

SailRider said:

So, after searching around the Internet, found a new 2008 AE at my local dealer today. Went in and sure enough, dark granite brand new 2008 FJR1300AE staring back at me, luring me in for a closer look. Posted price was 12,600 - new 2010 AEs are about 15000.

Click to expand...

Correction: There are NO NEW AEs. They have discontinued the autoshifting FJR in 2010. Lookie here: 2010 model overview

You will still be able to find brand new '08's and '09's on some dealers floors (and back rooms), which is part of the reason there are no new 2010 AEs. They were not selling well enough.

The silver bikes are the A's for 2010. Apparently 2 years of black was enough.

So, this means two things: If you really want an auto-shifting FJR you had better snap up one of the remaining ones out there. Just be aware that you will be buying a "lame duck" bike. There will be no more of them made.

Click to expand...

Lame duck, I don't think. Collector's item. If the AE system remains relatively trouble-free for the next 10/15 years you'll be able to sell yours for what you paid for it in 10 or 15 years for what you paid for it, or more. Sounds like a winner to me.

cruppelt said:

BTW, your poll doesn't work! It errors out after you hit the vote button; maybe because there is no way to give you input on the happy factor?

Click to expand...

It's an AE thang, it's not supposed to work. :lol: :lol: :lol:

The AE is just not being imported to N. America at least for 2010. It is available just about everywhere else in the 2008 Gray color and 2009 Black A color. Considering they jacked up the price in a bad economy on the A's in 2010, I suspect they would have sold for about 17k USD , too much IMO, for the numbers sold. I don't get what the big deal is about an added ECU and clutch actuator . Some people seem freaked out about technology and anything new. I guess we should go back to carbs, no ABS, chain drive etc as the only options?

FJRBluesman said:

I know it's the day after Friday but....
Here's the AE option.

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Click to expand...

As always, thanks for the chuckles.

Make sure the bike has a factory warranty. Some auction bikes with low prices are as is without warranty. The best deal for extended warranty is D&H Cycle in AL. I would suggest the extended YES with the AE bike. The D&H price for 4 additional years is about $300 as I recall. Do not purchase a Dealer warranty.