06 AE impressions.

[bikemonster]

Picked up the new AE today and put about 30 miles on it. Initial impression is it is way different driving than the old clutched bikes. Have to give real smooth easy throttle at takeoff or it lurches. Owners manual states to back off on throttle while up shifting. Found (in my lofty 30 miles) that keep the throttle rolled on and just shift seems to be the smoothest. Also found that to leave the bike in gear while off, you turn the key off with the bike in gear. Bike then will roll an alarming foot to foot and a half before transmission engages. Need to make a mental note of that when parking on an incline. My gut feeling is - I should have gone for the A- or just kept my k1200rs. It's a neat engineering exercise, and I hope I warm up to it. No more blipping the throttle at the stop light with the clutch pulled in or while down shifting. Not sure it's worth it to unlearn all the motorcycle things I spent years learning. Also, for you scooter phobes, a brake needs to be applied to start it with the gear secector in any position.

Don't mean to bum you AE waiters.

 

[bigdolma]

wow! :blink:

 

[T120TT]

Very interesting. Anxious to hear how it shifts on full acceleration.

 

[bpoirier]

Picked up the new AE today and put about 30 miles on it. Initial impression is it is way different driving than the old clutched bikes. Have to give real smooth easy throttle at takeoff or it lurches. Owners manual states to back off on throttle while up shifting. Found (in my lofty 30 miles) that keep the throttle rolled on and just shift seems to be the smoothest. Also found that to leave the bike in gear while off, you turn the key off with the bike in gear. Bike then will roll an alarming foot to foot and a half before transmission engages. Need to make a mental note of that when parking on an incline. My gut feeling is - I should have gone for the A- or just kept my k1200rs. It's a neat engineering exercise, and I hope I warm up to it. No more blipping the throttle at the stop light with the clutch pulled in or while down shifting. Not sure it's worth it to unlearn all the motorcycle things I spent years learning. Also, for you scooter phobes, a brake needs to be applied to start it with the gear secector in any position.Don't mean to bum you AE waiters.

Yep - You should have gone for the A...

 

[FJRMGM]

from your accounts I don't believe I want an AE model.

 

[Knifemaker]

Well, to be fair here, a 30 mile ride is not long enough to re-train yourself. Comparing it to an "old" clutch model of course comes off a bit biased, as most of us have not experiance on anything else.

I'd like to hear your views after you put some miles on the bike, with reports of what the in town/city/traffic riding is like and, what cruising/tearing up the twisties is like.

Knifemaker

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Well, to be fair here, a 30 mile ride is not long enough to re-train yourself. Comparing it to an "old" clutch model of course comes off a bit biased, as most of us have not experiance on anything else.I'd like to hear your views after you put some miles on the bike, with reports of what the in town/city/traffic riding is like and, what cruising/tearing up the twisties is like.

Knifemaker

Agreed, but I'm glad I bought the '06 A. I figured the extra money would buy insurance, etc.

But I will be interested to hear views from the AE guys whether I made the right choice.

Someday it will be a classic collectable or a dog...... time will tell.

 

[nitelife]

Hang in there bikemonster. I am sure you will get use to it in no time. All of the reviews I read said it was awkward at first but got much better with miles. Please report back after you have logged some more miles.

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

Get some more miles. The wait to engage transmission & the travel. I think if you wait like 30 seconds the transmission will engage with normal travel. I would try that. Good Luck! TJ

 

[Thumperbike]

I had the hammer back on an AE until I found it only came in silver...

 

[lotecredneck]

Picked up the new AE today and put about 30 miles on it. Initial impression is it is way different driving than the old clutched bikes. Have to give real smooth easy throttle at takeoff or it lurches. Owners manual states to back off on throttle while up shifting. Found (in my lofty 30 miles) that keep the throttle rolled on and just shift seems to be the smoothest. Also found that to leave the bike in gear while off, you turn the key off with the bike in gear. Bike then will roll an alarming foot to foot and a half before transmission engages. Need to make a mental note of that when parking on an incline. My gut feeling is - I should have gone for the A- or just kept my k1200rs. It's a neat engineering exercise, and I hope I warm up to it. No more blipping the throttle at the stop light with the clutch pulled in or while down shifting. Not sure it's worth it to unlearn all the motorcycle things I spent years learning. Also, for you scooter phobes, a brake needs to be applied to start it with the gear secector in any position.Don't mean to bum you AE waiters.

I currently have an 06 "A" model and it is sold as soon as my "AE" comes in. After servicing the 1st "AE" and riding it I was glad that was the choice I made. After just a few minutes you figure out the throttle control and the low speed maneuvers are extremely smooth. The shifting with the paddle shifter becomes second nature and I found myself upshifting with the paddles and downshifting with the pedal.

If left in gear and the key is turned off it takes 3 seconds for the clutch to engage and stops it from rolling. The manual makes this clear so rolling off should not be an issue if you wait until the clutch engages. The brake having to be pulled is no different than Suzuki making you have a clutch lever pulled to start the bike. It is just another safety feature to keep the lawyers at bay! I wish I had reserved the 1st one for myself as it now looks like I will will have to suffer with clutch hand fatigue until the end of the month because all I have to ride is an "A" model!

 

[qmotion]

So far there is only a few people that have the AE that has posted. I should have mine in a couple weeks. The yamaha dealer has one in that belongs to someone else. They are going to put it together on Friday. I'll have to go have a look at it. Mines is suppose to be the next one in. I too feel that it will take at least a few hundred miles or so to get use to. I use clutchless shifts on my 1987 Venture Royale when I upshift. I only use the clutch when I down shift. I'll probably be more acclamated to clutchless shifting.

 

[turbodave_98]

Picked up the new AE today and put about 30 miles on it. Initial impression is it is way different driving than the old clutched bikes. Have to give real smooth easy throttle at takeoff or it lurches. Owners manual states to back off on throttle while up shifting. Found (in my lofty 30 miles) that keep the throttle rolled on and just shift seems to be the smoothest. Also found that to leave the bike in gear while off, you turn the key off with the bike in gear. Bike then will roll an alarming foot to foot and a half before transmission engages. Need to make a mental note of that when parking on an incline. My gut feeling is - I should have gone for the A- or just kept my k1200rs. It's a neat engineering exercise, and I hope I warm up to it. No more blipping the throttle at the stop light with the clutch pulled in or while down shifting. Not sure it's worth it to unlearn all the motorcycle things I spent years learning. Also, for you scooter phobes, a brake needs to be applied to start it with the gear secector in any position.

Don't mean to bum you AE waiters.

I currently have an 06 "A" model and it is sold as soon as my "AE" comes in. After servicing the 1st "AE" and riding it I was glad that was the choice I made. After just a few minutes you figure out the throttle control and the low speed maneuvers are extremely smooth. The shifting with the paddle shifter becomes second nature and I found myself upshifting with the paddles and downshifting with the pedal.

If left in gear and the key is turned off it takes 3 seconds for the clutch to engage and stops it from rolling. The manual makes this clear so rolling off should not be an issue if you wait until the clutch engages. The brake having to be pulled is no different than Suzuki making you have a clutch lever pulled to start the bike. It is just another safety feature to keep the lawyers at bay! I wish I had reserved the 1st one for myself as it now looks like I will will have to suffer with clutch hand fatigue until the end of the month because all I have to ride is an "A" model!

Tony, great to hear some positive comments about the AE.

I am waiting on mine here in Cucamonga. I have 40K on my 05 FJR and it has been totally without any problems. Of course maybe because I am older than most of the owners and have ridden for many years various bikes of the 1950-1980 eras, I have learned that all of them have engine noise, all of them generate heat and all of them have some level of vibration. I like to dwell on the positive aspects of the bikes I ride, not to look for the nits.

 

[dcarver]

TurboDave: "Of course maybe because I am older than most of the owners and have ridden for many years various bikes of the 1950-1980 eras, I have learned that all of them have engine noise, all of them generate heat and all of them have some level of vibration. I like to dwell on the positive aspects of the bikes I ride, not to look for the nits."

Good At yah Dave! Amen bro. Preaching to the choir again?

 

[bikemonster]

Back from a 400 mile ride this weekend. First off, I am a "cup 1/2 full" kind of guy and am trying to give an honest impression of the AE. I want this to be the end all bike.

The electric clutch is trick. Good for lazy riders. Nice to just click the lever to downshift when coming to an off ramp after long stretches of freeway. Think it is aimed more at the touring than the sport side. Shifting can be fairly quick. Cannot speed shift with it. Found that up shifting without rolling back the throttle seems to be the smoothest. Have yet to figure out a way to shift it seamlessly like a manual clutch.

A learning curve is involved. Don't blip the throttle while at a stop in gear. Don't fool around with the throttle at all.

There is a time lag, not a rolling lag as I first thought, between turning off the ignition in gear, and clutch engagement.

My first FJR. I can't imagine what the heat would have been like from a pre '06. Sitting stopped, with the engine idling, warmed up, and this bike puts out a ton of heat. Compared to my 1200RS it's night and day difference. No heat from around the gas tank, just a tremendous heat coming from below the tank.

I like the bike, will keep the bike, and may soon learn to love the bike.

Also, I do love the instrumentation. Played with the 2 trip computers, MPG average, MPG instantaneous (mine works properly), outside air temp. My 1200 had a speedo, tach, and ***** lights.

Hope this review doesn't upset you AE lovers, this is just one person's view.