2 up on the fjr

[funky]

I currently ride an 08 fz6, and my wife ride a HD fat bob. Due to a new addition to our family (adopted a 9 month old baby girl) our financial situation has changed a lot. We want to sell both bikes and and replace them with ione we can double ride.

I totally hoked on the performance side of sport touring and thought the fjr would be a good choice for us. My question is will the fjr carry two heavier people well? By heavy I mean 250ish pounds each? If its possible, just how graceful will it carry us? The bike would only see this sort of abuse occasionally through out the summer. The rest of the time it just has to deal with my sub-hooligan behavior!

 

[FJRAL]

I currently ride an 08 fz6, and my wife ride a HD fat bob. Due to a new addition to our family (adopted a 9 month old baby girl) our financial situation has changed a lot. We want to sell both bikes and and replace them with ione we can double ride.I totally hoked on the performance side of sport touring and thought the fjr would be a good choice for us. My question is will the fjr carry two heavier people well? By heavy I mean 250ish pounds each? If its possible, just how graceful will it carry us? The bike would only see this sort of abuse occasionally through out the summer. The rest of the time it just has to deal with my sub-hooligan behavior!

Top of my head answer, it will likely be fine and dandy. It is quite a bike. But, since you are talking 500 pounds before anything else happens get hold of those people that sell better fork springs and shocks.

i weigh in at about 200 and the wife at about 120, I really liked the new springs installed, but, haven't sprung for new shock yet.

 

[Ignacio]

My question is will the fjr carry two heavier people well? By heavy I mean 250ish pounds each? If its possible, just how graceful will it carry us?

It will carry you stock, but you'll go through the stock shock VERY quickly and not that elegantly.

I see an aftermarket shock and beefy spring in your future. Then it will be elegant. Think Penske via GP Suspension talked about many times on the forum including the Group Buy section.

 

[GreyGoose]

I would not recommend it. The two of you are going to be cramped and uncomfortable on the bike. Forget about what you'll be doing to the hardware, if your scrunched up during your ride, noones gonna be happy. Remember, your both use to having plenty of space since you were riding solo. One big rider and one small rider can be worked out, but not 2 big riders. Your gold wing or BMW LT bound.

My 2 cents

GreyGoose

 

[Deacon51]

Sorry, I have to say that a used late model Goldwing would be a better choice.

And don't let 'em fool ya, them big wings can fly!

 

[Fred W]

Oh c'mon now. I've seen a lot of FJRs with 500 lbs of two up payload around. It obviously will be heavily loaded, especially with luggage filled, and you'll have to take it a bit easy then, but it can certainly be done. I mean damn, some guys have towed trailers with these things... :blink:

See, here's the thing: If you go out and buy yourself an Old Wing as has been suggested, when the missus isn't along for the ride, you're still riding a flaccid behemoth of a bike. Yeah, you can make it go fast in a straight line, but making one move around the twisty bits is not a simple thing. Yeah it can be done by exemplary riders. That excludes most of us.

OTOH a 250 lbs rider on an FJR is nothing, and you'd be able to fully enjoy the sport side of the ST when you are not 2-up. I am running at ~230 lbs and I am no where near cramped on the FJR and needing a Honda road sofa.

 

[JimNtexas]

You should look at the Honda ST1300 also, it would be better suited for two full sized people to ride together. I know just such a couple, and they do fine. The seats on the ST are much wider than on the FJR.

The FJR can do anything the ST1300 can do, and Im sure could carry you both , but I think your passenger would be happier on an ST.

 

[pmspaul]

Well, I can give you our experience as 2 people that are 5'8" and 225 & 215. It works fine for us. I'm adding some passenger peg extenders for my wife to relax her knee position. We have owned a GL1800 and an ST1100 as well. She did like the extra room the GL1800 offered, but we actually logged more miles on the ST together than on the Wing.

She's comfortable enough on the FJR that she wanted to ride with me for a rally next month that will take us 1500mi in 36hrs. Plus about 1000mi round trip from home to the rally.

I have no doubt that carrying the 2 of us and loading the top box and saddlebags up will bring the stock suspension components to an early demise. But, then I can justify replacing them with some trick Race Tech or GP Suspension stuff. I have to get it dear, so we can keep riding together...

Really you guys need to try a few bikes out to see what fits you, but I would definitely keep the FJR on your list.

Good luck!

 

[juniorfjr]

Oh c'mon now. I've seen a lot of FJRs with 500 lbs of two up payload around.

Hey, I resemble that remark. Momma and I go almost 500 and I know it, I need to lose some weght. The bike did good but it soon became apparent that new suspension should be in the works. Economy dictated not doing anything until this year. So at 32k, GP Suspension hooked me up with new shocks and springs. Haven't even ridden it 2 up yet, but I can already tell it's gonna be better.

And I added a plate that moves the Givi back 3 inches. Mucho better.

 

[kwebber]

You should look at the Honda ST1300 also, it would be better suited for two full sized people to ride together. I know just such a couple, and they do fine. The seats on the ST are much wider than on the FJR.
The FJR can do anything the ST1300 can do, and Im sure could carry you both , but I think your passenger would be happier on an ST.

Hey Jim where did you get the pic of the f-111. Worked on those for the 8 years I spent in the Air Force.

 

[dustyrains]

I would not recommend it. The two of you are going to be cramped and uncomfortable on the bike. Forget about what you'll be doing to the hardware, if your scrunched up during your ride, noones gonna be happy. Remember, your both use to having plenty of space since you were riding solo. One big rider and one small rider can be worked out, but not 2 big riders. Your gold wing or BMW LT bound.
My 2 cents

GreyGoose

I agree. Not enough room. Goldwing.

 

[HYCLE]

The bike works great two up and loaded to the gills. We don't ride very slow either. We have stock forks and a wilbers shock on the rear with a 750 lb spring. Planing to do the forks someday. I've got 60k miles on the fork oil and think I should change it soon.

 

[2006FJR]

The FJR will ride to people comfortably at 500 pounds. Don't ask me how I know... I also have the pegs in the lower position and I found myself scraping too often in the tight stuff. When I upgraded the suspension it made a HUGE difference and it makes our longer rides much nicer.

 

[PopCycl]

I am 6'2 235lbs and the wife is 5'7" and in the neighborhood of my weight. We rode our 2008 FJR fine for awhile but the addition of a Russell seat gave us more room and all day comfort. The suspension is ok but I would still like to have a better setup.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

My question is will the fjr carry two heavier people well? By heavy I mean 250ish pounds each? If its possible, just how graceful will it carry us?

It will carry you stock, but you'll go through the stock shock VERY quickly and not that elegantly.

I see an aftermarket shock and beefy spring in your future. Then it will be elegant. Think Penske via GP Suspension talked about many times on the forum including the Group Buy section.

My bike with a stock suspension handled 500 pounds but wallowed in any kind of broken pavement or in turns.

As Iggy says, I have the Penske shock and GP Fork upgrade and rode two-up this morning with some luggage -- about 450-500 pounds and it worked like a smooth animal even over a pothole.

 

[user 213]

Ok, BTDT on the 500 lbs 2-up riding. You will need to upgrade the rear shock and spring. When I talked to GP about my riding needs, some two-up with luggage being the heaviest loading, lots of fuel cell and rally load riding and some empty bag day rides now and then. My Wilbers shock ended up with a 800 lb spring. They also did a full meal deal on the front forks at the same time, which was a big improvement at 90k, btw.

Ok, back to the riding. You will need a back rest for the passenger. Garauld on the forum makes custom racks w/back rests in several styles and one of the better set ups is to get a Corbin style 5/8" post type backrest off Ebay for cheap, then order up a rack from Garauld with a receiver in it for the backrest. That will allow you to take some pictures with the SO on the back of the bike and holding the backrest in position so G can place it where she will have some room and support. Too far forward and you're going to be cramped up against the tank. With this in mind, get geared up and test sit the FJR, or better yet, test ride one. A top box can take the place of a backrest, but limits position options. You can't always move the box back more, whereas the custom rack can be more flexible.

Honestly, I did all that, and got a custom Russell seat for the SO and still felt that the FJR was a bit cramped. I really noticed the extra weight back there compared to my Road King where the SO pretty much disappeared after a couple psi in the shocks. (No longer have the Road King or the SO, but that's another story.)

Basically, plan on spending around $2k on suspension and seat/backrest/rack/pegs.

Since you're still looking at bikes, DO check out the ST-1300, though it's not as sporty as the FJR, it does have a bit more room. DO test ride a GL-1800. I know, it's a fricking barge, right? It is a 900 lb bike, but you'll be amazed at how well it handles and it's the cat's ass in two up riding comfort. Nothing compares two up, and it's not nearly as bad solo as you may think. The GL-1800 handles damn well and can be made to handle even better with some suspension work, (which pretty much any bike will need after 20-40k anyway).

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

OC had some good points: I not only have upgraded the suspension, but the wife loves Garauld's backrest, which I can disconnect with a couple bolts from his rack. For comfort and piece of mind , the wife asked for can protectors and extended passenger pegs. This setup works well, but the stock seat has got to go this winter.

And I almost forgot: Congratulations on the adoption! :clapping:

I adopted my daughter (now 14) when she was 9 months old as well. A huge but rewarding adjustment. My then wife and I also rode solo on two bikes at the time. We ended up getting rid of the bikes, which in retrospect was a mistake. I got rid of the ex and bought a motorcycle, but that's another story...

 

[oldryder]

WARNING. FJR Blasphemy Alert!

Definite "No". Not enough room for 2 good sized people.

Whenever I go two up for anything more than a quick trip to town I take my GL1500 because it has so much more room. I'm a big guy at 250 pounds but my usual passenger is one of my daughters at maybe 130 and the two of us are noticably cramped on the FJR.

The GL1500 is a complete pig and I only use it for long distance two up but for that use it is far superior to the FJR.

 

[2006FJR]

I totally disagree. Yes a larger bike like the Goldwing would be nice but my wife and I rode up to Canada and back last year without any drama or issues and rode 2-up on stock suspension. I have since upgraded and it is MUCH better but it does just fine on stock suspension until you really start pushing it.