2012 FJR Heat Issues

[RadioHowie]

Fred, I've been pooh-poohing the so-called "Gen 1" heat myth for almost 10 years...I don't think it's a bike problem at all. It's a rider problem.

In the 10 Florida summers I've been riding my '04 roaster, I've had ONE heat "issue".

I was riding home one July/August afternoon with a typical Florida afternoon thundershower looming in the near distance.

Didn't waste a minute....pulled off the side of the road to put on my rain suit (carried 100% of the time). The rain was coming fast...literally 1/10th of a mile away and bearing down...so I chucked my riding pants and slipped on my rain paints without having to deal with the time to pull theme over my bulky pants. Saved 30-45 seconds and got buttoned-up just in time for the deluge.

Continued my ride home, but COOKED my left leg with nothing but thin vinyl between me and the center of the FJR sun.

LAST time I've ever ridden without leg protection.

 

[mcatrophy]

...If it didn't get so damn slippery with the ice and snow, winter would be the best time of the year to ride.

You seldom have to clean your face shield since there are no bugs ...

My visor gets covered in salt spray. Can't just wipe it off, it would scratch the visor. So I have to stop periodically and wash it off with water. So far, my bottle of water hasn't frozen up. Parts of me have, though.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Trade it in on a 13 or 14. I think Yamaha finally figured out the air management for the rider on these years. Noticed a huge difference in heat around my ankles from my 08.

I have a 2008.

I don't feel any heat around the ankles, I feel a little at knee level but not bad and I rode in 100 degree heat yesterday.

 

[Aasland]

OP asked if all water-cooled bikes are hot, the answer is NO. I've had several; all were mid-displacement (500-800cc) and not one had heat issues. The Ninja 1000 does get hot IF I stick my lets out to the side. It's never an issue with my feet on the pegs as Kawasaki has successfully routed the hot air away from the rider. I guess the common element is that both engines create lots of heat; it just goes to different places.

On my 2006 FJR, the two times I rode in jeans it was too damn hot. With my roadrafter, shins/calves/ankles did not experience any undue heat. The only part that really got hot was my heel, and for that I got the exhaust heat shields.

Here's a thought ... I wonder if the aftermarket exhaust is causing your engine to run lean which results in it running hotter?

 

[cg1200]

I bought a pair of full length boots which help but there is still an insane amount of heat radiating on my lower legs. It takes longer for me to feel it because of the boots but eventually I feel it. It just can't be normal. I've been riding bikes close to 20 years and never felt anything like this. Something has to be wrong.

I'm gonna take it in to the shop and see what they say. Will consider replacing pipes too back to originals (which I will have to buy since I bought the bike second hand from a dealer). I also loosened the side wings today but haven't tried riding to see if it made any difference. But I'm not optimistic.

I got a great deal on this bike and I think I now know why. The dealer I bought it from said the original owner sold it with only 4000 miles on it and bought a BMW. I bet it's because every time he rode it, it fried his legs.

 

[Goodman4]

My 07 doesn't get that hot. Sounds fishy. Does your '12 have these on them attached to the passenger footpegs? I'm no expert but I thought these acted like a heat sync. I thought perhaps the previous owner took them off when he messed with the pipes.

 

[Goodman4]

And if these have nothing to do with heat management but are something completely different, excuse my ignorance and enlighten me. After all the unusually kind apologies in this thread, it feels warm and fuzzy in here...

P.S. Redfish, a viola is large violin that suddenly appears as a solution to a problem.

 

[cg1200]

My 07 doesn't get that hot. Sounds fishy. Does your '12 have these on them attached to the passenger footpegs? I'm no expert but I thought these acted like a heat sync. I thought perhaps the previous owner took them off when he messed with the pipes.

Yes. My bike appears to have those little tabs.

 

[cg1200]

Here's a thought ... I wonder if the aftermarket exhaust is causing your engine to run lean which results in it running hotter?

I keep a close eye on the coolant temp while I'm riding as I had a similar thought. At hwy speeds the temp stays about 1 bar below halfway. If the bike always stayed in this range, I think I'd be ok. I do feel some heat but it's manageable. But as soon as the temp passes the halfway point, it gets worse. And if I get stuck in stop-and-go traffic, I'm done. There's a few traffic lights where I get stuck going to work for several minutes (close to 10 sometimes). My lower legs are just flame broiled at that point.

I'll try the flaps out this week. But I'm assuming that's not going to make a huge difference. I'll call my repair shop and see if they can figure out what's going on. I'm not opposed to replacing the pipes since the 2Bros ones that are on there now are all spotted and scuffed. I don't know what the hell the original owner did to them. I tried buffing them out but they don't look good.

 

[mcatrophy]

My 07 doesn't get that hot. Sounds fishy. Does your '12 have these on them attached to the passenger footpegs? I'm no expert but I thought these acted like a heat sync. I thought perhaps the previous owner took them off when he messed with the pipes.

As far as I am aware, these "tabs" are simply to keep the passengers heels from melting on the silencer (muffler). Nothing to do with any other heat management.

(Enhanced the picture a little.)

 

[cg1200]

Repair shop was no help other than saying they were aware of other 2012 FJR's having moderate to severe heat issues. His advice was to trade it in for a 2014 model which he says has much improved air flow management. I haven't had a chance to ride with the flaps out so, pending that, I may have to consider getting rid of it. I don't enjoy riding it even in temperatures in the mid 70's. Such a shame. I got such a great deal on it. I should have been suspicious. It was too good to be true.

 

[RadioHowie]

I'm just sitting here shaking my head in disbelief....

11 years ago we were told that 2003 FJRs were rolling puppy-killers in the heat department, that got NO better in 2004 and 2005. People were allegedly dropping like cattle in a Rinderpest outbreak.

Then the "miraculous" Gen IIs came out in 2006 and the world was saved. No more dead baby seals, the polar ice caps were safe and people in hell were driving them they were SO comfortable! I even remember somebody bragging how they were glad they got rid of their Gen I bike when the 06s came out, as the heat from his '04 made him "nauseous." (anyone else remember that pussy?)

Now, the pinnacle of Gen II development, the much-vaunted 2012 FJR, is killing seals again, drying up seas, destroying the ski industry in Greenland, and has personally been villified by the National Astronomy Society for reportedly knocking the Earth out of orbit, to somewhere midway between Venus and Mercury. The guys in Arizona are PISSED!

I don't want to seem like this an attack on someone with a legitimate complaint about their bike, but I'm having a real hard time considering this a "legitimate" complaint since 2006 when the Gen Ii was all that AND a bag of chips.

Plus this....

...Repair shop was no help other than saying they were aware of other 2012 FJR's having moderate to severe heat issues.

is the smelliest steaming pile I've read here in a quite while. Any you late Gen II guys agree with this pearl of wisdom???

CG1200, you MUST hook up with another Yankee FJR pilot and make a comparison with another Gen II. This dog don't hunt.

 

[Spud]

Get some of these...cheaper than a new bike. Should fit on your legs just fine......

 

[Ignacio]

I'm just sitting here shaking my head in disbelief....

Is the term "Gunny" still the proper cliche?

It's 100+ the past week where I am and while I rode my cherry new 2014 to work...I suppose I could have ridden my alleged furnace 2005 that has supposedly vexed some so much as to call for trials in Nuremberg. Perhaps this is heresy amongst the fledgling Gen 3 set, but I'm here to testify that I don't really notice much difference between Gen 1 and Gen 3 when it comes to heat management. I think I notice a little less heat in the knee area, but if I do I also notice a little more heat on the left ankle. (That's with work khakis (sorry I fail the ATGATT cred) and proper boots....not shorts and flip-fops in case you have to wonder).

It is true I am not a Gen 2 owner as well (I'll leave Skooterg to be the first one), but I think its much ado about very little...much like the summer blockbuster The Collapsing Side Stand of Death, the made-for-TV-movie Self-Cancelling Turn Signal Conspiracy of 2009, or the Mystery of One More Cooling Bar on Old Gen 1 novel about to be released in paperback.

Me thinks some motorcycle dealers are pandering a bit much these days....

 

[RadioHowie]

I'll admit we don't see many 100+ days in Florida. Lots of "Feels-Like 110" not actual degrees.

However, we DO see 95+ days EVERY FRICKIN DAY from April 1st to October 31st, along with humidities well in to the 90 percentile EVERY FRICKIN DAY. Seriously...It's like living in a Tennessee Williams play 7~8 months a year.

That all being said, I literally haven't moved my car in 5 years, so maybe I am a little less sensitive to the heat than some. And I think Ignutz broke some sort of 4th Wall when he stated

but I'm here to testify that I don't really notice much difference between Gen 1 and Gen 3 when it comes to heat management.

and he's ridden a lot more Gen1 miles than many 3 or 4 of us combined.

I've felt for the last 9 years as an FJR owner that the heat "issue" was over blown. Now, with the words of hizzoner, AND the complaints from some Gen II owners, I'm convinced it's "all the their heads!"

 

[Fred W]

It is still a 1.3 liter engine producing about the same horsepower, and at the same efficiency as in 2003-2005. It will throw off the same quantity of heat, and being liquid cooled that heat will be exchanged to air at the front end of the bike and waft over the rider. Having a full faring tends to concentrate the heated air around the rider, which does make it uncomfortable in the dog days of summer, but a welcome addition most other times of the year.

Summer months I like riding my smaller BTU output DL1000 that doesn't have all that much faring to concentrate the heat around me, more wind blast to move it away. It really is only an issue in relatively slow moving traffic, and on the hotter days. But what it comes down to is us northerners don't have much tolerance for the heat, whether on a bike or just standing around.

 

[Ignacio]

But what it comes down to is us northerners don't have much tolerance for the heat, whether on a bike or just standing around.

I'm going to quibble that point as an overly broad generalization. I'm 3 or 4 degrees farther north than you and both my climate and tolerance to heat are probably above average for the nation. While I would hate to traverse Phoenix during the mid day on any motorcycle without wearing a bag of ice under my jacket, I bet there's a bigger correlation to owners that don't think there's a heat issue and being PDP purchasers than proximity to where to the compass needle points. And I know some people far across the border in Canuckistan that would say, "Pish to that"...very politely of course.

 

[Fred W]

I hear you, Matt.

And I do agree the bike heat thing comes down more to expectations and perceptions than any intolerance to heat. But I'm a pussy when it gets hot. I can't even conceive of being in the southern climate not on a bike, never mind riding down that torrid corridor (like Redfish Hunter is right now, for example) at this time of year. No freeking way.

I do think that humans acclimate to their environment. It only makes sense that we would. All other animal species seem to. How else do you explain how the first few days of fall when it is merely cool we are bundling up, drinking hot toddys and firing up the woodstoves, but in the spring when the mercury soars above 40 degrees F we are in shirt sleeves and shorts?

Many moons ago I lived in Nofuck Vagina for a few years (my Navy daze) and I actually think I was on the way to getting used to that climate. Then I came to my senses, moved back to Dog's Country here and have never looked back. I sometimes talk about moving south to avoid the short days of winter and the depression that always brings. But I really do not mind the cold all that much if they'd just give us more hours of light. In the heat... you can only take off so much clothing...

 

[cg1200]

I don't want to seem like this an attack on someone with a legitimate complaint about their bike, but I'm having a real hard time considering this a "legitimate" complaint since 2006 when the Gen Ii was all that AND a bag of chips.
CG1200, you MUST hook up with another Yankee FJR pilot and make a comparison with another Gen II. This dog don't hunt.

I'm not making any broad generalizations about the Gen II as a whole. I'm just saying this particular bike is unbearable to ride in warmer weather. Maybe there is some defect in how it was made. It happens. I've been deluding myself into saying it's not that bad, but it is. After 10 minutes, in full boots, i can feel heat hitting my legs and it just gets worse and worse. Unfortunately my only time to ride is commuting to work a few days a week where I sit in a lot of traffic, sometimes on the highway, sometimes on back roads at stop lights. It is a fact of life for me. And, I'll admit I don't particularly like the heat. However, I rode a 2002 Bandit for 12 years in similar conditions and never once had a problem with heat.

I have a buddy who rides (not an FJR) so I was thinking of letting him ride it for a while and see what he says. But ultimately it's my bike and I have to live with it. So even if he says its fine, it doesn't really help me. What I'm experiencing on this bike cannot be normal.

I started this thread because I was looking for other 2012 owners to share their experiences with me. Thus far, the jury seems mixed. Some of you guys that live in warmer climates have a higher tolerance for heat so maybe I sound like a baby - so be it. It's a subjective thing. If I lived in Canada this bike would be a dream. But here in CT it stinks.

Do I want to buy a new bike, of course not! Up until a month ago I was in love with this bike. But now that summer is here its just no fun to ride.

 

[Goodman4]

I'm usually the type of (dumb) guy who tries to defend the new poster when they get attacked when they share a problem, but I'm not feeling it here. Why wouldn't you let your friend ride your bike to find out if he thinks it's unusually hot? Don't you really want to know? You are so interested in finding out if it's just your sensitivity that you keep posting about your heat problems in this very active thread, but yet it's not worth having the friend give you a real opinion?

I'm with Howie, "CG1200, you MUST hook up with another Yankee FJR pilot and make a comparison with another Gen II."

I feel for you if you're on the up and up, but I am beginning to wonder if we are being trolled.