I've read this review several times. There are two takeaway points to me. First, the steering, while "better than it used to be" (I did not know there was a deficiency) still requires one "...to put pressure on the inside handlebar to keep the bike on its line in a corner, which after a long distance on twisty roads gets tiring." Though I am a simpleton, I thought pressing on the bar to lean was inherent in executing turns. And I am used to being (pleasantly) tired after riding long distance or on twisty rides. I guess I don't understand.
The second takeaway is that the bike does not have enough torque under 5,000 RPM to avoid excessive (my word) shifting riding on sinuous or aggressive roads: "Below 5,000rpm, which is where the motor will be used most of the time, there's simply not enough thrust, especially compared with a really torquey engine like the Triumph Trophy. To overtake or up the pace when a road gets temptingly snaky you constantly need to work the gearbox, which is not how a bike like this should be. It's like this solo and two up the problem's exacerbated." Again I guess I am missing something. This has to be a function of how you ride. It is difficult to imagine that the powerband on this bike is so very different from the Gen I FJR I know and love. Speaking for myself, when I am riding though challenging roads, I try to shift as little as possible, preferring instead to find a gear that allows me to keep the revs at a point that minimizes braking and matches the safe and necessary road speed to the topography ahead so that I can - wait for it - have fun and live to ride another day. If that means riding in third versus fourth, or second versus third, that's what I will do, and it usually has me over 5,000 RPM. Again, with 102 ft/lb torque at 7.000 RPM I am not sufficiently well versed in dyno charts to know if the torque curve has been significantly altered in this 2013 species.
I sense Mr. Ash is partial to the Triumph Trophy. It also sounds like he might be picking nits while offering up some faint praise for good measure.
The FJR has always been more toward the sport end on the sport touring continuum.
I will need to read some more detailed reviews and comparisons to older FJRs and other sport tourers.