2016 Is Official 6-spd, Slipper, LEDs, Analog Tach, Price

[wheatonFJR]

Haha to the 5 speed worshippers. They did it without widening the engine too. Now it really is the worlds best ST

Sure thing Mr. "Other or considering FJR".

 

[wheatonFJR]

No matter what Yamaha does someone's gonna bitch about this or that; IMO Yamaha did real good in the new model. I'm probably too old to buy another new bike (my '04 is still a baby at 34,000 miles) but if I were in the market for a new model this would be on the top of the list.

This is one FJR I would sure want to take out on 178, 215, the Cherohala, 276 just to see whether the 6-speeder is better than the 5 speeder.

If they'd give me a bike to test for y'all...I'd do it and report back. Just for all y'all!

 

[El Toro Joe]

Can you imagine how great the 2016 cobalt blue gas tank will look covered with CarverTape?

Probably the same as the 06...

 

[Steve01]

The black wheels would have to go

 

[user 8909]

I'm seeing a Gen4 with more changes than this. Obviously it wasn't too hard to upgrade the current tranny, design planning from the beginning..?

The next FJR could be a 1400, new frame, new fairing ect.

Y'all call what you want, I'm calling mine a Gen3 SS.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah yeah... tank trim... side panels, whatever. They're black not blue.

...yeah, but if you're keeping your red bike...what does it matter?

It doesn't matter even if I wasn't. But I am. I don't even mind that my '14's side panels and tank surround wrap thingee are not colored (they are silver)

No matter what Yamaha does someone's gonna bitch about this or that; IMO Yamaha did real good in the new model. I'm probably too old to buy another new bike (my '04 is still a baby at 34,000 miles) but if I were in the market for a new model this would be on the top of the list.

This is one FJR I would sure want to take it out on 178, 215, the Cherohala, 276 just to see whether the 6-speeder is better than the 5 speeder.

If they'd give me a bike to test for y'all...I'd do it and report back. Just for all y'all!

OK, FJR Forum. It's time for you all to man up, and take up a collection to buy Markey Mark (whose forum name should no longer be Wheaton) a new 6 speed FJR to test FOR ALL THE REST OF US! (this guy is such a giver) It's the least we can do for him after all he has given us here on the forum.

 

[ionbeam]

I'm waiting for Skoot to come back with his toy truck so I can road test a '16, else I'm going to be looking for a quite satisfactory '14 ES. Sure would like to try a '16 first though.

 

[Big Sky]

Regarding the 5-speed v. 6-speed debate (my position stated previously) it is clear a 6-speed is generally viewed as superior to a 5-speed (and may in fact be). It's America: more is always better, right? It wasn't all that long ago that H-D (and Asian and British makes) "innovated" with an upgrade from 4-speeds to a 5-speed. More recently, the Motor Company has once again "innovated" - updated, improved - the platform with a 6-speed (catching up to competitors). I watch the used for sale ads and for H-D the six-speed is always touted as a selling point because it is clearly viewed as newer, more modern, superior to the "old" 5-speed (usually also touted is new higher displacements). It is thus with my trucks and it is thus with the FJR. The mags - and, yes, some buyers - viewed the 5-speed FJR as dated, inferior to its 6-speed brethren. For marketing reasons, if nothing else, the 5-speed had to go. But where does this takes us? Will someone be bringing out a 7-speed that will ultimately supplant the "old" 6-speeds? (Some cars now tout 8-speed automatics.) Or is seven gear ratios - seven gear changes - simply too damned many - more than is needed to provide an adequate ratio spread to get comfortably, efficiently, from a dead stop to the machine's top end? Is a six-speed ideal and the end of the road? Maybe the CVT is the true answer. Again, if for no other reason, the FJR needed a six-speed to remain competitive in the perception/marketing realm. And so we have it, needed or not. So now let me chime in on the "Gen" debate: It will be a true new Gen when some bore and/or stroke is added.

I kind of miss my first car: a Ford Falcon...with a THREE-speed!

 

[Fred W]

I'm waiting for Skoot to come back with his toy truck so I can road test a '16, else I'm going to be looking for a quite satisfactory '14 ES. Sure would like to try a '16 first though.

As has been said, I don't think Skooter travels on the truck of motorbike happy times any more. And when they showed up at MOMs last year and convinced me to buy my '14 was the first time I am aware of that they cam,e through here. Maybe after me bolstering their coffers they'll want to do it again, but you'll remember that was in the fall, and fall is well past.

I kind of miss my first car: a Ford Falcon...with a THREE-speed!

Wow! Crazy coincidence. My very first car was also a Ford Falcooon with a 3 on the tree. Mine was a 260 V8 ragtop Of course I farkled it and put a Hurst floor shifter in it, and probably ruined all classic value that the car had in the process. Sure do wish I kept that classic and had it now.

 

[Big Sky]

Ya Fred! Mine had the 170 c.i. straight six with three on the tree. It actually had pretty good zip and three gear ratios was just about right. These, as everyone a few of us knows, were Mustangs just a little ahead of their time.

 

[sath182]

Yeah yeah... tank trim... side panels, whatever. They're black not blue.

Really Fred? Time to break out the crayons I guess...

 

[Fred W]

Well, actually only the Falcon cognoscente know the '**** was the precursor to the 'stang.

Which is much like the FJR cognoscente know that 6 speeds are too many, and 5 speeds is juuuust right.

Man... I'm getting beat up for confusing "side panels" with "tank wrap around the side thingees" now. This place is brutal.

"Why do all of you **** metrosexual fellows care so freaking much about what color these bikes are," seems like a fair question.

 

[FXRS]

I do like that Yamaha continues to improve the FJR and not just milk it out until it dies. These upgrades are pretty cool in that they appear, to me anyway, to be significant enough to show a strong commitment to this style sport touring concept.

Like someone stated earlier, the pendulum sure swung hard toward the Adventure bikes. Enough that most manufacturers jumped on that bandwagon, which could be seen as a bad sign for the likes of FJR. However, I believe that Yamaha seems to recognize the strength of the FJR "niche" as shown by the quick, cool upgrades from the '12 to 13/14/15 and now the '16 model year. Kudos to Yamaha.

I'm real happy with my '14 ES and see no urgent need to go to the '16. I like that the '16 is out and hope it attracts even more non-FJR owners to switch, further justifying more cool things to come from mama Yama. Especially if it comes back in my favorite red about when I'm ready for another one

.

 

[hppants]

In Sath182's rendering above, the blue appears to have more purple in it. It's very nice. More "Royal Blue" than "Cobalt", IMO.

I don't think it will be like the '05 or the '06/'12 blue.

Hope the black paint on the '16 rims is better than the '14. (sigh)

 

[RC65]

I do like that Yamaha continues to improve the FJR and not just milk it out until it dies. These upgrades are pretty cool in that they appear, to me anyway, to be significant enough to show a strong commitment to this style sport touring concept.

Like someone stated earlier, the pendulum sure swung hard toward the Adventure bikes. Enough that most manufacturers jumped on that bandwagon, which could be seen as a bad sign for the likes of FJR. However, I believe that Yamaha seems to recognize the strength of the FJR "niche" as shown by the quick, cool upgrades from the '12 to 13/14/15 and now the '16 model year. Kudos to Yamaha.

I'm real happy with my '14 ES and see no urgent need to go to the '16. I like that the '16 is out and hope it attracts even more non-FJR owners to switch, further justifying more cool things to come from mama Yama. Especially if it comes back in my favorite red about when I'm ready for another one

.

As someone who has just recently -- well, over the last year or so -- explored the sports touring segment (after a lifetime of a cruiser focus) and has become enamored with it, can anyone tell me why, if I read correctly, I get the sense from this thread and elsewhere that the sports touring segment has lately become less popular in the market...I guess supplanted by adventure bikes or...? I haven't been aware of this segment long enough to know its history and ups and downs, but as a newcomer that sees a lot of value in the segment -- fits a nice spot between sportbikes and cruiser baggers -- I guess I figured everyone else did, too. But apparently that's not the case.

Maybe this is not the appropriate spot for it as it's outside the purpose of this thread, but I thought I'd throw it out there and see if I can at least get some quick, general clarification, as it's kind of got me puzzled.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

Regarding the 5-speed v. 6-speed debate (my position stated previously) it is clear a 6-speed is generally viewed as superior to a 5-speed (and may in fact be). It's America: more is always better, right? It wasn't all that long ago that H-D (and Asian and British makes) "innovated" with an upgrade from 4-speeds to a 5-speed. More recently, the Motor Company has once again "innovated" - updated, improved - the platform with a 6-speed (catching up to competitors). I watch the used for sale ads and for H-D the six-speed is always touted as a selling point because it is clearly viewed as newer, more modern, superior to the "old" 5-speed (usually also touted is new higher displacements). It is thus with my trucks and it is thus with the FJR. The mags - and, yes, some buyers - viewed the 5-speed FJR as dated, inferior to its 6-speed brethren. For marketing reasons, if nothing else, the 5-speed had to go. But where does this takes us? Will someone be bringing out a 7-speed that will ultimately supplant the "old" 6-speeds? (Some cars now tout 8-speed automatics.) Or is seven gear ratios - seven gear changes - simply too damned many - more than is needed to provide an adequate ratio spread to get comfortably, efficiently, from a dead stop to the machine's top end? Is a six-speed ideal and the end of the road? Maybe the CVT is the true answer. Again, if for no other reason, the FJR needed a six-speed to remain competitive in the perception/marketing realm. And so we have it, needed or not. So now let me chime in on the "Gen" debate: It will be a true new Gen when some bore and/or stroke is added.
I kind of miss my first car: a Ford Falcon...with a THREE-speed!

Relevant Onion article.

I've little issue with Yamaha making a marketing decision to update their FJR transmission to a 6 speed in order to sell more bikes, but I do take issue with people thinking that having more gears to play with is better. People seem to not understand the point of having multiple selectable ratios in a transmission is to make up for a piston engine's lack of power at low speeds and it's ability to move a given weight within an RPM bandwidth. This is why vehicles with a low power to weight ratio have 18 speed transmissions (tractor trailers), and vehicles with a high power to weight ratio have one speed transmissions (top fuel dragsters). There's no need for staged gear reduction when you've got 8,000 horsepower on tap.

Now our beloved FJR1300 with it's lowly 5 speeds and ruler flat torque curve has a shade under 4 lbs./horsepower, putting it in the company of some very spendy supercars. It certainly didn't NEED another stage of gear reduction from an engineering standpoint, and as long as they did their homework in terms of robustness and longevity, I'm thinking it's a winner in terms of design.

Only time will tell, so please start racking up the miles future '16 owners!

 

[JamesW]

Had a couple of hondas (cbK750, 83 interstate wing) both seemed to have 5 speeds with 5th as an overdrive, neither could pull redline in overdrive but would tach out in 4th, consequently top speed was the same in 4th or 5th. I like my 5 speed. Overdrives interest me not.

 

[smithpa68]

I would love to see Yamaha come out with an AE model that has a dual clutch like the transmission in my wife's Passat or the Porsche PDK. If THAT is the advancement, then I wouldn't object to 7 speeds.

 

[fljab]

Maybe with the new 6th gear it'll do 180...Then again, maybe not.

If only we knew someone that could watch for the cops while we verified this!

 

[Niehart]

Yada, Yada, Yada, makes no difference, I want one.