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

[JT 384]

The wife will kill me!

 

[escapefjrtist]

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".

Is this the new kinder, gentler Mark? If that's the case, don't know what I think of it!

Now, back to the 5 spd vs 6 spd debate and Fred's color issues!!

--G

 

[HotRodZilla]

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".

Is this the new kinder, gentler Mark? If that's the case, don't know what I think of it!

Now, back to the 5 spd vs 6 spd debate and Fred's color issues!!

--G

You mean Fred's color BLIND issues?

 

[escapefjrtist]

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".

Is this the new kinder, gentler Mark? If that's the case, don't know what I think of it!

Now, back to the 5 spd vs 6 spd debate and Fred's color issues!!

--G

You mean Fred's color BLIND issues?

I wuz trying to be nice 'AJ!

--G

 

[sath182]

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

Fixed a little something else, couldn't help myself on it...

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)

Both are stock photos I pulled off google and scribbled on with crayons. And what's wrong with black rims? My SV is a K9 and the only blemishes on the rims are from trying it shiny side down. Not recommended, BTW.

Now, back to the 5 spd vs 6 spd debate and Fred's color issues!!

:thumbsupsmileyanim:

 

[Panman]

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!

Using a Top Fuel as a comparison is faulty, check out the clutch pack on a top fuel car. The clutch packs are staged, if they weren't the machine would break or lit the tires.

 

[Steel_Gin]

I have only ridden a few times at night since getting my '12 and noticed some extra light in the corners is not a bad idea at all. The lean angle lights seem to be pretty cool new addition. I see it as a nice safety feature and it should be on both models.

 

[TomInPA]

^^Now that is a bike for Beemerdons! A bike that stands on its own.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Take the "G" off the front of that name and you have it right.

...unless it has 6 speeds!!!

 

[HotRodZilla]

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.

Lol...This one I can add to without being an ass. The honest answer is, I don't know that anyone knows. We are a smaller segment than cruisers and crotch rockets, but everyone is. Adventure touring started to take off hard a few years ago, but doesn't look like it can keep up with the projections. This is made harder by the different sized ADV bikes people want. Everything from 650 thumpers to loaded 1200CC tanks. However that short boost in popularity made some people think the ST segment was going to be washed out by the ADV bikes. Personally, I don't agree.

The bikes are too different. Just ask anyone that has a Tenere and a FJR. Two very different riding styles with differences in power, weather protection, seating position, seat height, etc...

I rode a crotch rocket when I was in college and tried cruisers for a while. It didn't take long for me to begin to out ride my VTX's capabilities. I was on my second set of floor boards and was beginning to need the third. I wanted something much faster and better handling than a cruiser, but I wanted something comfortable for trips. I decided an ST bike was right in the middle and researched the crap out of them. When I found the FJR, I knew that was it. Been in love ever since. That was the best motorcycle decision I have ever made. That's obvious because I've never owned a bike for more than a couple years before wanting to "upgrade." What's funny is even the new FJRs aren't as tempting as they should be. I still love my '07, and although some bikes are cool, they can't do everything my FJR does. That's the magic: ST bikes do lots of things well, and seems they are only getting better at it.

So, yes, we have a small segment. So do dirt bikes, standards, those funny things Honda has been making, ADV bikes, and just about everything else. I kind of like it that way, and I don't thing the ST segment is going away soon. It might actually be growing some, with all the new options from manufacturers.

 

[El Toro Joe]

^^Now that is a bike for Beemerdons! A bike that stands on its own.

...and doesn't fall over

 

[101stpathfinder]

And soon enough there will be mutterings that the FJR needs a Reverse gear, exotic navigation system …

As it sits, I think the '16 is destined for my stable (After I thin the herd)

 

[user 8909]

Colors?

yeah, it's been the only reason I've been holding out. I like the black wheels also but would have been really slick if they too were color matched.

 

[dcarver]

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!

Actually, I want a split rear end so I can run at the drag strip or the Salt Flats. No need to stuff smaller sized gears into a confined space when a splitter gains you much more... Oh, make the splitter paddle-controlled too.

​...and what, no conversation around the alternator output? What up with that, LD RyDers?

 

[pcarnut]

I like it, quite a bit, kudos to Yamaha. Like Porsche they've taken a very solid foundation and evolved it year by year. I love my '14, best all around bike I've ever owned in 50 years riding. I'll wait and see what the tests show for the new one and then decide if the differences warrant trading up. Either way though I'm very pleased to see Yamaha committed to keeping this bike on the market.

I'll be curious to see how the tranny pans out. Don't helical gears use more energy to drive, just wondering if this will have any sort of mpg impact? Probably not enough to impact I expect.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

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!

Using a Top Fuel as a comparison is faulty, check out the clutch pack on a top fuel car. The clutch packs are staged, if they weren't the machine would break or lit the tires.

The clutch packs are engaged in eight different stages, IIRC, and that acts as a means of "gently" applying power to the wheels, so I guess you could say that acts like gearing stages in a transmission, true. Also the rear tires grow in diameter as the car approaches the end of the track, having the effect of a progressively taller final drive ratio. However, the comparison still stands. That kind of power does not require multiple stages of gear reduction to move the weight of the car.

 

[garyahouse]

Took awhile, but I read this thread. Haven't been on the forum in a couple days; wow... this happened quickly.

What I'm happy about:

-- Yammie continues to actually MAKE the FJR. We all know that this bike is NOT their big money maker. I've never seen them wait this long to reveal a new model. I was wondering if they might pull the plug, though I didn't believe it. So... it was worth the wait.

-- Serious lighting improvements. This is a win-win idea. The headlights on my 05 are a joke. My Clearwater Kristas fix that. But maybe with higher output, the new headlights won't leave buyers wanting for something that actually works. And... this will indeed leave more wattage available for heated gear and etc.

-- A new trannie: I'm not a fan of 6 speeds, but I am a fan of improved shifting. The FJR trannie is a 15 year old design. It's time. Yammie didn't just put in another gear. They put in a whole new trannie.

-- A new clutch with reduced clutch pull: me likey. This also is a win-win item for all.

What I'm not happy about:

-- Ha... I can't even think about buying one. oh well.

-- It's going to be popular. It's going to be labeled as a new generation by the public, regardless of number yall choose here. This probably means the price is not likely to come down any time soon. Oh well. Deal with it.

-- It's going to cost more. Coupled with it being a new generation and all these improvements, I hope it doesn't go up much. But I guess it only stands to reason that the days of finding FJR's languishing for a year in showrooms with their subsequent 12k price tags... are gone. But then again, seems to me that the improvements will prove to be worth the extra bucks.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[gazza]

There's a real easy way to sort out the generational debate. The site is a democracy right?? Let's run a poll on it!!!. Can someone with the necessary skills here come up with once and for all what constitutes a Gen change. Just my thoughts.

Gazza

 

[beemerdons]

^^Now that is a bike for Beemerdons! A bike that stands on its own.

...and doesn't fall over

*******!

 

[beemerdons]

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".

Is this the new kinder, gentler Mark? If that's the case, don't know what I think of it!
Now, back to the 5 spd vs 6 spd debate and Fred's color issues!!

--G

You mean Fred's color BLIND issues?

I wuz trying to be nice 'AJ!
--G