Over last two weekends I put about 400 miles on my '16 ES. I've been playing with the suspension settings and it's very cool to be able to change from standard or hard to soft on the fly for varying road conditions--very noticeable differences. I'm looking forward to trying the firmer setting variations on some mountain roads when I go to Colorado toward the end of August--so far I like them for some of the high-speed sweepers and tight curves that we have around my neck of the woods, especially when the road surface leaves a little to be desired.
So far, the most impressive new features to me are the 6 speed transmission and slipper clutch. Having had both an '03 and a '13 I can tell you that this new transmission is super smooth--zero clunk from neutral to first, effortless on all upshifts, and the slipper clutch is the cat's meow on downshifts. I can also definitely tell the difference in the amount of clutch pull effort from my '13 (very welcome since I got caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic for about an hour on my first ride--I am also happy to say that even in 90 degree heat my temperature only went from about 170 to 212 and no higher). I'm also thrilled to no longer be limited to 80 MPH on the cruise control--I hated that on my '13 and never wanted to spend the $600 for a '14A ECU to correct Yamaha's error. The lower RPM's in 6th gear makes cruising at 70 - 80 MPH much more comfortable IMHO. I also believe that the 6th gear improves gas mileage--I used it whenever going over 65 - 70 MPH and, even with some spirited riding, I was averaging 48 MPG. I don't ever remember getting that high on my '13.
Does anyone know if Yamaha slightly changed the fairing design on the post '13's? On my '13 I was forever bumping my shin against the left fairing, especially when moving my leg a little forward to shift. On the '16 there seems to be more room there now and this is no longer an issue--maybe it's just in my head. And man, does this Cobalt Blue look great out in the sun! Overall this is the best FJR I have owned.