A few Questions for all AE Riders

[brady]

As I am looking for an FJR I see a lot of AE for sale. In fact more then A's in my area. That beign said several in my general area are pretty good deals. However for some reason I have some hesitation about not having a clutch on a motorycle. Being a MSF Instructor we always coach about the importance of a clutch. I wanted to poll this group and see what your thoughts were on this.

1. Are there any safety concerns around not having a clutch?

2. What do you do in tight, slow speed turns when normally you would need to feather the clutch?

3. Is there any added maintance of repair concerns with the AE that are not present on the A?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[mcatrophy]

As I am looking for an FJR I see a lot of AE for sale. In fact more then A's in my area. That beign said several in my general area are pretty good deals. However for some reason I have some hesitation about not having a clutch on a motorycle. Being a MSF Instructor we always coach about the importance of a clutch. I wanted to poll this group and see what your thoughts were on this.
1. Are there any safety concerns around not having a clutch?

2. What do you do in tight, slow speed turns when normally you would need to feather the clutch?

3. Is there any added maintance of repair concerns with the AE that are not present on the A?

Thanks for your feedback.

Remember you have a clutch, it is operated by a computer not manually with a lever.

1. No.

2. Reduce speed sufficiently so the clutch disengages (or start from rest). Then use the throttle and the rear brake to control speed, the clutch slipping all the while. No problem after a little practise.

3. No. Bleeding the clutch fluid sounds much worse if you follow the workshop manual, but as with lots of maintenance items there are get-rounds that ease the process (you'll find a lot of help amongst all the ribald remarks and banter on this forum). There are some access issues due to the extra bits, but no real problem.

Comment: If you are trying to teach sprogs clutch control, you won't be able demonstrate on the AE. That, to me, is your real area of concern.

 

[El Toro]

There are a lot of threads on this already, and so if you're really interested, you can find out what you appear to want to know with minimal effort.

The Cliff Notes version is -

1. The AE is obviously a failed model concept in the US. It was not successful enough for Yamaha's USA affiliate to continue to import it after 2009, and most people who have bought them have bought them as leftover models in a later model year, and at a substantial discount. I bought a 2006 in 2008 and a 2009 in 2012 myself. Both times I paid about 65% of msrp and got a factory warranty.

2. Lots of folks think that it is an auto shifter, which it is not. People think that its for wimps who can't shift. It is not.

It is a very versatile bike, with a computer controlled clutch for both up shifting and down shifting. Moreover, you can move the shift function to your left hand, and turn the thing into a paddleshifter. That's the reason I have one. I have intermittent left foot problems, and when these surface, the AE lets me keep riding. I have several other motorcycles, but none have this paddle shifter feature.

3. AEs do require special skills to ride successfully. It takes some folks longer than others to develop the new skill set. Some folks never seem to develop it if the posts are to be believed. I never cease to be amazed at the whining about various aspects of just about all motorcycles. Everyone seems to think that if they can ride one motorcycle, they are ready to ride all motorcycles. This is not the case. The AE's computer controlled clutch is something you need to adjust to.

4. I see there's another post and maybe I've duplicated his comments. If I have, I apologize.

My advice on the AE is to test ride one and see what you think. If you're really hung up on doing your own clutching, you won't like it.

If you've got a bad left foot, or a bad left wrist, you might think of it as a Godsend to extend your riding opportunities.

 

[ahchiu]

I can only add to #1 , Don't rev the engine at a stop when in gear.

 

[majicmaker]

Brady, I agree with what's been so far. It will take you approximately 15 minutes to master the few nuances that comes with the AE. After that, you'll come to realize what we all did. This thing is the Neatest thing since Sliced Bread! You won't regret it. Matter of fact, for most of us AE owners, it's the best bike we've ever owned. I don't think I'll ever own a clutched bike again!! Happy Trails!

 

[majicmaker]

I can only add to #1 , Don't rev the engine at a stop when in gear.

I do that all the time ahchiu, but I put it in neutral first!! )

 

[tigerpaw78]

Ditto on all the above. Actually I did rev the trottle in first gear once due to an accidental crampbuster twist, but luckily I had my foot on the rear brake pedal and the bike didn't move thank God!

 

[Enn]

As I am looking for an FJR I see a lot of AE for sale. In fact more then A's in my area. That beign said several in my general area are pretty good deals. However for some reason I have some hesitation about not having a clutch on a motorycle. Being a MSF Instructor we always coach about the importance of a clutch. I wanted to poll this group and see what your thoughts were on this.
1. Are there any safety concerns around not having a clutch?

2. What do you do in tight, slow speed turns when normally you would need to feather the clutch?

3. Is there any added maintance of repair concerns with the AE that are not present on the A?

Thanks for your feedback.

1. No

2. You can also engage the rear brake in slow turns, you get the same effect as feathering the clutch

3. None that I have noticed

Just couple of other comments on my experience:

- be careful with crampbuster when standing on gear, I did get some sudden surges as I hit it in a wrong way when I was engaging the front brakes

- If you have a tankbag, take care that it does not touch the hand gear selector while turning full left in slow speeds, it then switches the gear to neutral in the worst possible moment and you may end up dropping the bike

 

[yamafitter]

1. as already mentioned, none. Just make sure all the recalls have been completed.

2. already well covered

3. bleeding the hydraulics is a little more complicated. It is way more complicated if you follow the manual. The forum is your friend in this case.

 

[turbodave_98]

I had an 05 Fjr and liked the clutch lever. I wanted to test technology so I bought an 06 FJR AE. I immediately liked the convenience of changing gear with either the paddle or the foot shifter. I learned early the benefit of NOT trying revving the motor while stopped and not having the gears in neurtral. I must admitt that when in close parking or slow moving situations with the bars at the locked left or right extreme, care must be exercised with the throttle.

After I had a stroke and my hand and foot were affected, the electronic shifting of gears made it possible for me to ride the bike more easily.

The 06 AE has about 75K on it and it has onlly had one failure, that being the wicked spider failure of the grounding. I learned that once the bike motor stops running with bike in any gear except neutral you can not move the bike without working on the shifting linkage. That is a safety issue to me.

Being a not so strong 70+ rider I do like the bike, but my final attitude is the clutch control with the lever is really best for me.

I will most likely always get a manual clutch bike in the future if I buy another one,.

 

[ahchiu]

A negative for the AE is you can't bump start it.

 

[El Toro]

A negative for the AE is you can't bump start it.

This may be true, but I can't remember having to bump start a motorcycle in the modern motorcycle era.

 

[ahchiu]

A negative for the AE is you can't bump start it.

This may be true, but I can't remember having to bump start a motorcycle in the modern motorcycle era.

Dead or weak battery on the road.

 

[El Toro]

A negative for the AE is you can't bump start it.

This may be true, but I can't remember having to bump start a motorcycle in the modern motorcycle era.

Dead or weak battery on the road.

If battery's dead from charging circuit failure, bump starting won't help anyway. Maybe if the battery's OK, but the starter motor is dead, or maybe starter button failure ... then bump starting could help. How often does this happen? It can't be real common.

Dead battery from neglect or aging ... usually there are signs in advance that would give you a heads up to take care of the issue by charging or battery replacement. Honestly, I can't remember having to bump start a motorcycle in the modern era, but there are probably some folks that need to bump start their FJRs from time to time.

Need that ol' Lucas Prince of Darkness system with the big capacitor to cover the bad battery ... or maybe run total loss to reduce FJR weight ... yeah ....

Certainly there are some things about the AE that are quirks, and not advantages. Not being able to bump start has got to be pretty low on the list.

 

[wil780]

Maybe I'm just slow, but the hardest thing for me to figure out was timing the paddles and throttle to get smooth shifts. I could get the delay right most of the time, but if I changed shift RPMs (like when going from cruising to running twisties) I usually got several jerky shifts in both directions until I adjusted the timing.

After 7k I finally realized that the shift signal is sent not when the paddle reaches the end of its travel, but the instant it first moves. I was timing my throttle movements off the wrong thing. Now I get smooth fast shifts all the time.

 

[Monty]

One of the reasons I like my AE, not normally mentioned, is my left boot doesn't wear out faster than my right one.

 

[MartinH]

If you have carpal tunnel syndrome in your left wrist (like I do), it is awesome. If you drive 50 miles in DC stop and go traffic, it is awesome. if your tired of your wife's helmet hitting the back of your head, it is awesome.

Pretty much, it is awesome.

 

[ahchiu]

If you have carpal tunnel syndrome in your left wrist (like I do), it is awesome. If you drive 50 miles in DC stop and go traffic, it is awesome. if your tired of your wife's helmet hitting the back of your head, it is awesome.
Pretty much, it is awesome.

There have been many times I was stuck in heavy traffic and wished I had an AE, I have forarms like Popeye.

 

[El Toro]

I learned that once the bike motor stops running with bike in any gear except neutral you can not move the bike without working on the shifting linkage. That is a safety issue to me.

I agree that this would seem to be a serious flaw.

If the you have an engine failure, there is no way use a coasting strategy to get over to the shoulder and off the road. You will always have engine braking associated with the gear you were in at the time of the failure, and there are situations where this could be a very serious safety issue.

To a lesser degree, this characteristic is annoying whenever I want to free up my throttle hand for something but lose minimal speed. If I'm going along at 80 mph and I need to take my right hand off throttle, on other bikes, I will disengage the clutch and get rid of the engine braking to lose minimal speed. With the AE, I just forget about it and use my left hand for anything it can reach. I wish the bike had cruise control .... even crippled cruise control limited to 80 mph like the Gen III.