A Gen I Hater's Ride Impressions of the 2013 FJR1300......

[mcook]

The Yamaha website has the exploded view of the fork and it looks like each leg has a cartridge but only the right leg has the adjuster.

Right, I saw that in the bag. What I don't know is what's inside that second cartridge. It could be a mirror image of the right side's damping pack less the adjusters, or it could be something else.

 

[Fairlaner]

So Marc i am guessing you know the other Cooks, Miles and Wayne?

R

 

[SkooterG]

I can't speak for the other guys, but at Motorcyclist we make sure we head out on recommended tire pressures and baseline suspension settings. The way we receive some bikes is really quite interesting...some are not even close to the baseline spec. Some, we find, arrive at a setting that we eventually migrate back to, but some are at the far other end. If we're going on a long evaluation, we'll make sure we leave on fresh tires as well. In our case, the FJR and Trophy SE came to us fresh before our big sport-tour, while the Connie and BMW had a few miles in the fleet; both of them showed little to no tire wear. (Incidentally, our FJR's rear tire was pretty squared off by the end of the 2200-mile tour. I asked the Bridgestone guys at Indy if there was a funny spec on the BT-023 for Yamaha, but either they didn't know or wouldn't say.)
I have noticed quite a bit of bike-to-bike variation in Connies over the years. Our '13 bike eluded our efforts to find a good all-around setup. If I hadn't seen this variation before, I'd have thought we had a "bad one." But I've ridden C14s that were really good on the stock suspension. I've also ridden the C14 with a 190/55 rear tire, and it's a different motorcycle. Why Kawasaki fits the /50 is beyond me.

I really don't believe our testbikes are fettled in any significant way--though it's long been rumored that certain manufacturers test a group of bikes on the dyno and hand out only the top performers from that group. i've also heard, from someone who knows, that the variation from best to worst is very small.

So, bottom line: I think our testbikes are representative, but they're certainly not the demo-fleet beaters.

Excellent! We have a celebrity in the house!

Glad you are here and providing your input!

I know nobody wants a job like yours, so if you need any more moto-journos on the payroll I would be willing to help you out. I am just that type of guy. As you can tell from my review, I'm an eloquent bastard! Oh, and did I mention how hansom you are?

It's no secret. Traxxion Dynamics did the fork, and we've ordered an Ohlins for the shock. The shock's a bit "off the rack," but it'll be a good data point.

What I would like to do is get the collective experience of the group here on other shocks and services. I will research the board before I ask any pointed questions, but feel free to PM me with any input you'd like to give.

To be honest, I haven't taken apart the stock items we got back from Traxxion. I did look in the bag and saw two cartridges, but I don't know if the left one has anything in it. Bikes like the FZ8 and Versys have damping in one leg only; I'd like to know Yamaha's tactics with the '13 bike before we get too far along with this project.

--Marc

Yes, based on my limited riding time the Gen III suspension is not much different than the Gen II. And now with 16k miles on my 09, I am scraping pegs all the time without even riding aggressively. You guys were obviously spot on in your criticism of a soft suspension. My 04 FJR with Wilbers shock and Traxxion forks has a bunch more ground clearance. But next week I get a brand new Ohlins installed out back on the 09, and Racetech Gold Valves with new 1.1kg springs installed on the front. I can't wait!

For custom suspension on the FJR, the two main shops seem to be GP Suspension/KFG Racing as mentioned above, and Traxxion Dynamics. The other two that seem to get play are RaceTech and Cogent.

Up front, GP/KFG produce their own valving, there is Traxxion's AK-20s, and Racetech's Gold valves. Cogent also makes their own valving. Going to heavier fork springs is also really needed on the FJR.

Out rear, Penske seems to be the most popular, followed by Ohlins. Racetech makes a nifty looking shock also, but it is pricey. (Aren't they all) There are a couple other less popular options too.

I think you will find the custom suspension will really transform the handling of the FJR. I am really looking forward to your review.

Of course there is another way to increase the ground clearance of the FJR and that is simply to install a car tire on the rear.............

 

[wheatonFJR]

Skooter,

We know yer really "hansom"...but if you really want to write mcy articles...spelling skills would be gut thing to have.

 

[SkooterG]

Skooter,We know yer really "hansom"...but if you really want to write mcy articles...spelling skills would be gut thing to have.

Everybody's a critic! :finger:

Oh, and for the 'handsome' Marc (as in Cook), not the FUGLY Mark (as in WheatonFJR), any info you could provide on the cruise control workaround would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[palerider]

Of course there is another way to increase the ground clearance of the FJR and that is simply to install a car tire on the rear.............

Losing a lot of weight also helps.