AE Long-term Experiences

[majicmaker]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I have just picked up a 2007 AE with 5,000 miles on it. The first 50 mile ride convinced me it was definately the right decision (although my wife won't be happy until the 2005 is out of the garage and gone to a new home). Cerulean Silver is classy, but not as nice as the Royal Blue of the 2005 IMHO. Already added frame sliders, switched over the peg lowering brackets, modified the Bakup drivers backrest to fit and adjusted the seat & handlebars to fit. "Full sized" windshield is on order. G2 grip will be ordered as soon as the 2005 sells.

Happy Trails!

Congrats! Damn good Choice. My '06 is the same color. It's gorgeous. :clapping: I dropped by the WPB Dealer to have a chat on when to drop mine off for the recall

and there was a Liquid Silver '10 sitting in the showroom. The color is a little too bland for me. Cerulean Silver is Waaay Prettier. MHO of coarse,

 

[Techru]

Huge FREEimprovements to make to your new 2007: Hauling Ashe's recommended suspension setup and the Barbarian Jumper Modification.

First one makes carving up the roads so much smoother.

Second one makes low speed control much smoother.

 

[dbx]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I have just picked up a 2007 AE with 5,000 miles on it. The first 50 mile ride convinced me it was definately the right decision (although my wife won't be happy until the 2005 is out of the garage and gone to a new home). Cerulean Silver is classy, but not as nice as the Royal Blue of the 2005 IMHO. Already added frame sliders, switched over the peg lowering brackets, modified the Bakup drivers backrest to fit and adjusted the seat & handlebars to fit. "Full sized" windshield is on order. G2 grip will be ordered as soon as the 2005 sells.

Happy Trails!

I love my 07AE and it wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn that you'll grow more and more fond of yours the more time you spend with it. There's nothing quite like ripping through 2-3 gears while leaned way over to the left, with absolutely no concern about getting your foot caught under the shift lever. (One example of many where the AE shines.)

 

[fjr mississippi]

The "AE" model is a great machine no doubt, however it is not without fault.

I miss the ability to coast most of all. Getting the bike into neutral without power is quite the pain.

The computer slips the clutch a bit too much in first gear when starting from a stop, but

doesn't seem to wear the clutch excessively. It can be tricky to predict when the computer

will begin to slip the clutch in slow speed situations.

All said I wouldn't hesitate to buy another AE.

 

[dbx]

Serious question...why is it important to be able to coast?

 

[wnyfjr]

Serious question...why is it important to be able to coast?

The only time I miss the ability to coast at will is when in stop and go traffic. Give a little twist to get moving and then engage the clutch to coast to the next stop. If you do it just right with the AE, you can still do this, but I haven't been consistent with it and sometimes I let off the throttle expecting to coast and I get a good lurch as engine braking kicks in before I slow enough to re-engage the clutch auto-magically. It's also sometimes handy maneuvering in tight spots to be able to feather the clutch, but you can compensate a little in such situations by dragging a little rear brake.

One thing I thought about is that since I can employ engine braking by simply rolling off the throttle, I tend to do that when approaching turns and stops rather than grabbing the brake (at least initially), and that means my brake/hyperlites aren't coming on early to warn those behind me that I'm slowing. Most of the time though, I don't even think about the fact that I can't coast with the clutch pulled in.

 

[mcatrophy]

Serious question...why is it important to be able to coast?

The only time I miss the ability to coast at will is when in stop and go traffic. ...

Coasting is one thing I DON'T want to do. Found this out a few weeks ago. I was in a very slow moving line of traffic going into a village. The road was fairly steeply downhill, so I was in first gear, but not using any throttle, the engine at tick-over.

The traffic gradually speeded up, I carried on coasting. Got to about 35 mph, decided I wanted to be in a gear. With a conventional bike I would have snicked the gear lever up a couple of times to get into third. So I flicked my gear-change switch, but it wouldn't change. Slowing down was a bad option because of the traffic, so I had to wind the revs right up to force it to engage first gear. Then I could change up.

I will never let it coast down-hill again.

 

[majicmaker]

Coasting is one thing I DON'T want to do. Found this out a few weeks ago. I was in a very slow moving line of traffic going into a village. The road was fairly steeply downhill, so I was in first gear, but not using any throttle, the engine at tick-over.

The traffic gradually speeded up, I carried on coasting. Got to about 35 mph, decided I wanted to be in a gear. With a conventional bike I would have snicked the gear lever up a couple of times to get into third. So I flicked my gear-change switch, but it wouldn't change. Slowing down was a bad option because of the traffic, so I had to wind the revs right up to force it to engage first gear. Then I could change up.

I will never let it coast down-hill again.

WOW! Great Info MC. I never thought of that happening before because, Well....... Florida! HAS NO HILLS!

 

[bigjimbiker]

WOW! Great Info MC. I never thought of that happening before because, Well....... Florida! HAS NO HILLS!

We got us some "Hill" billies though... :yahoo:

 

[bikerkash]

I have put over 90K on 3 AE bikes. One 06 & two 08's and have never had any issues with these bike. If I did not have phyical issue I probably would not perfer the AE but I don't have much choice so I have gotten use to them and find it fun to ride. There are some different things to get use to. If you search this site you can find most everything you'll need to know. The FJR in general and AE is very reliable however I did put the Y.E.S. warranty on them just in case.

 

[bikerjim]

I have had my AE for a couple of years now, and it runs faultlessly. Best bike I have owned. It could be my imagination, but the motor seems to run best with Rotella 5W40. No maintenance issues so far.

 

[dingofarmer]

I'm looking to close the deal on an 06 with 17k on it. I currently have an 03 and the dealer is making me a very convincing deal. The only issue i'm having is a little bit of jerkyness on shifting, I can shift smooth most of the time, but I'm still trying to get used to it. How can you tell if there is any shifting issues? The AE seems to be a little more dramatic in noise when shifting than the standard A. Anything a new unfamiliar buyer should look for besides a vin number after 300?

 

[majicmaker]

I'm looking to close the deal on an 06 with 17k on it. I currently have an 03 and the dealer is making me a very convincing deal. The only issue i'm having is a little bit of jerkyness on shifting, I can shift smooth most of the time, but I'm still trying to get used to it. How can you tell if there is any shifting issues? The AE seems to be a little more dramatic in noise when shifting than the standard A. Anything a new unfamiliar buyer should look for besides a vin number after 300?

Hi Dingo, Getting used to it is the key. Some take a little longer than others. After a while, the shifting will become fluid and it will become the best bike you ever had.

As far as what to look for, Make sure the dealer certifies that all the issues are addressed and you'll be fine. Happy Trails

 

[fastpappy]

My left hand is my medical issue (can't do the clutch lever)and just passed 10,000 mi. on my 09AE so far no issues. This bike put me back in the saddle after waiting 20+ years. I love my AE. I hope Mama Yamma wakes up and realizes there is a definate place for this technology and brings back the AE. :clapping:

 

[Pat C]

I love my ae 7500 trouble free miles.

 

[Ken45]

I hope Mama Yamma wakes up and realizes there is a definate place for this technology and brings back the AE.

Has Yamaha discontinued the AE, or just stopped importing it to the U.S.? IOW, are there new models overseas?

Ken

 

[majicmaker]

I hope Mama Yamma wakes up and realizes there is a definate place for this technology and brings back the AE.

Has Yamaha discontinued the AE, or just stopped importing it to the U.S.? IOW, are there new models overseas?

Ken

Yamaha still sells the AE in Europe. Mcatrophy has a 2010AE in England. Lucky Bastard!! :lol:

 

[mcatrophy]

I hope Mama Yamma wakes up and realizes there is a definate place for this technology and brings back the AE.

Has Yamaha discontinued the AE, or just stopped importing it to the U.S.? IOW, are there new models overseas?

Ken

Yamaha still sells the AE in Europe. Mcatrophy has a 2010AE in England. Lucky Bastard!! :lol:

Not so much of the "lucky", I worked for it.

I waited until my dealer told me that Yamaha were going to stop selling the AS (as the AE is known here) in the UK, this was their best information August last year.

Then I got a very good deal, saving very many £s (that's even more in $s) from our exorbitant list price, currently £16499 ($27020.36) on Yamaha's uk web site. I had the feeling they were simply trying to get rid of stock, and they weren't showing the AS on their web site as "current". They are now.

They can't make up their minds whether or not to continue it!

Won't be buying another, my income has just been reduced, my ex employer no longer wants me part-time. Cost saving. I suppose I've had four years of extra income since officially retiring, can't grumble.

Price comparison - a BMW K1600 GT SE comes in at £16,615.00 ($27,233). But it's still got a clutch lever

 

[majicmaker]

YIKES!! That's a lot of $$$! :dribble:

 

[dingofarmer]

I'm looking to close the deal on an 06 with 17k on it. I currently have an 03 and the dealer is making me a very convincing deal. The only issue i'm having is a little bit of jerkyness on shifting, I can shift smooth most of the time, but I'm still trying to get used to it. How can you tell if there is any shifting issues? The AE seems to be a little more dramatic in noise when shifting than the standard A. Anything a new unfamiliar buyer should look for besides a vin number after 300?

Hi Dingo, Getting used to it is the key. Some take a little longer than others. After a while, the shifting will become fluid and it will become the best bike you ever had.

As far as what to look for, Make sure the dealer certifies that all the issues are addressed and you'll be fine. Happy Trails

Well it is a done deal, enjoying it so far. I cannot believe the price hike in the UK for the same machine....