OrangevaleFJR
R.I.P. Our FJR Riding Friend
First of all, WOW! What a treat to be offered a test ride on a 2006 FJR1300AE! Who would have expected that? Not me, but as I was sharing my riding impressions of my first 20k miles on my '05 with Pete, their Sales Manager, he asked me to ride one of the two AE models sitting on the Roseville Yamaha showroom floor. These two AE's are waiting for new owners!
I'm not exactly sure how many miles I rode the bike! I didn't pay attention to that. I did ride it for about 35 minutes, most of that was slow speed trying to get the AE shifting to mess up.
When he first offered the test ride, I was reluctant. I don't much like riding other people's bikes and although I had read extensively on all new aspects of the '06 and I know the operating instructions, I was worried that the operation would not be intuitive and therefore make it too easy to make a mistake that could end up expensive.
After some cajoling, Pete convinced me. Thanks again Pete!
Here's the AE I rode:
Let me tell you, when thinking about automating clutch operation, I held my nose up in the air a bit. I didn't really believe that engineers could possibly address all the issues involved with clutch operation and even had my doubts about their ability to automate some of the most basic tenets of riding a bike. I thought that either the bike would ride like a sluggish automatic transmission with plenty of slipping and errors, or that it would be so clunky that I could proudly hold my head high and state that my manual clutch usage was much, much better than the AE has to offer.
Well, The end result is this. I am impressed with the AE and I ran it through some tests that I thought it would certainly fail. It passed, and not with a 'C', but with an 'A' in almost every test! Did I like everything about it? No. There was one thing that allowed me my anticipated sneering, but that was very much shorter lived than I had expected.
Within a few short miles, my sneer became a look of pleasant surprise. More astonishing, very quickly my surprise just settled into an big enthusiastic grin as I was truly having a lot of fun! I am going to list a few of the things I wanted to test, and tell you why then report on the result.
1) I thought that taking off from a stop would result in a clunk, or delay that would be intolerable. Somewhere between stop and movement there must be the act of clutch engagement and while I knew there would be kind of feathering action, I thought it would not be easy to predict when it would happen, and therefore result in awkward starts. I was wrong. Within 15 stops and starts I had figured out how to use this bike in three different types of starting and was able to do it smoothly and predictably:
a. Slow, smooth start into a slow speed maneuvering (for stop and go traffic, parking lots, dirt shoulders etc.)
b. Normal take off, not too slow, not too fast
c. Fast take offs (get out of dodge, go have fun)
The bike performed very well in the first two categories. Getting it to take off fast takes a little more technique in terms of getting things in motion and holding it back...in short, I wouldn't drag race this bike, but when you want to move, it moves and when you are riding with care, it allows very safe operation with smoothness and ease.
2) Up shifting with normal throttle reduction between gears. I knew the AE had addressed the RPM matched to speed issues. Normal up shifting is smoother than I bother to accomplish, and when I try to match the smoothness of the AE, I'd say it takes some concentration on the task.
3) Up shifting without throttle reduction: Sometimes I leave the throttle open while shifting for fun and what amazed me is that the same smoothness achieved in normal situations was achieved by the AE when really pushing the bike. Wow even. I had a LOT of fun testing this function once, twice...okay, just one more time for three times!
4) Normal downshifting was flawless and much better than expected.
5) Spirited downshifting: This is where I expected the AE to puke all over itself. I didn't think that they would be able to accomplish entering into a turn hot, with hard downshifting. I thought it would just refuse to shift and take the easy way out making the rider handle the slow down with brakes alone. Yep, sometimes I like to have fun on the decelleration side of things and as many do, get the rear end a little squirrelly in the downshifting process. Well, the AE will downshift with you, but in a way to keep the back end planted firmly while aggressively giving you engine braking functionality. The AE really blew my mind in how well it performed in this area!
6) Down shifting for acceleration was smooth, and allowed fast open throttle downshifts that allowed very fast passing maneuvers.
What was the area that I didn't like so much? On very slow takes offs with very slowly increasing throttle, the AE programming feathers the clutch for you, but it is possible to fool it and get it to flutter a little bit. It isn't enough to throw you off your maneuvers, but it is noticeable.
All in all I have to say this test ride had a huge impact on my opinions. Before the ride I thought that I would never consider owning an AE model. Now I am considering it. I think the 06 platform provides significant advancements without sacrificing what made my 05 the best bike I ever owned. The longer wheelbase increases it's stability while not taking away anything. In fact, I thought the 06 was even more eager to get into the turns than my 05.
The 06 fairing is significantly better than the 05.
I got on my 05 and was pleased how good it felt under me, but with the knowledge that I'll most likely trade up in 07, and possibly for an AE!
I'm not exactly sure how many miles I rode the bike! I didn't pay attention to that. I did ride it for about 35 minutes, most of that was slow speed trying to get the AE shifting to mess up.
When he first offered the test ride, I was reluctant. I don't much like riding other people's bikes and although I had read extensively on all new aspects of the '06 and I know the operating instructions, I was worried that the operation would not be intuitive and therefore make it too easy to make a mistake that could end up expensive.
After some cajoling, Pete convinced me. Thanks again Pete!
Here's the AE I rode:
Let me tell you, when thinking about automating clutch operation, I held my nose up in the air a bit. I didn't really believe that engineers could possibly address all the issues involved with clutch operation and even had my doubts about their ability to automate some of the most basic tenets of riding a bike. I thought that either the bike would ride like a sluggish automatic transmission with plenty of slipping and errors, or that it would be so clunky that I could proudly hold my head high and state that my manual clutch usage was much, much better than the AE has to offer.
Well, The end result is this. I am impressed with the AE and I ran it through some tests that I thought it would certainly fail. It passed, and not with a 'C', but with an 'A' in almost every test! Did I like everything about it? No. There was one thing that allowed me my anticipated sneering, but that was very much shorter lived than I had expected.
Within a few short miles, my sneer became a look of pleasant surprise. More astonishing, very quickly my surprise just settled into an big enthusiastic grin as I was truly having a lot of fun! I am going to list a few of the things I wanted to test, and tell you why then report on the result.
1) I thought that taking off from a stop would result in a clunk, or delay that would be intolerable. Somewhere between stop and movement there must be the act of clutch engagement and while I knew there would be kind of feathering action, I thought it would not be easy to predict when it would happen, and therefore result in awkward starts. I was wrong. Within 15 stops and starts I had figured out how to use this bike in three different types of starting and was able to do it smoothly and predictably:
a. Slow, smooth start into a slow speed maneuvering (for stop and go traffic, parking lots, dirt shoulders etc.)
b. Normal take off, not too slow, not too fast
c. Fast take offs (get out of dodge, go have fun)
The bike performed very well in the first two categories. Getting it to take off fast takes a little more technique in terms of getting things in motion and holding it back...in short, I wouldn't drag race this bike, but when you want to move, it moves and when you are riding with care, it allows very safe operation with smoothness and ease.
2) Up shifting with normal throttle reduction between gears. I knew the AE had addressed the RPM matched to speed issues. Normal up shifting is smoother than I bother to accomplish, and when I try to match the smoothness of the AE, I'd say it takes some concentration on the task.
3) Up shifting without throttle reduction: Sometimes I leave the throttle open while shifting for fun and what amazed me is that the same smoothness achieved in normal situations was achieved by the AE when really pushing the bike. Wow even. I had a LOT of fun testing this function once, twice...okay, just one more time for three times!
4) Normal downshifting was flawless and much better than expected.
5) Spirited downshifting: This is where I expected the AE to puke all over itself. I didn't think that they would be able to accomplish entering into a turn hot, with hard downshifting. I thought it would just refuse to shift and take the easy way out making the rider handle the slow down with brakes alone. Yep, sometimes I like to have fun on the decelleration side of things and as many do, get the rear end a little squirrelly in the downshifting process. Well, the AE will downshift with you, but in a way to keep the back end planted firmly while aggressively giving you engine braking functionality. The AE really blew my mind in how well it performed in this area!
6) Down shifting for acceleration was smooth, and allowed fast open throttle downshifts that allowed very fast passing maneuvers.
What was the area that I didn't like so much? On very slow takes offs with very slowly increasing throttle, the AE programming feathers the clutch for you, but it is possible to fool it and get it to flutter a little bit. It isn't enough to throw you off your maneuvers, but it is noticeable.
All in all I have to say this test ride had a huge impact on my opinions. Before the ride I thought that I would never consider owning an AE model. Now I am considering it. I think the 06 platform provides significant advancements without sacrificing what made my 05 the best bike I ever owned. The longer wheelbase increases it's stability while not taking away anything. In fact, I thought the 06 was even more eager to get into the turns than my 05.
The 06 fairing is significantly better than the 05.
I got on my 05 and was pleased how good it felt under me, but with the knowledge that I'll most likely trade up in 07, and possibly for an AE!
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