Another FJR Review

[ejworthen]

The thing I dislike about these comparisons is that they are biased and don't take into consideration maintenance and repair issues. Those factors are very important to me when buying a bike.

 

[skyway]

Much less than that it would appear. There have been numerous postings of the same heated grip kit supplied by Yamaha for as little as $60. Cruise control can be purchased for around $100 plus install time.

With all respect, the grips you get for $100 are similar, but not the same - especially if we're looking at the '06, whch has speed sensitive grips. Yes, the controller is similar, but the system is not. It's a shoehorn job.

The point I'm making is that heated grips can be done, and pretty cheap at that for any M/C. There is also the option to add the dual star kit for what, $30 and for control if wanted in the form of a heat troller for another $70?

 

[MotorSWATCop]

Don't forget: You could add a complete Traxxion (or other) suspension upgrade for $2K. That leaves $4-5K for a couple of other farkles. I'm happy with the feej.

 

[Ari Rankum]

From the fine article:

"The Beemer's10.77 at 133.5 mph is just a tick longer than the FJR's 10.73 at 131.9 mph . If the throttles are held open even longer, the GT romps ahead, getting to 130 mph nearly a half second quicker than the standard-shift Yamaha."

Ummmmmm. What?

 

[Cdogman]

From the fine article:
"The Beemer's10.77 at 133.5 mph is just a tick longer than the FJR's 10.73 at 131.9 mph . If the throttles are held open even longer, the GT romps ahead, getting to 130 mph nearly a half second quicker than the standard-shift Yamaha."

Ummmmmm. What?

Sheeeeeeiiit I saw that too and let it slide. See, they are all on ludes dudes.

I dont like BMW riders general atttitude. Most are great, but the 1%ers sure ruin it for the others. The Beemer dealer here is so fullo hisself we tried TWO TIMES to buy a new bike from him for my wife BOTH times we got so sick of their snobby attitude we literally walked outta the dealership. Dont even care. Thought about doin business outa state with anohter dealer but bagged it and got wifey a Kowy. Lookin at an st1300 for her (honda) for next year

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

The thing I dislike about these comparisons is that they are biased and don't take into consideration maintenance and repair issues. Those factors are very important to me when buying a bike.

Exactly my point. How much will the BMW's service cost over the first 50,000 miles. So tack this on plus a rear drive failure out of warranty and an alternator blet. Well I just bought two FJR's for the price of one BMW.

 

[Whip]

I read the test this mornin and I think it was very well done and accurate.

I've spent enough time on the new GT to know I would rather have my FJR.

Whip

 

[designeraccd]

Well, let's see: if price were not a factor...oh yea, I'd be driving a new C6 Corvette Z06 instead of my humble 2002 C5 coupe. OTOH as my budget doesn't stretch that far both my '02 C5 and my '06 FJR will do just fine. Both are excellent examples of their respective product types and I am very happy to own both!

Now if Yamaha somehow vaults well past what my '06 FJR is capable of maybe I'll consider a new one. Until then the '06 will do just fine! Given the current capabilities of the FJR I probably would be very hard pressed to find a reason to trade her for something else, as for me she is the "almost perfect" motorcycle, compared to the other 77 bikes I've owned. DFO <_<

 

[tulane76]

+1 on their attitude, dog.

It doesn't matter if you are in Salt Lake City or Birmingham. I stopped by Bogart's here as soon as I got my new 05 about a year ago to check out the helmet selection. They acted as though I was invisible! Standing only a few feet away from me dusting off their bikes and never once asked if I needed any help. Took my business elsewhere. Will never go back.

Even a good friend of mine who owns a BMW gave me a back handed comment when first looking at my new 05. As I was showing him the windscreen function, he said that "Yamaha stole that from BMW". Sheesh.

It's all about marketing, marketing, marketing.

My Feeger? Wouldn't have anything else.

 

[bramfrank]

From the MC-USA comparo review thread:

Super Sport Touring Faceoff: I don't get it. For the most part... what I read was........

FJR Goes Faster in the 0-60 challenge...Faster in the Quarter mile...More Torque... More Nimble...More Comfortable... Faster in Turn In's...More confidence in Twisties....Better feel in turn ins...Better feedback then GT...More feed back on the brakes... Better for stop and go traffic because of the seat height (less heat from engine).... bigger tank-more miles. All the essence and important qualities you look for in a motorcycle (for most of us). The GT has a option list second to none and i'm sure it's as good as the FJR...but at $5,300 dollars more! So at $5,300 dollars more.... I get less in all the important areas but with more options. To pick the GT as the new Super Sport Touring winner on what I just read.... I don't get it.

I agree with everything this person wrote EXCEPT - the difference is more on the order of $9,500 if you compare the typical D&H price for the '06 FJR of $11,500 with the 20K+ price of the GT.

You can have almost two FJRs for the price of one GT.

Cruise? I can add servo-controlled cruise for $170 (including Skyway's excellent bracket) and SPEED SENSITIVE heated grips for about $250 if Yamaha would ever ship them. Tire pressure monitoring? Available. And they didn't like the fact that the windshield retracts? I can (and did) fix that by unplugging the appropriate connector, though it would have been nice (and better) if Yamaha had provided an official mechanism to disable the feature (by pulling a fuse and documenting it). Heated seats? According to the review you need to change the seat on the BMW anyway, so the heated Corbin is the same in the end price-wise.

The one thing they didn't have was the Xenon (HID) option - or maybe they did and that would explain why the headlight was supposedly so much better. Never having ridden the GT, I can't comment on the lighting. Then again as an $800 option, I suppose I'd go for a conversion kit and pocket about $400 of that too.

And where do they come off calling the '06 FJR 'venerable'? The darned thing was almost completely changed for 2006. As I posted on their forum, the '06 Concours is venerable - with no significant changes since 1994, but not the FJR.

I think we've seen the last of shootouts where FJR wins the battle. I just can't see the C14 losing to the FJR when those start appearing on the street given the 'newer is better' attitude that prevails for these things.

 

[Ari Rankum]

+1 on their attitude, dog.
It doesn't matter if you are in Salt Lake City or Birmingham. I stopped by Bogart's here as soon as I got my new 05 about a year ago to check out the helmet selection. They acted as though I was invisible! Standing only a few feet away from me dusting off their bikes and never once asked if I needed any help. Took my business elsewhere. Will never go back.

Even a good friend of mine who owns a BMW gave me a back handed comment when first looking at my new 05. As I was showing him the windscreen function, he said that "Yamaha stole that from BMW". Sheesh.

It's all about marketing, marketing, marketing.

My Feeger? Wouldn't have anything else.

I'll just throw in some more anecdotal evidence - mostly because it's the exact opposite of your experience. I stop by Bob's BMW in Jessup, MD quite often. Except for one salesman, who I think is really a prick whether he's at work or not, everybody there has been great. The first time I stopped by, I was on my 1985 Nighthawk 'S'. And it was GAY, er, I mean CLEAN. It looked really, really spiffy. The bike cleared all the techs out of the maintenance bay as they came out to point and prod and reminisce. Another time, I stopped by on a Goldwing, and the lead tech came out to talk up Goldwings, prolly while I was talking them down. Shortly after I got the '05 Feej, I stopped by again for a replacement helmet. Several salesman came out to compare and contrast the Feej to the K12GT. Except for that same prick, who no longer works there, btw, the conversation was a pleasure. When I'm looking to buy, like when I was seriously considering the 2004 K12GT, I like the fact that the salesmen at Bob's leave me alone. I think a good salesman is like a good waiter; they are invisible until the first moment you decide you need their assistance. That's pretty much the way the salesmen at Bob's behave. You can get one in an instant, but they don't bother you. The bottom line is that a concentration of a-holes at any manufacturer's dealership is going to make the brand look bad. The phenomenon is not unique to BMW.

 

[zorkler]

there is a test in motorcycle bmw , fjr, and the honda st . the st is in the number 1 spot then the bmw last the fjr they did not like the no clutch version and knocked the shaft drive .

 

[bmwhd]

The next '06/'07 K1200GT that sells in the US for the $18K base will be the first. All US bound GT's start at $20,365 and go up from there. Compared with the street price of the FJR at $12K even, you have got to factor price into any comparo.

 

[chornbe]

Ya know, it's funny... "we're comparing bikes, not prices". That line in the article invalidates the whole thing. Price of the machine is a feature of the machine. It's as much a part of the comparison as chain vs. shaft drive, as fuel injection vs. carbs, as fixed-adjustment suspension vs. adjustable suspensions.

If the FJR had carbs, chain drive and crappy suspension for that $5900-$9000 price difference, fine, no argument. Next comparo, please. But that's just not the case.

Ultimately, I couldn't care less which bike they liked better, but to base it on (as mentioned by BramFrank and others) a better list of OPTIONS and a higher price is just plain bad, biased-feeling journalism.

 

[Lake Powell]

Sheeeeeeiiit I saw that too and let it slide. See, they are all on ludes dudes.
I dont like BMW riders general atttitude. Most are great, but the 1%ers sure ruin it for the others. The Beemer dealer here is so fullo hisself we tried TWO TIMES to buy a new bike from him for my wife BOTH times we got so sick of their snobby attitude we literally walked outta the dealership. Dont even care. Thought about doin business outa state with anohter dealer but bagged it and got wifey a Kowy. Lookin at an st1300 for her (honda) for next year

I bought a K1200 RS about 3 years from SLC BMW and agree that they suck. I remember when I went to pick up my bike the owner said I was lucky he let me have it because he was going to let his friend have it instead but his friend felt bad because it was already sold to me. Went back there a few weeks ago to look at the GS and they are still "too good" for me, any way it just re-affirms my decision to get the FJR1300A.

 

[DocFJR]

What struck me were the performance graphs. The BMW isn't even in the same league until the revs get above 8000. Who cares how it performs above 8K RPM? The FJR stomps all over the Beemer throughtout the entire normal operating RPM range, sometimes with as many as 10 more horsepower and 10 more lb/ft.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

What struck me were the performance graphs. The BMW isn't even in the same league until the revs get above 8000. Who cares how it performs above 8K RPM? The FJR stomps all over the Beemer throughtout the entire normal operating RPM range, sometimes with as many as 10 more horsepower and 10 more lb/ft.

Well Doc, that is a superb point. So the BMW only has more HP when it is essentially unuseable, or useable only for brief last seconds in any gear, or at the very top end of speed. The FJR has power where it counts...where we actually want to use it. Thanks for pointing this out to us!

:yahoo:

 

[fjrbob]

I had to laugh at this...

"Personally I don't like ABS on a motorcycle, so the fact that the FJR doesn't come with it is a bonus to me," said one unnamed tester who we'll tease for months.

 

[DocFJR]

What struck me were the performance graphs. The BMW isn't even in the same league until the revs get above 8000. Who cares how it performs above 8K RPM? The FJR stomps all over the Beemer throughtout the entire normal operating RPM range, sometimes with as many as 10 more horsepower and 10 more lb/ft.

"The FJR has power where it counts...where we actually want to use it."

:yahoo:

I agree. I find that "power where it counts," as you note, is an essential criterion often overlooked by buyers (and reviewers apparently!). Peak horsepower and torque numbers certainly sell, but compared to a healthy hp and torque curve down in the lower ranges, it is almost meaningless to daily use. Worse, is that users spend so much after-market money on a variety of "performance upgrades" to increase peak power at the expense -sometimes- of power throughout the majority of the typical operating RPM range.

 

[petercwelch]

Once the suspension is set the way you want it, no more adjustments. So what if it is a little easier with the electronic system. Agree re torque curve. Power where it counts. If I want to run ten thousand, I'll get an R One. I would not trade my A model for the BMW even if it was offered. For seven thousand, the farkles are limitless for the feejer.