Primary point of my post: I have an AE. I got it NOT to avoid clutching, but to avoid shifting with my left foot. A lot of miles on an ST1100 and its poorly designed shift lever (it rolls across the joint on my big toe) gave me accute arthritis in that joint. Although the ST1100 is gone, this little gift remains. :angry03:
Semi-pointless part of my post: Every once in a while, it will flare up again... like a few weeks ago. I had been riding a couple of hundred miles a day every day, enjoying the wonderful Spring weather, and by Memorial Day, my toe was in trouble again.
I did not realize that you could move the shift function on the AE to the left handlebar control, so I bought a Burgman. Gosh, it was easy on my foot... but mighty hard on my psyche. Oh - the Shame - :to_become_senile: ... I did enjoy the Burgman owner's discount at the Country Kitchen Buffet though, as long as the Burgie was in the parking lot by 4 pm....
I discovered the AE's ability to go left footless about 10 days ago, and I bought a leftover 06 this past week. I LOVE it.
The Burgman went to the showroom at a friend's Suzuki dealership at 6 pm on Wednesday, and it sold to the first tire kicker. :yahoo: :drinks: Man folks love those suckers. There's no accounting for taste.
I am in 7th heaven with the FJR. It is sooooo much nicer than my ST1100, the ST1300 that I rented a while back, my V-Strom 1000, my Moto Guzzi Norge, and the list goes on... If my foot keeps on giving trouble, I have a feeling that me and the AE are going to be fast friends. Literally. :friends:
Of course I can always ride my 1970 Royal Enfield 750 Interceptor Mk II around. Its got that old sensible right hand gear box, with first up, and 2 through 4 down... and that innovative "automatic neutral finder."
Totally pointless part of my post: I have an oddball FJR... My leftover 06 AE was beneficiary/victim of a tupperware transplant. Someone wanted the silver color of the 06 AE but they wanted on 07 A. The dealership made the trade and so I may have the only Black Cherry 06 AE out there. No, I didn't pay a premium for this wonderful mod. The dealer probably paid the premium... its a leftover 06, remember. I'd hate to eat that floor plan.
I asked the usual questions, i.e. was there crate damage, did someone drop it in a demo... everyone stuck to the same story of the swap. Bike came with MSO, so my title is the first one. No signs of any frame painting, straightening, or rewelding. I used to be a Honda service manager (35+ years ago) so I have some idea of how to sniff out a story. I think its legitimate. The plastic swap helped with negotiation, and they assure me that they will back up the story if I decide to sell and have to deal with skeptics.