Beat the heat or slow roast the chestnuts

[jodale]

I've been looking for a 2006 FJR for awhile and just about given up. I've have found several nice 2005 and 2007's.

I don't care for the red so I'm left with the 2005. Is there anything that can help with the heat buildup that casuses

rider discomfort on the 2005. This has probably been beat to death on this forum but as a new guy maybe you'll

humor me with an education of the heat discomfort on the GEN I bikes.

 

[johnny80s]

No there is no fix for this. All the guys that had Gen Is sold them because of the heat. That is why this one is out there for you.

Maybe you should try a search since this topic has been beat to death many times and their is a wealth of info on the forum about it.

Google is your friend.

 

[wfooshee]

Under-tank blanket, helps keep the heat from wafting up into the fuel and cooking your legs and 'nads. Couldn't tell you where to get one, I got mine from Smitty, but I don't think he's making them any more.

 

[exskibum]

I thought you were looking of a black one (i.e., '08 or '09). I can't blame you for looking for an '06, though -- a Gen.II that is a pretty (and fast) blue.

I've never really understood all the complaining about heat from this bike from people that don't live in hot, humid southern climates. It just hasn't been a problem for me in the 5 years I've owned mine in northern Nevada and over here 1200 feet above Sacramento. I've seldom been bothered by it, though I recall a brutal few days of riding when it was hitting 110+ for over a week here in the summer of '06.

There are a few things you can do to moderate the heat some on a Gen.I, if it bothers you. Smitty here used to make a heat blanket that would fit under the tank (I had one, but the mechanics destroyed or lost it when mine was de-ticked last summer, so I'd like to get another). That helps a little, though I'm not sure it's that dramatic an improvement. A search should also yield a variety of creative "fixes" that are reported to be slightly to moderately effective and a LOT of threads on it.

I always ride with protective gear, but if I rode in shorts during the summer, I suspect that I'd really notice the heat on my crotch and legs (at least, once the gas in the tank heated up). I don't see how Gen.I heat is likely ever to be an issue riding on the coast. Maybe a different story if you venture over here into the interior or decide that the desert is an optimum summer destination. I'll also grant that riding across Nevada and Utah in July during the day is likely to present a heat issue, as is being stuck in traffic in Bakersfield in early August. But even the Gen.IIs are not like having air conditioning in those situations.

Bottom line is that I wouldn't let heat complaints sway me away from a great bike in the Gen. Is -- they are selling at real bargain prices right now.

 

[Old Michael]

Just have your chestnuts removed.

....or are you already married?

 

[Ignacio]

Ride a Connie or an ST1300 for a while...then you'll realize that regardless of Gen 1 or Gen 2 the FJR is a spring day.

 

[juniorfjr]

Just contact FJRPig on this forum. He is trying to sell one of the sweetest 06's around.

 

[SacramentoMike]

I agree with exskibum's comments. It's not that big a deal usually, especially in a cooler--e.g. coastal--climate. And where I am, which is neither coastal nor cool, it's still not, usually. And for temporary relief as needed, a seldom-mentioned but very welcome side benefit to highway pegs is the ability to get some nice cooling fresh air blowing on some of those hot spots once in a while. You can also get some of that by a little movement in the saddle. No biggie.

 

[puppychow]

Stand up on the pegs once in a while and give your butt and knees some relief and air them chestnuts....

 

[jodale]

-

 

[Scooper]

I've been looking for a 2006 FJR for awhile and just about given up. I've have found several nice 2005 and 2007's.I don't care for the red so I'm left with the 2005. Is there anything that can help with the heat buildup that casuses

rider discomfort on the 2005. This has probably been beat to death on this forum but as a new guy maybe you'll

humor me with an education of the heat discomfort on the GEN I bikes.

I have a 2004 and do not notice the heat at all but then again I wear ATGATT. If you just wear shorts you will toast your nuts but good gear takes care off all that.

Scooper

 

[Texan]

If you want a cooler one, get silver. Even though there is a reasonable amount of heat from the engine (and you should absolutely do the easy heat fixes), the tank is noticeably hotter when it's soaking up the sun's rays.

 

[dustyrains]

I've been looking for a 2006 FJR for awhile and just about given up. I've have found several nice 2005 and 2007's.I don't care for the red so I'm left with the 2005. Is there anything that can help with the heat buildup that casuses

rider discomfort on the 2005. This has probably been beat to death on this forum but as a new guy maybe you'll

humor me with an education of the heat discomfort on the GEN I bikes.

Best fix is to buy a GenII.

 

[madmike2]

Okay, Jodale, enough of the jokes.

There are SOME Gen I FJRs that are hot. No kidding...I know of 2 where the heat was unbearable to the rider. I've owned 2, an '04 and my current '05 and have not suffered the same symptoms others describe.

Some riders are more sensitive to the heat. I'm sure the Genn IIs have better heat management because of the better vent styling of the fairings but there are many tricks to help with the Gen I's. AND, there are many of us quite happy with our older bikes.

Caveat: I came from a C-10 Connie (ZG1000) and that bike was hot. Hot air would get trapped in the fairing when riding in stop and go traffic in the summer and it would take miles for it to cool to ambient temps. Not so with either of my FJRs. Yes, there is some radiant heat that I can feel when stopped at a signal but it clears within 1/4 mile.

As mentioned above, I am an ATGATT rider and have found that good riding pants insulate me and I'm sure that helps. I have noticed, on a couple of very rare summer rides to the store wearing Levis, that it IS fairly hot.

For me, the FJR is not any warmer than my old XS1100 with a Windjammer fairing.

YMMV.

 

[gregory]

I too had a C-10. In Tucson,AZ. In summer. Boiled off all my swimmers.

 

[HaulinAshe]

My 05 would get so hot, that I was afraid to fill the gas tank without letting it cool in the shade for a while. My friend's 05 is nothing like that and is nearly as cool as my 07. Go figure?

 

[Patriot]

FJR INSULATION HEAT FIX KIT ON EBAY...

 

[madmike2]

My 05 would get so hot, that I was afraid to fill the gas tank without letting it cool in the shade for a while. My friend's 05 is nothing like that and is nearly as cool as my 07. Go figure?

Yeah, that's why I said, "SOME".

There really are those that are much hotter than others and I personally know of 2 in NorCal (and now yours).

It isn't in the mind of the owner, they ARE hot. Neither of mine have been and most are not.

Sometimes it's a bit of worry that a new buyer "might" get a hot one. There are fixes (like the insulation blanket) that will ameliorate most of it.

I didn't want jodale to think all Gen I's are that hot nor did I want him to think I was sweeping the issue under the carpet.

 

[kawabeemer]

I have an '05 which I have made a few mods on to cool it down.

1. Adding a heat blanket under the fuel tank will help to keep it relatively cool. I removed the tank and glued a layer of what looked like bubble warp with aluminum foil on each side (this was the best I could find when I was doing the work). I am pretty sure any type of sturdy insulation will work.

3. Next I removed the right and left lowers and fill in the gaps in the foam down the back edges. I used weather strip adhesive and closed cell foam rubber I had lying around. You only need it to be and inch or so wide and thick enough to fill the gap. This forces the hot air from the radiator and head pipes to flow out the gill slits instead of leaking out the back of the lowers and onto the rider.

4. I have a pair of 'air wing' mounted on brackets that mount under my mirrors. These allow you direct a shot of cool air across the tank and into your crotch. In the winter they work well to keep some of that same air off the bod.

5. The last thing I did was to wire a switch that allows me to flip the cooling fan on when I want. This is really beneficial when I come off the interstate and hit the first stop light. I flip in on as I hit the off ramp so it will pump cool air into the engine bay before I come to a stop.

With these mods I don't think the fjr is any hotter than any other large bore fully faired scoot.