Considering an FJR

[CanadianMike]

Howdy. New guy here and I'd like to pick some brains, if I may. I have seriously fallen in like with the looks of the FJR and on paper and in reviews it certainly sounds top-notch. But I would like to hear some feedback from folks who actually ride them and I guess there might be one or two of 'em here.

1. I had a '97 XX(Blackbird) and while it was by far one of the smoothest bikes I've ever ridden, it did have two drawbacks that I found disturbing. While not a hyper sportbike, I still found the weight on the wrists uncomfortable after a relatively short time, even after I added Gen-Mar risers. How does the FJR compare? I know it's much more upright but is there still a forward lean that gets uncomfortable after several hours? I'm 5'8" btw, so I'm not towering over the bars.
2. The other problem I found with the XX - and it was a big one - was that in any kind of crosswind it danced all over the place. All that gorgeous bodywork acted like a mainsail in anything over a gentle breeze and resulted in a few unscheduled lane changes. :bigeyedsmiley: It got so I didn't want to take it out unless it was perfectly calm. I've ridden other bikes in near-gale conditions with little problem, so I think I'm safe in assuming it wasn't me, but maybe it was. Thoughts?
3. In addition to hoping to do some semi-serious touring with the FJR, it would also be my daily commuter into the city. It needs to be able to haul my gym bag, office crap (laptop, etc) plus ever handy rainsuit, etc. Luggage sufficient for that? How is the bike in stop'n'go city traffic? Chore to ride or is it ok?

Really appreciate the feedback folks. Brochures and sales teams only tell you so much; it's the daily riders who know the full story.Cheers.

 

[meosborn]

It's hard for me to comment about how the FJR would compare to a Blackbird since I have never ridden a Blackbird but there are plenty of people that have added risers to their FJR (even some that have added two apparently). I know that I don't ride with the shield up except in the rain because the lack of wind pressure on my chest puts too much pressure on my wrist for extended rides (300+ miles).

Crosswinds can add a bit of excitement to the ride sometimes I suppose. I have spent some extended periods riding with the bike in a slight lean against the wind just to keep it going straight. Mostly on I-5 in Central California. It's never been a serious problem for me but I am aware of it especially when passing big rigs. Of course, even in a car it's something to pay attention to.

As far as hauling "office crap" and such it really depends on how much. The side cases will fit a full face helmet (just for size reference) but I couldn't fit my laptop that has a 14" screen although the one with a 12" fits just fine. As far as the gym bag, again it depends on how much but standard size hangers are a tight fit at best. Many people buy a topcase and the more popular ones will hold much more than either side case will individually. The problem that I see with the sidecases concerning the laptop and hangers is the shape of the case which is irregular. There are plenty of pictures of the side cases on the forum or just use google. Try searching through google typing "________ site:www.fjrforum.com" with whatever you are searching for in the place of the underline.

 

[Braenen]

After about umm... 8 hours or so of riding with a bone stock FJR my right hand was a bit tired. No real shoulder, arm or back problems to speak of. I will most likely put a heli trippleclamp on it for a more upright riding position but it is not "needed". It is more of a want.

I have been in a steady crosswind of about 35-40 mph and there were no surprises. I did have to adjust for the wind but no unscheduled anything happened. Very predictable.

I use the side bags for my "gotta have in case of..." stuff. Rain gear, cold weather gear, air pump, sticky strings, spare visor, winter gloves, glove liners, plexus, lint-free cloths, cliff bars, a full litre of water, sunblock, magnesium firestarter, knife, fuses... the stuff you really dont want to leave home without.

I commute with the office gear all loaded in my backpack. It is a bit heavy and I may start strapping it to the rear seat instead but it does work well for me.

 

[SnowAviation]

I came to the FJR from a Kawasaki KLR650 so my street experience is limited.

Bar Height - From the pictures I've see on the Blackbird it's wayyyy leaned forward

compared to the FJR. My KLR has a very upright position so I have a set of the Heli

Triple clamp and risers coming. Even stock the FJR is a pretty comfortable bike, if

you use the "Master Yoda" riding technique, but even with that I feel that being a

little more upright would work better for me.

Cross winds - My KLR would float around like a kite without a tail, in cross

winds and behind Semi's, so in comparison this FJR is like a sherman tank.

Wind? What wind?

Carrying stuff - The side bags carry a ton-o-shite, if you are a commuter. I also

got the Givi E52 (52 liter) top case and space is no-problemo.

 

[rider47]

I had a CBR 1100XX and the FJR is much more comfortable while at the same time I find the handling to be comparable. As far as crosswinds, any vehicle will be affected by crosswinds if the winds are strong enough, but I think that the FJR is very stable.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Welcome from SoCal.

The FJR is an awesome bike for sport touring.

 

[backat55]

Howdy. New guy here and I'd like to pick some brains, if I may. I have seriously fallen in like with the looks of the FJR and on paper and in reviews it certainly sounds top-notch. But I would like to hear some feedback from folks who actually ride them and I guess there might be one or two of 'em here.

1. I had a '97 XX(Blackbird) and while it was by far one of the smoothest bikes I've ever ridden, it did have two drawbacks that I found disturbing. While not a hyper sportbike, I still found the weight on the wrists uncomfortable after a relatively short time, even after I added Gen-Mar risers. How does the FJR compare? I know it's much more upright but is there still a forward lean that gets uncomfortable after several hours? I'm 5'8" btw, so I'm not towering over the bars.
2. The other problem I found with the XX - and it was a big one - was that in any kind of crosswind it danced all over the place. All that gorgeous bodywork acted like a mainsail in anything over a gentle breeze and resulted in a few unscheduled lane changes. :bigeyedsmiley: It got so I didn't want to take it out unless it was perfectly calm. I've ridden other bikes in near-gale conditions with little problem, so I think I'm safe in assuming it wasn't me, but maybe it was. Thoughts?
3. In addition to hoping to do some semi-serious touring with the FJR, it would also be my daily commuter into the city. It needs to be able to haul my gym bag, office crap (laptop, etc) plus ever handy rainsuit, etc. Luggage sufficient for that? How is the bike in stop'n'go city traffic? Chore to ride or is it ok?

Really appreciate the feedback folks. Brochures and sales teams only tell you so much; it's the daily riders who know the full story.Cheers.

 

[Big Sky]

I had the '97 Blackbird, loved that thang but the forward riding position, even with the Heli risers, caused a crook in my neck (plus windblast to the face shield) that caused agony in my left arm due to pressure on the main nerve in my neck. Had to let her go (my nephew still has it).

FJR handlebar ergonomics are more mild stock than the 'Bird with the risers; I added D&D risers to my '03 Feej (these can be stacked to double the result), but with the Gen II adjustable bars, a triple clamp/riser set up is called for. Try it stock, try the adjustments; if something works, great, if not, go for the risers and Grip Puppies.

The XX was a bit of a barn door in a crosswind, the JR isn't affected as much, maybe because of aerodynamics, but maybe because of the extra 100 pounds the FJR is more stable.

The FJR hauls enough crap for my wife and I to tour comfortably seven days (and we could easily cram in a few more) - clean shirts, undies and sox every day, and she hauls the curling iron and blow dryer (sigh). We just use a tank bag, the stock hard cases and a soft tailpack. If it hauled more stuff, we'd just bring more. Don't need that. It isn't in the Goldwing freight class, but it does fine.

Comparatively, you won't like the shift action of the FJR...at least not at first. The driveline gets better with miles and the driver gets better with the action, but it will still be notchy or even clunky compared to the 'Bird with its built in dampener that is a chain drive.

You will like the FJR handling, though it is a little taller and top heavy, and you will like the power, but the 'Bird would get away from it when the revs got high. And the Feej will "only" do 155 mph (145 two-up), while the 'Bird could hit 177. But who needs to go faster than 155 anyway?

 

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

As a new FJR rider coming from a Ole' Concours, the FJR is a refreshing ride.

At 6'2, I have the risers, very comfortable riding position for me. Although, with the sporty-tuned beast inside of the engine, you kinda wish you could push those risers down, and really lean into the bike....

Wind pressure, much better stability and control than I had with the Concours when passing trucks or heavy vehicles either

way.

It doesn't provide as good rain protection as the Concours did, but that's an older model with a full-like dashboard accross.

The FJR is nimble and offeres extremely sound confidence to the rider. I never feel like it is out of control.

I commute everyday on my bike, and carry my rain gear and my full size cover on one side (put those in a ziploc, and you still have many cubic inches to work with. Other side I have plenty of room for my jacket and other things. I have a trunk, but I choose not to use it for daily commute. I have a net on the trunk area, to secure my helmet when parked. The bags are very solid, don't leak and have plenty of room. One drawback is the weak support system for the side when opening, it falls too far. I am working on a fix for that, another support bungee to install, so when you pack full w/o the inner liner bags, the door want just fall to the ground.

Install some good horns, and the FJR is a great daily commuter.

Good luck!

 

[Alakso]

Howdy. New guy here and I'd like to pick some brains, if I may. I have seriously fallen in like with the looks of the FJR and on paper and in reviews it certainly sounds top-notch. But I would like to hear some feedback from folks who actually ride them and I guess there might be one or two of 'em here.

1. I had a '97 XX(Blackbird) and while it was by far one of the smoothest bikes I've ever ridden, it did have two drawbacks that I found disturbing. While not a hyper sportbike, I still found the weight on the wrists uncomfortable after a relatively short time, even after I added Gen-Mar risers. How does the FJR compare? I know it's much more upright but is there still a forward lean that gets uncomfortable after several hours? I'm 5'8" btw, so I'm not towering over the bars.
2. The other problem I found with the XX - and it was a big one - was that in any kind of crosswind it danced all over the place. All that gorgeous bodywork acted like a mainsail in anything over a gentle breeze and resulted in a few unscheduled lane changes. :bigeyedsmiley: It got so I didn't want to take it out unless it was perfectly calm. I've ridden other bikes in near-gale conditions with little problem, so I think I'm safe in assuming it wasn't me, but maybe it was. Thoughts?
3. In addition to hoping to do some semi-serious touring with the FJR, it would also be my daily commuter into the city. It needs to be able to haul my gym bag, office crap (laptop, etc) plus ever handy rainsuit, etc. Luggage sufficient for that? How is the bike in stop'n'go city traffic? Chore to ride or is it ok?

Really appreciate the feedback folks. Brochures and sales teams only tell you so much; it's the daily riders who know the full story.Cheers.

Hi CanadianMike, and welcome to the Forum my Northern brother! I came from riding HD's (also had one '70s R800 Beamer a few years ago) which tend to have more of an upright riding position along with forward controls on many of them. So getting used to the forward riding cant of my FJR took a little time. When I bought my bike I told the Stealer I was going to install the Heli-Modified TT to help with a more up-right riding position which I was used to. He said give the stock bars a chance and maybe I'd be surprised at how the forward cant riding position would grow on me. Well he was right. At first my wrists were killing me and would get so numb I'd get to the point I almost couldn't feel the grips and even had to stop once and a while to get the blood flowing back into my hands again. But as time went on and I played with differnt ways to ride my FJR I found myself becoming more and more accustomed to the forward cant riding position. I do have my FJR bars adjusted all the way back (had to show the stealers Tech how to do it when they were setting up my FJR (actually told him and the Service manager 3 times before they'd listen to me, but that's another story)). After 8K miles on my FJR I love the FC riding position for aggressive Sport riding and also for Sport-Touring as it takes the weight off my tailbone on long 300 plus mile days. When my butt does get sore (the FJR needs a more comfortable seat from the Factory!) I even find myself moving back in the seat to cant forward even more to get off my tailbone even more. I was in on the last Heli-Modified TT group buy but was a little hesitant about getting one because I was becoming so used to the stock riding position. Well to make a long story short I returned my Heli TT last Tuesday because I didn't need it as I have become so used to the stock FC riding position not to mention that I'd have needed a taller windshield (added cost) with the more up-right riding position the Heli TT would have provided. I also returned them because I'd decided to sell my '08 model FJR for a '10 model Sport-Tourer and didn't want to lose 50% of my Heli TT cost when I sold my FJR. I have found that scootching up in the seat right next to the tank and pinning my knees to the side of the tank seems to help me with the Sport riding position, along with the before mentioned sitting back more on longer trips to get off my tailbone. I think in some ways my wrists have become accustomed to the FC riding position? I just relax my arms and wrists when I ride and use my torso muscles more to hold myself in the FC Sport riding position which I'll be the first to admit took some time. When I first received my FJR many HD riders I knew said man that looks uncomfortable. But now very few of them can do the amount of miles I do because they get sore before I do (not to mention none of them can compete with the raw speed and power of my FJR which hurt their EGO's , (so I ride mostly alone now) someday I'll tell the story of the stroked and bored HD that I gave a 50yd. head start to and blew away like he was standing still, LOL. (and that was with bags and a backrest!) Haven't seen him or had to listen to his mouth since, LOL. But I digress again, my BAD!).

As far as riding in the wind and or cross-winds (and I've been through some very, very gusty days) I'd say my FJR handles very well. My FJR is about 100 lbs lighter than any of the Big Twin HD's I've owned so I do notice the weight difference some. My FJR has a very good aero profile (wind tunnel tested or at least computer generated wind tunnel tested?) which helps slice through the wind and not plow through the wind like my HD's did or I would think any naked bike would. I also don't fight the wind but leave room to kinda go with the flow so to speak. So for myself I think my FJR handles very well in the wind. No complaints here.

It is so nice to finally have a bike that "handles"!! I think with the rake and trail my FJR has that it handles like a dream and man do I love it!!! With a less than 30 degree rake any well set-up bike will handle well and as a general rule the longer the rake the more high speed stability one has and vice-a-versa. Look at the rake on a drag bike or a dedicated land speed record bike compared to a road racing bike and you'll get a general idea about how rake and trail affect cornering and straight line handling performance. Hope this helped, just my .03 cents worth. YMMV

 

[johnny80s]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[sportsguy]

CDNMike - welcome from a fellow Canadian! (Move from Halifax, originally from Brampton. )

Here's my original opening thread here where I compared my test rides of a bunch of different bikes (7 -9 IIRC).

Duane's test rides

I can state that in my first 12xx miles with my 2009 FJR, crosswinds haven't been a problem. Yes, I feel them, but the bike is easy to adjust and handle.

Hope this info helps and again, welcome.

duane

 

[YAM TOM]

Really suggest you test ride one before buying. I bought a brand new 09 f.j.r. and at 4000 rpms it vibrates like no other in line 4 i have ever had. Its right at highway speeds and i find myself slowing down to get away from it. Have asked about it on this forum and the replys i got back was they all do it. Some have changed bar ends, grips and even bar risers to try to remedy this problem. My fingers get a tingleing feeling if i ride it to long. Purchesed a set of fingerless gloves with gel pads in them and that seemed to help a little bit. Other than this its a great bike. Like i said test drive one get it out on the highway and run it up to 4000 rpms and see what you think

 

[n1acguy]

Really suggest you test ride one before buying. I bought a brand new 09 f.j.r. and at 4000 rpms it vibrates like no other in line 4 i have ever had. Its right at highway speeds and i find myself slowing down to get away from it. Have asked about it on this forum and the replys i got back was they all do it. Some have changed bar ends, grips and even bar risers to try to remedy this problem. My fingers get a tingleing feeling if i ride it to long. Purchesed a set of fingerless gloves with gel pads in them and that seemed to help a little bit. Other than this its a great bike. Like i said test drive one get it out on the highway and run it up to 4000 rpms and see what you think

The vibes seem to lessen a bit as more miles are put on the bike. I recently did a 1000 mile trip and it wasn't bugging me by the end of the trip. I had about 2000 on it when I started. I had a Bandit 12 that behaved the same way. Vibes mostly went away after a few thousand miles.

 

[YAM TOM]

Thanks n1acguy really hope i notice a difference after i get more miles on the bike.

 

[sportsguy]

Yam - +1 on the mileage. I noticed vibes when new, now 1200+ later, it's a bit smoother - definitely headed in the right direction for me.

That said, I have never felt the vibes were an issue on my bike. Might I suggest a slightly looser grip on the hand bars? I\ve noticed when I think to do this, my ride is more comfortable. Cheap way to improve comfort.

You could also look into one or two Crampbusters to aid on spreading your weight around on the grips, too. My CB has made the world of difference in my commute.

 

[YAM TOM]

Ordered a throttle rocker which is pretty much the same thing as a crampbuster. I will give it a try. But i have never had this problem before and ive had so many different bikes ive lost count. And theres still the vibraition in the seat. Going to keep putting miles on it and hope it improves with time.

 

[FastJoyRide]

Welcome aboard Mike from the beautiful Okanagan Valley!

I put the LenkaDapters on my 04 to give me a more upright riding position (and to change the bar angle). With my 2006 I find it perfect as delivered with the bars in the rear position. The design of this bike is very slippery and I've not experienced sidewind problems nor have I read any threads here from others who have. And I put 80K on the 2004 living in Saskatchewan so I can speak about wind with some authority!

Commuting on this bike? Depends on your commute IMO. It would be a cooker sitting in stop and go traffic on a 100 degree, 100% humidity day on the Don Valley Parking Lot. You do have 145 HP between your legs and while the heat management of the 2006 (Gen 2) is miles better than the 2004 (Gen 1) - all that heat's got to go somewhere, and if you're not moving...

You will love the FJR - but if your commute is intense traffic - buy a scooter!

 

[krotchrocketgrampa]

welcome.

first dont judge the fjr,until you replace crap tires that come on it,my new roadsmarts made my fjr ride entirely different than it did for the first 4 k, I had two blackbirds, my fjr reminds me of them,,kinda an XX with saddle bags, I went as fast as that XX would go,somewhere around 180 mph,had my fjr to 150 many times,real stable and handles like its on rails/luv my new fjr :yahoo: