Cruiser or Sportbike background? Why FJR now?

[Jonathan08]

I started ridding quad my dad's quad a TRX 250R at age 6. Then a Yamaha Blaster and got my own 250R at 14, which I still have. But I have dreamed about ridding street bikes years before I started driving. Originally I thought I wanted a sport bike but my wife said the pillion seat was a joke and I wouldn't catch her on one. So I kept looking and discovered the FJR. It was love at first sight.

I got my first taste of the street during 10 minute test ride of my friend's CBR 954 in 2006. And later a friend loaned me his XR650L in 2009 to take my M1 test. In 2010 immediately after I graduated from college and a few weeks prior to getting married my Dad and I rented bikes and did a 3 day, 1,200 mile trip through Sequoia and Yosemite NP, HWY 1 from Monterey back to Orange County. I couldn't find any place to rent a FJR so I rode a C14 which was great too.

4 months later and 4 years after first falling in love with the FJR I bought my '03 and it has been my daily driver since. Wanted a bike that was fast and sporty while having good weather protection, decent seat for my wife, ability to take week long trips, and sporty looks. I am so happy with mine.

Is the FJR anyone else's first bike? And is there any younger riders (24 yrs old)?

I happen to be 24 yrs old. Been riding dirt since I could walk but got my frist streetbike 4 years ago. A ragged out 650 Nighthawk. Kept it for a year and upgraded to a FZ6. Loved that bike, but the girlfriend fell in love with riding and that bike was not good enough for two people. I wanted something I could still tear up the twisties so I got my 08 FJR and never looked back.

 

[Kevin_Ireland]

Jonathan you are probably the youngest member on here!! I wouldn't say the FJR is an old man's bike like the Goldwing but most guys your age are riding gsxr's. The FJR is a great bike for two up. My wife used to ride behind me all the time until she decided she wanted her own bike. Now I have the FJR to myself and less money in my wallet!

 

[Glamisking]

I started ridding quad my dad's quad a TRX 250R at age 6. Then a Yamaha Blaster and got my own 250R at 14, which I still have. But I have dreamed about ridding street bikes years before I started driving. Originally I thought I wanted a sport bike but my wife said the pillion seat was a joke and I wouldn't catch her on one. So I kept looking and discovered the FJR. It was love at first sight.

Is the FJR anyone else's first bike? And is there any younger riders (24 yrs old)?

I happen to be 24 yrs old.

Nice! I never thought of the FJR as an old man's bike until I saw the forum. It seems like most of the older/more experienced riders have had a dozen bikes until they found the FJ. So it just confirms to me that I chose a great bike and I am wise beyond my years...

 

[wheatonFJR]

I had a big 1100cc Yamaha tourer when I was 20 as well.

 

[petey]

Heck when I was 20yo I was still only dreaming about owning a bike. Started riding when I was 35yo with a 500cc Yamy twin then 750cc triple then the mighty 1100cc 4cyl yamy Special then the Venture Royals a '83, a '86 and the last a '93.

Then a '99 1200KLT-BMW then a '01 650cc single BMW then a '01 1150GS-BMW then '03 Feej, '06 Feej, a'06 FZ1, '07 650KLR, '08 Feej, and a '09 Versys. Still own the '06 FZ1, the '08 Feej and the '09 Versys...

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

Nice! I never thought of the FJR as an old man's bike until I saw the forum.

+1

Whenever a bike can draw riders from their mid-20's through their mid-60's or more...that's a universally attractive bike!

There seems to be a lot of guys on this forum between ages of 45-60 as being the biggest group. I'm only 38 but it's the perfect bike for me & my wife as well. It's definitely not an "old man's bike" but there are a lot of older guys that ride them.

I think it's pretty cool that a young 24yr dude likes the bike as well. Smart beyond his years!

 

[petey]

It's definitely not an "old man's bike" but there are a lot of older guys that ride them

I resemble that remark... :clapping: :lol:

 

[wheatonFJR]

...It's definitely not an "old man's bike" but there are a lot of older guys that ride them...

...and they will outride a lot of the younger riders, too. Petey for instance comes to mind.

BTW GeorgiaRoller, 38 is OLD to a 24 year old. :lol:

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

...It's definitely not an "old man's bike" but there are a lot of older guys that ride them...

...and they will outride a lot of the younger riders, too. Petey for instance comes to mind.

BTW GeorgiaRoller, 38 is OLD to a 24 year old. :lol:

Absolutely! Age is all a matter of perspective! A 65yr old guy is a "young whipper-snapper" to a 80yr old. It's all relative!!!!

I get along with anybody regardless of their age. I've got some riding friends that are 20+yrs older than me and we have an awesome time. Age is irrelevant. If your cool to me I'll be cool to you is my motto. However if your a Dick to me then I hope you got your shit together because I'll be a Dick right back at ya! LOL

 

[oldryder]

1975 - bought a 450 HOnda DOHC from my brother that had a blown head gasket...

That's interesting. I thought my 1977 Honda CB550F was a SOHC machine.

Your 77 550 was a SOHC. The 450/500 twin honda's were HOnda's 1st foray into DOHC production bikes. They had torsion bar valve springs, CV carbs, and were relatively high performance for their time. My rebuilt 450 would keep even with my brothers CB750 SOHC up to about 70 mph.

 

[brent4727]

I was a rider for a long time back in my youth. Started out with a minibike when I was about 10, got a moped at 14, then bought a suzuki ts400 single when I was 15. Bought a 77 cb750a when I was 18, then bought a new 1984 v65 sabre in 1985. Put about 6500 miles on this bike, got married, no where to keep it, so I sold it. That was the last bike I ownded since buying the new 09 fjr ae in December this year. I regretted selling my last bike ever since the day I sold it. But I would not get a loan to buy what I considered a toy. Well when I finally had the money, I looked at several things. I wanted something that could go 2 up without any comfort or power issues. This eliminated litre bikes, besides, I drove a friends gsxr600 and hated it. I road my brother's VTX1800 and realized that it handles like a truck with straight axles and weighs a ton, absolutely no flicking this around. So I started investigating ST bikes. Read a lot of online info and realized that I wanted either the Concours,the Fjr, or the Bmw K1600. Well the beemer is too expensive and too large for my taste. The Concourse I sat on just did not feel comfortable. The FJR seemed perfect. Not to mention a local dealer had a brand new 09 AE for a really good price, 0 miles on the odo. I liked the idea of the electric clutch, I know I am gonna catch hell for that, but just seemed like it was cool. By the way, have only been able to put about 160 miles on this thing but so far, I like the AE. It does take some finesse on the throttle from a dead stop but after that, it is killer. I put a backrest on for my wife. Took her for a ride and she loved it. We want to do some day trips this summer to work up to some longer trips eventually. As for the question "why fjr now?", right amount of performance, good price, and I think it looks cool.

 

[Jonathan08]

Nice! I never thought of the FJR as an old man's bike until I saw the forum.

+1

Whenever a bike can draw riders from their mid-20's through their mid-60's or more...that's a universally attractive bike!

There seems to be a lot of guys on this forum between ages of 45-60 as being the biggest group. I'm only 38 but it's the perfect bike for me & my wife as well. It's definitely not an "old man's bike" but there are a lot of older guys that ride them.

I think it's pretty cool that a young 24yr dude likes the bike as well. Smart beyond his years!

I absolutly love my FJR. All day comfort and sporty handling. Yea I get the old "your the youngest guy I've seen with one" alot but its too nice of a machine! It will be real nice when we head to the west coast this summer.

 

[hppants]

My story prolly sounds familiar. From aged 17 - 24ish (pre-kids), I had several motorcycles, including:

1. mid 70's Kawi KZ200, nice starter bike.

2. '79 Yamaha YZ250, that thing had only 2 speeds (stop and WFO) and I'm very lucky I didn't die on it.

3. '79 Yamaha XS750 (triple). Loved that bike - rode it a good bit while in college.

4. '82 Yamaha XV750 Virago, very reliable, kind of boring to ride though. Infancy of the metric cruiser.

Then kids came alons in '91 and mamma said the bike's got to go. In 2009, I returned to riding. Not knowing what I wanted, and being kind of on a budget, I bought a pristine '84 Honda 700 Nighthawk S - red, white, and blue - great bike.

In 2010, I sold the "s" and bought a '96 Honda Nighthawk 750. Rode it about 15K in 13 months.

Then last August, I upgraded to the FJR. The sport touring platform is the perfect bike for the way I like to ride.

 

[Ally House]

I note that I voted but didn't reply...old age, I think!

Started riding in 2003 after my m-i-l died at age 61 with too much life left unlived. We took the MSF class and bought cruisers, since that was kind of what we had viewed as real motorcycles... I was on a Honda Shadow Spirit 1100, Karyn was on a V-Star 1100. We ride both locally and on long trips, and started riding with the Pashnit Girly Ride. Every time we'd go on one, Karyn would ask "why can they go faster" and "why aren't they as tired at the end of the day?" which led to some research. We bought an FZ1, but the ergos were terrible for her...hence the FJR. No long trips on it yet (except to bring it home)although I am REALLY looking forward to that.