cotyjim
Member
6000 mile comparison of my ’04 ST1300 and ’13 FJR1300:
First off, the comparison is my opinion with a few facts thrown in. Take things as that, just my opinion, yours might very well be different, but that’s ok, that’s why they make both of these bikes and the many other competing bikes available out there for us to choose from. I am posting this on the ST-Owners and FJR forums.
A little history:
In 2009, I took my oldest granddaughter (12 at the time) on a motorcycle camping trip from Illinois to the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Cheyenne Frontier days, PCH, and dumped her with her other grandfather in LA. I returned home solo and visited a few HS classmates along the way. We used my ST1300 and had a great time.
This year, I have a grandson turning 13, so I thought I should try the same trip with him, but my son was interested is going along, I did my research and purchased a new FJR to accompany the ST. My son and I would trade off and the grandson would also rotate, so there was a near equal seat time for each of us on both bikes.
Equipment:
ST has 33,000 miles, audiovox cruise, GPS, XM, Honda fairing and mirror deflectors, Cee Bailey +6+6 shield, Givi rear case, grip heaters, Spencerized seat, multivex mirrors, and Bagster tank bag.
FJR has Givi 357 mount with Bestem 929 rear case, Givi tank ring mount bag, Yamaha touring windshield, and Spencerized seat.
We used Sena com gear on Shoei Neotec helmets (3).
First day was a 600 mile jaunt to get away from the flatland in Illinois getting us to Mitchell, SD (home of the world famous Corn Palace). We ran about 60 miles in a nice downpour followed by near 90 deg heat with 90% humidity. The ST had the better rain/wind protection, but was noticeably warmer than the FJR in the heat. The riding range was limited by the FJR with the smaller tank and overall about 7% lower fuel economy. That first day (90% interstate at 5 over the speed limit) the ST averaged 51mpg and the FJR 47mpg. We changed riders and passenger at each stop to even the load on our butts and the bikes.
The next 6 days were less interstate and more twisty roads (Black Hills 16/16A, Wyoming 212, 296, 14/14A, Idaho 22). The FJR was the clear choice in the mountains, providing a more confident feel and the weight difference seemed to become more evident even two up. It seemed that the performance difference was magnified at altitude, perhaps the real power to weight when the air is thin gives a larger advantage than at sea level, it just seemed that I was doing a lot more downshifting on the Honda to get around the turns and setting up for the next turn. We were not in “racing” mode, but we were keeping a nice pace on the mountain roads.
While at the campground in Custer, SD, we had about a half mile of rough hilly gravel drive from the paved road to our campsite. The Honda seemed to handle the loose gravel in a more stable way, but the Yamaha was easier to control at low speeds on the gravel. I attribute this to weight vs. drive by wire throttle.
Altitude fuel economy improved on both bikes, because of normal altitude air density and lower operating speeds. It seemed that the Yamaha was always in “tune” at altitude, but the Honda would sometimes have “fits” of hesitation and poor running that were usually cured by a rebooting of the key. This could be faulty engine mapping at altitude, or being sensitive to the low octane fuel available at altitude. I was using the same fuel for both bikes, generally the cheapest stuff that would go in the tanks.
This brings up one minor annoyance of the Yamaha. The fuel tank filler port has a multi-holed baffle that makes consistent filling of the tank difficult. Given enough time and a cooperative pump nozzle I could get one half to a full gallon more in the tank by nursing the fuel in and sloshing the tank left and right as I filled. The Honda can be filled to the same volume nearly every time without the monkey motion required for the FJR. Since the FJR controlled the fueling frequency, it would be nice to get as much in as possible.
In summary, both bikes are very good and are tuned for slightly different riders. I wish I could select attributes from each to make a hybrid bike that would be near perfect for my riding.
Both bikes have more than enough performance for an old man like me, the Yamaha is capable of making me wet myself in spirited operation and it wins in that category.
Long distance touring I lean slightly towards the Honda for comfort, smoothness (FJR has a high frequency buzz in the handgrips and seat at 4000+rpm), slightly larger saddlebags, and tank range (Honda could easily go 300+miles on a tank, Yamaha 240-285miles). The grandson preferred the Honda because it gave him more leg and seating room, he is about 5-11 and 125 pounds. I am 5-10 and about 150 pounds, my son is 6-3 and 185.
Standard features goes to the Yamaha for a cruise control better than my cars, factory grip heaters with adjustable heat settings (1-10 levels), and more info on screen that you can read in 99% of lighting conditions. The 82mph limit did not become an issue, in fact it was just right for the 75mph speed limits.
The Honda speedometer is good at estimating your speed to the nearest 10mph, but the odometer is relatively close at about 2% error. The FJR’s speedo is within 1-2 mph at double digit speeds and the odometer is on par with the Honda. I used the GPS as a reference for both and for calculating mpg. The Yamaha wins with a pretty close fuel economy calculation from the dash meter, the Honda is always off by about 6+% (reports too low).
I received the Canyon Cages while out west, I will be putting them on this weekend, but thank goodness I had the Honda at Mt. Rushmore when I had a tip over in the parking lot. Not sure what the damage cost would have been for the same on the Yamaha, but for the Honda, it was $0.
When preparing for the trip, I found the Yamaha to be a little more difficult to access the battery and fuse area for adding power feeds for accessories.
Neither of the bikes have stock lighting that is acceptable for this level of modern machines for night operation. Driving at night on unfamiliar roads was exciting at best and near dangerous when the forest rats are lerking.
I will be deciding which one to keep next spring and selling the other, unless I can talk my son into another trip (maybe to the East Coast this time). It might come down to a flip of the coin, but the Yamaha Cruise control and drive by wire will probably tip the scale to the FJR.
First off, the comparison is my opinion with a few facts thrown in. Take things as that, just my opinion, yours might very well be different, but that’s ok, that’s why they make both of these bikes and the many other competing bikes available out there for us to choose from. I am posting this on the ST-Owners and FJR forums.
A little history:
In 2009, I took my oldest granddaughter (12 at the time) on a motorcycle camping trip from Illinois to the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Cheyenne Frontier days, PCH, and dumped her with her other grandfather in LA. I returned home solo and visited a few HS classmates along the way. We used my ST1300 and had a great time.
This year, I have a grandson turning 13, so I thought I should try the same trip with him, but my son was interested is going along, I did my research and purchased a new FJR to accompany the ST. My son and I would trade off and the grandson would also rotate, so there was a near equal seat time for each of us on both bikes.
Equipment:
ST has 33,000 miles, audiovox cruise, GPS, XM, Honda fairing and mirror deflectors, Cee Bailey +6+6 shield, Givi rear case, grip heaters, Spencerized seat, multivex mirrors, and Bagster tank bag.
FJR has Givi 357 mount with Bestem 929 rear case, Givi tank ring mount bag, Yamaha touring windshield, and Spencerized seat.
We used Sena com gear on Shoei Neotec helmets (3).
First day was a 600 mile jaunt to get away from the flatland in Illinois getting us to Mitchell, SD (home of the world famous Corn Palace). We ran about 60 miles in a nice downpour followed by near 90 deg heat with 90% humidity. The ST had the better rain/wind protection, but was noticeably warmer than the FJR in the heat. The riding range was limited by the FJR with the smaller tank and overall about 7% lower fuel economy. That first day (90% interstate at 5 over the speed limit) the ST averaged 51mpg and the FJR 47mpg. We changed riders and passenger at each stop to even the load on our butts and the bikes.
The next 6 days were less interstate and more twisty roads (Black Hills 16/16A, Wyoming 212, 296, 14/14A, Idaho 22). The FJR was the clear choice in the mountains, providing a more confident feel and the weight difference seemed to become more evident even two up. It seemed that the performance difference was magnified at altitude, perhaps the real power to weight when the air is thin gives a larger advantage than at sea level, it just seemed that I was doing a lot more downshifting on the Honda to get around the turns and setting up for the next turn. We were not in “racing” mode, but we were keeping a nice pace on the mountain roads.
While at the campground in Custer, SD, we had about a half mile of rough hilly gravel drive from the paved road to our campsite. The Honda seemed to handle the loose gravel in a more stable way, but the Yamaha was easier to control at low speeds on the gravel. I attribute this to weight vs. drive by wire throttle.
Altitude fuel economy improved on both bikes, because of normal altitude air density and lower operating speeds. It seemed that the Yamaha was always in “tune” at altitude, but the Honda would sometimes have “fits” of hesitation and poor running that were usually cured by a rebooting of the key. This could be faulty engine mapping at altitude, or being sensitive to the low octane fuel available at altitude. I was using the same fuel for both bikes, generally the cheapest stuff that would go in the tanks.
This brings up one minor annoyance of the Yamaha. The fuel tank filler port has a multi-holed baffle that makes consistent filling of the tank difficult. Given enough time and a cooperative pump nozzle I could get one half to a full gallon more in the tank by nursing the fuel in and sloshing the tank left and right as I filled. The Honda can be filled to the same volume nearly every time without the monkey motion required for the FJR. Since the FJR controlled the fueling frequency, it would be nice to get as much in as possible.
In summary, both bikes are very good and are tuned for slightly different riders. I wish I could select attributes from each to make a hybrid bike that would be near perfect for my riding.
Both bikes have more than enough performance for an old man like me, the Yamaha is capable of making me wet myself in spirited operation and it wins in that category.
Long distance touring I lean slightly towards the Honda for comfort, smoothness (FJR has a high frequency buzz in the handgrips and seat at 4000+rpm), slightly larger saddlebags, and tank range (Honda could easily go 300+miles on a tank, Yamaha 240-285miles). The grandson preferred the Honda because it gave him more leg and seating room, he is about 5-11 and 125 pounds. I am 5-10 and about 150 pounds, my son is 6-3 and 185.
Standard features goes to the Yamaha for a cruise control better than my cars, factory grip heaters with adjustable heat settings (1-10 levels), and more info on screen that you can read in 99% of lighting conditions. The 82mph limit did not become an issue, in fact it was just right for the 75mph speed limits.
The Honda speedometer is good at estimating your speed to the nearest 10mph, but the odometer is relatively close at about 2% error. The FJR’s speedo is within 1-2 mph at double digit speeds and the odometer is on par with the Honda. I used the GPS as a reference for both and for calculating mpg. The Yamaha wins with a pretty close fuel economy calculation from the dash meter, the Honda is always off by about 6+% (reports too low).
I received the Canyon Cages while out west, I will be putting them on this weekend, but thank goodness I had the Honda at Mt. Rushmore when I had a tip over in the parking lot. Not sure what the damage cost would have been for the same on the Yamaha, but for the Honda, it was $0.
When preparing for the trip, I found the Yamaha to be a little more difficult to access the battery and fuse area for adding power feeds for accessories.
Neither of the bikes have stock lighting that is acceptable for this level of modern machines for night operation. Driving at night on unfamiliar roads was exciting at best and near dangerous when the forest rats are lerking.
I will be deciding which one to keep next spring and selling the other, unless I can talk my son into another trip (maybe to the East Coast this time). It might come down to a flip of the coin, but the Yamaha Cruise control and drive by wire will probably tip the scale to the FJR.
