FJR or Trophy?

[str8]

In the OP, IMHO, it looks very r1200rtish. If it wasn't for the decal and the vent on the side. Aren't the triples kind of buzzy?

I'm guessing the R1200RT is what they are gunnin' for. It will have the engine/drive-train and all the electronic goodies from the Explorer, which has been getting rave reviews.

Anyway, it's just an idea at this point. Maybe I'll get one of each

Al

:lol: Might as well get the k1600gt while you're at it. Oh, and when can I come visit?

 

[ahchiu]

And here I thought you were talking about one of these:

:yahoo:

I thought the Trophy was a triple not a twin..

 

[ronhawker]

I already have both. A Gen I FJR and a 900 Trophy from 1995. They both have their points. They are about the same speed but the Trophy feels lighter and more response. Both are upgraded with better suspension. Wilbers on the FJR and Race Tech front and Ohlins on the rear for the Trophy. The Trophy has basically a Speed Triple motor. The Trophy has better brakes as it is sporting 6 pot front brakes from Triumph endurance racing. The FJR is more reliable with the shaft drive and fuel injection. The Trophy has carbs and the resulting issues with the ethanol crap fuel on occasion. I have to say the FJR is smoother and more electric in feel to the point or having very little feel or soul. I have said before, it is like riding a refrigerator. But all in all the Trophy with a Yoshimura exhaust and that triple sound will stir your soul. The triple singing is like no other. My wife likes the Trophy better as she is more comfortable and says she get less wind buffeting. I really like the adjustable windscreen on the FJR and am more relaxed and comfortable on the FJR. The Trophy wants to run all the time.

Sigh...

You can't have too many bikes or guitars.

 

[HotRodZilla]

You have a 1995 Trophy with a carburated 900cc motor that will outperform a 1300cc fuel injected FJR??

I'm only asking because my buddy's 2006 fuel injected Sprint 1050, which is lighter, fuel injected and better engineered, than the 1995 trophy couldn't out perform my 2007 FJR.

It's weird that you would buy a second bike that is the same platform type as your other bike, but costs more and performs worse. Why would you keep the FJR if it sucks so bad?

Weird right??

 

[Road_Runner]

I really liked my Sprint ST a lot (955cc prior to the 1050cc) that I sold to buy the FJR. I did this because I wanted a larger tourer with more emphasis on "tour". The Sprint motor was smooth but with a lot of character. It is amazing to me that Triumph has been making some wonderful bikes as of late despite the economy. I will be very interested in the final product.

 

[Pepperell]

Why would you trade your superior Gen1 for a Gen2? :lol:

There is nothing as charming as a triple. If Yammy designed a Gen3 FJR as a triple, the '04 would be gone in a minute. :dance:

 

[Fred W]

I owned a Trophy 900 triple. Yes it is somewhat redundant in purpose to an FJR, but it was most definitely a different tool with a completely different character.

Zilla', I don't think ronhawker said anywhere that the Trophy would outperform an FJR, just that it feels lighter (which it most definitely is) and more responsive. Having owned and extensively ridden both bikes, I think the responsive part he is talking about is due primarily to the old bike having carburetors. There is a certain connected feeling that you get from a carby bike that you will never achieve with fuel injection. The herky jerky feeling when you roll off and on the throttle can be minimized on an FI bike, but never completely eliminated as the ECU cuts off the fuel under a chopped throttle. Instead you have to learn to adapt to it and become smoother yourself.

For me the big deal breaker of the Trophy triple was the heat. The little Trophy spewed a gawd awful amount of heat on the rider. And to put that in perspective, remember that I am perfectly happy with my '05 FJR's heat output. In the end, after I got the little Trophy running like a top (it wasn't when I bought it) I Craigs Listed it off to a nice guy from Lewiston, Maine, and parlayed that into the '04 Man-strom I now own.

 

[kamal]

Why would you trade your superior Gen1 for a Gen2? :lol:

Good point! As I said in my OP, I LOVE my FJR. I've never had a bike with ABS and have no problems with the braking on this one.

This post has gone off on a bit of a tangent, but that's OK - this is a 'forum'.

Hopefully, the 'new' Trophy will be available for a test ride in the UK, so I can report back. Or maybe a UK forum member will beat me to it?

Al

 

[luvtoride]

better brakes on a '95 bike as compared to almost any new bike? Really? Wow!

 

[Bounce]

No mention of that wonderfully-unique sound of a triple at idle? "spoons in a dishwasher"

 

[Fred W]

No mention of that wonderfully-unique sound of a triple at idle? "spoons in a dishwasher"

That's a uniquely Hinkley Triumph characteristic. Not just on the triples.

But lets get this topic back on point(s)

 

[Pepperell]

Actually there is a characteristic wheeze as the motor comes to a stop that's pretty funny.

 

[ronhawker]

You have a 1995 Trophy with a carburated 900cc motor that will outperform a 1300cc fuel injected FJR??

I'm only asking because my buddy's 2006 fuel injected Sprint 1050, which is lighter, fuel injected and better engineered, than the 1995 trophy couldn't out perform my 2007 FJR.

It's weird that you would buy a second bike that is the same platform type as your other bike, but costs more and performs worse. Why would you keep the FJR if it sucks so bad?

Weird right??

Sorry, but I said they about the same in performance. Was that not clear?? I have many bikes. I was comparing two of them. Horsepower to weight ratio is about the same for both so why would it be difficult to believe they have similar performance? The Trophy weighs less but is close in horsepower. The FJR is stock and the Trophy has been modified to Speed Triple specs with 12:1 pistons and high lift cam. Please read the review again and see if you see how I show good points in both. Did you miss the last comments about you can't have too many bikes???????

 

[ronhawker]

better brakes on a '95 bike as compared to almost any new bike? Really? Wow!

Yes! They are 6 pot endurance racing brakes. More much bite. The FJR has 4 pot brakes.

Wow...the Trophy is NOT a stock '95 and I was just comparing the two. The Trophy has several mods that are quite modern and up to date. And yes it does sound like a diesel engine as there is not much sound deadening built into the engine cases. Guys I really do like the FJR but there are many good bikes out there and having been in the bike industry for almost 20 years I have ridden most of them. The Trophy is one of my hot rods and the FJR is my cruiser. It's fast and comfortable and a keeper like the Trophy.

 

[ronhawker]

I owned a Trophy 900 triple. Yes it is somewhat redundant in purpose to an FJR, but it was most definitely a different tool with a completely different character.

Zilla', I don't think ronhawker said anywhere that the Trophy would outperform an FJR, just that it feels lighter (which it most definitely is) and more responsive. Having owned and extensively ridden both bikes, I think the responsive part he is talking about is due primarily to the old bike having carburetors. There is a certain connected feeling that you get from a carby bike that you will never achieve with fuel injection. The herky jerky feeling when you roll off and on the throttle can be minimized on an FI bike, but never completely eliminated as the ECU cuts off the fuel under a chopped throttle. Instead you have to learn to adapt to it and become smoother yourself.

For me the big deal breaker of the Trophy triple was the heat. The little Trophy spewed a gawd awful amount of heat on the rider. And to put that in perspective, remember that I am perfectly happy with my '05 FJR's heat output. In the end, after I got the little Trophy running like a top (it wasn't when I bought it) I Craigs Listed it off to a nice guy from Lewiston, Maine, and parlayed that into the '04 Man-strom I now own.

If you had one of the later ones, then you may have had a problem with the heat. The 95 seems to channel it much better and is no problem here in Phoenix even in the summer. The FJR gives me much more heat than the Trophy. The Trophy handles better because of the upgraded suspension of full Race Tech front end and type 4 Ohlins in the rear. Carbs are smoother and the chain is too. But I love the no maintenance of the fuel injection and shaft drive of the FJR.

 

[Fred W]

If you had one of the later ones, then you may have had a problem with the heat. The 95 seems to channel it much better and is no problem here in Phoenix even in the summer. The FJR gives me much more heat than the Trophy. The Trophy handles better because of the upgraded suspension of full Race Tech front end and type 4 Ohlins in the rear. Carbs are smoother and the chain is too. But I love the no maintenance of the fuel injection and shaft drive of the FJR.

Yup, mine was an '01, for better or worse. The heat was the worse part. But she was a looker when she was all dolled up

I actually liked the soft stock suspension for touring around the bumpy roads of New England. The damping was well balanced with the cushy spring rates so the suspension worked well to isolate the rider from rough roads, albeit not optimally for fast cornering. I never got a chance to take it anywhere (down south) that the roads aren't heaved every winter, anyway.

I don't miss the routine to get those carbs in and out to alter the jetting. What a PITA that was. And the stock jetting was far too lean, at least on those last few years of Trophies, in an attempt to appease the EPA.

I have no doubts that the new Trophy will be nothing like the old one, other than being a triple. Which is good, because that was he most endearing part of the old one. Much like the new Connies have no resemblance to the old ones except the Kawasaki name on the side.

 

[petey]

Aren't the triples kind of buzzy?

No. Triples are inherently smoother than 4 cylinders as their crankshaft counterweights are spread evenly around the crankshaft rotation.

PS - Those pictures of the black "prototype" were also shown in a 2010 "Spied" article in Motor Cyclist magazine. Same rider even.

It has certainly had plenty of time to evolve into something that doesn't look like an ST1300 clone.

Fred W

When you say " Triples are inherently smoother tha 4 cylinders" you're talking about inline 4's not including V-4's, right? <_<

 

[Fred W]

Aren't the triples kind of buzzy?

No. Triples are inherently smoother than 4 cylinders as their crankshaft counterweights are spread evenly around the crankshaft rotation.

PS - Those pictures of the black "prototype" were also shown in a 2010 "Spied" article in Motor Cyclist magazine. Same rider even.

It has certainly had plenty of time to evolve into something that doesn't look like an ST1300 clone.

Fred W

When you say " Triples are inherently smoother tha 4 cylinders" you're talking about inline 4's not including V-4's, right? <_<

Yes. Good catch. I did mean inline 4's. V-4's tend to have pretty good primary balance and be much smoother running than I4's.

 

[ronhawker]

Aren't the triples kind of buzzy?

No. Triples are inherently smoother than 4 cylinders as their crankshaft counterweights are spread evenly around the crankshaft rotation.

PS - Those pictures of the black "prototype" were also shown in a 2010 "Spied" article in Motor Cyclist magazine. Same rider even.

It has certainly had plenty of time to evolve into something that doesn't look like an ST1300 clone.

Fred W

When you say " Triples are inherently smoother tha 4 cylinders" you're talking about inline 4's not including V-4's, right? <_<

Yes. Good catch. I did mean inline 4's. V-4's tend to have pretty good primary balance and be much smoother running than I4's.

Agreed. That is one of the main reason the Honda VFR took bike of year many times and was preferred by many testers. Wonderful all around bike. That engine is wonder to ride. With an aftermarket exhaust it sounds a lot like a hot rod small block Chevy. Sweet. When I got the FJR as a trade for a Road King Classic, a VFR was also an option and it was a tough choice having ridden both of them and having wanted a VFR for quite awhile since they came out in the mid 80's especially the classic all white ones. The FJR won out for better two up with the luggage and adjustable windscreen.

 

[kamal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_ks3981wHw