FJR Sport Bike Power

[RTSR1/FJR]

Enter the FJR. It smacks right towards the middle. A bigger sport bike, better ergos, good performance.
Now, I must say, for what the FJR is, it does it well. I was able to ride my FJR over 200 miles yesterday. At the end, I was cold, a little butt-sore but I didn't get the hand numbness I would get on my R1. It's not extremely comfortable, but that's ok. I can work with it. Performance wise, it's no R!. It is not nearly as flickable, doesn't accelerate as fast and is a lot heavier. It's not nearly as confidence inspiring, either. It's a solid bike.

I own both, an '04 R1 and a '03 FJR. To me there is no comparison between the two. I've ridden sportbikes for the best part of 25 yrs. The FJR does what it was made to do very well, tour with a little sport thrown in. The R1 on the other hand does not tour well as compared to the FJR, but the R1 does promote confidence at speed, a very focused bike (like all liter bikes of today). Things happen very quickly! Very rewarding in the right hands, very dangerous in the wrong ones. If people are timid about pinning it in first gear on a FJR, don't even think about it unless your ready for 90+ mph wheelies in first on the R1. Bottom line is I enjoy both for what they are, different ends of the spectrum for me!

 

[Bounce]

Now my question is, how much like a modern sport bike would you all say the FJR is?

The FJR is more like the modern sport bike than the Connie is.

It's still a 600 lb bike with about 120 to the rear tire though. There's a ton of toque compared to most sport bikes, so you don't have to wring its neck like a sport bike (or Connie) to appreciate what it brings to the table.

Thanks folks you have confirmed my suspicions. I like the sport touring mode of riding and did not realize how far bikes have come in power and handling till I tried the CBR.

That pretty much sums up what ex-connie owners have been trying to tell their friends for a long time. Those to are in violent disagreement tend to also be those who qualify their connie choice in phrases like "bang for the buck" or who don't truly understand how much things have changed since 1986.

 

[Toecutter]

The reason I ask is because if the FJR comes close to what the CBR is capable of I'm getting one...

There's a CBR sitting next to my bike out in the garage here at work. I noticed it has 1-1/2" chicken strips on the rear tire. He probably isn't having as much fun as I am. I'm going to offer to remove those for him, free of charge. You know, just so he won't look like a squid at the local hangouts. Hey, I'm here to help.

 

[chipset]

I own both, an '04 R1 and a '03 FJR. To me there is no comparison between the two. I've ridden sportbikes for the best part of 25 yrs. The FJR does what it was made to do very well, tour with a little sport thrown in. The R1 on the other hand does not tour well as compared to the FJR, but the R1 does promote confidence at speed, a very focused bike (like all liter bikes of today). Things happen very quickly! Very rewarding in the right hands, very dangerous in the wrong ones. If people are timid about pinning it in first gear on a FJR, don't even think about it unless your ready for 90+ mph wheelies in first on the R1. Bottom line is I enjoy both for what they are, different ends of the spectrum for me!

I agree. The original question came from a sportbike to fjr perspective. So long as you realize what you are getting, I think you will be fine. I didn't expect the FJR to be ask fast and flickable as the R1. I also wasn't looking for the same, but performance is an issue. So long as the expectations are properly set, you'll enjoy it. I do.