FJR v C14
- Thread starter Spud
- Start date
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Sorry for the thread creep but I just threw my leg over the new Triumph Sprint GT. It's taller than my FJR and splays my legs out further. I could not get off the bike without hitting the right side bag with my boot. I'm not trading the FJR anytime soon.
Bill
Bill
Sinister Crayon
Active member
To add my 2c;
I came from a C14 ABS by way of a BMW R1150GS. My opinion is probably not even worth the 2c because I didn't ride them back to back. However, I'm young enough my memory is still pretty good. I seem to still remember my girlfriend's birthday most years...
Anyway, the ergos of the FJR I think are much better than the Connie. The seat on a Connie sits a long way up there, and as mentioned by someone else even for me with my 34" inseam it felt cramped between the seat and the pegs. Yes, you can lower them but I kept my bike pretty stock. The wind protection I found was better above the chest on the C14, but my hands were always out there in the airstream on the Connie, but seem to be behind the cowling and out of the direct wind. Makes colder mornings MUCH more pleasurable.
The Connie also had a high center of gravity. Combined with the high seat it always felt like I was on the verge of dropping it unless I had it dead upright in my garage. Made moving it around a bit of an exercise in terror... my FJR not so much because I can flat-foot it dead easy and walk it around my garage without incident.
I do think the gauges on the Connie were clearer and easier to read than the FJR... 180mph speedometer on the FJR is a bit redundant and optimistic in my opinion and means that almost all of my riding rarely gets it above the 1/3 point. Bit pointless but a nice conversation piece. Anyway... the Connie's dash is generally easier to read and the LCD on the FJR can seem a little busy. Also, the Connie's got some nice big easily visible idiot lights... the FJR's are a bit tougher to spot out of the corner of your eye.
In terms of absolute smoothness... there's a bit of buzziness in the FJR at higher revs, but that rarely impacts most of my riding. And when I am riding at those high revs I am usually too focused on carving a perfect corner to really care. It's also so slight its barely noticeable. The Connie was smooth as silk all the way to redline BUT I felt the transmission was clunkier on the Connie. The tranny on the FJR is smooth as silk, and while some say it could use a sixth gear I think it's just fine because I still have plenty of passing power in top gear on the highway. The Connie I would have to drop a gear or two to get any decent passing power.
One area the Connie was better was in two-up riding. The seat is so long that when my girlfriend was on the back of the Connie I literally had to reach back occasionally to make sure she was still there... especially after a quick takeoff. On the FJR I can feel her right behind me constantly. Neither of us are big people... but this might be an issue for some on long rides.
HTH!
I came from a C14 ABS by way of a BMW R1150GS. My opinion is probably not even worth the 2c because I didn't ride them back to back. However, I'm young enough my memory is still pretty good. I seem to still remember my girlfriend's birthday most years...
Anyway, the ergos of the FJR I think are much better than the Connie. The seat on a Connie sits a long way up there, and as mentioned by someone else even for me with my 34" inseam it felt cramped between the seat and the pegs. Yes, you can lower them but I kept my bike pretty stock. The wind protection I found was better above the chest on the C14, but my hands were always out there in the airstream on the Connie, but seem to be behind the cowling and out of the direct wind. Makes colder mornings MUCH more pleasurable.
The Connie also had a high center of gravity. Combined with the high seat it always felt like I was on the verge of dropping it unless I had it dead upright in my garage. Made moving it around a bit of an exercise in terror... my FJR not so much because I can flat-foot it dead easy and walk it around my garage without incident.
I do think the gauges on the Connie were clearer and easier to read than the FJR... 180mph speedometer on the FJR is a bit redundant and optimistic in my opinion and means that almost all of my riding rarely gets it above the 1/3 point. Bit pointless but a nice conversation piece. Anyway... the Connie's dash is generally easier to read and the LCD on the FJR can seem a little busy. Also, the Connie's got some nice big easily visible idiot lights... the FJR's are a bit tougher to spot out of the corner of your eye.
In terms of absolute smoothness... there's a bit of buzziness in the FJR at higher revs, but that rarely impacts most of my riding. And when I am riding at those high revs I am usually too focused on carving a perfect corner to really care. It's also so slight its barely noticeable. The Connie was smooth as silk all the way to redline BUT I felt the transmission was clunkier on the Connie. The tranny on the FJR is smooth as silk, and while some say it could use a sixth gear I think it's just fine because I still have plenty of passing power in top gear on the highway. The Connie I would have to drop a gear or two to get any decent passing power.
One area the Connie was better was in two-up riding. The seat is so long that when my girlfriend was on the back of the Connie I literally had to reach back occasionally to make sure she was still there... especially after a quick takeoff. On the FJR I can feel her right behind me constantly. Neither of us are big people... but this might be an issue for some on long rides.
HTH!
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Depending on the girlfriend, I might prefer the closer placement. As long as I started thread drift I might as well drift further....Ahem, I see NO need for 6 gears on the FJR. The gear spacing is just fine and IMHO needs no improvement. I frequently skip gears as it is. I can do a perfectly smooth fairly agressive acceleration in 1st, 3rd, 5th. The torque output allows this. 5th gear is just fine at anywhere from 50 to 100+. Seldom is a downshift needed, and if needed 4th provides plenty of acceleration. Bill
carlson_mn
Well-known member
On the FJR, the speedo may not need to be 180 but 170 would pretty much be a requirement in my book..... :assassin:
