FJR1300 vs ST1300 vs Concours 14

[protondecay123]

Brakes ST1300 1st, FJR1300 2nd, Concours 14 3rd

The FJR took 144 feet to stop from 60 mph and it took second place with that performance? Y'ok...

Nice bike overall, the FJR. And I'd still choose it. But on brakes it deserved last place.

That stood out.

Those mags can compro whatever and I'm sticking with my FJR as long as it will get me from point A to point B. :yahoo:

 

[juniorfjr]

Opinions are like A--holes, everyone has one. Of course we like the results and can see their reasoning. While on the other forums they are wondering WTF.

I bought the bike I wanted. If I listened to the preponderence of opinions, I'd have probably gotten a harley.

 

[uralrob]

I think age of the testers is something to consider, and although MOTORCYCLIST may get some comments here about their "objectivity" I do appreciate them giving a testers age, height, weight and inseam when they feature a comment from them.That said, I'm not sure one can find a tester that thinks and feels exactly like you do, but finding one of the same size and weight helps.

I'm 53 and sure do not seem to act or behave like alot of other 50+year olds I know, and I do have my own rather distinct tastes and prefferences.

All these comparo's and road tests are really just a general snapshot of a particular model, the only way to know what YOU think about one is to go try one out yourself.

And to be candid here, my desision to buy an FJR was in fact largely influenced by what I had read about in all the major bike publications, so perhaps I'm a hypocrate.....

KM

Gee, honey, you sure don't look 53!

Rob (who would like to be 53)

 

[DocDanDC]

Glad the FJR scored higher then the others but they should focus on the road ahead. Wish they would do an article on all of the common upgrades specific to each bike based on Forum information. That would tell us what the condition of the bikes were compared to their relative problems seen by each of the Forums. SPLITTING HAIRS AGAIN IN MY OPINION. They are all good bikes. I prefer the FJR.

 

[blufjr]

I have read all the recent reviews and got the impression that all the bikes were great. I will say that again, they are all great. Minor differences determined the winner, of which none really seamed too serious, except for the 144 feet to stop the FJR.

I'm thinking a SportTouring forum is the place to be. More to talk about and just look good with all the variety when you get together.

Anyone know of a good Sport Touring forum that has lots of members and seams to function well in all parts of the County?

 

[madmike2]

Anyone know of a good Sport Touring forum that has lots of members and seams to function well in all parts of the County?

Yeah, most people here are on (or have heard of) ST.n. including the admins. That forum goes past the County and is nation wide.

 

[Dan23]

Brakes ST1300 1st, FJR1300 2nd, Concours 14 3rd

The FJR took 144 feet to stop from 60 mph and it took second place with that performance? Y'ok...

Nice bike overall, the FJR. And I'd still choose it. But on brakes it deserved last place.

That stood out.

Those mags can compro whatever and I'm sticking with my FJR as long as it will get me from point A to point B. :yahoo:

I'm not planning to change bikes either, but I have noticed my FJR brakes are not very good when you're really trying to stop fast. I may consider updating to an '08 though if Yamaha really improves the brakes.

 

[protondecay123]

I have read all the recent reviews and got the impression that all the bikes were great. I will say that again, they are all great. Minor differences determined the winner, of which none really seamed too serious, except for the 144 feet to stop the FJR.
I'm thinking a SportTouring forum is the place to be. More to talk about and just look good with all the variety when you get together.

Anyone know of a good Sport Touring forum that has lots of members and seams to function well in all parts of the County?

Sport-touring.net. It's an awesome website. Regional and national meetings. Lots of fun. :yahoo:

 

[zorkler]

m.c.n. does the most in dept coverage than any other mag. out there . i rate them munber 1 .not becuse i ride the fjr . They have articles on all aspects of riding and zero ADS . The othe mags. give you maybe 2 to 2 1/2 pages or fluff if that and the ones i read had the kawie the best of the bunch great raves all over the place . You would think the kawie team with all this time that had passed would of did there home work .

 

[Fore Stroke]

Fascinating, ain't it?

Less than 10 years ago, sport touring was the ST1100, the C-10 and the 'original' K-GT "flying brick." Today, Big Red, Mamma Yamma and Team Green have all introduced new steeds in the last 4 years.

Competition does improve the breed, and I really don't care what one mag says about this bike or that bike or the other, or who won. What is important (especially for us!) that companies like Yamaha read these comparos and if enough people bitch about the stiff throttle (or heat, or balky shifter), the correction gets made.

These may be the best of times for sport touring............

Don

 

[RadioHowie]

144 feet to stop from 60mph? What did they think? They were on an AE and BOTH levers were gone?

 

[Wicked Webby]

OK Riders,

Well I for one am not going to knock our FJR's or why they did so well because I know why, I ride mine all the time...

I have pondered a couple things(three to be exact) about some of the numbers they printed and would like some of your actual opinions..

Please bear with me, I think I have a couple valid points:

(1st)

The Dyno results particularly... In the MCN paper article they showed the FJR having around 121 HP, the C14 having around 136 HP and the St1300 having around 109 HP. Here I go........... Motorcyclist Magazine reported: the FJR around 127(consistently over the years), their C14 around 135 and the St1300 around 114. Yes, Yes, YES..... I know different dyno's always mean different numbers and of course different weather test factors BUT.... Why is this particular MCN paper article have such a large difference between the FJR and the C14... They report the C14 as having around a 15 HP advantage. When Motorcyclist reports only a 8 HP difference between the two bikes. Also the dyno inconsistency (between MCN's latest paper test and Motorcyclist's reported numbers) already seems to be around only 5hp... If you compare the MCN's latest paper results of their test on the St1300(109 HP) and Motorcyclist's test on the St1300(114 HP). Something is up with the FJR's reported HP. Check it out:

https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/performancedata/

*******Also to help support this conclusion:

(2nd)

The top speed tests... The MCN paper article showed the FJR top speed of 148, the C14 top speed of 157 and the St1300 top speed of 142. Here is the interesting thing... The MCN Online magazine previously reported individual performance tests of these same bikes. The FJR top speed of 154, the C14 top speed of 151 and the St1300 top speed of 141. Again a BIG discrepancy of the FJR (then VS now) they tested for the latest paper article as being down 6 mph(from their own previous test of the Gen II) and the C14 up 6 mph (from their own previous test of the same model also). I can personally object to their reported top end speeds of the FJR(148 paper and 154 online) because I have had mine(on GPS) slightly faster than they even reported on the online test(Yes, Ponyfool-closed track of course). Check it out:

FJR

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikerevi...e|1&id=1899

C14

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikerevi...amp;R=EPI-93946

(3rd)

Also, I am not even gonna get into the weird braking data reported for the FJR because it was previously addressed on this thread. Just another example of my final point below.

I am not questioning the validity of any of the MCN's tests. I too have found them to be the least model specific bias of all the magazines BUT... I wonder if they got their hands on a BRAND SPANKING NEW FJR (not broke in yet) OR had some type of performance problem with the FJR they tested.. Bad gas, FI problem ect etc or just a weak factory floor version... Who knows. Yes, I also know that "most sport tour riders don't care about Dyno numbers and top speed" BUT I found this kind of interesting.

IF ANYTHING.... THE MCN TESTERS FOR THIS LATEST SIDE BY SIDE COMPARO HAD A IRREGULAR FJR (not a c14)!! AND THEY STILL RATED IT NUMBER ONE!!

Just my take.

WW

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Webby -- one other possibility is at some point a manufacturer (Yamaha for first testing reported online, or possibly Kawi for this test, etc.) slipped a "tuned" motorcycle to the testers. It has been known to happen, and it would explain at least some discrepency. I am not a conspirator theory kind of guy -- probably just assembly line variation or new bike as you point out, but the business is cutthroat and I don't put it past somebody to try to sneak a special bike for the magazine piece.

 

[Wicked Webby]

Webby -- one other possibility is at some point a manufacturer (Yamaha for first testing reported online, or possibly Kawi for this test, etc.) slipped a "tuned" motorcycle to the testers. It has been known to happen, and it would explain at least some discrepency. I am not a conspirator theory kind of guy -- probably just assembly line variation or new bike as you point out, but the business is cutthroat and I don't put it past somebody to try to sneak a special bike for the magazine piece.

ShinyPartsUp,

You could be very right.. Maybe on all sides... Could be that Yammie and Honda Both didn't get their preferred bikes to the latest MCN testers.. Over the years I have personally seen many examples of the same model bikes and same years making different power... The Hotter bikes seemed to be built in the middle of the week rather than MON & FRI's...

WW

 

[Knifemaker]

I think that testing one (1) of each bike is not going to give the same results as testing , say, 15 models of each bike. I know that no two bikes are the same, even if they came off the assembly line right after each other.

From what I understand also, test bikes get passed around to the various bike magazines. And I know if someone gave me a bike to ride for a week , only to be given to the next guy in line, I would ride that bike like I stole it. ..new bike (as in 0 miles) or not.

So really, the odds are that one model can be in good shape or bad and not be a fair representative of that particular model are pretty good. Add to that the possibility that the test bike is "tuned" factory tester or "ringer , and you almost wonder what the point is in reading the damn article to begin with......

Which is why I don't put much stock into what any ONE test or write up has to say, but tend to read Them All , and .....join a forum like this of owners and read what they think. Then from that I feel I have a better picture of a bikes potentials , strengrhs and weaknesses.

KM

 

[Dangerous Dave]

This test also confirms my position for the last 15 years that MCN is little more than junk mail. I have subscribed several times in the past hoping that MCN would improve and live up to its hype but so far it just hasn't happened.

+1! I also subscribed to MCN more than once, only to leave in disappointment. I bought products based on their 'best-buy' recommendations, only to find it was total crap. I did about 75 miles one afternoon on my buddy's C-14. Some things I liked better than my FJR, some things I hated. Many came down to personal preference. As such, I think little of this shootout or the one done by Motorcyclist has to do with advertising dollars, kickbacks, or lack thereof. It has to do with personal preferences. Magazine guys can TRY to be unbiased, but personal preferences will always shine through, one way or another. I will say the the C-14 is disappointing in the fact that it had VERY clear targets to aim for and plenty of time to take aim. It should have trounced the competition and definately did not. The C-14 is a very nice bike, but nothing about it made me feel the need to go trade in my FJR for one. I do concur with MCN that seat-of-the-pants felt no clear motor advantage in the C-14, but I found it much more "flickable", and it was buttery smooth. I'll still gladly race one down any road...twisty or straight.

 

[ken0350]

Hmmm.... Concours was dead last in every category. I can't really understand how it was rated last in Engine????
Really surprised. Maybe Mammy Yammy gave them a little extra incentive. Black FJR's for all the reviewers!

It was rated last because the engine only came on strong in the upper range and for real world riding they had to ride one or two gears lower than the FJR in order to get the power out of the Connie. It is basically a detuned 14 mill instead of a purpose built engine for tourning. As long as they kept it in the upper RPM range it did have more power but who wants to scream the engine all the time while tourning.

I also read an article in Motorcyclist about the guy that rode the connie in an iron butt and absolutely hated the heat output. He was having to put ice in his pants in order to combat the heat the thing generated. The ST has heat problems but the Connie seems to be worse.

FJR is the ticket.... we all picked the right ride.

Ken

 

[Flyguy]

.see other

 

[Flyguy]

One other little tidbit that was listed in the specs but not mentioned about the engines was their octane requirements.

FJR - 86 ron

C14 - 90 ron

ST - Premium

This is going to be more of a factor as prices rise and also shows the RELATIVELY relaxed state of tune the FJR enjoys. Plenty of room for developement if the individual or Yamaha feels the need.

Also, even though it had the strongest low end torque, the FJR also had 5% better fuel comsumption which almost got it to the range of the ST with a 1.1 gal smaller tank. These are very important factors when touring. The 215 mile range on the C14 would simply be unacceptable to many/most tourers. This was a BIG mistake by Kaw.

Why was it last?

1. Worst economy.

2. requires mid grade

3. 215 mile range

4. softest low end torque

5. highest projected sevice cost

6. worst roll-on performance

Remember that the FJR put a taller rear end in 06 which gave it nice longe gear ranges but hit 1/4 mile times and roll-on times. They felt that the trade off was worth it considering the class it was in.

There is more to a touring class review than 1/4 mile times.

 

[Knifemaker]

And from what I have read, or not read..the C-14 does not have ABS or even offer it as an option?

KM