builderwill
Well-known member
From the debut of the FJR and the first review I read I told myself this would be my bike someday. All that time I had a '97 bandit 1200 (still do) which was able to handle the small amount of touring I did and is just an all around capable and fun bike. Well after looking at what's on the market and doing some research on this forum (thanks everyone) I found just what I was looking for on ebay in Atlanta the same week I was going to be there on business and just couldn't resist the fever anymore. I ended getting a 2008 1300A with about 1600 miles on it. I couldn't wait to ride it home to St. Louis.
I couldn't leave until early afternoon and made about 420 miles on the first day. Wow, what a difference from the bandit! I've seen all the complaints on the stock seat, handlebar vibration, etc and was a little concerned doing that mileage my first time out. But honestly I couldn't have dreamed a more comfortable ride. Towards the end I had some backside discomfort, but heck I'm uncomfortable in a recliner if sit there for hours with limited movement. All in all it was great. The only thing I noticed is the throttle seems to take a lot more pressure to keep open than my other past bikes. I didn't know if this was the case for others or just me. It make be just a case of the bike sitting for most of it's life so far.
Wind screen was phenomenal. Actually, even all the way down, while trying to get out of town it made riding almost too boring. Part of my enjoyment riding is feeling the wind and open air. On the second day of my trip home it was in the low fifties and a slight drizzle when I started out. Let's just say I came to appreciate the windshield very quickly. So far I prefer it down most of the time and about 3/4 up when I'm on the highway. That keeps the wind off my arms and shoulders and fairly even wind pressure on my helmet without all the buffeting and negative pressure I noticed when fully extended.
Handlingwise - on the highway was fantastic. I didn't do to much twisties, but let's just say it is different than the bandit. I will definitely need to get some more time in the saddle to get used to the FJR. My first impression was that the suspension felt a little soft and spongey. After reading a thread on here it sounds like that is the way these bikes leave the factory. Once I get the bike back from having the ignition switch recall done I hope to check the settings and do a little tweaking yet this year.
Power is again totally different. I have a holeshot stage 2 kit, exhaust and a timing advancer which gives the bandit 120 bhp. I was really licking my chops to let the FJR scream a little, but sadly, must say i was a little disappointed. Hitting the throttle in low RPM range (about 3K) resulted in a fairly dull response almost to the point of having regrets in my purchase. Since that first impression though it seems the FJR starts making its power at a lot higher revs. I also don't think I appreciated the torque the bandit makes and that may be what gives you that 'Hang on for dear life' feeling. The other thing is the power on the FJR is so smooth. Once when not thinking I was accelerating very fast, I looked down and was into triple digits thinking I was doing 65 or so.
All in all, the bike is just great. It's comfortable, fast, agile and to me still looks way better than any other ST made.
Thanks again to this forum. It helped me quite a bit even before I was an owner and just seems to be a great bunch of people.
I couldn't leave until early afternoon and made about 420 miles on the first day. Wow, what a difference from the bandit! I've seen all the complaints on the stock seat, handlebar vibration, etc and was a little concerned doing that mileage my first time out. But honestly I couldn't have dreamed a more comfortable ride. Towards the end I had some backside discomfort, but heck I'm uncomfortable in a recliner if sit there for hours with limited movement. All in all it was great. The only thing I noticed is the throttle seems to take a lot more pressure to keep open than my other past bikes. I didn't know if this was the case for others or just me. It make be just a case of the bike sitting for most of it's life so far.
Wind screen was phenomenal. Actually, even all the way down, while trying to get out of town it made riding almost too boring. Part of my enjoyment riding is feeling the wind and open air. On the second day of my trip home it was in the low fifties and a slight drizzle when I started out. Let's just say I came to appreciate the windshield very quickly. So far I prefer it down most of the time and about 3/4 up when I'm on the highway. That keeps the wind off my arms and shoulders and fairly even wind pressure on my helmet without all the buffeting and negative pressure I noticed when fully extended.
Handlingwise - on the highway was fantastic. I didn't do to much twisties, but let's just say it is different than the bandit. I will definitely need to get some more time in the saddle to get used to the FJR. My first impression was that the suspension felt a little soft and spongey. After reading a thread on here it sounds like that is the way these bikes leave the factory. Once I get the bike back from having the ignition switch recall done I hope to check the settings and do a little tweaking yet this year.
Power is again totally different. I have a holeshot stage 2 kit, exhaust and a timing advancer which gives the bandit 120 bhp. I was really licking my chops to let the FJR scream a little, but sadly, must say i was a little disappointed. Hitting the throttle in low RPM range (about 3K) resulted in a fairly dull response almost to the point of having regrets in my purchase. Since that first impression though it seems the FJR starts making its power at a lot higher revs. I also don't think I appreciated the torque the bandit makes and that may be what gives you that 'Hang on for dear life' feeling. The other thing is the power on the FJR is so smooth. Once when not thinking I was accelerating very fast, I looked down and was into triple digits thinking I was doing 65 or so.
All in all, the bike is just great. It's comfortable, fast, agile and to me still looks way better than any other ST made.
Thanks again to this forum. It helped me quite a bit even before I was an owner and just seems to be a great bunch of people.
