How are the AE's holding up?

[Auron]

Do you think a lot of AE owners drop theirs because of the auto-cluth?

 

[Fred W]

Nah. More like 'cause it weighs 650 lbs.

 

[Burnspot]

Yea, I'd say the weight of the bike has a lot to do with it....as well as soft ground, awkward stops, the road shoulder that suddenly wasn't there, failing to fully deploy the kickstand, etc...stuff every bike rider seems to encounter at one point or another.

Just pull the trigger and go for it...don't sit around and rationalize everything.

 

[Top_Speed1]

I'm yet another one looking at getting a left over '09 AE. I hate shifting, I really do. I had given up on the idea of having an AE since I want a new FJR, but low and behold they are still out there!

I have searched this site and found they work pretty good, but how prevalent is the dry clutch syndrome now? Are the systems themselves holding up as well as a non-AE model?

Thanks

I can't quite say I hate shifting like you did as I have a CDL and generally like shifting (feels natural), but once you get use to the AE it's so silky smooth. I use the forefinger exclusively as I found the upshift thumb lever too close to the horn. I think the big advantage is in the downshifts, just click forward bam, you can go down 3 gears with zero effort, saves brakes more than hand job models just cuz it's just so darn easy and QUICK. Ask an Indy Car or F1 driver if he wants to go back to a manual clutch (vs. the paddle shifter) and he would LHAO.

I really think it's an idea ahead of it's time. In this industry you have a bunch of stubborn and non high tech riders who can't (or won't) adapt very easily. I was talking to a couple of old school HD owners at a Wendy's parking lot just last weekend. They got gasp of the windshield retracting, started up a conversation and it was steered to the electronic clutch and they couldn't believe it. I then pulled out my Droid Razr to answer a call and they said... "oh you got one of them there things too huh?". I just LMAO and chalked it up to what it is, I like hi-tech stuff and some just don't. Some of these riders are still having a tough time with an electric start!

So my 09 was still crated and sealed when I purchased it. No problems at all other than I need to find more time to ride her (just nearing 3K miles) and I bought her back in April '12 for $11,000 + tax only, dealer through in some things I wanted like handlebar risers and frame sliders.

Either decision w an FJR will be a good one but if you score a great deal on an AE? Trust me, it's not a downgrade at all!

Good luck.

 

[yamafitter]

If you want to be a Luddite like BeemerDons or be associated with a bunch of losers like RadioHowie, Bustanut & FredW buying their bikes at Antique Shops go out and get yourself a Gen 1. If you are happy living in the 21st Century go get yourself an AE and don't look back.

I never look back which is why I keep losing BeemerDons when he is struggling to keep up with that BMW Land Barge he has.

 

[Auron]

I can't quite say I hate shifting like you did as I have a CDL and generally like shifting (feels natural), but once you get use to the AE it's so silky smooth. I use the forefinger exclusively as I found the upshift thumb lever too close to the horn. I think the big advantage is in the downshifts, just click forward bam, you can go down 3 gears with zero effort, saves brakes more than hand job models just cuz it's just so darn easy and QUICK. Ask an Indy Car or F1 driver if he wants to go back to a manual clutch (vs. the paddle shifter) and he would LHAO.

I really think it's an idea ahead of it's time. In this industry you have a bunch of stubborn and non high tech riders who can't (or won't) adapt very easily. I was talking to a couple of old school HD owners at a Wendy's parking lot just last weekend. They got gasp of the windshield retracting, started up a conversation and it was steered to the electronic clutch and they couldn't believe it. I then pulled out my Droid Razr to answer a call and they said... "oh you got one of them there things too huh?". I just LMAO and chalked it up to what it is, I like hi-tech stuff and some just don't. Some of these riders are still having a tough time with an electric start!

So my 09 was still crated and sealed when I purchased it. No problems at all other than I need to find more time to ride her (just nearing 3K miles) and I bought her back in April '12 for $11,000 + tax only, dealer through in some things I wanted like handlebar risers and frame sliders.

Either decision w an FJR will be a good one but if you score a great deal on an AE? Trust me, it's not a downgrade at all!

Good luck.

Did you buy it out of state? Or was it shipped to your local dealer?

 

[RadioHowie]

I'm yet another one looking at getting a left over '09 AE. I hate shifting, I really do.

Then, you're gonna hate being stuck in 1st gear all the time.

You DO realize, don't you, that you're still gonna have to shift the bike? It ain't a slushbox.

It's still a 5 speed manual...just re-designed for the lazy, the incompetent and the infirm.

 

[bikerjim]

I'm yet another one looking at getting a left over '09 AE. I hate shifting, I really do.

Then, you're gonna hate being stuck in 1st gear all the time.

You DO realize, don't you, that you're still gonna have to shift the bike? It ain't a slushbox.

It's still a 5 speed manual...just re-designed for the lazy, the incompetent and the infirm.

My AE is the best bike I have ever owned. And to all of you slanderers, well, ....

 

[Top_Speed1]

Did you buy it out of state? Or was it shipped to your local dealer?

Local, dealer (Filers Powersports) is about 30 miles away from me in Macedon, NY (they had 2, both now are gone). They bought them on a Yami auction like so many other dealers did.

I'm not going to pump the AE as being the next best thing next the invention of electricity, but if you purchase one you will absolutely love it. Old timers might say it's for Lazy peeps, yeah, and the Amish still use Kerosene lanterns for light too

 

[Sarge]

I see a lot of posts where folks WAY over analyze the AE. It's an "auto clutch", not an automatic transmission. It's NOT new technology, it's nothing to be feared! This technology has been in cars and on other motorcycles for years and is quite dependable. It is no more a departure from the norm that a hydraulic clutch is to a cabled clutch. The more time spent procrastinating is time that could have been spent riding that AE. Life's too short.....BUY IT!

 

[Auron]

Oh yea, I know exactly what I'm getting. I wouldn't want a fully automatic tranny anyway, gotta be able to pick your gear!

I bet Honda thinks we want them though and will invest millions investing in said technology :lol:

So I will have to have one shipped to my local dealer, or buy it out of state and have it shipped to my house. I'll know more this afternoon when I see what my the stealers here can do.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Some dealers were putting them on eBay as well. I think many of them have lowered their inventory as this past spring and early summer I was seeing a ton of them. Kinda dried up a bit but I'm sure you can still find a deal somewhere. Stay 09 and crated if poss.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I don't know about experienced AE owners, but I dang near dropped mine on the first ride out. When you pull up to an intersection, you don't ever realize it but to turn tight into the corner from a stop you actually start dropping the bike to the side as you ease out the clutch. This drops the bike into the turn and your forward motion you've started keep the bike off the deck and you can tightly turn into traffic. I wasn't prepared for the clutch engagement point and wasn't used to it and didn't think about it and I dropped the bike over and it wasn't engaging. Fortunately I managed to keep it under control and didn't drop the bike less than 1/4 mile into it's first ride. Geez, haven't done that since my first motorcycle. :lol: Dropped that sucker on both sides.

 

[Spud]

There's one in Rexburg, Idaho, brand new 2009 AE listed on their site for $11,990.00. As that's the listed price i'm sure they'd go lower to move the thing out...

https://www.rexburgmotorsports.com/

Look under new bikes and it's on there...

Grab a cheap flight from Denver to Idaho Falls and ride it home!

 

[Niehart]

My AE is the best bike I have ever owned. And to all of you slanderers, well, ....

:lol2:

 

[Auron]

Yes, crated is a must.

Sure as heck don't want a bike with 4 year old gas and oil sitting in there after a test ride in early 2009, screw that!

 

[Fred W]

Gas, I understand. But, I didn't know that oil would go bad. :huh:

Speaking of which, what kind of oil you gonna run in that thing?

 

[Auron]

Gas, I understand. But, I didn't know that oil would go bad. :huh:

Speaking of which, what kind of oil you gonna run in that thing?

Yea oil I guess wouldn't matter but old fluids in general just bugs me. Knowing a new bike is fresh out of the crate makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And then to imagine how many unforgettable miles I'll have on the bike and be able to think about how it was sitting in the crate for so much time like in the warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones waiitng for me to buy it and make it my own. :wub:

Oil statement alert!!!

Dino for the first several thousand, then Amsoil after that. I've always heard you want to use regular for a while when it's new to let everything seat well. Just what I heard

 

[Auron]

And BTW, I love how much traffic this site gets! Lots of FJR's out there.

 

[Fred W]

Oil statement alert!!!

Dino for the first several thousand, then Amsoil after that. I've always heard you want to use regular for a while when it's new to let everything seat well. Just what I heard

We'll get this thread moved to NEPRT before you know it!! :blum: