How is the giddy-up-and-go on the FJR motor, 0-80mph?

[phroenips]

I remember riding with a buddy who has an FZ1. When we would turn onto a new road for instance (say, after a stop sign), I'd punch it to force a smile

After the ride, he told me he couldn't keep up when I did that. It was mostly a gearing thing, but I'll take it either way

 

[vtwinn]

I've had a Bandit 1200, SV650, SV1000,and a Pacific Coast in the last 4 years.

The FJR pulls as hard as the Bandit (popular with the hooligan set),handles as good as the Sv1000

and has almost as good wind protection as the Honda.

It does have a great thrust at any rpm.over about 4000 , and brakes to haul it down as well.

You should be happy with just a few mods to 'make of yours'

 

[SeattleTy]

Out of all the motorcycles that I have ridden, I would say the FJR has been the best experience for me.

It has provided me with everything I would need on a cross country trip, making the trip comfortable, reliable and enjoyable.

It takes time to get to know any new machine, give it some time and upgrades and you will soon discover...... what you have is an excellent performing machine in the FJR

 

[deanw]

See, there's a reason I kept the Falco when I bought an FJR... then bought a DRZ400SM, then a T800XC...

Of course we're all biased, but if you're talking about heavyweight sport-touring, the FJR seems to be the best combination of weight, handling, power, features, and price.

 

[Road_Runner]

I owned a 955i Sprint ST before the FJR. Miss the flickability of the Sprint, like the wind protection of the FJR. Both accelerate in an accepably entertaining manner.

I believe that the FJR is the best value for a new purchase on a sport tourer that has cruise. There are many left over Concours 14's around for as little as $11000 if you can do w/o cruise. Even some non-current FJR's out there, too.

 

[littlefish]

See, there's a reason I kept the Falco...

I sure wish I could have kept mine, but such is life!

 

[Usul]

There are bikes that have more high end power. There are bikes that have more low end torque. There are bikes that have more storage. There are bikes that are more comfortable. But for me there is no bike that does it all as well as the FJR...and will do it all more trouble free than most any other bike out there. BTW - my previous ride was a ZRX1200 and while I would take her to dinner and tractor pull, I'd give the FJR a foot massage and listen to her tell me about her day...and that's true love.

 

[networkguy]

There are bikes that have more high end power. There are bikes that have more low end torque. There are bikes that have more storage. There are bikes that are more comfortable. But for me there is no bike that does it all as well as the FJR...and will do it all more trouble free than most any other bike out there. BTW - my previous ride was a ZRX1200 and while I would take her to dinner and tractor pull, I'd give the FJR a foot massage and listen to her tell me about her day...and that's true love.

Pics or it didnt happen

 

[supertankerm60a3]

83MPH...

in 2nd...

bumping the revlimiter.

never counted the seconds but is wasn't very many.

A friend an I were out on a leisurely ride, he rides a V-Star 1100. We were cruising along at about 70. I dropped Silver into second and moved up slowly across from him in the next lane, matched his speed,looked over, smiled and nodded. Then, WHACK, lift the front, bump the limit as I shift, LMAO and get back in the slowlane... sanity restored. (He thought the V was fast)

FJR's are not SPORT bikes but they are really close.

 

[RadioHowie]

Some interesting coincidences in this thread.

I have a 2004 FJR. I also have a 2002 ZRX1200R.

In the 10 1/2 years I've owned the ZRX, I've put 35,000 miles on it.

In the 7 years I've owned the FJR, I've put 75,000 miles on it.

Still own the ZRX AND the FJR.

I wouldn't trade either for the other, 'cause I'm thrilled to death with both.

 

[FJR Bill]

Hey Hungry Howie.

Had a modified 99 Bandit that really kicked ***. Put a mere 66,000 miles on it. Loved the bike, what a wonderful machine. Similar to the ZRX. I took it to West Virgina and back to Florida and realized that while its comfortable, powerfull, it lacked wind and rain protection and unless modified doesn't carry much cargo for my camping adventures. My Bandit was mean but my 09 FJR is about its equal in power but superior comfort and excellent luggage. Truthfully because of its lighter weight I could be way more aggressive in the twisties on the Bandit. But the Sport Touring nature of the FJR wins overall. I'm young at 64 years old and last May did a Florida/California/Florida ride with 700 mile days. Mostly backroads and I found the the FJR to be the perfect machine for such a ride.

Bill

 

[HotRodZilla]

LittleFish, if you were happy with the Sprint's acceleration, you'll really like the FJR. The Sprint is fast, but no match for this bikes pick up.

 

[garyahouse]

Coming in to work this morning, I was passed by a fella riding a sport bike. Sounded like he was running about 5k rpm at 55. Those things sound like angry mosquitos. It was about 50 degrees, and he had himself hunched over so he could get his face out of the wind blast. With that scrawny excuse for a windshield, that took some serious crunching. Reminded me of the way my kids used to curl up in a ball on the couch. Sport bikes. I wouldn't last 10 minutes riding around in that position.

So granted, we're talking about acceleration here. The FJR is like having my own personal roller coaster. But I got to thinkin' just how comfortable the FJR is, not just out on the slab, but on my 20 mile hike to work. And as much as we've read about the heat generated by the old Gen 1 models, my Baker air wings pretty much cured that problem. But in the colder months, it's wonderful... it's like riding on an oven... with some pretty wicked acceleration to boot.

By the way, ever notice the gas mileage of bikes like the new Kawi Zx14r? Yeah, it's got torque. But the mileage is awful. When I'm on a long trip, my FJR gets about 44mpg. I know some guys get more, but I'm happy. With gas at 4 bucks a gallon, that just another little plus... of owning one.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[littlefish]

Some interesting coincidences in this thread.

I have a 2004 FJR. I also have a 2002 ZRX1200R.

In the 10 1/2 years I've owned the ZRX, I've put 35,000 miles on it.

In the 7 years I've owned the FJR, I've put 75,000 miles on it.

Still own the ZRX AND the FJR.

I wouldn't trade either for the other, 'cause I'm thrilled to death with both.

Which one pulls better from 3500-4k rpms?

 

[wheatonFJR]

I certainly don't live around 3.5-4k if I'm thinking about performance.

 

[littlefish]

I certainly don't live around 3.5-4k if I'm thinking about performance.

I agree. I was asking Howie because I can reference my launch experience on my ZRX starting at those kind of RPMs.

 

[RadioHowie]

Some interesting coincidences in this thread.

I have a 2004 FJR. I also have a 2002 ZRX1200R.

In the 10 1/2 years I've owned the ZRX, I've put 35,000 miles on it.

In the 7 years I've owned the FJR, I've put 75,000 miles on it.

Still own the ZRX AND the FJR.

I wouldn't trade either for the other, 'cause I'm thrilled to death with both.

Which one pulls better from 3500-4k rpms?

Oh, without a doubt, the FJR!

But the ZRex goes freakin' BONKERS from 5k to 12k! (The motor ain't eggzakly stock!

)

 

[HYCLE]

My employer rents Sacramento Raceway every year and lets us invite our friends and family to run the dragstrip. When I ran my 2005, for the first time, I ran a 12.12 time at 116 mph. The speed at the 1/8 mile mark was 98.6 mph and this was with my 250 lbs slowing it down.

Another instructor made a pass with it, that rides a liter sport bike, and could not believe how hard it pulls of the line and lifts the front wheel in first and second. He ran 11.94 and is sure he could get it under 11 seconds with more passes. Not bad for a bike with 80k miles of abuse and PR2 tires.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Dang...that sounds like fun.

 

[ionbeam]

This fat, old, gray hair guy puts his '04 through the lights around 11.2 sec @ 121 without doing anything to kill the bike. If I really got after it I'm sure there are sub 11.0 runs in it. The most notable thing is how easy it is to get off the line. When I run against people the first time I usually beat 'em down the track because they were shocked at the 1.6x sec. 60' times and it put them off their game plan.