Information please: FJR Police Edition?

[Cullen]

Hello,

New member here, I am requesting any information on the FJR police addition, our department is considering this bike for our fleet, anyone that has any info I would appre. it if you would pass it along, it has come down to the FJR or the Honda ST1300 pa. I have never owned a Yamaha but am looking really hard at the Venture Transcontinental. I would guess that there isn't a lot of difference between the police addition and the one that is avail to the public. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ignacio]

There isn't a police edition from the factory. I believe those jurisdictions that choose the FJR tend to get custom accessories from various domestic supplier(s) and/or overseas. I think I recall somewhere in Idaho for some parts. Otherwise, France seems to the country that has done a lot with the FJR.

Try searching on +police +edition and you'll find threads like this that include links like this to the part makers.

 

[Cullen]

thanks for your reply, but actually there is a police addition from the factory, it was just brought to the US in late 2018, I have bids from a couple of dealers, (they didn't know they existed either) and called the distributor apparently they haven't even got the info to the dealers yet, based on the normal FJR do you see where there would be any reason that it wouldn't work for a police bike? There hasn't been 1 sold in the US yet and they only have 2018 models. So our PD will be the 1st in the US to purchase one, kinda exciting but kinda scary too

 

[Ignacio]

I learned something new. You're right. Thanks. I just found this page.

If you're PD will be the first in the U.S., then I think you're going to be sharing new information with us.

It's edition with an 'e', I'm sure of that. Not addition with an 'a'. Or better yet, Yamaha and others calls them "police bike", "police-spec", or "police package".

My experience with a police FJR was going 110 kph in the middle of France in a Hyundai and being passed by about 6 Gen 2s doing about 180 kph.

 

[vthokies03]

this might be the first year for "police" version, but the FJR has been in production for years.

The main draw for me to the FJR was the high milage some of the people have put on them. These bikes are reliable.

I wish I could ride my bike all day for money!!

Good luck with it, please keep us informed.

Let us know if you have any specific questions. There are lots of info in this forum.

Matt

 

[Gmann]

Australia has been using police versions of the FJR for years. Not sure how that helps but maybe the parts come from the U.S.?.

 

[Cullen]

It isn't decided yet, like I said its between the Honda and the Yamaha, Harley was almost 8000.00 more so that's out. So apparently some wiring, extra battery and maybe a few other minor changes are the main differences, Im going to be reading catching up and going thru some of the old threads so I can gain some info to make a intelligent decision, like I said I know NOTHING about the FJR, your replies are appreciated Thank You.

 

[BigOgre]

Huh.

Looks like they're using city bags on the "P". And those crash bars are something I don't recall seeing before.

To the OP, if it matters to the department the down-time for maintenance on these bikes should be minimal as they really are fairly easy to work on. And seeing how these bikes have held up over the last fifteen years I don't think you'd be taking that much of a gamble.

Edit: Only offered in the "A" version? I have an ES so can't speak to the Gen III A's suspension but to those that do, would you say it's adequate for service duty? Or would you rather have it firmed up right out of the box? (I'm sorta surprised Yamaha doesn't offer that with this version but maybe it's not necessary?)

 

[Proteus1952]

The below info is straight from Wikipedia. Police models[edit]In Ireland and the UK, the FJR1300 has replaced the Honda ST1300 Pan-European as the patrol motorcycle with several police forces, following that model's withdrawal due to concerns over high speed handling. The FJR is the patrol vehicle used by the police force of Trinidad and Tobago including the units in the convoy of the President and the Prime Minister. It is also used as the standard patrol motorcycle of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.[13] The Danish, French and Australian Federal Police, the Lithuanian Police[14] and the Spanish Guardia Civil also use the FJR1300. Vietnamese Police only use for special events like Xi Jinping visit or Trump - Kim summit.[

 

[escapefjrtist]

Although we're a little partial to the FJR, it's going to be a better platform [and more modern] the the ST. The bike is reliable as a anvil and the platform has proven itself for many years and high mileage. Be careful hopping curbs...there's been a couple oil pans sacrificed while testing ground clearance!

Linky to FJR1300P.

~G

 

[Canadian FJR]

No inverted forks. Seems odd.

 

[sapest]

Many OEM police spec parts available from Yamaha Australia.

For example - https://www.firstclassmotorcycles.com.au/partFinder/fiche/yamaha/2017/fjr1300aph-polic/alternate-4-for-chassis#ficheZone

OP- if you get the chance photos of riser would be much appreciated.

-Steve

 

[FJR Flyer]

I thought the ST was out of production. And if you can still get them, when was the last time it had any updates. The FJR is a great platform.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Where in KY?

 

[Uncle Hud]

Cobb Gwinnett County, GA has police FJRs; I have seen one. They're in northeastern metro Atlanta. I have been stymied whenever I've asked to chat with a motor officer or to snatch a photo of one for publication here. PM sent.

As for why WE ride FJRs ....

My two reasons are it's reputation for reliability -- despite me owning one of the very few that's had an issue -- and the comfort and setup for all-day riding. With an inexpensive aftermarket seat, it's no big deal for me to spend 10 hours a day on the bike. As a counterpoint, I also commute most days on the FJR into midtown Atlanta. It's ability to take urban corners and dodge potholes is something Harley-Davidson will never, ever achieve.

However, like escapefjrtist says above, officers will need to use pedestrian ramps if they spend any time on the sidewalk. I roll sidewalks a lot, courtesy of a nationwide touring rally (some sidewalk photos here), and twice bumped my engine on the curb before deciding that ped ramps were actually built for my motorcycle.

 

[fljab]

On the STs, I had thought that the model you're talking about was discontinued. Has Honda kept the old design alive for police only? Or are they left over '13s? (I think that was the last yr?).

Of course, we all are going to steer you to FJRs as we know how well built, stable, and reliable they are. Hud says above that they have them where he lives, but I've not personally seen any in the US. But if my fellow bubblehead says it's true, then it's true.

I was in Brussels, Belgium this past December. We were walking around and came up on a bunch of police bikes, many of which were FJRs. I stopped and talked to a couple of them for 15-20 minutes as they were waiting to escort Mike Pompeo from the US. The other bikes there were late model BMW RTs. The guys I talked to said the dept had wanted to start phasing out the FJRs (all were 2007 models IIRC, certainly all Gen 2s that I saw), but the BMWs had electrical issues when it rained, so the FJRs were staying for now until they could get that problem figured out. I have pictures on my FB page, but I'm too much an ijit to figger out how to get them here.

There was a Police FJR in a dealer close to me in East Orlando last yr. IDK what happened to it, but it's gone now, or at least isn't on the website. I haven't stopped in there for awhile, might need to do a casual stop and chat.

 

[RaiderBill]

Butte, Montana has fj's for police bikes.

 

[PJ4863]

Not that these guys are going to want to give their business away to the competition, but they've been doing police conversions for a few years. I'm sure they can tell you who is using their product.

https://www.enforcementmotors.com/honda/yamaha-police/2013-yamaha-fjr-1300/

 

[Redfish Hunter]

The old ST1300 (PanEuropean) lasted a lot longer in England than it did here. It seems to be discontinued now but was available new in dealerships up through 2017.

England has not used the PanEuro for a police motorcycle for many years, the death of a motorcycle officer attributed to the "Pan Weave" of the ST at high speeds took it out of service many years ago.

Having been a loyal and happy ST1300 owner for many years I can honestly say that there is no fair comparison between the outdated ST1300 and the modern FJR. I loved my ST1300 but it is not even close to a modern FJR. They stopped being comparable back around 2006.