Is the FJR the right tool?

[Cheney McLennan]

Planning a little scoot from Kenai, Alaska to Nova Scotia and back, and am a little hesitant about doing it with my souped up 04' Road King Custom. I've been coming up to speed as of late on the touring bikes but find both the Goldwing and the K1200LT a little bulky for my tastes. I'm extremely encouraged by all that I read about the FJR, it's weight,power,comfort and rideability. According to CycleWorld, the folks at Yamaha have supposedly addressed the ass fire situation (excessive engine heat in the summer months) and I would fully expect to have the seat customized for those 800 mile days, but what is all this I hear about hands going numb? I've never experienced this on any of the six bikes in my past. Thanks for any insight.

 

[markjenn]

Planning a little scoot from Kenai, Alaska to Nova Scotia and back, and am a little hesitant about doing it with my souped up 04' Road King Custom.  I've been coming up to speed as of late on the touring bikes but find both the Goldwing and the K1200LT a little bulky for my tastes. I'm extremely encouraged by all that I read about the FJR, it's weight,power,comfort and rideability. According to CycleWorld, the folks at Yamaha have supposedly addressed the ass fire situation (excessive engine heat in the summer months) and I would fully expect to have the seat customized for those 800 mile days, but what is all this I hear about hands going numb? I've never experienced  this on any of the six bikes in my past.  Thanks for any insight.

The FJR's inline-four is, for the most part, extremely smooth, but like all I4's, it does buzz a little, especially above 5K. If you're susceptible to hand numbness problems, it can be a big issue, but for the vast majority, it is not. If you've owned I4 bikes before and not had any problems, the odds are overwhelmingly that you won't with the FJR. But you never know.

If you want a big, comfortable touring bike and don't want to go up the luxury tourers, then the FJR is hard to beat. I'd look at the ST1300 too; in fact, if you could arrange test drives of 30 minutes or more on both the FJR and ST1300, you'd have a better idea of whether your hands like the V4 vibes or the I4 vibes better. The V4's always feel to me about like a cross between the I4's and the v-twins. But both the ST and FJR are very smooth bikes, so again, it is highly unlikely you'd have a problem with either.

Nobody has a 2006 yet, so we don't know if the heat control measures are going to make much difference or not. But again, for most of us, it has not been a big issue and in your climate, it is even less likely to be an issue. We have to wait and see what Yamaha did.

Personally, if I lived in Alaska with and was planning on doing a lot of the Alcan and similar roads up N, I'd probably get a R1200GS just to gain more versatility and better non-paved road capability. But if you keep the FJR on pavement, it's a great bike.

- Mark

 

[Bustanut joker]

Hands going numb?

Loosen up the wrist straps on yer jacket, your cutting off the blood supply

Or, wear a heavier glove, your gettin' frost bite. Beemer grips will help, but then again ya don't have to death grip the controls she'll only do what ya ask :lol:

I don't see where the heat is an issue. I've road air cooled machines for a coupla decades and most give off at least as much as the feejers. I think it's an overstated issue unless you're wearing shorts and gym shoes when you're ridin'

:jester:

 

[Cheney McLennan]

Ultimately I wish to garage the new bike in the lower "48" in that I would have the ability to ride in warmer climes during the excessively long Alaskan winters. As well, I plan to ride every July and that is why the FJR rider heating situation is of concern. (True, it would not be an issue in Alaska.)

 

[zzkenoman]

Go for the FJR for the long ride, you'll never look back, imo

 

[odot]

Kenai? I used to date a girl from kenai. Us eskimos just love them white women.....

:lol:

 

[Geezer]

I know there are a lot of options for replacement seats and some folks have done their own seat modifications. I personally have no complaints about the stock seat.

You'll find the same story about bar risers. Many people have installed risers and those come in different heights and angles to suit. I find the bars comfortable in the stock configuration.

There is a problem with heat on the pre-06 models. Don't know about the '06 yet. It doesn't seem to bother some people as much as others. The left side gets hotter than the right. There is a Cromeit fix for the left side but I have not installed it yet. I find that as long as I wear long pants the heat isn't a problem. When I was younger I used to wear shorts, t-shirt, and sneakers in the warm weather. Now I wear protective gear. If you wear shorts in the summer I'm sure you'll find the heat very uncomfortable. (And I expect you'll get a bunch of comments about how crazy it is to wear shorts, as well.)

In my opinion the answer to your question is yes, it looks like the right tool. Try it as it comes for a while before you start changing things.

 

[sparky3008]

I am not a long distance guy by any means of the word. On my fjr even with a custom seat I really wouldn't attempt more than a 300 mile day, which is about what I have done on Harley's and that's with a lot of stops. It is me more than the bike as I seem to suffer from sitting right on my butt bone or something and I don't have an iron butt.

Anyway this is just to say some have heat, hand, butt problems and others don't and probably true of just about any bike.

I put on 3 sets of risers, and changed the hand grips dealing with hand pain, this was separate from the vibe problem. Eventually the cramp buster was my best solution for the hand pain and disconnecting the main throttle return spring and synching the throttle bodies helped and almost eliminated the vibe problem...

I was on the way to buying a Harley or a pure sport bike. This was a great solution for both needs and I really like the bike.

Many guys on here ride it long distance, everyday, year round. I don't think I would do that with any bike I owned but if you are going to do it the FJR is not a bad way to go. It likes to be ridden hard/fast or it just as equally likes to poke around no problem.

Good luck.

 

[turbodave_98]

Sparky,

you got it right, the FjR is a mile eater, and in comfort while eating them up.

 

[vagabond]

I have a corbin seat and an Alaska leather seat as well. Only used the Alaska leather once. Found I don't really need it. Have done an iron butt and can ride all day without discomfort. The fjr just begs for more! By the way, passed up many a HD on my way back from Sturgis, last august. Mostly, saw them in trailers on the way up. Good luck!

 

[Bounce]

Russell

 

[Scab]

You know, there are a few things I would change about the FJR, but who wouldn't? Part of bike ownership is tweakin' it til it's yours and your alone. As far as being the right tool goes - the FJR will fit the bill for more jobs than any other bike out there. At least for me. Size is great, not too big. Power-a-plenty. Comfort for all-day rides. Keeps it interesting for commuting daily. Looks HOT! Storage, etc., etc. etc.

Yep, the Swiss Army Knife on two wheels.

 

[boogahboogah]

I did two long mile runs this summer with the stock seat, and, while my buns didn't fall off, and I didn't get 'cruiser spine tingle', they sure kept me advised of their unhappiness during the long saddle hours. Other than that I found the FJR to be a wonderful high mileage bike. Manuverable, fast, comfortable, storage space, reliable, did I forget anything guys ?

Replaced the stock seat with a Russell. Took the bike out for a five hour ride to check long term seat comfort. After I got home I remembered to think about how my buns felt. The difference a seat can make in long mile days is amazing, and I now understand why other folks in this forum rave about the Russll seat.

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