As a history, last year I put about 11,000 miles commuting on my 03 1100 custom, this year so far, about 4k on an FZ6. I say that because I think much of a person's opinion is based on what they are acustomed to riding on...
First impressions of the 06:
Riding postion seems fine, bars maybe just a touch too far away in the default position for me. After riding about 50 miles with the standard setting my right index finger was tingling a little. Last night, I adjusted the bars to the full back positon, today my hands felt fine after riding 130 miles this morning. The seat in my opionion is about as perfect as a stock seat can be. Much more comfortable than my other bikes. Every bit as comfortable as my friends VTX1300, I like it a lot. I have the seat in the stock/low position which works out fine. I'm 5'10" and have a 32" inseam. I'd rate the riding position 10/10, it's awesome for me, I especially like the adjustable bars and seat. My wife was quite impressed with the riding position. She really likes the way the passenger seat contours slightly up towards the front. She doesn't squish up against me like on other bikes when braking.
Wind protection. This one is tough, it's been really windy this weekend which makes gauging the wind protection particularly hard. The bike doesn't get bounced around as much by the wind as my FZ6, the amount of noise driven by the wind is greatly reduced. It does seem as though the shield is about 2 inches too low to give full protection. Don't get me wrong, the shield makes a huge difference when fully upright, it's quite quiet compared to other bikes I have ridden, it's not as good as my brother in laws goldwing though. Then again, I wouldn't expect it to be. Wind protection for your hands is awesome. I've felt very little wind on my hands so far. I road home in the rain with the temp being about 58F with no problem at all wearing a summer riding jacket and summer mesh gloves. It's really cool to be able to adjust the shield up and down as well, it feels quite sporty in the down position, very comparable to my FZ6. I actually rode the bike home in the rain with the shield fully upright. The rain was not a factor at all, I was very happy. As I said, the only real complaint being it would be nice if the shield were a little taller. Tucking ever so slightly with the shield fully upright gives a silent wind free experience, the kind I had hoped for without tucking at all. Also, the new brackets look considerably nicer IMO, I like that the brackets are thicker, they appear to be aluminum in lieu of steel now. There is a slight wissle around 55 mph with the shield fully down. Was no big deal for me, I just raised it slightly and the wissle went away.
Suspension. In the stock position the front suspension seemed slightly squishy to me. I adjusted the forks from the default preload of 4 to 3 and adjusted the dampener one click harder. For me, these settings are perfect. The bike handles exceptionally well! The bike doesn't fell heavy to me at all, it actually feels about as close to perfect as it could be. Lighter bikes like my 6 seem to get bounced around more by the wind. The FJR does not yet it still handles extremely well. I was outside doing figure 8's with it with no problems at all. The rear supspension was fine for me out of the box. It did feel slightly squishy with Mary Ann on the back although I forgot to slide the adjuster to hard. It was noticeably easier to navigate around with her on the back compared to other bikes I have ridden, especially when coming to a stop and turning at low speed. The longer swing arm is really nice as well, the bike doesn't pull the front end off the ground like the 2005 and earlier models.
Transmission. Wow, silky smooth here, the bike shifts exceptionally well. It also does not need an overdrive at all. I've yet to try reaching for another gear. I've come to the conclusion this has nothing to do with the number of gears on your bike but more with the gearing being right. I search for 7th on my FZ6 routinely, I used to go for 6th on the custom frequently as well, I've yet to do so on the FJR. She's comfortably putting along at highway speed. On my ride this morning I tried out her roll on capabilities, it's awesome. By the time you roll to the side of someone you are half way around and need to be rolliner her back the other way. The higher you let the rev's go the harder she pulls. Downshift are not at all difficult. Both my FZ6 and 1100 custom were difficult to downshift at times, the 6 in particular is a little difficult to get to ratchet, also, the transmission fights back unless you feather the clutch when trying to downshift at low speeds. The FJR doesn't exhibit either attribute. The clutch engages much sooner than any other bike I've ridden. It loads up relatively quickly, so much so that I didn't feel comfortable with the actuator set at 5, I decreased it to 4, feels better. It seems as though the clutch partially engages much sooner than what I am accustomed to but engages firmly at close to what I am used to.
Engine, big plus here. The motor is electric smooth with a really awesome yet progressive power band. Engine noise is extremely low, not at all like my FZ6 which has rarely been to red line. The motor pulls hard to red line which arrives much sooner than what you'd expect. My only complaint would be the red line seems to be too low. I'm probably just a little too accustomed to the FZ6, that motor runs like mad from 7 to 13.5k. Conversely, where the FZ6 always seems to be in need of another gear, or two for that matter, the FJR is just humming along. The FJR motor has loads and loads of torque allowing for the lower rev's. It makes for a bike that can run like mad yet is absolutely silky smooth as well. I still can't get over how smooth this bike is.
Brakes, the anti lock system works very well. When the ABS engages the back doesn't seem to pulse nearly as much compared to the front. The linked braking system is tuned just right in my opinion. a big plus. I was hoping for a slightly more aggressive rear brake pedal, like the VTX of my friends that I mentioned earlier. It seems as though Yamaha went out of their way to achieve as close to a non linked feel on the back pedal as possible. The linked brakes are noticeable, but only when you are pushing them somewhat, for me, this rarely happens at all as I tend not to over use the rear brakes.
The gauges on the bike are awesome by the way, although mine seems to be one of the defective ones in regards to the instantaneous fuel readout. The average fuel economy seems to be working though, it indicates 41.2 mpg so far for me. Sounds about right, was hoping for a little more though. Hard to say, first tank and all. Don't worry a bit about the comments regarding the placement of the speedometer ticks. The speedo is much larger than on preveous models, not at all hard to read.
Lastly, I want to give a big thank you to all the folks at Chesterfield Valley Powersports in Chesterfield MO, expecially John and Cheryl. I've been stopping by at least once a week since February
It's amazing those folks put up with me! John had my bike assembled within 5 hours of it's arrival, I picked it up the same day, you just can't ask for better service than that. A big thank you to Jeremia, the technician that performed the final assembly, he did an awesome job. Also, a big thanks to all of you guys for helping me weather the wait. (Not Radman by the way, boohoo to all the flipped super tankers pics, trains etc. )
John
First impressions of the 06:
Riding postion seems fine, bars maybe just a touch too far away in the default position for me. After riding about 50 miles with the standard setting my right index finger was tingling a little. Last night, I adjusted the bars to the full back positon, today my hands felt fine after riding 130 miles this morning. The seat in my opionion is about as perfect as a stock seat can be. Much more comfortable than my other bikes. Every bit as comfortable as my friends VTX1300, I like it a lot. I have the seat in the stock/low position which works out fine. I'm 5'10" and have a 32" inseam. I'd rate the riding position 10/10, it's awesome for me, I especially like the adjustable bars and seat. My wife was quite impressed with the riding position. She really likes the way the passenger seat contours slightly up towards the front. She doesn't squish up against me like on other bikes when braking.
Wind protection. This one is tough, it's been really windy this weekend which makes gauging the wind protection particularly hard. The bike doesn't get bounced around as much by the wind as my FZ6, the amount of noise driven by the wind is greatly reduced. It does seem as though the shield is about 2 inches too low to give full protection. Don't get me wrong, the shield makes a huge difference when fully upright, it's quite quiet compared to other bikes I have ridden, it's not as good as my brother in laws goldwing though. Then again, I wouldn't expect it to be. Wind protection for your hands is awesome. I've felt very little wind on my hands so far. I road home in the rain with the temp being about 58F with no problem at all wearing a summer riding jacket and summer mesh gloves. It's really cool to be able to adjust the shield up and down as well, it feels quite sporty in the down position, very comparable to my FZ6. I actually rode the bike home in the rain with the shield fully upright. The rain was not a factor at all, I was very happy. As I said, the only real complaint being it would be nice if the shield were a little taller. Tucking ever so slightly with the shield fully upright gives a silent wind free experience, the kind I had hoped for without tucking at all. Also, the new brackets look considerably nicer IMO, I like that the brackets are thicker, they appear to be aluminum in lieu of steel now. There is a slight wissle around 55 mph with the shield fully down. Was no big deal for me, I just raised it slightly and the wissle went away.
Suspension. In the stock position the front suspension seemed slightly squishy to me. I adjusted the forks from the default preload of 4 to 3 and adjusted the dampener one click harder. For me, these settings are perfect. The bike handles exceptionally well! The bike doesn't fell heavy to me at all, it actually feels about as close to perfect as it could be. Lighter bikes like my 6 seem to get bounced around more by the wind. The FJR does not yet it still handles extremely well. I was outside doing figure 8's with it with no problems at all. The rear supspension was fine for me out of the box. It did feel slightly squishy with Mary Ann on the back although I forgot to slide the adjuster to hard. It was noticeably easier to navigate around with her on the back compared to other bikes I have ridden, especially when coming to a stop and turning at low speed. The longer swing arm is really nice as well, the bike doesn't pull the front end off the ground like the 2005 and earlier models.
Transmission. Wow, silky smooth here, the bike shifts exceptionally well. It also does not need an overdrive at all. I've yet to try reaching for another gear. I've come to the conclusion this has nothing to do with the number of gears on your bike but more with the gearing being right. I search for 7th on my FZ6 routinely, I used to go for 6th on the custom frequently as well, I've yet to do so on the FJR. She's comfortably putting along at highway speed. On my ride this morning I tried out her roll on capabilities, it's awesome. By the time you roll to the side of someone you are half way around and need to be rolliner her back the other way. The higher you let the rev's go the harder she pulls. Downshift are not at all difficult. Both my FZ6 and 1100 custom were difficult to downshift at times, the 6 in particular is a little difficult to get to ratchet, also, the transmission fights back unless you feather the clutch when trying to downshift at low speeds. The FJR doesn't exhibit either attribute. The clutch engages much sooner than any other bike I've ridden. It loads up relatively quickly, so much so that I didn't feel comfortable with the actuator set at 5, I decreased it to 4, feels better. It seems as though the clutch partially engages much sooner than what I am accustomed to but engages firmly at close to what I am used to.
Engine, big plus here. The motor is electric smooth with a really awesome yet progressive power band. Engine noise is extremely low, not at all like my FZ6 which has rarely been to red line. The motor pulls hard to red line which arrives much sooner than what you'd expect. My only complaint would be the red line seems to be too low. I'm probably just a little too accustomed to the FZ6, that motor runs like mad from 7 to 13.5k. Conversely, where the FZ6 always seems to be in need of another gear, or two for that matter, the FJR is just humming along. The FJR motor has loads and loads of torque allowing for the lower rev's. It makes for a bike that can run like mad yet is absolutely silky smooth as well. I still can't get over how smooth this bike is.
Brakes, the anti lock system works very well. When the ABS engages the back doesn't seem to pulse nearly as much compared to the front. The linked braking system is tuned just right in my opinion. a big plus. I was hoping for a slightly more aggressive rear brake pedal, like the VTX of my friends that I mentioned earlier. It seems as though Yamaha went out of their way to achieve as close to a non linked feel on the back pedal as possible. The linked brakes are noticeable, but only when you are pushing them somewhat, for me, this rarely happens at all as I tend not to over use the rear brakes.
The gauges on the bike are awesome by the way, although mine seems to be one of the defective ones in regards to the instantaneous fuel readout. The average fuel economy seems to be working though, it indicates 41.2 mpg so far for me. Sounds about right, was hoping for a little more though. Hard to say, first tank and all. Don't worry a bit about the comments regarding the placement of the speedometer ticks. The speedo is much larger than on preveous models, not at all hard to read.
Lastly, I want to give a big thank you to all the folks at Chesterfield Valley Powersports in Chesterfield MO, expecially John and Cheryl. I've been stopping by at least once a week since February
It's amazing those folks put up with me! John had my bike assembled within 5 hours of it's arrival, I picked it up the same day, you just can't ask for better service than that. A big thank you to Jeremia, the technician that performed the final assembly, he did an awesome job. Also, a big thanks to all of you guys for helping me weather the wait. (Not Radman by the way, boohoo to all the flipped super tankers pics, trains etc. )John
