Looking at trading my 08 M109R2 for an 08 FJR...thoughts?

[WTP07]

Hey all,

I just got back from a 2200 km trip on my 08 M109R to the UP in Michigan. Trip was awesome, weather was perfect, scenery and roads were unbelievable.

But....

By the time I got back my neck was KILLING me from the wind buffeting on my head. And I hated taking all my crap outta the non-lockable saddlebags every night, and taking the whole tailbag off the bike....I decided I needed more of a touring bike than a muscle cruiser.

So, I got home, talked it over with the GF (who loves the M109R) and we put her up on Kijiji (the bike, not the GF) for sale/trade. (Kijiji is like Craigslist, for canucks)

Today I got an email from a guy offering a 2008 FJR with hardbags (i'm reading they come standard) and and lockable shad top box.

Bike has 60,000 miles (it's a US bike) which is 93,000 kms. Seems to be in great shape, although at this point I've just seen pictures. He's going to come by tomorrow night we are going to test drive each other's bikes.

My questions are:

• Any known problems I should be looking for?
• Is 93,000 kms getting near the useful life of these bikes?
• If you were buying an 08 FJR, what questions would you be asking the owner?

I appreciate any info you can provide!

Cheers,

Randy.

PS: previous bikes have been 90 ZX6D, 98 CBR600, 12 FZ6R.

 

[101stpathfinder]

I had a Suzuki Intruder (1400) when I bought my '05. My initial thought was to keep both, I ended up selling the Suzuki because I loved

the FJR so much. Never looked back.

 

[BkerChuck]

Randy,

I just welcomed you aboard in your intro post and now saw this.

'08 and up are awesome machines with pretty much all bugs worked out by that point. I have an '07 which was noted along with '06 for a weird throttle cam that made them twitchy and in some cases quite annoying. That changed in '08 and so no real issues there. 60k miles on these is just starting to get broken in. Check for service records, see if valve checks were done and hopefully recorded, they're fairly easy to do. Early bikes the CCT should be replaced but again not too difficult. There are members on here who've passed 300k on unopened engines.

Best of luck!

 

[RossKean]

There were a couple of recalls on the '08 - make sure they were done

Just broken in at 60,000 miles - mine has 160,000 miles (256,000 km) without ANY non-maintenance mechanical issues

I would ask about maintenance history - including valve checks

Look for evidence of being well cared for

Original seat or aftermarket? - you might want to change it

Other than some electrical gremlins (that we can help you with), the bike is darn near bulletproof!

Edit: I type slower than some but I'm sure you get the idea!

 

[Allen_C]

There were a couple of recalls on the '08 - make sure they were doneJust broken in at 60,000 miles - mine has 160,000 miles (256,000 km) without ANY non-maintenance mechanical issues

I would ask about maintenance history - including valve checks

Look for evidence of being well cared for

Original seat or aftermarket? - you might want to change it

Other than some electrical gremlins (that we can help you with), the bike is darn near bulletproof!

Edit: I type slower than some but I'm sure you get the idea!

I agree! Your biggest concern will be what type of maintenance and care has been done to this FJR. If well cared for, it should give you years of use without trouble!

 

[hppants]

Unless you are dead nuts serious about the trade, and you feel that the fair market value of both bikes is equal, do NOT test ride the FJR. You are going to love this bike so much, you will not give it back to its owner.

Straight up - you've been warned!

As others have said, 60K is nothing for this bike. People absolutely abuse the snot out of them, and they still go 150K. With prescribed care and maintenance, 250-300K is no problem. Look for the "mileage milestones" thread on these boards and see how many people are listed. Until you get to 100K, nobody really pays you much attention on that thread.

If the owner can't provide evidence that the valves were checked, plan to do that now. If you are half-way mechanically inclined, we can walk you through it. Trust me, if I can do this, you can to.

Otherwise, there are some other things you will want to do, but it's all nit picky small stuff - if you get the bike, we can help you there too.

Best of luck. Remember, you were warned!!!!!

 

[redzgrider]

Quite a number of us have discovered that the factory seat that felt wonderful on a short demo ride wasn't quite so wonderful at the several hundred mile point. Check the idle speed, below 1050 can lead to some snatchiness at off-idle transitions. Adjustment is a thumb screw under the tank -- but it's a thumbscrew under the tank. At 60K miles you'll want to check the wheel bearings pretty carfuly at the next tire change -- and that being said, you will be shocked at how much more affordable tires are on the FJR (compared to that meatball on the back of the M109).

 

[08FJR4ME]

As an 08 owner with 88K miles and hopefully many more to go. After reading all the crap with the Gen3's issues you can't go wrong. I believe there were two recalls. the ignition key lock and wiring harness (spiders). I wouldn't worry to much if he missed the first two valve checks. I can't remember anyone having to make any adjustment with that little miles logged. You don't usually see any wear until the 3'rd or 4'th valve check anyway. I had one issue with my bike and solved it by adding a PCIII. Other than that you should have many more happy miles to go.

Good luck,

Dave

 

[Bugnatr]

Does the GF ride with you?

If yes, have here sit on the FJR and be sure she likes it if you want her happy.

If no, then do the trade and have fun. Say good by to your cruiser buddies, they won't be able to keep up with you.

 

[Surly]

The low down torque of an 1800cc V twin is great fun, but the all round joy of an inline 1300cc is more, more, more, well more.

Hope the G.F. agrees.

 

[hppants]

OH BTW - that wonderful wind protection you are lusting after is a very real thing.

When you turn that corner, and scan down the road to see a quarter mile of relatively clear pavement, go ahead and twist your right wrist. Do NOT be misled by the (comparatively) quiet, but wonderfully sounding exhaust. Take a peek at the road side. Now look down. No, you have not found yourself into some kind of Buck Rodgers Twilight Zone Vacuum. Yeah - that's right. You are doing a HUNDRED miles per hour!!!! That plastic piece of aerodynamic art in front of you is doing quite a job, eh?

Before you back down below "going to jail speeds", consider the fact that if you wanted to, out exploring the wild west, you could hold that speed all day long. And when you approach a real curve, take marvel at the fact that as you press on the inside bar, the bike actually does what you ask it to do. It actually turns - quite an amazing feat of engineering when the rear tire measures something less than 12 inches wide, the front wheel less than 30 inches in diameter, and the rake closer than the next zip code. When you see that small imperfection in the road ahead, fear not because you have this wonderful thing under you. We like to call it a suspension. It's fantastic - the chassis will absorb the bump beautifully. Your tooth fillings will stay right where they are supposed to. It's a wonderful thing, really.

But you can't really appreciate the best part from a test ride. So you will just have to take our word for it.

At the end of the day, you can actually hold a beer and have a conversation. You won't need a whoopee cushion to sit on, or spend an hour in the **** can trying to re-insert your hemroid. Your arms won't feel like some kind of 3-week old jello that got stuck in the back of the fridge. When you floss tonight, you won't be dislodging bugs from between your teeth. You won't have that "pins and needles" feeling on the bottom of your feet at the circulation works it's way toward your toes.

And tomorrow morning when you wake up, you can do it all over again.

But hey - it's not for everybody.....

 

[Coondawg07]

Right now I'm holding onto my muscle cruiser because I just got my FJR about 2 months ago. So far though, I haven't been on the other bike once.

 

[samamoto]

One of my previous bikes was an Intruder 1500. Like others said, 60k miles is no biggie if the bike was taken care of. Main difference between your current bike and FJR to be expected:

- control, FJR is light years more precise in corners than any cruiser, much more like FZ6R with some overweight and human ergonomics

- weather protection - (unless you have a batwing and a shitload of deflectors on M109) is a completely new perspective. You will basically have wind where you choose to on FJR, at least more or less. Aftermarket windshield helps here a lot.

- ABS - I laid my Intruder once - abs would possibly save me if I had one

- easy start cold - your V-twin may be easy starting around 0 degrees C but with FJR there will be never any doubt.

- vibration - V-twins have nice low punch and sound but at certain cost. It may not bother you but you will notice it.

- if you read about heat issues don't worry. Siting in a traffic at 30 degrees C feels about the same on FJR as cruiser. Difference is the heat from FJR hits your shins and on cruiser your tights/butt.

- the front fairing and width of the mirrors may make it feel wider and heavier than your M109 even if it's just a feeling

Seat and ergonomics on FJR are pretty particular. When I was selling my Intruder I test rode FJR and passed on it saying it feels to crumbled, especially in legs position. After I rode a big GS for a year FJR felt just about right. I can make 600 miles on stock seat in one day with no issues but that is no rule.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Just remember, on an FJR, you can't get into trouble in 2nd gear. BUT, if you hit 40, and twist the throttle in 2nd, you will no longer think the M109 is as fast as you do now.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Road Star Warrior to FJR - Never looked back.

Low-end Grunt is fun......FJR is Fantastic, always love to show the Low-End Grunters the tail light at the Stop Light GP.

 

[WTP07]

So, he stopped by tonight and after some bike-circling and jawing in the driveway, we test drove each other's bikes. (Which sounds dirty, but wasn't). I think we both liked what we experienced on the test drive, at least I did anyway. The FJR wasn't the high-revving supersport I was expecting, but I had it up over 100MPH in no time flat and it was smoooooooooth.

The power windshield was awesome. Full wind in town, zero wind on the highway.

We are both going to chew on it a bit and see what the price difference is we can agree on. (I'm sending some moolah his way)

Should know in a week or so if we can get er done.

3 of his buddies have 109's though, so I think he's feeling left out of his riding group..

I will update if/when we make this happen.

Thanks for all of your info and insight into the machine, it is appreciated!

Cheers,

 

[Bugnatr]

Sounds like a good fit for the both of you. The FJR comes standard with the bag liners to carry your **** stuff into the motel. Be sure he includes those soft bags or deduct a c note form his end of the deal.

I hope it works for you as the Feejeer will open your motorcycle world into another dimension.

 

[sapest]

Check for the toolkit, the hardbag hanger covers,(bag plate cover?, rr fender cover?), and the third lock. (Shad case now, but you never know)

Hope it works out for you

-Steve

 

[Ignacio]

• Any known problems I should be looking for?
• Is 93,000 kms getting near the useful life of these bikes?
• If you were buying an 08 FJR, what questions would you be asking the owner?

Here, here, and here....in order of your questions. These are all basic things we encouraged you to look at when you first signed up and many are pinned for your convenience.