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I can do a fair amount of comparison:

1. GL1500 - far better two up mount than the FJR. best for long distance 2-up. otherwise a pig.

2. FJR - most fun 2 up bike. my usual commuter. still adding farkles so I must like it a lot. butt still gets sore from Corbin seat after about 2 hours and handle bar buzz sometimes a problem.

3. ZRX1200R - super fun, better motor than the FJR, if it was available with fairing and lowers I would prefer it over the FJR (I don't mind chain maint and prefer the lighter weight)

4. TL1000R - fun hot rod.

 
I just bought another VMax. Wow. I'd forgotten how much fun they are to ride. Not much of a handler and the seat sucks, but not planning on taking any trips on it. That's what the FJR is for. The Vmax is just for putting around town. :scooter: :evilsmiley03: :evilsmiley03: :evilsmiley03: :evilsmiley03:

GP

 
Oh man. Me likey!!I see you've got some (a?) Staintunes on there too, eh? Verrah noyce.
A 4 into 1 system Fred so one Staintune.

Compared to the FJR....

It's 55kg (121 LBS) lighter.

Motor is smoother.

Gearbox is smoother.

No ABS but the same size discs, so stopping the lighter bike is easy.

Handles the twisties with ease.

Has a 6 speed box and gets the same mpg as the FJR

It's chain drive and has no fairing would be the only negatives that the FJR does have.

You can also get the bike in blue.

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I had an 05 Warrior (wanted the FJR but couldn't wait back then) and then bought a not-allocated 06 FJR. Both entertaining, but the Warrior is sold and the FJR still owns the garage,

The Warrior handled well and was a blast to ride, but just couldn't keep up with the appeal and flexibility of the FJR, not to mention speed and power.

 
My other bike doesn't compare to a fjr, but I like it for buzzin around town.The kawi 05 800A has many added parts (cobra pipes. air kit, bars, headwinds knockoff headlight, signals, chrome etc. etc.) Pretty fast for a little cruizer, can whip most cruizers with twice the displacement! (Duke don't like the noise this bike makes and heads for the back yard when I start it up)

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I've had my FJR for a year and 10k miles now, it's my 10th bike in 20 years of street riding. This year I added a wr250r to the garage as a 2nd bike and to try a little bit of dirt riding for something new. The two aren't really comparable as street bikes, but being so drastically different makes it easier to pick between them depending on the task at hand.

I put a rear rack on the wr and started using it to commute to work after I picked up a screw in the FJR's rear tire on a bit of gravel going into the parking lot. It's also dusty where I park at work and the wr doesn't show it like the FJR does (I hate black paint). I prefer the wide handlebars on the wr to the point that I'd considered trading the FJR for a GS or 990adv, but I bought the FJR to take long trips on with minimal maintenance, and I don't think there's much that really comes close to the FJR in that respect while still being as fun to ride when the road starts to curve. I rode the wr 200 miles in a day a few weeks ago, and it wasn't as bad as it sounds, but I was definitely more fatigued at the end of the day, where as at 200 miles I would've been just getting started with the FJR, I don't think the FJR would've handled the atv trails and forest roads as well as the wr did...

It's nice being able to have two bikes that are so different, because it makes it easier to appreciate the strengths of each one. The wr is less than 1/2 the weight and it has less than 1/5 the horsepower of the FJR, but if I don't need to go over say, 60mph, the wr is more fun...light weight means a lot. If I'm going out on the highway or covering some distance, the weight and weather protection of the FJR are an advantage and coming off of a 23hp bike really makes the FJR feel like the rocketship it is.

 
My FJR is a great bike.
It would be even better if it had a Honda transmission.

Ralph
Have had many, and still have Honda Transmission(GL1800). Like my FJR better! Yes it does have the 1st gear klunck! But shifts like butter. OldWing has a longer throw. Not for speed shifting!

You should have got that ST1300 you've always wanted!

 
When it's hot here in Texas (like now), I prefer the airflow of the ZX14.

When I want to ride for long distances (>5 hours at a time), I like the FJR.

When it's cold (<50 degrees here in Texas), the FJR is better.

If I could only have one, I would keep the FJR.

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They jokingly call the SV650 the "halfabusa". It's half an FJR as well. 650cc compared to 1300, 75hp compared to 145hp and 350lbs compared to the 700lbs or so the FJR is. About half the price too.

But it's 100% as fun to ride :yahoo:

Can't see parting with either any time soon.

 
When it's hot here in Texas (like now), I prefer the airflow of the ZX14.
When I want to ride for long distances (>5 hours at a time), I like the FJR.

When it's cold (<50 degrees here in Texas), the FJR is better.

If I could only have one, I would keep the FJR.

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ZX14... Me likey :dribble: :clapping:

 
my other bike is a modded '04 SV-650s and it is a hoot to ride. It feels so light and nimble compared to the FJR and I just love the rumbley sound of the Dale Walker Holeshot exhaust. Just flick it around a corner and off you go!!

Great fun for one person to ride..

Having said all that, every single time I fire up the FJR to go for a ride I still get a big grin on my face and just love to ride that bike...

 
I recently added a Triumph Speed Triple as a garage mate for the '04 FJR. Until this new bike I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have a light flickable bike and the wind in your face. Now I ride the FJR if my wife's going or it's below 55 degrees, otherwise I usually take the S3.

I won't part with either one though as I think they're both great bikes in their own categories.

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Well I started out on my XR650L for 2 years and riding 2 up wasn't feesable for more than an hr. before the wify said lets go home. It was a good bike to learn on except on tight trails. The 650 was and still is a lot of fun. I did an AMA ride up in NH and it dam near killed me. I busted several parts and it was an expensive weekend.

I then graduated to the FJR to get more 2up time since the wify was starting to complain I was never home. Allways out riding. Now we are a team and are enjoying every minute of riding together. Mind you, the other half was originally against riding motorcycles. She seems to have changed her mind and she loves riding now. Funny how that went.



 
my other bike is a 09 KLR650.

completely different but both are a blast.

my wife asked me once, "if one had to go which would it be"?

I replied, "YOU"

she hasn't asked again.

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Two other road bikes in the garage.

Aprilia RSV1000 is the track day bike. 06 FZ1 is the one up, spirited day ride bike. Neither is good for 2 up, weekend rides or carrying lots of stuff commuting. FJR rounds out that need. It's definitely not as zippy and flickable as the other and has picked up the nickname "Sport couch" :) Owning the FJR has actually made me appreciate the others more as they just get used for what they're good at now.

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