Motorcycle.com's 2009 Sport-Touring Shootout

[Shane Stump]

Only once, I'd like to see a article with the same amount of money invested in each. Me thinks sales would go way down on some of the "bikes of the year".

There are so many problems with these comparisons.... some buyers want to compare just prices, some features, etc.

The bottom line is each buyer should figure out what they want / can afford and ride each. After narrowing the selection, research other factors such as Cost of Ownership, dealer network, etc.

Every one saying the BMW 1300 GT is overpriced compared to a FJR reminds me when I took my 2000 Vet to a group meeting... we started discussing other cars and several people mentioned that they don't know how anyone could buy a Porsche 911 when you could get 2 Vets for the same $$$.... I tried to tell them that someone who owned a Camaro / Firebird / Mustang would say the same thing to us.

Bottom line ... BUY WHAT FITS YOU! Next year the new Honda probably be the 2010 bike of the year and Yamaha will take it back in 2015 or so when many of the Gen I FJRers are finally in the market for a new one :yahoo: !

Go riding!

Shane

 

[big_smile_2u]

Thanks for sharing. THe FJR is still the best around bike in this class!

Rick

 

[madmike2]

My FJR is the right bike for me!

My heart still goes pitty-pat when I see it in my garage. I still smile gratefully when I get to commute home after a long day at work. My '05 still gets noticed, riders and non-riders still "ooh and ah" over it.

I've upgraded the suspension for my "svelte" physique, modified other items for my personal comfort and love to ride it. Why would I get worked up over a new bike that is a few percentage points better in some tester's opinion or a few hundredths of a second quicker with a professional riding it through the 1/4 mile?

Shane's right, "Go riding!"

 

[Bustanut joker]

**** mike.. Go put a saddle on yer Gerbil..

Gawd man, you make your love for your scoot so... so.... Pornographic

:jester:

 

[oldryder]

interesting article and commentary.

whether you agree or not with the articles they provide a valuable service. 3 years ago when I was shopping for a sport tourer I read the articles and surfed the forums. learned a lot.

I ended up with an '05 FJR and nothing I have learned since would change my mind.

I'll look over the v-4 honda when it comes out and I'll be a bit surprised if it doesn't have heat issues. might be a great bike if not.

I agree with those that are frustrated by the lack of common touring features like cruise and a sound system. it seems strange to me that the OEM's can engineer an entire motorcycle and then decide it's not cost effective to transplant systems they already have on other bikes.

my 2 cents

 

[madmike2]

Gawd man, you make your love for your scoot so... so.... Pornographic
:jester:

Wellll, Barry, my FJR doesn't suffer from attitude or emotional security issues. I guess that makes it a win/win for me!

whether you agree or not with the articles they provide a valuable service. 3 years ago when I was shopping for a sport tourer I read the articles and surfed the forums.

Yes, the writers do provide a service if one is clever or wise enough to understand their bias and perspective (i.e., there are some writers/editors that automatically give a particular brand a "head-of-the-class" pass). One must also realize that the latest, greatest, newest gee-whiz-how-'bout-that bikes usually win the comparisons and anything that is 2 years old is "outdated" and not of the current style, so the Gen II FJR design being almost 4 years old, is automatically relegated to "also ran" status. Now the C-14 is being displaced. That is the way the market forces seem to work.

Some of us are "dinosaurs" and bought our bikes before there were detailed articles or comparisons available, sight unseen without so much as a "test sit". There simply were no FJRs in North America. IIRC, WFO-1 had 5 FJRs (OCfjr was on his FZ-1). I know this is "ancient history" to some of you but that's the way it was and we were thrilled when, after a 6 month wait, we got the call from our dealer that our FJRs were ready to be picked up.