I was working with a megaproject construction team in 2008/2009 and got to know the project controls manager fairly well. We were talking motorcycles one day and he mentioned that there was a group within the company that did an annual trip each year – was I interested in joining them?
The guy who organized the trip was named Dave and he and his wife Lois set up a 10 day trip each year. Since I didn’t know Dave, I was invited as a probationary member of the group. The week before the trip started, the guy who invited me told me that he wasn’t going, so I was riding with a group of people I had never met before.
It turned out to be a great group; I rode with them for a number of years and Dave and I became friends. Dave had a beautiful 2006 FJR which he was very proud of. He’d ordered it pretty much when they were announced so it was a very early 2006. I had a BMW GSA, so there was always a lot of back and forth as to the pros and cons of BMW’s vs Yamahas.
We used to get together each year and visit the local motorcycle show in January and in 2013, Dave told me that he was selling the FJR to get something lighter. I was looking for something a bit better for two up than the GSA and the deal was done. Riding together that summer, I noticed that something was off with Dave’s riding and in spite of the lighter bike, he was struggling.
Turns out Dave was not well. He had Lou Gehrig’s disease and had to give up riding after that season, then driving a year after that and he left us in 2017. Every time I look at my FJR, I think of my friend.
The bike had 29k km when I bought it from Dave; it now has over 80k km. I own five bikes, so it doesn’t get ridden that much any more but it is still the bike I would take across the country tomorrow. My KTM gets more miles these days but it’s less comfortable (and probably less reliable) than the FJR. I also love that the FJR runs on regular gas – all my other bikes want premium.
Issues:
I got it with altitude sickness and after a couple of years (and the help of this forum) I got that fixed.
It is also not tolerant of tired batteries – it runs like crap on a tired battery but a new battery fixes the issue every time. It actually seems to prefer the Shorai lithium battery that wouldn’t reliably start my BMW to the Yuasa AGM batteries that fail after a few years. Three times I’ve pulled the same Shorai off the shelf and thrown back in when a Yuasa starts causing trouble.
Mods/Farkles:
The only mod Dave did to the bike was to add a Corbin saddle (which I hated), so after a few iterations of trial and error saddles, I ponied up for a Russell and never looked back.
It has upgraded suspension from Penske and Traxxion, a power commander with autotune, Rostra cruise control, MV Motorrad Bridge, Clearwater lights and I fired the Garauld parts cannon at it. There are too many other mods to list.
Originally, I thought I would use the FJR as a bike to ride with my wife and kids from time to time. But the big girl won me over. After all the mods and miles, it fits me perfectly and I doubt I’ll ever sell it. I think Dave would approve.
My GSA and Dave's FJR:
My FJR a few years later:
The guy who organized the trip was named Dave and he and his wife Lois set up a 10 day trip each year. Since I didn’t know Dave, I was invited as a probationary member of the group. The week before the trip started, the guy who invited me told me that he wasn’t going, so I was riding with a group of people I had never met before.
It turned out to be a great group; I rode with them for a number of years and Dave and I became friends. Dave had a beautiful 2006 FJR which he was very proud of. He’d ordered it pretty much when they were announced so it was a very early 2006. I had a BMW GSA, so there was always a lot of back and forth as to the pros and cons of BMW’s vs Yamahas.
We used to get together each year and visit the local motorcycle show in January and in 2013, Dave told me that he was selling the FJR to get something lighter. I was looking for something a bit better for two up than the GSA and the deal was done. Riding together that summer, I noticed that something was off with Dave’s riding and in spite of the lighter bike, he was struggling.
Turns out Dave was not well. He had Lou Gehrig’s disease and had to give up riding after that season, then driving a year after that and he left us in 2017. Every time I look at my FJR, I think of my friend.
The bike had 29k km when I bought it from Dave; it now has over 80k km. I own five bikes, so it doesn’t get ridden that much any more but it is still the bike I would take across the country tomorrow. My KTM gets more miles these days but it’s less comfortable (and probably less reliable) than the FJR. I also love that the FJR runs on regular gas – all my other bikes want premium.
Issues:
I got it with altitude sickness and after a couple of years (and the help of this forum) I got that fixed.
It is also not tolerant of tired batteries – it runs like crap on a tired battery but a new battery fixes the issue every time. It actually seems to prefer the Shorai lithium battery that wouldn’t reliably start my BMW to the Yuasa AGM batteries that fail after a few years. Three times I’ve pulled the same Shorai off the shelf and thrown back in when a Yuasa starts causing trouble.
Mods/Farkles:
The only mod Dave did to the bike was to add a Corbin saddle (which I hated), so after a few iterations of trial and error saddles, I ponied up for a Russell and never looked back.
It has upgraded suspension from Penske and Traxxion, a power commander with autotune, Rostra cruise control, MV Motorrad Bridge, Clearwater lights and I fired the Garauld parts cannon at it. There are too many other mods to list.
Originally, I thought I would use the FJR as a bike to ride with my wife and kids from time to time. But the big girl won me over. After all the mods and miles, it fits me perfectly and I doubt I’ll ever sell it. I think Dave would approve.
My GSA and Dave's FJR:
My FJR a few years later:
