November MotorCyclist has sport/touring camparo

[Bob Hughes]

My last bike was an ST1300 and I really liked it for 10,000 miles. When I bought the FJR I could not believe how different the two bikes are. The FJR is light, nimble, cooler, and gives less wind protection. The ST is heavy and top heavy in compatison, a bit warmer, larger and with great wind protection. My wife rides a VFR800, it is very light, cool, nimble, and you lean way into it with my build plus I wind the heck out of the V4 to stay in the power band. It also has V-TEC that opens up at 6400 rpm that adds a different flavor to the bike (I know that the VFR was not in the magazine).

Point being that these bikes are more different than they are the same. I think that applies to the entire sport touring category, I love them all but I don't ever think of the Kawi being better than the FJR or any other, I think of it as being another "different choice" of sport tourer.

Of course I can't help but notice that FJR owners seem to keep their bikes longer and when they do trade them often buy another FJR, that says it all to me. I plan on keeping mine no matter what other bike I buy in the future, it's a fun bike.

 

[Dan23]

I finally dropped the other shoe and picked up an 05 FJR. I had a chance to ride a new concourse and it felt a bit top heavy, the FJR seemed to handle a little better to me. 6th gear was nice.

My rule of thumb is to never buy a bike I cannot spell.

 

[CODan]

Anybody notice that it's RED?
Does that mean they tested a Euro model?

That's a dumb ass question.

That's the Black Cherry in sunlight.

Geez, in the show room I hated it, but I like the photos in the sun.

 

[Dan23]

Most important nugget of knowledge in the entire article is hidden away on p. 91: Texaco with Techron is the official fuel of Motorcyclist.

Did anyone notice?

 

[jmarran]

I did notice that Boehm chose to take the FJR home afterwards, though.

You mean that Mr. I-like-everything-about-Honda (Boehm) didn't ride the ST1300 home?

My, my,my!

But check the top gear roll on, and the FJR out gunned the C14 3.4 to 3.8...

Which is exactly what should happen. Remember all of the FJR owners who complained the wanted a "taller" 6th gear? They did exactly that on the C-14, but at normal freeway speeds the engine is below the best torque range for "top gear". I wonder what the difference would be if they had the Connie in 5th....but then we'd want to drop the FJR to 4th and then....and then.....

I like my FJR running exactly where it does at freeway speeds. No need to shift down, just twist on that right grip and go! But then I'm a "lazy" rider and at my advancing age, I like things simple.

I noticed they mentioned the C14 on the highway in 6th gear was at 4000RPM at 70MPH, which is EXACTLY the same as my FJR in 5th when I'm going 70.

 

[Fred W]

I noticed they mentioned the C14 on the highway in 6th gear was at 4000RPM at 70MPH, which is EXACTLY the same as my FJR in 5th when I'm going 70.

'Zactly why none of us needs 6 gears for sport touring. But I guess if you had 6 gears and 6th wore out that would still leave you 5 more to keep goin' on?

 

[madmike2]

I noticed they mentioned the C14 on the highway in 6th gear was at 4000RPM at 70MPH, which is EXACTLY the same as my FJR in 5th when I'm going 70.

But there are other mitigating factors: How do the torque curves compare? Final gear ratios? Total weight w/ rider (Probably the same in this test)?

While the RPMs might be the same, the final ratios for the FJR in 5th vs. the Connie in 6th, the mechanical advantage of the FJR 5th gear final ratio and the fact that it might well be in the "sweet spot" of its engine torque curve would be the undoing of the Connie. Of course, the Connie has a higher top speed for those occaisions when touring at 140+ mph for hours on end.

In the end, I still have the best bike for me. After 4 years of FJR ownership I still smile and enjoy my heart "going pitty-pat" when I open my garage door and see my bike. And I'm glad there are going to be C-14 owners that will do the same. Bragging rights be danged, lets go ride.

 

[Wicked Webby]

Did motorcyclist give a top speed test on the c14 of fjr??

WW

 

[MCRIDER007]

I noticed they mentioned the C14 on the highway in 6th gear was at 4000RPM at 70MPH, which is EXACTLY the same as my FJR in 5th when I'm going 70.

The C14 that I rode indicated 72 mph at 4000 rpms in 5th gear, 82 mph at 4000rpms in 6th gear. Actual speeds at 4000 rpms may vary. My seat of the pants impression was that the FJR was a little stronger than the C14 below 4000 rpms, they were equal both in power and smoothness between 4000-6500 rpms, and the C14 was much smoother and stronger above 6500 rpms. The C14's top end rush was lick in the pants but I rarely run the FJR above 6,000 rpms in the real world so it was not a big selling point for me.

 

[FJR1300Mark]

There are some pretty good sport touring bikes on the market today. I hope we keep getting better ones as technology continues to improve. There is no best bike for everyone on every road. This is my second FJR so I think I've found my best bike for a while.

Great combination of speed, handling, and touring.

Now if you really want a good sport touring bike you should look to the new Bussa 2 BKing. 200 horses must be cool - particulary if you are going in just a straight line.

 

[Foxhuntr]

I loved my ST1100, loved my FZ1 and definitely love my FJR - that's the great thing about motorcycles, you love 'em!

 

[Dangerous Dave]

My rule of thumb is to never buy a bike I cannot spell.

...said the man who's sig line reads "My other bike is an Aprilia Futura." The "A" in aprilia isn't capitalized on any of their bikes...it's always printed with a lower case "a". Except on the Manufacturers VIN tag.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Fred W]

My rule of thumb is to never buy a bike I cannot spell.

...said the man who's sig line reads "My other bike is an Aprilia Futura." The "A" in aprilia isn't capitalized on any of their bikes...it's always printed with a lower case "a". Except on the Manufacturers VIN tag.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

That's not spelling. That's just some of that crazy Euro / Italian sense of stylization. You know, somehow using the wrong case is supposed to cool.

Being a not-so-crazy murican, I still capitalize the "A" myself...

Y Captalization of Aprilia MV

 

[Dan23]

My rule of thumb is to never buy a bike I cannot spell.

...said the man who's sig line reads "My other bike is an Aprilia Futura." The "A" in aprilia isn't capitalized on any of their bikes...it's always printed with a lower case "a". Except on the Manufacturers VIN tag.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Ok, then. So is CODan Colorado Dan or Carbon Monoxide Dan?

 

[Fred W]

My rule of thumb is to never buy a bike I cannot spell.

...said the man who's sig line reads "My other bike is an Aprilia Futura." The "A" in aprilia isn't capitalized on any of their bikes...it's always printed with a lower case "a". Except on the Manufacturers VIN tag.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Ok, then. So is CODan Colorado Dan or Carbon Monoxide Dan?

Yup.

 

[madmike2]

I was back in west virginia for another event for three great days this past weekend. One participant riding a new C14 Kaw walked over to me, and said "Is that one of the hot FJR year models?" I said yes, it is an 05. He said "If it is any hotter than this new Concours, you are more of a man than I am". Put a taller shield on the Connie, and I believe it will be unbearable.

I just got my magazine yesterday. Evidently the NorCal issues come by carrier pigeon, but that's a sidebar.

I noticed two separate comments on heat (which I have mentioned before was a problem I didn't like about my older Connie). In the article (middle of first paragraph about the C-14) they say, "The new-for-2008 Concour 14 isn't perfect. It radiates way too much heat on hot days." And in the "Off The Record" comments by Jim Soldera, he says, "Whats not to like? The fairing aimed engine heat at my legs."

For most of us who live in warmer climes, that would be a deal breaker. The Central Valley of CA gets to 100+ during the summer, and riding in the Sierras at those times may be a mere 85-95 degrees @ 7,000 ft, but the foothills still run in the 100s.I like their closing statement for the C-14: "It's not the best long-haul package for everyone--just the quickest, fastest, best-handling one. And that's exactly what it takes to win this game."

The above statement about the C-14 is on the opposing page from Mitch Boehm's "Off The Record" offering about the FJR: "It offers the most front-end feedback of this group, and its plenty fast. Best of all, it looks and feels like a motorcycle....." And the last two sentences in the FJR portion read, "If Yamaha had spent the cash that went into the auto-clutch on a few engine and chassis refinements, we'd be looking at the winner here. Maybe next year?"

In a way, I'm a little disappointed. I was hoping that the bar would be significantly raised in the ST offerings and expected the C-14 to do what the FJR did when it was introduced. OTH, Yamaha did us all a service when they designed, built and then improved the FJR. It looks like a banner opening in the market for those who are stepping into Sport Touring which should be good for all of us who enjoy this niche of the motorcycling community. Now, lets get ready to ride.

BTW, I am serving notice to the NorCal riders. After this months long hiatus from my bikes, I will be back in true Madmike form come Spring. I will be planning, leading and riding!

Flying Low (redux)... Open Passes (again)... Skyway's for lunch (A tour of der farklmeister's mysterious laboratory)... Occidental for Lunch... And anything else that might fall from my fertile imagination... :yahoo:

Of course all of this will dovetail with what offerings the other "ridemaster's" have in mind. Highlander, JB, et al, 2008 should be a great year!

 

[BrunDog]

I am not dissappointed. Glad to know I have the damn near best bike on the road today. That means I have had the best for the past 2 1/2 years.

Honestly, Kawi should have smoked the FJR in every category given the time they had to put the C14 together. IMO, it is not acceptable that that screwed up some things, considering the FJR's history. They should have dealt with the heat issue right from the start. This was a deal breaker for many on the FJR, and they should not have repeated that clusterfunk. The mirror design is ridiculous. Did they forget to model a 6 footer, let alone have one sit on it in testing? FJRs had the ticking, but let's see how they handle their major flaws due to surface!

-BD

 

[Ric in Sac]

I just read the article too. It sounded pretty fair to me. My take: The new Connie is heavier with approximately 5 more hp with more bells and whistles.

If I add the Muzzy 4-2-1 header exhaust system to the FJR I will pick up 7 hp without a PCIII, or 10 hp with a PCIII, while losing approximately 12 lbs (from the bike, not me. Although a diet wouldn't hurt either). In other words, the FJR would become a "Konnie kicker". Heh, Heh, heh . . . Maybe I should paint some "Konnie Kicker" nose art on my FJR?

:biggrinsmiley:

 

[Wicked Webby]

QUOTE(kawwikid @ Oct 11 2007, 09:45 AM)

They had the C14 at 10.49 in the 1/4 @ 130 and the FJR at 11.02 at 125ish...But check the top gear roll on, and the FJR out gunned the C14 3.4 to 3.8...I want to know, and this is down to pure physics..How a bike that has the same HP and tq at the tire as my 1997 CBRXX had, yet weighs 700lbs vs. 550lbs that the XX did, runs about the same 1/4 mile time as the CBRXX..That dosent add up in my book...By weight alone it should be about 1 sec slower..So either the dyno numbers where wrong, or the 1/4 mile times where wrong...

Kawwikid,

I think you are correct in your assumption. Something is wrong with those numbers...

INTERESTING...........

I wonder who was doing the clocking for the C14 Motorcyclist magazine test... It must of been someone with a Kawasaki check in their pocket ?.?.? Hahahaha... I smell a rat though... MCN tested the C14 and got a 11.34 1/4 mi time. Check it out:

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikerevi...0-2007-current/

This is another example of how certain mags have certain test results for certain bikes... A 10.49 1/4mi vs a 11.34 1/4mi is too big of a difference in corrected 1/4mi performance to claim to be accurate.

WW

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TO FURTHER THE ABOVE:

The Connie14 isn't any better than the FJR...........In no way shape or form.. JUST NEWER AND THE LATEST IS ALWAYS THE GREATEST UNTIL PROVEN

OTHERWISE........ Give it time for the hype to settle and run someone on a C14 and watch the disappointment on their face when their mighty #1 sport tourer can't

smoke your itty bitty feejer. Other magazines (no surprise that they are intl.) have reported much less performance numbers from the C14 that greatly

conflicts with what Motorcyclist magazine says. Don't believe everything you read my FJR forum friends. The MC industry here in the states needs to

embrace the new kid on the block... SALES ARE DEPENDANT UPON IT HERE IN THE US!!! The US Economy is down... BUT the International economy is

up... And those International Magazines are not blowing smoke up are asses about how great and fast the newest latest bike is... So go buy it, sell off

or trade your older ones, and lets get this party started(Economics!)!!!! After all, Motorcyclist magazine needs to do their patriotic duty and help try and

jump up our economy and start selling bikes again and maybe some magazines too!! It is a beautiful thing though... You believe everything you

read... You trade out your feejer for a C14... Shortly after you ride with some FJR friends.... You realize your C14 isn't any faster or better... In fact,

you hate the heat on your feet, you get tired of looking at the hard bags in the mirrors, you can't take the bags off because the bike looks like shit without them.

You spend all your extra money on getting rid of that AWFUL stock exhaust. Now you can't afford to pay to have the dealer to drop the motor forward and adjust the

valves every 15,000 miles SO..... You trade it back up on another feejer and WOW!! You just did your part in helping throw money into our economy!!!

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA... Keep your feejer and buy some mutual funds!!!! Instead of flaming your money flame a C14 with your feejer!!!

WW

 

[SR-71]

After dealing with the heat of a Gen1 FJR for a couple of years, then to get away from that heat by recently upgrading to a Gen2; when I heard the C-14 was a heat blower, there was no way I'd consider buying it. Being Sport-Touring machines, in my opinion, rider heat should be made a larger consideration in these comparisons. Who cares has fast the damn thing is, if you're cooking on it? :blushing: