OK, All it took was one ride! I'm sold! :clapping:
Sorry Honda, but I'm off to Yamaha land! The faithfull St1100 will be put out to pasture, to live out it's remaining days in the comfort of my garage. I can't bear to sell her. She has been too many places with me. She is truly a part of the family :drinks:
She can just take a few runs a month to keep fresh.
Now, there is going to be a new THOROUGHBRED in the stall next to her, an FJR.
My only question is, do I get an 05 or is the new 06 that much better? :dntknw:
Please, anyone who has had a first generation FJR and now has the 06. Is the 06 that much better??
I can get an 05 with 3600 miles on it with a factory top box, heil extenders and a throttlemeizer<sp CC. He is asking $10,500. Maybe I could get it for $9,500?
Howdy Clark,
Just wanted to give you my two cents on my perceived differences on the '05 and '06 as I owned an '05 and now have a '06.
The heat issue that many people complained about on the '03, '04, and '05 are now gone on the '06, the Yamaha engineers did their homework there IS NO HEAT ISSUE with the '06.
Only time will tell, but so far I am unaware of any ticking problems (valve guides) that was reported on about 6-7% of the '03, '04, and '05's.
Buffeting and negative pressure behind the windshield have been eliminated on the '06 by the new fairing vent system, I have a very nice and quite pocket of air behind the windshield at all speeds including well north of the century mark.
Adjustable handlebars and seat height on the '06 are very nice and allow an ability to adjust the bike's ergonomics to you, although the seat height adjustment still isn't sufficient for anyone 5'6 and under to flat foot it, if you are in that camp like me, an after market seat such as Corbin, Rick Mayer etc., etc., is in order.
The linked ABS brakes on the '06 work extremely well, are well integrated and are nice and unobtrusive.
The stock seat on the '06 seems to be more user friendly and good for longer times in the saddle.
The throttle on the '06 was a step backwards in that there seems to be much more return pressure on the throttle. Some owners have cured that by detaching the middle throttle spring....me, I just added a Throttlemeister and that is a no longer a concern.
I find the new instrument cluster is nice and gives me some appreciated info. such as the gear indicator and ambient air temperature. As earlier mentioned there is a software glitch on the instantaneous mpg indicator and Yamaha will fix that problem if you want. That's something that I am still thinking about.
The two part mirrors are an improvement on the '06.
The 12v outlet in the "glove" compartment is handy for recharging your ipod, phone or running a GPS, but the location wasn't too brilliant on the part of the designers as you have to have the access door open. So I just had Tony's Yamaha Sportscenter hardwire the Garmin GPS for me and install a rear powerlet outlet (hardwired) so I could operate any electrical clothing and or charge my battery with a battery tender plus without having to remove an access cover as I did on the '05.
If you plan to install Moko or Motovation sliders on the '06 you can do so directly without having to drill holes in the fairing or remove the fairing peices and install mounting plates like you did on the '05. The sliders will screw right into the frames without any hassle.
The horns on this bike are not up to snuff, but that is true of every bike manufacturer I've every owned or ridden. (BMW, Honda, Harley, Kawasaki, Ducati, Triumph, and Yamaha)
The suspension on both bikes are fairly comparable and the handling isn't light years apart either. They both handle quite well.
Both bikes have gobs and gobs of power when you need it and be prepared to be at that point in the distance sooner than you realize.
The '06 has a slightly taller final gearing which translates into a slightly more sedate engine rpm at typical highway crusing speeds.
Both bikes are winners, but I am glad I went for the '06 as all the minor improvements made the ride a more refined experience.
Scott
