OK what did you think of the AE?

[tripletango]

Like it or not?

 

[Shane Stump]

Like it or not?

I have "test" rided one for about 2,300 miles and I love it !

Best Regards,

Shane

 

[tripletango]

Like it or not?

I have "test" rided one for about 2,300 miles and I love it !

Best Regards,

Shane

heh heh you bought it yet or still on the run!!!

 

[Shane Stump]

Like it or not?

I have "test" rided one for about 2,300 miles and I love it !

Best Regards,

Shane

heh heh you bought it yet or still on the run!!!

I had to BUY it because my GL1800 was lonely in the garage and wanted a little brother :yahoo: !

Best Regards,

Shane

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

I test rode one before WFO and I liked it.

 

[PapaUtah]

Neat idea well executed. Not sure I would buy one myself, but it is slick. Between the added weight of the system, linked brakes and the new gearing it felt slower than my '05, but cruising speeds were awesome. Over the winter I might have to lay down the cash and see if the '06 middle driven gear will work in the pre-'06's. Would be a great upgrade for long distance running.

The '06 felt a little more stable over my '05. It didn't feel as willing to get over in the corners, but I never messed with the suspension on the demo bike. The longer swingarm and revised front fork may play a part too.

 

[Duff]

Test rode the AE at WFO. I'm still mixed, but I will NOT be selling my 05 to buy one.

If I had a stop-n-go commute or I was new to manual transmissions and wanted a bike, I would buy one.

For my style of riding and my anal-retentive/control-freak personality, I'll stick with the manual.

Biggest thing I like was the lack of clutch pull with the left hand.

JMHO.

 

[bikerskier]

I test rode the AE in Reno out of curiosity and was not expecting much to praise that was different from my 05. Boy, was I wrong. The first thing that totally impressed me while riding in 100 degree heat on Sat afternoon was the LACK OF ENGINE HEAT IN MY LAP! Wow, I loved that! And, what a novel treat, the clutchless shift! Not a lot to say about improving upshifts but verrry smooth on the down shifts at moderate rpms. Would be nice to try it again in a more aggressive rpm range. But, I was impressed and liked it and would consider it in the future.

WFO rocks!

 

[paste007]

Rode it at the WFO.

Very impressed with speed shifting when entering the freeway.

Only hesitation was in first gear. Not sure about slow speed moves (aka cop drills with cones) w/o a clutch, coupled with linked brakes.

 

[Ignacio]

Dislikes

I rode one at WFO and noticed it had a heat problem.

I meant to say that to be iflammatory because I'm one of those that thinks a 1300cc engine produces heat and that it's not really a problem in the '05 and earlier

The problem is that instead of distributing 1300cc of heat from the nads all down the leg I thought it confined a more intense heat into a small area--especially the left calf area. Had I rode more than 25 miles it would have eventually burned my leg. Admittedly, it was 100 degrees and I was riding mesh pants, but I rode my '05 later and wouldn't have been burned.

The gauges and turn signals look cooler on casual observation, but I had trouble reading them easily while riding. I'm sure it would get a bit better as I got used to the bike, and I did like the business end of the speedo and tach on the top, but they seem to compressed to be as usable.

Likes

The gear switching rocked! I really thought I was going to be riding the equivalent of a 70's slutomatic Chevy, but was totally surprised how smoothly and efficiently things shifted. On my best day of clutching and throttle blipping--I don't think I was as smooth as this bike was. And downshifting was an absolute joy of predictability and smoothness. It was actually confidence inspiring.

The rear end seemed a bit more planted and smooth in the corners. I'm thinking this is due to the longer swing arm. Subtle but noticable.

The stock seat also seemed more comfortable than my '05 stock. Still not an LD seat, but the widish bench seemed to fit my big *** fairly well.

Would I Buy?

Probably not, but not because it isn't really cool and buttery smooth. As an LD rider I'm still stuck on the issue that there isn't the room in the nose for farkling as earlier models and would have to dismiss it out of hand on that point alone. But, I know I'm not in the majority here. I just wouldn't be purchasing anything later than '05 at this point unless I was Daddy Warbacks and could have a garage full of bikes.

The automatic thing still intrigues me and curious to see how it holds up deep into the YES warranty.

 

[Bike Effects]

I liked it for the reasons mentioned above. Would I buy an '06? Yes, but I still would go for the A model.....unless of course my arthritis in my left hand gets worse.

BTW, why can't we have a speedometer like my '98 R1? Big, easy to read digital numbers. The other thing is that I am spoiled by my relaxed throttle spring. The stiffness of the new bike had my attention before I had a mile in.

 

[Toecutter]

Like it or not?

I was kinda too scared to hop on one, especially after watching you trying to ease it into motion and once hitting the throttle a bit too hard on takeoff. BANG! off you go!
It sure was purdy though. And I imagine the dweeby kills on takeoff would be a thing of the past.

I once ran the fantasy of the AE by Eve. Her response, "But don't you just about have yours all farkled out the way you want it?" She's so cool.

 

[chickey191]

Like it or not?

Liked it.

others have said - and I concur... up shifting was a little slow, but Turbo Dave says that if you flick the buttons instead of pressing or pulling on them that it shifts better. He told me that AFTER the test ride. We also know now that there is some adjustment capability in the shifting, which might customize it to your liking. What gives me confidence in the shifting is that SOME times the thing up-shifted just as smooth as it down shifted - but sometimes it had that pause. I would like to have had more miles on it as I was trying short shifting - red line shifting - inappropriate gear selection and other stuff to try and screw it up.

Funny part was I only beeped the horn once - and the guy riding behind me beeped his in exactly the same place.

Down shifts are smoooooooth. this is the part I worried most about as down shifting while turning (I know... should already have it done) could cause a little rear drive lash - but it was smooooooth.

what I didn't like was they had the seat in the low position - I should have changed it when I noticed.

coudn't get used to the clean left side of the handlebars - no reservoir!

since i'm on a 6 - I already knew about the longer swing arm, etc.

I would say that the demo bike needed a tbs done to it.

would I buy this bike? Not this year in its first production year. After a couple of years of ironing out the eventual problems I would seriously think about it. I can see how this could become accepted on other bikes.

 

[turbodave_98]

I have had mine for nearly 2 months with 5.5k miles done. I like it a lot and choose to ride it over my 05 most of the time. I have found the ABS/linked brakes to be better than I thought they would be. The instrument panel is much better for my tired old eyes, like the shifting indicator and the mpg functions. Do not care for the speedometer, I use the tach more for speed control, ie. 4k rpm=73 mph. The AE is more stable than the 05 in the twisties. Most of all, I am enamored with the paddle shifters, KEWL fun for me in the curves, oh boy, just thinking about paddling makes me want to go riding, think I will too.

If I was only doing LDRs on the 06, I would not recommend the extra $$ for the paddle shifters though. The grip warmers are great, used them along the Pacific coast in the mornings.

In sum, it has exceeded my expectations and I found it easy to get used to while slow riding or accelerating.

 

[Silverbullet]

To me, the heat thing seems to be a combination of subjectivity and proper gear. I was never really bothered by heat on my either of my previous FJR's, and I just had the AE in Eastern Washington for a weekend in 108+ temps. I rode 2 days in a Joe Rocket Cooling vest, First Gear mesh jacket and pants, with shorts on under the pants, and had absolutely no leg heat issues. BUT, I also wear BMW high top boots, and I am SURE that helped. I didn't try it with anything less than mid-calf coverage, so if I had, I might feel differently. For me anyways, the '06 AE passed the heat test just fine, but I'm sure the "right tool for the job" (great boots) didn't hurt. It's good to see so many got an opportunity to try it out, and found it really isn't a "sissy" option. And, just like turbodave, I am simply addicted to the paddles in the twisties. For me, it's the most fun I have with my clothes on.

 

[818Guy]

I think taking just a demo ride is not sufficient to provide a through opinion of the bike. It's like test driving a car... you really don't know... only very general information.

As for me, at times I do wish I didn't have the electronic clutch only because I think it's a bit rough, especially from a start. However, as soon as I get stuck in L.A. traffic I remember why I chose this bike.

I didn't buy this bike to be a canyon racer so having a "regular" clutch didn't matter for me.

 

[Woodstock]

As an LD rider I'm still stuck on the issue that there isn't the room in the nose for farkling as earlier models and would have to dismiss it out of hand on that point alone. But, I know I'm not in the majority here.

That concerned me when people mentioned it to. There is just so much room in the nose/under the B/C panels of the 03-05 for wiring/relays/etc. I wonder if that is something Yamaha even considers?

 

[SilveradoSlick]

Rode one in Reno. It was way high on the cool factor, but... It downshifted pretty nicely but unless I was really cranking, upshifts were rough. Unless technique or adjustments would smooth it out, I wouldn't pay for it.

Overall, I liked the bike. Power wasn't noticeably lacking, although I upshifted at higher speeds than the '05. I guess at a given speed in a given gear there would be less power but I kept it at the normal revs and it did just fine. The linked brakes weren't a problem although I never really exercised them. The heat didn't bother me and it was nice to have a gear indicator. Still a great bike!

 

[madmike2]

Rode one in Reno. It was way high on the cool factor, but... It downshifted pretty nicely but unless I was really cranking, upshifts were rough. Unless technique or adjustments would smooth it out, I wouldn't pay for it.
.......... it was nice to have a gear indicator. Still a great bike!

+1 on the upshifts. Also, I played with the cornering angles and shifted in the middle of corners to see if the chassis would upset....nope, just steady as a rock (Okay, we weren't riding very aggressive by FJR standards.) The AE is pretty cool but I don't think I'd spend the time and money to bring an '06 up to the farkle point of my '05....unless I was TurboDave and had all the time and money I could use. :lol:

I also played with the windshield on the freeway. Same problem as all FJRs, I get head buffet unless the shield is all the way down...so for my height (6'2"/32" inseam), THAT issue isn't solved.