Sell the FJR, or will a PCIII fix the throttle?

[Bigtime]

Do the 08's have these issues with throttle smoothness? or was this a characteristic particular to certain model years?

I didn't see anyone answer LC Joe's question so I will. I have an 08 and it does have a sharp on/off throttle response. I can't say it's any better or worse than previous year models. In most riding situations it's not a problem, but it can make stepping through the gears a bit choppy. The area where it is a real problem is when you're exiting a tight turn and you're looking for that stablizing accelaration but instead the bike balks at your throttle request - very frustrating.

Like Bokerfork, I've managed to work with it but I don't change my shifting practices, but I keep the revs up when I'm running the back roads so I'm probably working it in similar fashion. I blip my throttle a bit before getting off the clutch; its' similar to engine breaking situations where you're trying to match engine and wheel speed but not as aggressive. I'm not advocating this as fix, it is a problem and it is dangerous.

 

[Mike P]

In my short time of ownership, no PC, no G2 I've taught myself how to deal with the throttle in the twisties. Stay geared down low as possible, enter the corner under a little power.....roll out of corner under full power. No transition from off the gas to on the gas. Works for me good enough to keep up and sometimes out run my sport bike friends.

 

[Bokerfork]

I notice that the original complaint was poor handling in the corners and the blame was placed on the throttle. May I suggest toying with the many adjustments Yamaha provides for the suspension. I too was less than enthusiastic with the way the bike handled tight twisties. After tweaking the rebound dampening a little, handling was noticeably better. They don't give us all those choices for nothing. Besides, what better excuse to hit the road. "No really Honey, I've just adjusted the front forks and if I don't go up in the hills right now I'll have to start from scratch again. You don't want that do you?"

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

I had to choose once and the VFR was a nice scooter but won't hold a candle to the mile eating whore the FJR has turned out to be. Its funny how the FJR is becoming the platform of choice for the serious LD riders and not the VFR. My 03 still runs like its on moonshine for fuel. I have a PCIII with a custom map and after riding more than a handful of other FJR's, they can't keep up. I got around 42-44 running 80-85 to NAFO from Ca. with a Tanji cell. Used to only get 44-46 without . I will take the few less miles for the performance I get from the Holeshot full system and the PC.

 

[shredder]

You guys that installed a PCIII, how did it affect the fuel milage? I heard of cases where the milage went from the mid to high 40's to mid to high 30's.

I only have 2 fillups since installing the PCIII, but mileage has gone down. Please note that the bike computer shows my mileage going UP to about 42mpg from my usual 39mpg, when in fact the mileage has gone DOWN to about 36mpg. DON'T TRUST THE COMPUTER! Calculations must be done by hand!

I agree - the fuel economy readout is no longer valid. Rule of thumb is that it is about 5mpg off now. My mileage has decreased about 10%. It was a good tradeoff, though.

I like it when my FJR lies to me so I think I'm spending less money on gas than I really am. Ignorance is bliss! :dribble: LOL

Not much of a change on the computer.... Not even going to start on the error margin for "eyeballin" the fill ups.

 

[shredder]

I notice that the original complaint was poor handling in the corners and the blame was placed on the throttle. May I suggest toying with the many adjustments Yamaha provides for the suspension. I too was less than enthusiastic with the way the bike handled tight twisties. After tweaking the rebound dampening a little, handling was noticeably better. They don't give us all those choices for nothing. Besides, what better excuse to hit the road. "No really Honey, I've just adjusted the front forks and if I don't go up in the hills right now I'll have to start from scratch again. You don't want that do you?"

The handling issue is one of direct personal preference. In order to keep this short and simple.... The FJR probably handles the best of any sport tourer I've ridden (again, personal pref). I came from a BMW R1200RT, which is one helluva ride. Felt like you could do no wrong once you got used to the unique front end. My buddy still has his. We used to give each other a run for the money. Now he can't keep up. Call it power, call it handling, call it both. The FJR can blast through a corner lickety split once you get used to the feel.

A side note. I felt much faster on my 03 R1 than I did on my GSXR1000. Funny how the timeslips around the track showed the complete opposite.

 

[Spook]

christ you people whine a lot. Only change on my bike Grip puppies and exhaust. I can find nothing to complain about on the bike. I have been riding since 1965 and for me this is probably the best over all bike I have ever had or have ever ridden.

 

[Shadow]

Do the 08's have these issues with throttle smoothness? or was this a characteristic particular to certain model years?

I didn't see anyone answer LC Joe's question so I will. I have an 08 and it does have a sharp on/off throttle response. I can't say it's any better or worse than previous year models. In most riding situations it's not a problem, but it can make stepping through the gears a bit choppy. The area where it is a real problem is when you're exiting a tight turn and you're looking for that stablizing accelaration but instead the bike balks at your throttle request - very frustrating.

Like Bokerfork, I've managed to work with it but I don't change my shifting practices, but I keep the revs up when I'm running the back roads so I'm probably working it in similar fashion. I blip my throttle a bit before getting off the clutch; its' similar to engine breaking situations where you're trying to match engine and wheel speed but not as aggressive. I'm not advocating this as fix, it is a problem and it is dangerous.

The 08 throttle was changed, it is not the abrupt throttle the 06 & 07 models had.

If you feel it abrupt I suggest you do the throttle spring mod.

Lift the tank and you will see 3 throttle springs, just release the center spring one turn, I am sure that will be a lot better for you.

 

[NNorth]

You have choices! Either spend more money on it fixing poor engineering(pc111)..or..do the very common,love it so much you cant find any fault at all,(this is easy and free!) ....or sell it, buy a bike that works like it should for the money, always fun! .....OR.. get used to it, and for sure don't ever drive anything that works right and then you will be happy! (also free) This can work over time I'm told. I'm still trying with the get used to it thing myself after 10,000 miles, but no luck as after I climb off my other bikes onto the fjr, the crappy calibration really stands out and pissssses me off even more as I know how nice my fjr could be! Springs and throttle cam just try to cover up the real problem, the efi calibration which just plain sucks. On a bike where the rest of it is this good theres no excuse for this. Sure makes me want to go shopping also.

But if I keep the bike I will try the pc111 also as these fellows say it works and I don't doubt them. Might just make it a keeper that way.

good luck either way ! let us know the result!

 

[Flyguy]

Aasland,

I come from a long list of Hondas so I understand your soft spot for their build quality. I landed on an '06 FJR because I couldn't get an updated 1100 Sabre from H. I came VERY clost to an ST1300 but ultimatley wanted something a little more aggressive and a tick lighter.

My experience is that the PCIII makes a significant improvement to throttle response with this caveat - the PCIII gives you the lattitude to custom map the FI system to whatever you need. In this case you are correcting an overlean condition that ALL 2006+ bikes have and that is most noticable in 1100cc bikes and larger because of the tremendous amount of torque on tap. The mapping is EVERYTHING. You can download all sorts of maps with varying results or get a custom one done for yourself. The new mapping does not have to increase fuel consumption although many do. Mine (custom) actually increased milage! Certainly makes the engine happier.

 

[Aasland]

I notice that the original complaint was poor handling in the corners and the blame was placed on the throttle. May I suggest toying with the many adjustments Yamaha provides for the suspension. I too was less than enthusiastic with the way the bike handled tight twisties. After tweaking the rebound dampening a little, handling was noticeably better. They don't give us all those choices for nothing. Besides, what better excuse to hit the road. "No really Honey, I've just adjusted the front forks and if I don't go up in the hills right now I'll have to start from scratch again. You don't want that do you?"

I purchased the bike from someone who had the bouncy bits set to super soft - increasing the preload and dampening to match helped a lot. But the throttle remains a problem - any transition from off-to-on throttle, no matter how careful I am, results in an instant kick of power to the rear tire - the anti-thesis of the smoothness required to maintain traction in some situations.

The suspension does need to be upgraded, but I'm not dropping $1500 on that until I fix the throttle.

 

[Aasland]

In my short time of ownership, no PC, no G2 I've taught myself how to deal with the throttle in the twisties. Stay geared down low as possible, enter the corner under a little power.....roll out of corner under full power. No transition from off the gas to on the gas. Works for me good enough to keep up and sometimes out run my sport bike friends.

I'm a believer in the "slow look lean accelerate" method. I don't like to accelerate out of a corner until I can see the apex and what lies beyond - that's my personal safety margin.

Not to mention that in linked curves, the exit speed of one corner is too fast for entry to the next corner, and thus, braking between them is required. And then we hit that good old off-to-on throttle transition.

And whenever I jump on my old VFR or the wife's SV650 .. I'm reminded how nice it can be.

Come to think of it .. I still haven't hit "the zone" when cornering on the FJR yet, even in 15k miles. On the SV and VFR it occurs very frequently. I suppose that's a testament to how much work it is to ride the FJR fast in the twisties.

 

[Aasland]

I had to choose once and the VFR was a nice scooter but won't hold a candle to the mile eating whore the FJR has turned out to be. Its funny how the FJR is becoming the platform of choice for the serious LD riders and not the VFR.

No question about that - slabbing is a chore on the VFR. More so if the weather starts to cool or get moist.

if the VFR had the ergos and wind protection of the FJR, I'd trade the FJR for a VFR in a heartbeat.

 

[BladeRunner]

[SIZE=24pt]SELL IT EVEN AT A LOSS AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE!!!![/SIZE]

It will assimilate you!

Rob you of your will; assume control of your life's earnings!

You will be its minion and do its ever thirsty farkle bidding.

Run from this forum.

It's filled with tormented and demented souls who will call to you "Come join us. See how fun and happy we are".

Hurry hurry while there is still time!!!!!

 

[clock655]

Just a suggestion that may help some without the expense of a PCIII... Have you research/tried the Barbarian Jumper Mod? It actually makes a fairly significant difference in throttle smoothness from off idle while may help you when accelerating out of slow-speed turns.

 

[Aasland]

Just a suggestion that may help some without the expense of a PCIII... Have you research/tried the Barbarian Jumper Mod? It actually makes a fairly significant difference in throttle smoothness from off idle while may help you when accelerating out of slow-speed turns.

Yes .. I have done that mod - and it seems to have helped a little bit. However .. the more fuel I dial in, the better it is off-to-on throttle transitions, but the more it seems to bog down in the mid and high range. For me, the best performance was at about +4 from stock.

 

[87Doodle]

Aasland,
I can honestly report to you that the PCIII WILL make you a believer in your FJR. I had the same problems and considered the same as you. I made the buy on the PCIII, installed it (pretty much an easy install as well), LOVE IT :yahoo: . I uploaded the 001 map from powercommander.com w/ O2 sensor disconnected and the FJR rides like it should have from the start. There are many posts here and in the technical section talking about the PCIII so you can get a feel for it. The only problem you will have is that you rode it 20k w/out it!! LOL

Seriously. Give it a shot. You will not be disappointed. Best money on a mod I've spent.

wally's smooth map smoothed my throttle like a dream....no shit....couldn't believe I rode so long without it.

 

[Aasland]

I've had the PCIII for about a week now, and am happy to say that it fixed the lurchy throttle!

Not only did it do that, but it also smoothed out the power delivery. It's like a jet engine - no flt spots, no surging .. just smooth acceleration the whole way. This is how it should have come from the factory.

Now that I have solved this issue, the bike is worth keeping. Everything else can be fixed .. suspension, airflow, seat, etc.

Thanks for your input!

 

[SkooterG]

Glad to hear it worked out for you and made things 'mo better.

I knew it would.

 

[Shadow]

I understand how you feel...but Manufacturers have to build to strict & stricter(EuroII) Emissions standards. They are hamstrung by this...so while we can, we can do mods to correct the situation.

That is a cop out, I have ridden several new bikes that have Euro3 compliance and they are smooth.

Ride a Kawasaki 1400GTR, so smooth out of the box as it a BMW 1200.

I own an 06 FJR, nice bike but having to fit a PC3 to fix the fuel mapping is not good.