Should I stay away from the 1st gen?

[mailmanbob]

As I said in my intro I am considering an upgrade to the FJR or the St1300. After checking things out I am leaning toward the FJR. They are certainly better priced than the ST, especially the early years. However, I have been doing a lot of reading about the valve tick issue. I know it is confined to the 1st gen bikes. I wonder if I should avoid these earlier years and not even have to think about it. The reason I am asking is I live in Canada, and where I am FJR's are hard to come by. There are a couple 2005's close by but only 1 '06. The '06 is about $1300 more and has been crashed and repaired. If I want a newer second gen the price goes way up. A used 2010 is almost double the price of the '05. I can drop down to the states and import one , but that is not without it's own issues. Thanks in advance.

 

[Patriot]

go for it

I love my '04 and would replace it with another as opposed to a Gen II (well I do love the black on black '09 color wise)

 

[SaharaJp99]

The "tick" should be fixed by a Yamaha recall, so I wouldn't even worry about that as an issue. The only other complaints with the Gen 1 are heat issues(you live in Canada, those will probably be welcome) and alternator output(which may be a concern depending on how many farkles you want and if you want heated gear).

I wouldn't shy away from one though!

 

[Mike-H]

Unless you like less weight, & non linked brakes with quicker handling, then go gen 2....lol

 

[user 6393]

I'm with Patriot......

if I had to replace my Gen 1, I would............................with another Gen 1

 

[zed88]

The extra alternator output of the 06+ is probably also a consideration seeing as thats north and colder/darker a good part of the year. More room for heated gear and lights!

 

[Warthog34]

I've had my '03 for two years and had no issues. I picked it up with 6500 mile on it, and all I've had to do is the regular maintance, which is easily done by one's self. I think the heat issue is over blown but you can add a very simple foam kit that works very well. Buy one and enjoy.

 

[Karmak]

The "tick" should be fixed by a Yamaha recall, so I wouldn't even worry about that as an issue. The only other complaints with the Gen 1 are heat issues(you live in Canada, those will probably be welcome) and alternator output(which may be a concern depending on how many farkles you want and if you want heated gear).

I wouldn't shy away from one though!

>I lived through the "ticker generation," and unless I've missed something that happened later, there was never a recall for that problem. Yamaha never officially owned up to it, although it did repair them if the dealers were on board and advocated for the customer. I will also say that this Board was responsible for diseminating a lot of info that people with tickers used to convince dealers to stand behind them. If you do a search you'll come up with plenty of info.

>Yamaha did do a recall for melting ignitions.

>There were far more non-tickers than tickers, so you pays your money and takes your chances.

>I had an '05 that started exhibiting ignition problems, although I didn't know what it was at the time-it became known more widely a bit later and the recall fixed it. Brodie's ignition relay also fixes that problem.

>If you watch (and listen)to a video on Dale Walker's Holeshot site (the audio with the video actually)you will clearly hear the "tick" so you'll know what to listen for. You could also spot the beginning of trouble by looking into the exhaust ports-if you find evidence of oil you probably have a ticker.

>Despite all the above, the 1st Gens are great running bikes and far more did not have problems than did-I still miss my '05. If I had money to play with, I'd get another if the price was right.

>I actually installed NOS on my '05 and it ran great with no problems.

I'd say give it Hell-grab one if you can-

 

[CAJW]

When and if I ever have to replace my Gen I, it will be with another Gen I. Less weight being the major reason why, plus if I owned a Gen II, I feel I'd end up developing a case of Arachnophobia.

 

[puppychow]

Warning ThreadJack - How much heavier is the Gen 2 compared to the Gen1?

 

[Patriot]

also, though...my next Gen I would mandatorily have to have the optional ABS

 

[wheatonFJR]

Warning ThreadJack - How much heavier is the Gen 2 compared to the Gen1?

CHECK Bin O Facts. It's in there. really.

Oh, BTW I am a Gen I repeat customer.

I will keep on being a repeat customer until they are too rare to find in good condition.

At that point I will gladly move on to spider/ignition switch fixed Gen II.

 

[ScottyUSN]

Short of getting into the whole Gen I -vs- Gen II, Owners of either will tell you why their choice was best.

The only opinion I would consider non-bias is that of an of an owner of both. Otherwise, Good luck finding an owner who is not happy with their FJR.

 

[GPRIDER]

I've owned both and there are different things I disliked and liked about both of them. For me it's a wash. I would like to have another 04 if I could find one as nice as the one Scooter recently found. I wouldn't get rid of my 08 for it though. I'd just have to have both. :lol:

GP

 

[escapefjrtist]

Either one will do you fine. Definitely find a machine that has been well taken care of and not abused. You really can't go wrong.

FWIW I've had both bikes and wouldn't even consider going back to a GEN I. YMMV

--G

 

[zip]

Most of the folks on this forum know more about bikes than I do, and although I love my '05 and got a great deal on it a couple of years ago, if I had to do it over again, I would get the second gen - an '06 or later. I don't like the color choices of the later bikes, except the blue and the dark grey. But I like the minor changes in cosmetics, and more importantly, better heat mitigation. I also like the ambient temperature monitor. My '05 has never had it, and I've never had one on a bike. Yet I still find myself looking for it when checking the instruments. It's like the phantom guage I've always expected to be there.

Lots of great reasons above to go with a Gen 1, but I would get a Gen 2.

 

[LgFJR]

05 here.....solid as a rock and no problems. Buy it you won't be sorry.....and you'll be the fastest mailman in Canada.....

 

[Ignacio]

More room for heated gear and lights!

Actually, less room for lights. The nose of the Gen 2 is crammed full compared to a Gen 1 and make addition of most HID parts more difficult.

If I had a Gen 1 (which I do) and were to look at a second FJR and looking at Gen 2 (which I did)--I'd get another Gen 1 (which I did)....even with the improved alternator capacity.

 

[SaharaJp99]

The "tick" should be fixed by a Yamaha recall, so I wouldn't even worry about that as an issue. The only other complaints with the Gen 1 are heat issues(you live in Canada, those will probably be welcome) and alternator output(which may be a concern depending on how many farkles you want and if you want heated gear).

I wouldn't shy away from one though!

>I lived through the "ticker generation," and unless I've missed something that happened later, there was never a recall for that problem. Yamaha never officially owned up to it, although it did repair them if the dealers were on board and advocated for the customer. I will also say that this Board was responsible for diseminating a lot of info that people with tickers used to convince dealers to stand behind them. If you do a search you'll come up with plenty of info.

>Yamaha did do a recall for melting ignitions.

>There were far more non-tickers than tickers, so you pays your money and takes your chances.

>I had an '05 that started exhibiting ignition problems, although I didn't know what it was at the time-it became known more widely a bit later and the recall fixed it. Brodie's ignition relay also fixes that problem.

>If you watch (and listen)to a video on Dale Walker's Holeshot site (the audio with the video actually)you will clearly hear the "tick" so you'll know what to listen for. You could also spot the beginning of trouble by looking into the exhaust ports-if you find evidence of oil you probably have a ticker.

>Despite all the above, the 1st Gens are great running bikes and far more did not have problems than did-I still miss my '05. If I had money to play with, I'd get another if the price was right.

>I actually installed NOS on my '05 and it ran great with no problems.

I'd say give it Hell-grab one if you can-

I stand corrected Karmak. I thought in my research that I had heard that the Gen I's were eligible for the fix, but obviously I was mistaken. But my stance still stands, I would not shy away from a Gen I. They are definitely proven.