Split: Off-topic about Nevada, Gears, and Other Stuff

[Bugnatr]

The only people that thought the FJR needed six gears were those that had never ridden one.

I assume you have never ridden in Nevada....

 

[RBEmerson]

I went from an '04 to a '15 leftover. Not having the sixth gear was never an issue for me. To the contrary I saw it as a way to get a better deal on the '15. If anything I'd suggest putting your thoughts towards an A vs an ES.

A vs ES is a matter of taste or preference. I've got it, I like it now that I've set it for my preferences.There is a learning curve involved. The A's fine once it's set up correctly ("one and done" process).

The only people that thought the FJR needed six gears were those that had never ridden one.

I assume you have never ridden in Nevada....

Having now put on some (four wheel) miles in TX, NM, and AZ after coming from "back east", the roads are long, straight, and generally stop being interesting in a hurry. Low cruising speeds not recommended. There can be a long way between gas stops. Good fuel economy is recommended.

Riding together ( for 10K miles, 1 trip) my '16 got 2-3 more miles per gallon then my buds '14. Oh yea, the led lights are AMAZING!

See above re: mileage. +1 on the LED lighting. Marker LED's have approximately a 50,000 hour life expectancy (6 years with 24/7 use). They do fade with age, but their service life may approach the service life of the bike itself (before needing some overhauling). LED headlights, and high output LED's in general, generate a lot of heat. Heat is the enemy of all electronics. Assume a service life of somewhat less than half that of the other LED's. Depending on how heat dispersion is done (typically with a high speed fan - dunno how the FJR LED's do it), any active cooling could fail first.

 

[Niehart]

I don't really care one way or the other about the 6 speed but I sure do like the slipper clutch. I would have owned one if I could have found a price that fit my budget.

 

[SkooterG]

The only people that thought the FJR needed six gears were those that had never ridden one.

I assume you have never ridden in Nevada....

Care to elaborate?

I have some fond memories of Nevada. All of them with a 5-speed. I am not impressed with the shifting quality of my '16 6-speed.

 

[exskibum]

The only people that thought the FJR needed six gears were those that had never ridden one.

I assume you have never ridden in Nevada....

I think I was between 115 and 130 (indicated) pretty much the whole way from Ely to Tonopah on my '05 in 2014. Fueled up in Tonopah and might have spent an extra $2 for not having a sixth gear, but embarrassing myself by dropping the damned thing while doing slow figure 8s in the Chevron lot had nothing to do with a tranny or too few gears. . . . . . just sayin'

 

[hppants]

I find it quite intriguing that we've gotten to 16 or so posts on this thread without it being moved to NEPRT.

 

[FJRay]

Does anybody know if the FJR has enough hp to pull redline in 6th???? I got 155 out of my 03 5 speed at Bonneville but don't remember looking at the tach. Scary place to go fast. I understand lower rpm at cruise may be nice but never thought about in on the 03 in the 140 k I put on it.

 

[ElectricFJR]

I am not impressed with the shifting quality of my '16 6-speed.

Interesting. The shifting quality is what I like best about the 6-speed. I've owned an '03 and a '13 and my '16 is the smoothest shifting bike I've ever had. That coupled with the slipper clutch are the best features of the Gen 3 1/2's IMHO.

 

[SkooterG]

I am not impressed with the shifting quality of my '16 6-speed.

Interesting. The shifting quality is what I like best about the 6-speed. I've owned an '03 and a '13 and my '16 is the smoothest shifting bike I've ever had. That coupled with the slipper clutch are the best features of the Gen 3 1/2's IMHO.

It is possible that I simply have a bad example. Though there are a few other threads around here bitching about the 6-speed. Or maybe all FJRs are not created alike. No matter what year. All I know is that of the four FJRs in my garage - an 04 with 185k, and 09 with 128k, and a 14 ES with 2k, the 16 with 12k is the worst shifting of them all.

 

[101stpathfinder]

All I know is that of the four FJRs in my garage - an 04 with 185k, and 09 with 128k, and a 14 ES with 2k, the 16 with 12k is the worst shifting of them all.

This is really disappointing… I already made a step down from gen 1 to gen 2, and I don't want to be disappointed

when I move to gen 3.

 

[Pterodactyl]

We need (desperately) a 7th gear.... sorta. Reverse. Yamaha should make it like Ski Doo snogos; the engine should reverse rotation.

 

[El Toro Joe]

All I know is that of the four FJRs in my garage - an 04 with 185k, and 09 with 128k, and a 14 ES with 2k, the 16 with 12k is the worst shifting of them all.

This is really disappointing… I already made a step down from gen 1 to gen 2, and I don't want to be disappointed

when I move to gen 3.

Tony,

There are more folks that are happy with their Gen 4 bikes, than unhappy owners.

 

[FJRay]

We need (desperately) a 7th gear.... sorta. Reverse. Yamaha should make it like Ski Doo snogos; the engine should reverse rotation.

Years ago I crewed on a tug boat with a reversible Atlas engine. You didn't want to lose air pressure while maneuvering.

 

[SkooterG]

WTF???? Why was half this thread spun off? This place totally sucks.

 

[tcfjr]

The only people that thought the FJR needed six gears were those that had never ridden one.

I assume you have never ridden in Nevada....

I did a 17 hour BBG in Nevada a few years back on my '05, and never felt a 6th gear was needed. Aux lights, definitely (thanks, Justin!), but a 6th gear wasn't required.

 

[Gitbox]

Heck, my old XJ650 had five gears and I thought it was fine... and it had way less torque than my FJR.

 

[Bugnatr]

I always was sub consciously wanting to shift into 6th with my 04 around 75mph. I suppose it was the inline 4 vibs that gave me that feeling but my 6 speed 08 FZ1 did not, as is true with my 6 speed KTM supermoto.

To each his own but anything you can do to drop the rpms a bit while cruising at Nevada speeds never hurt the motor any.

Honda went to a 6 manual and 7 DCT speed tranny on the new Hippo

 

[russperry]

I don't really care one way or the other about the 6 speed but I sure do like the slipper clutch. I would have owned one if I could have found a price that fit my budget.

I'm pretty sure we've already seen on the board that the new slipper clutch is backwards compatible with at least the Gen 2 bikes. I know its true for my Ninja 1000 - my '14 is waiting for an upgrade to the slipper/assist clutch that Kawi introduced in their 2016 models. I spent a total of $400 for the parts and the box is sitting in my garage waiting for some of my time and attention!

The clutches all come from FCC and they very nicely made them compatible with many of the older models which they also supplied to the OEMs.

I recall there being a thread on that subject but I'm too lazy to look it up.....

 

[russperry]

The only people that thought the FJR needed six gears were those that had never ridden one.

I assume you have never ridden in Nevada....

I think I was between 115 and 130 (indicated) pretty much the whole way from Ely to Tonopah on my '05 in 2014. Fueled up in Tonopah and might have spent an extra $2 for not having a sixth gear, but embarrassing myself by dropping the damned thing while doing slow figure 8s in the Chevron lot had nothing to do with a tranny or too few gears. . . . . . just sayin'

Hey Rich - in today's world you can't say tranny. You need to say zim or ze or something like that....