Test Ride FJR Tomorrow

[Salish1300]

I've had my 14 since January and I think I paid $11,900. Not bad. And I do parking lot practice at least once a month. Funny how sometimes I feel the mojo and am smooth and tight on my turns, and other days, I suck. It's just like all sports, I guess. Not always in the flow.

One characteristic of the FJR I have come to love in my 2500 miles is how incredibly smooth the throttle response is, and the massive torque and power lets you smoothly move around at slow speeds. I had a Versys before this, which is no shabby bike, and the FJR is far smoother despite being 200lbs heavier.

My dominant response to people these days when they ask about my bike is that it is just so damn smooth, comfortable and powerful.

And I have installed Canyon Cages and frame sliders for her inevitable nap. I already loathe the day!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

If most of your riding is around town and you can live W/O the bags, the bike is considerably lighter(especially at slow speed) and much more flickable (IME with my old 04). You WILL FEEL a bit of a difference with the bags off...

I only put the bags and top box on for road trips..

 

[Happytrails63]

Hey guys no FJR yet. Place was packed had to wait one hour to ride the 20 min demo. We did not get over 50 mph, several lights and rode together in formation. I have to be honest I was intimidated. Just could not relax, not used to such a big bike and almost dropped it making slow tight turn in parking lot to get bike back in line at dealer. I got off the bike with blown confidence, arm pump and just confused on what to do. My sales guy was super busy so just told him will talk later in the week. Maybe I need more time on my current bike FZ 09, I don't consider myself a beginner at all but maybe I went in with out respect for the FJR??

Attended the Yamaha Demo Ride event here locally also anticipating a nice ride on a 2015 FJR ES. Apparently someone dumped it at the previous site. When I asked about it they told me it was unrideable due to plastics damage and they wre waiting on parts to arrive. Ended up on an FJ-09, FZ-07 and FZ-09. They had picked out a nice set of curvy backroads and while I never got to get up to speed on any of the bikes it was still a nice time.

There is another Yamaha Demo Ride event an hour and a half away from me coming up. Haven't decided if I will make that trip yet. Dont want to ride all that way to be disappointed again. Lots of other demo rides coming to town though including Victory, Indian and Can Am.

As to getting used to low speed handling on a heavier bike it comes with a little practice. Also not enough air in the front tire and a heavy bike will handle like an elephant.

 

[Niehart]

Happytrails63, if you do make the trip, as the demo leaders lot of questions before you ride the FJR. That way you will be a little more willing to try the different settings.

 

[Happytrails63]

Happytrails63, if you do make the trip, as the demo leaders lot of questions before you ride the FJR. That way you will be a little more willing to try the different settings.

Thanks for the tip. Would love to have a short ride on the bike even though I know its not like riding it daily to get a true impression of liking a bike..

 

[ApexGT]

I let the magazines do the test rides for me, no dealer ever had a demo

 

[Happytrails63]

Happytrails63, if you do make the trip, as the demo leaders lot of questions before you ride the FJR. That way you will be a little more willing to try the different settings.

Great advice, I did end up making the trip and it wasn't that bad. Got there early and was talking with the pilot riders. Star Yamaha had a really nice setup at there spot with the big trailer and refreshments. They really did it up right.

Did like what you suggested and they did pick up on it. Told them I made the trip mainly to test ride the FJR. After I told them that they showed me everything from front to back. They set the suspension to standard, full soft and full hard to I could see the difference on the ride. Showed me how to play with the windshield height. And told me about the power modes. They showed me how much room was in the saddlebags and that it could hold a full faced helmet (even showed me how to take the bags off). Mentioned all the different aftermarket options for windshield, seat, tailbox, etc... This is all old stuff to you guys but I was impressed that they were so knowledgeable about the product.

Took a 20 minute group ride and never got very fast (maybe hit 50mph at one point). Played with everything I could on the bike. So now I'm hooked. Loved the smoothness of the bike, the electronic gadgets were very cool (I'm geeky like that), really liked the throttle response, the clutch felt great and thought the bike handled particularly well at low speeds. It just felt really balanced. Played around turning the bike back into there demo spot and it felt really good at low speed turn in. Was looking for out for gravel though. I think they just fixed the bike and I didn't want to do something stupid like dump it right there again.

Only 1 problem now, I was thinking I'd buy an older used FJR but I was really diggin the ES and the new bike felt so together. Have to reconsider what I'm gonna do now

p.s. sorry for necro'ing an older post but just seemed like the right spot to post this. thanks.

 

[Fred W]

If you really want the ES, hold out for it. It will be worth it, IMO You'll be able to find some 2014 ES's for sale used at reasonable discounts, or with lots of well thought out added accessories, assuming that you like the red (I do obviously) Otherwise you could wait another year for a used 2015ES Gray Ghost.

If money is an object, there are lots of 1st and 2nd gens around that are nearly as exciting as the 3rd Gen, but at much lower admission fees. You really can't make a bad choice here...

 

[Uncle Hud]

Happytrails63 posted <snip>
... but I was really diggin the ES and the new bike felt so together.

Everyone riding a Gen3 knows precisely what you mean. And don't apologize for the zombie thread -- I'm sure that's why The Boss doesn't delete them.

 

[FJRRYDER]

I'm pretty happy with my '06, but I knew right away it was not going to be my fav commuter. It doesn't like traffic stop and go, and neither does my '04 Kawi Nomad 1500. My preferred bike to ride to work is my '93 Honda 750. It's plenty quick, light and flickable, and here in SoCal, we can filter traffic.

 

[hppants]

The nighthawk is a TERRIFIC commuter bike. The only thing to be concerned with is the air-cooled engine in longer term stop and go traffic.

Or were you referring to a 750 shadow.....

 

[Bill Lumberg]

My first road bike was a nighthawk. That one got exploded by an elderly driver. I did not test ride the FJR prior to purchase. First vehicle I've ever purchased without driving/riding. If I had, I would not have bought it, and that would have been a shame. I decided not to let a test drive interfere with my exahustive research. I wasn't familiar with modding a bike to make it work out. As delivered, the bike was (for me) damn near unrideable for any significant length of time. 5 million questions here and a couple of months later, a helibridge, cee bailey, and some suspension tweaks and I was off to the races, so to speak. Just added MCL lowering brackets and I couldn't be more pleased with the bike. I run with bags and top case pretty much all the time. I can't fit my helmets in either of them, but I don't have that need normally. You can tell a difference without the bags and top case, but the bike handles and feels great, at speed and in the twisties, with all the bags on.

 

[Happytrails63]

FZ-07 seemed like it would make a nice little commuter bike as long as it wasn't too long a ride. Really tried to like the FJ-09 but it just didn't thrill me. Maybe I just need to ride one again. Geez... here I am thinking about my 3rd bike and haven't even gotten the 2nd one yet.

 

[KrustyKush]

Test rides are all but useless to me. I've never bought a new bike that I could say my first ride, the demo ride, showed me anything about the bike whatever. At the demo moment, I'm just trying to figure out where the pedals are, and what the switches do.

It takes weeks and hundreds, maybe thousands, of miles to really get into a bike. I start with what seems like it will fit, and bend myself where necessary to MAKE it fit.

 

[palerider]

I agree that test rides are mostly useless, but only for positives, but at my advanced age, I do find test rides useful to check for negatives, things that over time I have learned that for me are deal-breakers: Is it too buzzy? Are the basic ergos too hard on my back? Does the clutch action torture my arthritic thumb? Are the brakes good enough to save me from myself? What's the buffeting like behind the windscreen? Can I read and comprehend the instrumentation? Is there enough room for my pillion? Are the bags easy to use? Is the centerstand usable? Can I get to the battery? Are the rear-view mirrors usable (or cheaply fixable)?

 

[Fred W]

Test rides may not prove to you the bike is "the one", but they definitely can prove to you that it is not. That was the case when I test rode a Super Tenere ES. It is a type of bike that I am very familiar with since I already owned a 2004 V-Strom DL1000. My test ride on the 2014 Tenere ES showed me that it was not a big enough improvement over the V-Strom to warrant the cash outlay.

On the other hand, being very familiar with my 1st Gen FJR1300, having owned it for the prior 9 years and 90k miles, when I test rode the 2014 FJR ES I knew immediately that it was "the bike I just had to own".

So, yes... sometimes test rides do sell bikes.

 

[bamafutbal]

test rides are so not useless at bike week in daytona. Our route took us up I95 and some back roads on a 2015 FJR and Concours this last year. I usually test ride 5-6 bikes on that saturday of the superiors race. The moto guzzi ride lasted 45 minutes. Now my VMAX demo was too short at maybe 20 minutes

 

[russperry]

FZ-07 seemed like it would make a nice little commuter bike as long as it wasn't too long a ride. Really tried to like the FJ-09 but it just didn't thrill me. Maybe I just need to ride one again. Geez... here I am thinking about my 3rd bike and haven't even gotten the 2nd one yet.

When I wrecked my FZ1 back in April I was looking for a replacement commuter bike. With all the buzz about the FJ09 at the time I gave it a test ride - I liked the overall package but since I do a lot of lane splitting here in CA, those wide handlebars had me concerned. I then looked at a Ninja 1000 - SOLD!!! Has all the power and torque of the FJ09 and then some, but much narrower through the bars. Also found a '14 at significantly lower cost than the FJ so it was an easy decision.

I've got the FJR in the barn still but as others have said, wrestling it through traffic daily is not its strongest suit.....