The Saga Begins
- Thread starter Brobee
- Start date
Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:
Surly
Well-known member
I love the story line so far.
Best regards
Surly
h34r:
Best regards
Surly
h34r: 
TechJunkie
Well-known member
Congratulations. Hope you enjoy it. Report back once you take delivery and run it through its paces. :clapping:
Redfish Hunter
Gone Fishing
In the meantime a preface or prologue might be in order. What led you to making the "Correct Choice"? But I agree, so far it is a great storyline.
Prologue
I would be lying if I said this board and its fine members had nothing to do with it. But anyway, there were a few key factors.
I started riding 'upright' sport bikes several years ago staring with a Ninja 500R and ending with my last bike - a Suzuki GSX650F. My street riding experience is more than 5 years, but less than 10. When I started sitting on bikes at the dealership, I just thought the standard/sport bike feel felt natural. Much more natural than the riding position of the Vulcan on sale, which brought me into the dealership in the first place. Not sure what it was attributed to, but perhaps the childhood comfort of the 'ole BMX riding position. If I felt I was going to get in trouble, it seemed that I could put my leg down quicker and with more balance than lazily dropping it from an outstretched cruiser position.
I rode that little Ninja like a pro. Such a forgiving and flickable bike to learn on, but in 2010 it was time to get into something a little bigger. Even though I took it on a 1200 mile STOC Ohio trip in 2009 and hung with those Honda guys just fine, I wanted something that felt a little more 'planted' on the road. I didn't really know that's what I wanted until after that trip. So, I ended up purchasing a left over 2009 GSX650F at a pretty good discount. Unlike the Ninja, I started modding that bike a little bit more each year. Starting with a dark smoke Puig windscreen, Sargent seat, grip puppies, and the last mod was installed in March of this year - a Leo Vince slip-on.
The bike was spotless...my baby. We had a warm spell in March, if you recall and that is when I pulled all the tools out and slipped on the exhaust and took it for a test ride. Wow - what a cool sounding (and much better looking) can! I polished it up with a fresh coat of wax and drove it around for about a week, until the reality of Michigan weather in March came around again.
Fast forward to May 11th, where we finally came across a day that was not raining and it was reasonably warm again. I had taken the day off of work because we were having a garage sale. It happened to work out well, because it was a Friday and an excuse to burn a vacation day anyway. We had the back half of the garage blocked off by the folding tables that were full of the crap we no longer
wanted, which is where the Suzuki was safely tucked out of harm's way. It was visible to everyone who stopped by and had to tell several people - sorry, it's not for sale. There were so many comments on what a gorgeous bike it was.
We closed up the garage sale around 4pm and I decided to take the bike out for a ride and to gas up for the upcoming week to commute back and forth to work with. Yes - I had already looked at the 10-day weather forcast and it was finally perfectly lined up with an entire week of upcoming good riding weather! I didn't make it more than 4 miles from my house when a left-turner took me out.
I was going between 40-45 when she turned right on top of me. Unlike the dozens of close calls over the years, there was ZERO time to react, brake, swerve or do anything. After everything was said and done (life flashing before my eyes with a 2 second black out), I found myself rolling to a stop about 30 feet past the car in the middle of the road. After a nice ride to the hospital with my head taped down to a board, the only real damage found was a tibial plateau fracture. I'm told that's one of the worse breaks you can get, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
So here we are almost 3 months later and I've had a lot of time on my hands to research the perfect next machine. Oh yeah, I forgot to state the obvious - the Suzuki was totalled. Prior to this happening I was already starting to think about what I might buy in the next one or two years, such as a real sports tourer. My riding buddy just bought a 1200RT last year and seems to like it. He's the one that used to have the Honda ST a few years back and talked me into that STOC Ohio tour.
For my next bike, I knew I wanted to get into a shaft drive (less maintenance) and come with some of the standard touring luxuries that I've not had in the past. So the contenders were as follows: 1200RT, Concours 14, ST1300, or FJR1300. It already took a lot of research to come up with that list. The BMW was ruled out because of price and it is air cooled. The ST1300 really ran up in price too (and it's heavy). The Concours wasn't much heavier than the FJR, and had a lot more tech on it that some folks say needs to be included in the myth known as the Gen 3 FJR. Even though I had zero issues with my little Ninja, it still seems that popular opinion favors Yamaha over Kawi in terms of reliability. Ok - the FJR looks damn sexy too!
It may be a little soon yet, since I am still not going to be 100% on my left leg by the time I take delivery, but I can have it trailered to my door. I just need to have that empty gap filled in my garage again and know that it's mine and most importantly...it's home. I also could not bank on a zero mile 2012 being available in the spring for less than 13K! I also decided somewhere along the way that I really liked the cobalt blue
End Prologue
I would be lying if I said this board and its fine members had nothing to do with it. But anyway, there were a few key factors.
I started riding 'upright' sport bikes several years ago staring with a Ninja 500R and ending with my last bike - a Suzuki GSX650F. My street riding experience is more than 5 years, but less than 10. When I started sitting on bikes at the dealership, I just thought the standard/sport bike feel felt natural. Much more natural than the riding position of the Vulcan on sale, which brought me into the dealership in the first place. Not sure what it was attributed to, but perhaps the childhood comfort of the 'ole BMX riding position. If I felt I was going to get in trouble, it seemed that I could put my leg down quicker and with more balance than lazily dropping it from an outstretched cruiser position.
I rode that little Ninja like a pro. Such a forgiving and flickable bike to learn on, but in 2010 it was time to get into something a little bigger. Even though I took it on a 1200 mile STOC Ohio trip in 2009 and hung with those Honda guys just fine, I wanted something that felt a little more 'planted' on the road. I didn't really know that's what I wanted until after that trip. So, I ended up purchasing a left over 2009 GSX650F at a pretty good discount. Unlike the Ninja, I started modding that bike a little bit more each year. Starting with a dark smoke Puig windscreen, Sargent seat, grip puppies, and the last mod was installed in March of this year - a Leo Vince slip-on.
The bike was spotless...my baby. We had a warm spell in March, if you recall and that is when I pulled all the tools out and slipped on the exhaust and took it for a test ride. Wow - what a cool sounding (and much better looking) can! I polished it up with a fresh coat of wax and drove it around for about a week, until the reality of Michigan weather in March came around again.
Fast forward to May 11th, where we finally came across a day that was not raining and it was reasonably warm again. I had taken the day off of work because we were having a garage sale. It happened to work out well, because it was a Friday and an excuse to burn a vacation day anyway. We had the back half of the garage blocked off by the folding tables that were full of the crap we no longer
wanted, which is where the Suzuki was safely tucked out of harm's way. It was visible to everyone who stopped by and had to tell several people - sorry, it's not for sale. There were so many comments on what a gorgeous bike it was.
We closed up the garage sale around 4pm and I decided to take the bike out for a ride and to gas up for the upcoming week to commute back and forth to work with. Yes - I had already looked at the 10-day weather forcast and it was finally perfectly lined up with an entire week of upcoming good riding weather! I didn't make it more than 4 miles from my house when a left-turner took me out.
I was going between 40-45 when she turned right on top of me. Unlike the dozens of close calls over the years, there was ZERO time to react, brake, swerve or do anything. After everything was said and done (life flashing before my eyes with a 2 second black out), I found myself rolling to a stop about 30 feet past the car in the middle of the road. After a nice ride to the hospital with my head taped down to a board, the only real damage found was a tibial plateau fracture. I'm told that's one of the worse breaks you can get, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
So here we are almost 3 months later and I've had a lot of time on my hands to research the perfect next machine. Oh yeah, I forgot to state the obvious - the Suzuki was totalled. Prior to this happening I was already starting to think about what I might buy in the next one or two years, such as a real sports tourer. My riding buddy just bought a 1200RT last year and seems to like it. He's the one that used to have the Honda ST a few years back and talked me into that STOC Ohio tour.
For my next bike, I knew I wanted to get into a shaft drive (less maintenance) and come with some of the standard touring luxuries that I've not had in the past. So the contenders were as follows: 1200RT, Concours 14, ST1300, or FJR1300. It already took a lot of research to come up with that list. The BMW was ruled out because of price and it is air cooled. The ST1300 really ran up in price too (and it's heavy). The Concours wasn't much heavier than the FJR, and had a lot more tech on it that some folks say needs to be included in the myth known as the Gen 3 FJR. Even though I had zero issues with my little Ninja, it still seems that popular opinion favors Yamaha over Kawi in terms of reliability. Ok - the FJR looks damn sexy too!
It may be a little soon yet, since I am still not going to be 100% on my left leg by the time I take delivery, but I can have it trailered to my door. I just need to have that empty gap filled in my garage again and know that it's mine and most importantly...it's home. I also could not bank on a zero mile 2012 being available in the spring for less than 13K! I also decided somewhere along the way that I really liked the cobalt blue
End Prologue
Redfish Hunter
Gone Fishing
Now, I am more than excited to read the rest of the story! Glad you survived, sorry the bike did not. I agree about the cobalt blue. It is almost as nice as the Black Cherry of the '07 model. B) I wish that my '04 ST1300 blue was that color, the Honda paint is not quite as nice as the Yamaha paint on these bikes.
Goodman4
Pressing on
Thanks for the story. Sorry about the Suzuki, but I'm glad you're recovering. I hope you love the new FJR.
Bugnatr
Well-known member
Going to be a long couple weeks, it's a proven fact time slows down as you get closer to delivery day.
It's worth it. :yahoo:
It's worth it. :yahoo:
escapefjrtist
Searching for Dry Roads
Congrats on the purchase!
You won't be disappointed.
--G
You won't be disappointed.
--G
A day later after talking to the salesman, I checked my account online to see if it really happened or not. Sure enough, the depost $$ is in a pending state, but not yet removed from my account. That should clear on Monday or Tuesday.
The excitement and anticipation starts to ramp up quickly, thanks to the incoming comments and support of fellow riders. After speaking to the salesman and getting more details on this "YES" warranty, it seems that I can drop the roadside support and trip interruption from my insurance quote. I quickly re-did the quotes that I've been playing around with between Allstate and Progressive to remove that line item. It wasn't much, but it does add up: about $3 to $4 per month.
Regarding the YES warranty, the salesman was quick to give me the price of the 48-month term. It wasn't too bad, but I had to ask what the 24 and 36 prices were. I didn't write them down, but with the scales of economy in full effect on this item, it did not make sense to get anything other than the 48-month policy. The dealers price is $660.00 on the 48-month. It sounds like some folks have gotten the same thing for $100 or more cheaper according to some threads. I haven't quite decided if I will try to talk him down on it or not. I know they have a lot of wiggle room for such things, but the bike itself is quite a steal compared to MSRP. And I am comforted by the fact it was not taken on any test rides and has never left the showroom floor
Well, I may just pretend that I don't need the warranty when signing and see what he does. Still have plenty of time to develop the strategy for 'extras'.
The excitement and anticipation starts to ramp up quickly, thanks to the incoming comments and support of fellow riders. After speaking to the salesman and getting more details on this "YES" warranty, it seems that I can drop the roadside support and trip interruption from my insurance quote. I quickly re-did the quotes that I've been playing around with between Allstate and Progressive to remove that line item. It wasn't much, but it does add up: about $3 to $4 per month.
Regarding the YES warranty, the salesman was quick to give me the price of the 48-month term. It wasn't too bad, but I had to ask what the 24 and 36 prices were. I didn't write them down, but with the scales of economy in full effect on this item, it did not make sense to get anything other than the 48-month policy. The dealers price is $660.00 on the 48-month. It sounds like some folks have gotten the same thing for $100 or more cheaper according to some threads. I haven't quite decided if I will try to talk him down on it or not. I know they have a lot of wiggle room for such things, but the bike itself is quite a steal compared to MSRP. And I am comforted by the fact it was not taken on any test rides and has never left the showroom floor
Well, I may just pretend that I don't need the warranty when signing and see what he does. Still have plenty of time to develop the strategy for 'extras'.
LgFJR
Well-known member
Prologue
I would be lying if I said this board and its fine members had nothing to do with it. But anyway, there were a few key factors.
I started riding 'upright' sport bikes several years ago staring with a Ninja 500R and ending with my last bike - a Suzuki GSX650F. My street riding experience is more than 5 years, but less than 10. When I started sitting on bikes at the dealership, I just thought the standard/sport bike feel felt natural. Much more natural than the riding position of the Vulcan on sale, which brought me into the dealership in the first place. Not sure what it was attributed to, but perhaps the childhood comfort of the 'ole BMX riding position. If I felt I was going to get in trouble, it seemed that I could put my leg down quicker and with more balance than lazily dropping it from an outstretched cruiser position.
I rode that little Ninja like a pro. Such a forgiving and flickable bike to learn on, but in 2010 it was time to get into something a little bigger. Even though I took it on a 1200 mile STOC Ohio trip in 2009 and hung with those Honda guys just fine, I wanted something that felt a little more 'planted' on the road. I didn't really know that's what I wanted until after that trip. So, I ended up purchasing a left over 2009 GSX650F at a pretty good discount. Unlike the Ninja, I started modding that bike a little bit more each year. Starting with a dark smoke Puig windscreen, Sargent seat, grip puppies, and the last mod was installed in March of this year - a Leo Vince slip-on.
The bike was spotless...my baby. We had a warm spell in March, if you recall and that is when I pulled all the tools out and slipped on the exhaust and took it for a test ride. Wow - what a cool sounding (and much better looking) can! I polished it up with a fresh coat of wax and drove it around for about a week, until the reality of Michigan weather in March came around again.
Fast forward to May 11th, where we finally came across a day that was not raining and it was reasonably warm again. I had taken the day off of work because we were having a garage sale. It happened to work out well, because it was a Friday and an excuse to burn a vacation day anyway. We had the back half of the garage blocked off by the folding tables that were full of the crap we no longer
wanted, which is where the Suzuki was safely tucked out of harm's way. It was visible to everyone who stopped by and had to tell several people - sorry, it's not for sale. There were so many comments on what a gorgeous bike it was.
We closed up the garage sale around 4pm and I decided to take the bike out for a ride and to gas up for the upcoming week to commute back and forth to work with. Yes - I had already looked at the 10-day weather forcast and it was finally perfectly lined up with an entire week of upcoming good riding weather! I didn't make it more than 4 miles from my house when a left-turner took me out.
I was going between 40-45 when she turned right on top of me. Unlike the dozens of close calls over the years, there was ZERO time to react, brake, swerve or do anything. After everything was said and done (life flashing before my eyes with a 2 second black out), I found myself rolling to a stop about 30 feet past the car in the middle of the road. After a nice ride to the hospital with my head taped down to a board, the only real damage found was a tibial plateau fracture. I'm told that's one of the worse breaks you can get, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
So here we are almost 3 months later and I've had a lot of time on my hands to research the perfect next machine. Oh yeah, I forgot to state the obvious - the Suzuki was totalled. Prior to this happening I was already starting to think about what I might buy in the next one or two years, such as a real sports tourer. My riding buddy just bought a 1200RT last year and seems to like it. He's the one that used to have the Honda ST a few years back and talked me into that STOC Ohio tour.
For my next bike, I knew I wanted to get into a shaft drive (less maintenance) and come with some of the standard touring luxuries that I've not had in the past. So the contenders were as follows: 1200RT, Concours 14, ST1300, or FJR1300. It already took a lot of research to come up with that list. The BMW was ruled out because of price and it is air cooled. The ST1300 really ran up in price too (and it's heavy). The Concours wasn't much heavier than the FJR, and had a lot more tech on it that some folks say needs to be included in the myth known as the Gen 3 FJR. Even though I had zero issues with my little Ninja, it still seems that popular opinion favors Yamaha over Kawi in terms of reliability. Ok - the FJR looks damn sexy too!
It may be a little soon yet, since I am still not going to be 100% on my left leg by the time I take delivery, but I can have it trailered to my door. I just need to have that empty gap filled in my garage again and know that it's mine and most importantly...it's home. I also could not bank on a zero mile 2012 being available in the spring for less than 13K! I also decided somewhere along the way that I really liked the cobalt blue
End Prologue
Well you are making the right choice for sure......your excellent prologue just reminded me of my laughter several years ago when Honda was telling us about its airbags. Turns out your accident is exactly what they designed the wing airbag for, a smack into something at 45mph or less....although ideally it would be a T-bone. So for a mere $30K you might have been able to casually stroll away from that wreck. Now that I think about it, for $8K you could have been in a clapped out huge old Suburban and just laughed at the other victim. Ok, clearly I need more coffee......lol....glad you're doing fine and looking forward to more rides.
TheZsdad
Mr. Bill goes for a ride!
No need to rush into the Y.E.S. You have one year to buy it. Don't pay over $400 for the 48 month.
Wolf_in_Cheapclothing
Well-known member
Brobee,
Welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy the new bike when you're up and running again. On the Y.E.S. warranty, show them the thread on here where that one dealer is selling them for $389, they will either match or you can buy it from the one on here. I just bought an '09 from Full Throttle in Lansing and they were happy to match the price.
Welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy the new bike when you're up and running again. On the Y.E.S. warranty, show them the thread on here where that one dealer is selling them for $389, they will either match or you can buy it from the one on here. I just bought an '09 from Full Throttle in Lansing and they were happy to match the price.
bramfrank
BramFrank
Welcome to the marque - you are getting the nicest colour.
Remember to read the section on what to look for when taking delivery - clearly you missed the part about YES costing $389 - and if you buy it from D&H you'll pay no sales tax.
Remember to read the section on what to look for when taking delivery - clearly you missed the part about YES costing $389 - and if you buy it from D&H you'll pay no sales tax.
I didn't miss the link back from the Jan 2012 post with their Name, Address, and Phone #. That's why in my previous post I noticed some posts of folks paying much less, but not sure if my particular dealer would budge on the YES price due to them selling the the new bike for less than 13K to begin with.
However, I am about ready to cry uncle as far as searching for "what to look for when taking delivery". Not going to quit just yet, but it's just not producing any legitimate results.
I will put a reminder on my calendar to call D&H on Tuesday to see if they are still offering for that price, so I can have the leverage to tell my dealer I'm not paying a dime more than $xxx.xx.
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bramfrank
BramFrank
OK, I'll give you one free pass on this because your pain meds may have impacted on your search skills . . . . besides, it isn't Friday.
https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=8660
https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=8660
Thanks, I did find it under the Bin-O-Facts section. The search feature is a little clunkly here, and wasn't hitting on what other engines refer to as key words. Gee - are all Canadians as personable and friendly as you?
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