Travel Observations

[frito1]

Took the FJR for it's first extended trip last weekend. The weather was hot, but I just caught a couple of showers. I was hoping the FJR would be my new long distance ride, but the jury's still out on that.

The Good: The power and nimble handling of the FJR makes busy interstate type traffic almost tolerable. If you can see an opening you can be in that opening. My bike has MC Cruise installed, I've used it a bit, but this weekend it was priceless. This is my first bike with cruise and I like it better than I ever thought I would. The bar risers and Yamaha touring windshield were well worth the price paid for them. The rework of the seat by Rick Mayer worked out well. I wish I was 50 pounds lighter and 20 years younger so I could enjoy the ergonomics a little more, but the overall package is now tolerable. Coming home Sunday I rode 855 miles straight through.

The Bad: Like I said it was hot. The on board thermometer read 99-101 most of the day. By mid afternoon I was suffering more than I ever have because of heat on a bike. Not all the bikes fault, but it was a factor. Turn signals, WTF, self cancelling signals have been around on bikes for 20 years, come on Yamaha, get with it. Side opening saddle bags? Who thought that was a good idea? I'm sure an engineer somewhere thought they were great, but if you'd ever used top loading hard bags you would throw rocks at the FJR bags. The bag liners are nice, but unless you never open the bags till you reach your destination it's still a compromise.

The Funny: People can't figure out the FJR, they just can't get the brand right unless it's in bold letters on the tank. I've pretty much de-badged my bike so it's designation isn't obvious to the untrained eye. The sport bike guys I saw always gave me a positive reaction. Japanese cruiser guys avoided me like the plague. I got mixed reactions from the HD crowd, many were interested, thinking like me the FJR would be a great second bike. Others didn't acknowledge my existence. At one gas stop a cager hopped out of his car and asked if I had seen the new 1600? He said I would be ready to trade soon as I saw one. I reckon he thought I was riding a bimmer. Real BMW riders glared from a distance.

All in all, a fun and interesting trip. The FJR performed flawlessly (I didn't expect anything less) and I covered a lot of miles in a hurry. Oh yeah, fuel mileage was mediocre. 43 mpg going and 39 coming back by the same route. The only difference was a little bit cooler temps coming home. I'm at a loss as to the drop in mileage. Average speeds for the trip were 75-80 mph.

 

[SkooterG]

Interesting.

I don't want self-cancelling turn signals. As for side-opening sidebags, you may have a point, but look at just about everything else out there: side-opening.

As for the heat, you must be a wuss. After all, you got one of those fancy-schmancy Gen II POS bikes that fixed all the heat issues.

 

[Imp]

I havent notice a "heat issue" from the FJR even in 100+ temps. It is a 1300 cc motor and there is going to be heat.

 

[Fred W]

IMO the reason that you are not so thrilled with the FJR is that it is the wrong tool for what you are doing.

If all you are riding is highways then there are definitely much more comfortable slab burners out there. They also weigh a bunch more and will handle like pigs when you get to the fun back roads.

I don't get what all the whining is about. If you don't like it you should get the bike that you do like, whatever that is. Sounds to me like a Gold Wing would be a better fit for you.

 

[64Y80]

I agree with the bag design, top loads are easier to deal with but I've learned to live with the side loads, they're not that bad.

As far as the turn signals, I've owned quite a few bikes with them and the systems are not perfect. Some of the early systems operated on a time a distance principle, after traveling so far and been on for so long they would turn off. Others had other parameters that sensed when a turn was made and then cancel, the problem is that they could all be fooled. With the FJR you know that at the end of the turn you have to turn it off, never a surprise. I actually prefer the Feejers, stays on as long as you need them and turns off when they're supposed to....assuming this old man doesn't have a brain fart.

The heat can be an issue, even on my Gen II. It seems that most of the heat from the engine bay comes on the left side right onto my left calf. On my first longer ride it was bad enough to raise blisters on my leg. For now I wear my leather chaps when I take longer rides, some day I may break down and buy riding pants. For now I look like a Harley transplant, which is what I am.

Give the bike some time, once you get used to it's idiosyncracies the package will grow on you, it did on me.

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

I don't understand complaining about self cancelling turn signals....like it's so hard to push a button after you turn???? If you've been riding for years it's second nature and you don't even think about it.

Also I agree with Fred W in that if your doing a bunch of 75-80mph hwy riding then you'd be better off with a Goldwing or even a HD Electric Glide for that matter. A "Sport Touring" bike to me is made to ride the curves and cover a lot of distance as well. I'm a mountain rider myself so doing 1800 mile weekend rides on hwy's doesn't even interest me in the least, if so I'd be on a Goldwing.

As far as other bikers noticing me on the FJR I couldn't care less either. I ride for myself, not to get a low five from squids in shorts & flip flops on crotch rockets or leather bound HD riders with more money tied up in accessories then the GDP of China.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[raitchison]

One thing I've noticed in the month or so I've had the FJR is that I'm much less likely to get a return wave from a H-D rider. I guess even though my previous bike was a Suzuki it was a cruiser with fairly classic styling it would "pass" as a Harley until you got close, that's not the case at all with the FJR of course.

 

[frito1]

Didn’t mean for this to sound like a whine & cheese or a rant, just what it is, observations from *my* perspective after a long weekend trip. I've been riding for 40 odd years. I’m not a high mileage rider. I usually ride ~7500 miles a year, most of it local. My longer distance rides generally consist of a 600 mile weekend (last year on a hardtail chopper) and a ~2K weekend. I’ve owned this bike for ~ a year and it has become the hands down winner of the “which key” contest. The FJR has turned into the primary two wheeled vehicle of the fleet.

Maybe I’m a little obsessive compulsive, but things that don’t rate a second thought on short hops begin to dig in after 10-12 hours in the saddle. The turn signals are in that category because in my normal riding I seldom use them on this bike, my other bike, or any other vehicle. That’s just a perk of where I live and ride. I only signal when there’s someone to see it (I know, bad habit) and on this trip (to the Ohio Northeast Coast) there were plenty of folks that I wanted to see my signals. And being this is the first bike I’ve owned in the last ten years without some form of self cancel they got left on a bit more than I would like. Operator error? Sure. Engineering issues? A matter of opinion.

The bags have been a pain from the word go. That said, I knew that I wouldn’t like them before I bought the FJR, but I still bought it. I like the bike, but still don’t like the bags. Some people say I just like to ***** and accuse me of creating problems to ***** about. That argument may have some merit. I’ve had other bikes with side openers, didn’t care for those either. I use my bags a lot, they are both opened a minimum of twice a day for every day ridden to work and countless times on other longer rides. I realize there are work arounds. If I could find a small, sexy top box this would be a moot point. I have considered building a small box to my specs. As I’ve grown older, saddle bags/top boxes have become my MC man purse. I gotta have ‘em and they’re always full of little stuff ya can’t live without. Just a random thought along a similar line, I’ve never owned a retired cop bike, but bags you could open and access from the riders seat would really be cats ***.

Heat is well, hot. What ya gonna do? Yeah, call me a puss. Yeah, big engines make big heat. This is not my first large displacement bike. I’ve ridden/owned air cooled, air/oil cooled, and water cooled. It’s an issue with them all; it’s not an FJR exclusive. It doesn’t make much difference what you ride if you ride all day and it’s ~100 degrees F, you’re gonna get hot at some point. I think that due to the good frontal protection provided by the FJR there is a trade off of sorts, plus the adjustment of the windshield is a factor. Like 64Y80 said, the lower leg heat soak is noticeable on longer rides; I hadn’t experienced this up till now. Up till around noon I didn’t notice it, but later in the day it did become a comfort factor.

Something I didn’t mention that did please me was the level of rain protection. I went through a 10 mile or so shower at 70 mph and the only thing that got noticeably wet was the toe of my boots. That was a first.

I had a good trip on a good bike. I covered a lot of miles in a short time and was able to walk away in one piece. I’ve never ridden the perfect bike so I don’t think I’ll scrap out the FJR just yet.

Oh yeah, that crack about the Gold Wing was just plain mean. If it comes to that, I’d much rather have a Miata.

 

[Spud]

The FJR is a good compromise bike. If all I ever did was roll on a flat interstate, I'd look for something else. There are more comfortable bikes out there. I passed about 80 of them 2 weeks ago on Beartooth pass

 

[jim oneill]

Took the FJR for it's first extended trip last weekend. The weather was hot, but I just caught a couple of showers. I was hoping the FJR would be my new long distance ride, but the jury's still out on that.

The Good: The power and nimble handling of the FJR makes busy interstate type traffic almost tolerable. If you can see an opening you can be in that opening. My bike has MC Cruise installed, I've used it a bit, but this weekend it was priceless. This is my first bike with cruise and I like it better than I ever thought I would. The bar risers and Yamaha touring windshield were well worth the price paid for them. The rework of the seat by Rick Mayer worked out well. I wish I was 50 pounds lighter and 20 years younger so I could enjoy the ergonomics a little more, but the overall package is now tolerable. Coming home Sunday I rode 855 miles straight through.

The Bad: Like I said it was hot. The on board thermometer read 99-101 most of the day. By mid afternoon I was suffering more than I ever have because of heat on a bike. Not all the bikes fault, but it was a factor. Turn signals, WTF, self cancelling signals have been around on bikes for 20 years, come on Yamaha, get with it. Side opening saddle bags? Who thought that was a good idea? I'm sure an engineer somewhere thought they were great, but if you'd ever used top loading hard bags you would throw rocks at the FJR bags. The bag liners are nice, but unless you never open the bags till you reach your destination it's still a compromise.

I consistently get 48 mpg in all around riding

The Funny: People can't figure out the FJR, they just can't get the brand right unless it's in bold letters on the tank. I've pretty much de-badged my bike so it's designation isn't obvious to the untrained eye. The sport bike guys I saw always gave me a positive reaction. Japanese cruiser guys avoided me like the plague. I got mixed reactions from the HD crowd, many were interested, thinking like me the FJR would be a great second bike. Others didn't acknowledge my existence. At one gas stop a cager hopped out of his car and asked if I had seen the new 1600? He said I would be ready to trade soon as I saw one. I reckon he thought I was riding a bimmer. Real BMW riders glared from a distance.

All in all, a fun and interesting trip. The FJR performed flawlessly (I didn't expect anything less) and I covered a lot of miles in a hurry. Oh yeah, fuel mileage was mediocre. 43 mpg going and 39 coming back by the same route. The only difference was a little bit cooler temps coming home. I'm at a loss as to the drop in mileage. Average speeds for the trip were 75-80 mph.

 

[Fred W]

Oh yeah, that crack about the Gold Wing was just plain mean. If it comes to that, I’d much rather have a Miata.

Wasn't meant to be mean. I was being completely serious.

 

[jmdaniel]

As far as other bikers noticing me on the FJR I couldn't care less either. I ride for myself, not to get a low five from squids in shorts & flip flops on crotch rockets or leather bound HD riders with more money tied up in accessories then the GDP of China.

+1000

 

[NMRoadRunner]

I think ANY motorcycle is going be be a hot ride in 101 degrees :dribble: full fairing or naked, 1300cc's or 70cc's. 101 is fecking HOT!

 

[Gerry.GEG]

Hot bike when miserable, yep, been there. That motor puts out heat but so does my boss' Harley and he's brushed his leg into that hot/open motor several times. You'll never touch a hot part on the FJ. I wouldn't mind self-canceling turn signals but I've lived with them this long. Gas mileage was never an issue I thought was out of line. This is a big sport bike that doubles as a tourer with added weight. Wing's don't get great mileage either although, they are comfortable from what I've heard. As far as recognition; I get "what BMW is that?" all the time. FJ's are not a well known bike and personally, I like that. I do agree that top loading bags would be nice. The FJ's are not as useful and I tend to pack everything that I won't use until I reach my destination because they are so inconvenient to get into.

IMHO, the FJR has a place in the touring category but it's not all things to all people. We all compromise at some level and it's usually due to financial constraints. In a perfect world, I'd have an adventure bike, a GW for real long distance travel and maybe an FJ. But alas, I've never have that kind of money/time or unpractical nature even if I did have the money.

 

[luvtoride]

(I know, bad habit)

That is an understatement from this guy. & he even knows it's a bad habit. Not using blinkers on a motorcycle is asking for it.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

...The Bad: Like I said it was hot. The on board thermometer read 99-101 most of the day.... You are NOT taking in account the HIGH Levels of Humidity that raises the Heat Index from about 105-120 Degrees...everything is miserable in this without AC
The Funny: People can't figure out the FJR,... Get a Poser Bike so you can feel better and then take this trip and let us know how it is

...The FJR performed flawlessly... This is why the FJR is a Special Bike

This Extreme Heat sure brings on the angst to most of us on many level that otherwise would not be an issue...just ask the farmers.

 

[mcatrophy]

...

The bags have been a pain from the word go. ... but bags you could open and access from the riders seat would really be cat's ***.

...

Can't help with the "access from the rider's seat", but a small adjustment stops them opening quite as far, so reducing the spillage. Written up here.

 

[frito1]

(I know, bad habit)

That is an understatement from this guy. & he even knows it's a bad habit. Not using blinkers on a motorcycle is asking for it.

Geez........lets keep it in context. I didn't say I never used turn signals. I live in a rural, low traffic part of the world. Not uncommon for me to ride/drive to work without seeing another vehicle till I get there. If there's no one to see a signal it's no harm, no foul, if a signal isn't used. *If* there is anyone within visual distance (which was pretty much the whole trip), I am in condition yellow, no exceptions. And........I will signal as needed. My last MC accident was in 1972 and was caused by unexpected deflation of my front tire by a stray nail. If you can match or better my years & miles accident free, I applaud you. I may crash and burn tomorrow, but like it or not you have to admit that my system has worked for me.

 

[TheZsdad]

Funny thing about observations, they just seem like facts as you record them but sound like bitching when put up for the world to read.

I got to ride with a seasoned FJR rider awhile back. Had to snicker to myself when he left his blinker on for a good 10 miles. My last 2

bikes also Yamaha's did have self canceling signals. Makes me mad at myself when I forget to turn it off on the FJR. I should be able to adjust my thinking.

And I am better at it but you know about old dogs and new tricks. I have no problem at all with my side load bags. I keep all my mostly used

stuff in the top case. Coming off a cruiser I found the the added protection of the FJR allowed me to ride in much cooler temperatures.

But since that protection is still there in the hot weather I have to make adjustments to deal with it. Stock wind screen all the way down and

highway pegs to get my legs out in the air. Legs out on the pegs also pulls air into the cockpit area. Not recommended in the twisties.

Congrats on 1800 miles over a warm weekend. Not sure I could do that on a do I dare say A WING. About the FJR not being recognized

I like that. It works with myself image. :assassin:

No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes.