Unflattering FJR Description

[FJRBluesman]

I received my April issue of the British publication Bike today.In a section called The Indispensable New Bike Guide they describe the FJR as;

Heavy, basic , old-school tourer is dependable, trustworthy, but not a patch on newer rivals. 14k pound price verges on insulting. Ask if price is a typo.

They give it a rating of two stars out of five.

In the same guide they list the price of the Kawasaki 1400GTR (our C14 Concours) as 12,820 Pounds.

I'm not going to lose any sleep over it but found it interesting.

And the Connie is much lighter???

...the FJR is getting long in the tooth.Kawi has made significant upgrades to their platform while the FJR, not anything, really.

Read the RR's with an open mind. If I was buying today, it very well might be the Kawi, just sayin'...

True….

Yep, 8years now without any significant changes other than more weight and slower. the 03's and 04's are still the fastest, so one could actually say they're going backwards. and it doesn't seem that any of the major moto-bike makers are putting any significant thrust into new models ..they can't sell the inventories of old stuff.
Good thing is that a lot of the guys that buy these don't ride much ...so when mine wears out I'll likely just go get another '04FJR or a Kawi ....unless someone else steps up and takes sport touring a step forward. Maybe the Honda rumors will result in something new, I'm not holding my breath though, the market/economy is too soft me thinks.

Hmmmm.

I'm not much into other brand bashing, but (tongue-n-cheek): It looks like the FJR is the new Honda ST1300.

But the FeeJ is much better looking.
I like the FJR. All bikes have some sort of draw backs, etc. Many true things said here. Once again looking for motorcycle nirvana…. Does it exist??? :dribble:

 

[Old Michael]

Anybody up for a ride?

HELL yes, Wheat man!

Let's GO!

 

[MEM]

Anybody up for a ride?

HELL yes, Wheat man!

Let's GO!

May I tag along ?

....if I can keep up

 

[RenoJohn]

Anybody up for a ride?

HELL yes, Wheat man!

Let's GO!

I wanna go too!I got an FJR ....I'll bring that ol' obsolete thing if ya guys don't mind.

I say we pick a spot mutually acceptable location, meet up and log some smiles and miles.

 

[TCMike]

What ever! I love my FJR, but unless they make some changes, and add some more options, I will seriously look at the Connie next time around.

 

[stealth1]

I like the FJR. All bikes have some sort of draw backs, etc. Many true things said here. Once again looking for motorcycle nirvana…. Does it exist??? :dribble:

No.

That's why so many people own multiple motorcycles.

 

[copron]

They can say what they will. After test riding the Connie,ST1300, and the FJR, the FJR was still the best all around bike.

 

[YooperDick]

I think the FJR is a great ride. Not much to dislike. Hells bells, I never owned anything from Yamaha that wasn't excellent quality. I still have two Yammie snowmobiles over thirty years old that still run like a Swiss watch, even after the kids were on them.

Having said that, I still think my BMW 1150 RT is better in the corners. The BMW steering is neutral and the bike goes where it is pointed. The FJR is a little heavier to turn but I certainly wouldn't throw her out of bed.

 

[Nightshift]

I received my April issue of the British publication Bike today.In a section called The Indispensable New Bike Guide they describe the FJR as;

Heavy, basic , old-school tourer is dependable, trustworthy, but not a patch on newer rivals. 14k pound price verges on insulting. Ask if price is a typo.

They give it a rating of two stars out of five.

In the same guide they list the price of the Kawasaki 1400GTR (our C14 Concours) as 12,820 Pounds.

I'm not going to lose any sleep over it but found it interesting.

And the Connie is much lighter???

...the FJR is getting long in the tooth.Kawi has made significant upgrades to their platform while the FJR, not anything, really.

Read the RR's with an open mind. If I was buying today, it very well might be the Kawi, just sayin'...

True….

Yep, 8years now without any significant changes other than more weight and slower. the 03's and 04's are still the fastest, so one could actually say they're going backwards. and it doesn't seem that any of the major moto-bike makers are putting any significant thrust into new models ..they can't sell the inventories of old stuff.
Good thing is that a lot of the guys that buy these don't ride much ...so when mine wears out I'll likely just go get another '04FJR or a Kawi ....unless someone else steps up and takes sport touring a step forward. Maybe the Honda rumors will result in something new, I'm not holding my breath though, the market/economy is too soft me thinks.

Hmmmm.

I'm not much into other brand bashing, but (tongue-n-cheek): It looks like the FJR is the new Honda ST1300.

But the FeeJ is much better looking.
I like the FJR. All bikes have some sort of draw backs, etc. Many true things said here. Once again looking for motorcycle nirvana…. Does it exist??? :dribble:

I still like my FJR after 4 years now. Face it has anyone on this forum noticed how fast this bike is off the line? It's fast that's all I'm sayin'.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I just did a C14 demo ride this week at Daytona. Out of the crate, the 2010 C14 has edged the FJR. Yamaha needs to wake up.

The problem is how do you improve on a Home Run like the FJR. It takes more than just another Home Run to draw market attention.

 

[JimNtexas]

All the FJR needs is factory cruise control to send all the C-14s and ST1300s to the scrap heap.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Anybody up for a ride?

HELL yes, Wheat man!

Let's GO!

Too late OM, he left early.

 

[old&slow]

I bought the FJR because I thought it was a great bike. Didn't buy it because of what someone else thought.

I still think it's a great bike..

But I was in the MC store the other day and saw a FZ1 and started to get a woody.

 

[Old Michael]

But I was in the MC store the other day and saw a FZ1 and started to get a woody.

You sure? At your age?

 

[beemerdons]

But I was in the MC store the other day and saw a FZ1 and started to get a woody.

You sure? At your age?

Jeez Marie, I went and looked at the age of old&slow! Jesu Cristo, he's 3+ years younger than I am! Oh well, Thank God for those little blue diamond shaped pills!!!

 

[ionbeam]

Speaking from a marketing, design and engineering point of view:

Yamaha determined there was money to be made and a valuable asset to be added to the list of Yamaha products by including a sport touring motorcycle. They had all the time in the world to study what the end users wanted and what the current competition offered. Since Honda and Kawasaki product designs were moribund stagnate stable it gave Yamaha a clear target to supersede in a significant way. BMW set the the dollars to function playing field. Yamaha clearly used the time and did a good job with their new FJR1300.

Kawasaki woke up from their ST slumber and wanted to re-enter the field in a significant way. They had a lot of time to study the ST field and take direct aim at the top players. If Kawasaki had not significantly topped the field it would have been a major marketing/engineering blunder.

When the new Concours 14 was released the FJR did not go backwards, it was passed. Not passed in a knockout blow, but the new Concours was incrementally better in several ways. It wasn't a balanced passing due to issues like price, maintenance schedule and serviceability.

There are a lot of tools whose designs are not current, but they still do a superb job. I know of craftsmen in several fields that actually seek out some older tools and machinery because they do an equal or better job than the newer equipment, making them a good value. New and improved does not always equate to a significantly better product nor does it often obsolete the current products. The offending article seems to be voiced in a way that indicates the Concours obsoleted the FJR, which is definitely not true. The FJRs, both old and new are still a top quality craftsman's tool, nearly equal when an evaluation of fundamental mission functions are assessed.

Kawasaki and BMW have now revealed their game plans and set design targets for Yamaha. Honda is making a lot of noise but hasn't yet trotted out a new contender in the ST field. Once Honda reveals their target new ST, Yamaha will know what they need to do to stay at the top of this motorcycle category, or perhaps even decide to end their participation. In any case, today's FJR is still a top contender. If Yamaha wants to stay in the ST field, the other ST manufacturers have shown what Yamaha's design goals need to be for a Gen III. My Gen I isn't yet ready for the license plate: SHTBOX.

 

[wheatonFJR]

So true.

Like your last line. :lol: :lol:

 

[pons]

I bought the FJR because it looks better than the ST1300, HP, Torque and frequency of Valve adjustments. I had the C-10 and just got tired of doing that several times a year. FJR is a great bike.

 

[old&slow]

But I was in the MC store the other day and saw a FZ1 and started to get a woody.

You sure? At your age?

Hey ,, I still have lead in my pencil ,,,, just need somebody to write to.....

 

[roger123]

It's all relative. I went from an '01 Connie to the FJR (via a Wee Strom). I was going to buy new and looked at the FJR, Connie and ST1300, I decided on the FJR based on weight, looks, serviceability, premium fuel, etc. The used '06 FJR fell in my lap the day a deal fell through on a new '08. I guess as my wife likes to say, "It was meant to be".