cruppelt
Will always be FJR rider at heart
Hi Barry,
Another FJR newbie here. I think that most folks here do make good arguments, but seeing that individuals have very different personalities it might not all apply to you.
I started riding on a 600cc Dual-sport in the late 80's in Germany, then met my wife in '91 after I sold it and before I bought another one. She was the opposite of a fan of MC riding, so I ended up not riding at all until summer of 2006, when I rediscovered 2-wheeling with a little 150cc scoot. BTW, I also took a MSF class that year and had several situations in which I was glad that I had. I bored that little scoot out to 200cc within the first 6 months, then bought a 400cc scoot (Yamaha Majesty). While that was plenty fast enough to go touring with friends with their much bigger bikes, I am a mechanical engineer that can't leave things well enough alone, and I still ended up getting the max power out of it possible. It's amazing what you can do with these CVTs.... I got it up to 105mph top speed, and it did get 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds, which is about as good as you can make a 400cc move that's 467lbs. Now the Majesty is very heavy for a scoot, but still 183lbs lighter then the 650lbs FJR...
I had liked the FJR design ever since I first saw one sitting parked several years ago, and since I thought it could potentially be a practical bike for my needs as well as a good looking one, I did not want to dismiss it outright from consideration while looking last summer for what bike would come next. Now I had test ridden some of my friends bikes, up to 1200cc - it helps that I have never had much problems using a clutch. From that experience I knew I wanted something with decent power, but thought the FJR would be MUCH more bike then I wanted or would be safe for me.
Before the first time I actually test rode an FJR at the dealer, I had read up on it here on this forum and everywhere that Google links to, and I got up on the bike being quite nervous, thinking that it would prove to be WAY more then I should buy or be able to handle. I was so surprised at how light and nimble it felt at speed, it felt lighter to me then most other MCs I had tested, including a few 650cc bikes and one 750cc cruiser, and I left the highway to find a parking lot to try some low-speed U-turns with it (don't anybody tell the dealer about that!!! :lol: ). I had no problem with it whatsoever, and actually felt that I had excellent control, even much better then with a lot of the lighter bikes I had tried. I also test rode both the ST and the C14, and they are no comparison in handling from my point of view. Also, you do not HAVE to tap into all that power if you want to take it slow, in fact, I was just blown away by how SMOOTH you can ride this bike instead. Now that first FJR I rode was a 2009, and the throttle action was very nice on that straight from the factory. I also test rode a 2006 AE with original throttle action, and THAT throttle was twitchy, as in either on or off in low speed, but then I also test rode a 2007 -A bike that obviously had the throttle upgrade done, and I liked that throttle action at least as much as the 2009 throttle. From what I read here it's a pretty cheap upgrade if you are mechanically inclined.
My point is this: You know yourself the best, so you decide what advice fits your personality. I gather from what you said that you are a lot younger then me, and maybe you feel like you could not stay off that throttle once you have it and would be tempted all the time to take the bike past it's (or your) limits - if that's the case, all the advice about getting a smaller, "lesser" bike would be right on the mark for you. But, if you feel that you can take things slow and have the confidence that you could slowly grow your ability to match the bike your riding, then by all means, at least test ride one and see for yourself!
I've been looking for close to half a year now, and the deals have never been better then they are right now, thanks to winter time. I plan on getting an FJR between Christmas and New Year, either 2006 or 2007, most likely an AE model, which I personally felt are a lot of fun to ride. I know lot's of A owning folks here don't think well of the AE (to put it mildly), but all I can say again is you have to ride one and make up your own mind. I could immediately tell that I would be able to do fast power shifts in no time with the right flick of my throttle wrist, and the bad throttle action of a '06 or '07 can be taken care of easily enough.
Good luck with your decision either way! Have fun riding whatever you end up buying. B)
Another FJR newbie here. I think that most folks here do make good arguments, but seeing that individuals have very different personalities it might not all apply to you.
I started riding on a 600cc Dual-sport in the late 80's in Germany, then met my wife in '91 after I sold it and before I bought another one. She was the opposite of a fan of MC riding, so I ended up not riding at all until summer of 2006, when I rediscovered 2-wheeling with a little 150cc scoot. BTW, I also took a MSF class that year and had several situations in which I was glad that I had. I bored that little scoot out to 200cc within the first 6 months, then bought a 400cc scoot (Yamaha Majesty). While that was plenty fast enough to go touring with friends with their much bigger bikes, I am a mechanical engineer that can't leave things well enough alone, and I still ended up getting the max power out of it possible. It's amazing what you can do with these CVTs.... I got it up to 105mph top speed, and it did get 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds, which is about as good as you can make a 400cc move that's 467lbs. Now the Majesty is very heavy for a scoot, but still 183lbs lighter then the 650lbs FJR...
I had liked the FJR design ever since I first saw one sitting parked several years ago, and since I thought it could potentially be a practical bike for my needs as well as a good looking one, I did not want to dismiss it outright from consideration while looking last summer for what bike would come next. Now I had test ridden some of my friends bikes, up to 1200cc - it helps that I have never had much problems using a clutch. From that experience I knew I wanted something with decent power, but thought the FJR would be MUCH more bike then I wanted or would be safe for me.
Before the first time I actually test rode an FJR at the dealer, I had read up on it here on this forum and everywhere that Google links to, and I got up on the bike being quite nervous, thinking that it would prove to be WAY more then I should buy or be able to handle. I was so surprised at how light and nimble it felt at speed, it felt lighter to me then most other MCs I had tested, including a few 650cc bikes and one 750cc cruiser, and I left the highway to find a parking lot to try some low-speed U-turns with it (don't anybody tell the dealer about that!!! :lol: ). I had no problem with it whatsoever, and actually felt that I had excellent control, even much better then with a lot of the lighter bikes I had tried. I also test rode both the ST and the C14, and they are no comparison in handling from my point of view. Also, you do not HAVE to tap into all that power if you want to take it slow, in fact, I was just blown away by how SMOOTH you can ride this bike instead. Now that first FJR I rode was a 2009, and the throttle action was very nice on that straight from the factory. I also test rode a 2006 AE with original throttle action, and THAT throttle was twitchy, as in either on or off in low speed, but then I also test rode a 2007 -A bike that obviously had the throttle upgrade done, and I liked that throttle action at least as much as the 2009 throttle. From what I read here it's a pretty cheap upgrade if you are mechanically inclined.
My point is this: You know yourself the best, so you decide what advice fits your personality. I gather from what you said that you are a lot younger then me, and maybe you feel like you could not stay off that throttle once you have it and would be tempted all the time to take the bike past it's (or your) limits - if that's the case, all the advice about getting a smaller, "lesser" bike would be right on the mark for you. But, if you feel that you can take things slow and have the confidence that you could slowly grow your ability to match the bike your riding, then by all means, at least test ride one and see for yourself!
I've been looking for close to half a year now, and the deals have never been better then they are right now, thanks to winter time. I plan on getting an FJR between Christmas and New Year, either 2006 or 2007, most likely an AE model, which I personally felt are a lot of fun to ride. I know lot's of A owning folks here don't think well of the AE (to put it mildly), but all I can say again is you have to ride one and make up your own mind. I could immediately tell that I would be able to do fast power shifts in no time with the right flick of my throttle wrist, and the bad throttle action of a '06 or '07 can be taken care of easily enough.
Good luck with your decision either way! Have fun riding whatever you end up buying. B)
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...I've enjoyed the comments and advice on this thread immensly. All posters have been very helpful as well as accommodating regarding my questions. May just have to get out there and test ride one to get the "feel" for the FJR. I still think that the purchase is in the future (due to other expenses :angry2: ) and lack of experience. But if I can get on my MP3 and learn how to ride that thing (having never ridden a motor vehicle before) I think with time and practice I can get the hang of the FJR. And just think, this all started with me seeing a C14 in the parking garage next to my scoot.
