What is the best model year in your opinion?

[SouthernCruizer]

I must be riding a mutant Gen II, cause I sure aint experienced any "electrical problems". Course, I only got about 42K on it since I use my other bike for weekdays and only use my FJR on weekends and long trips. Maybe I'll experience the phantom problems at 70 or 80K??

p.s. Had a Gen I 2004...the 2008 Gen II is superior in every way that is measurable to me. Smoother, less heat, better highway gearing, better gas mileage, easier to do maintenance, and generally more refined. Wouldnt go back to Gen I for any reason.

 

[Fred W]

I must be riding a mutant Gen II, cause I sure aint experienced any "electrical problems". Course, I only got about 42K on it since I use my other bike for weekdays and only use my FJR on weekends and long trips. Maybe I'll experience the phantom problems at 70 or 80K??

Yeah you must be right. All the other people that have had ignition switch failures and the ground spider failures, both of which have a propensity for stranding you on the road, those are all just "phantoms".

p.s. Had a Gen I 2004...the 2008 Gen II is superior in every way that is measurable to me. Smoother, less heat, better highway gearing, better gas mileage, easier to do maintenance, and generally more refined. Wouldnt go back to Gen I for any reason.

Boy, it sounds like you must have had a pretty crappy '04.

The heat is somewhat better on 2nd gens, if that is an issue. Which it might be for people like you from the south land.

The bikes both make the same amount of heat. It is just routed away from the rider better on a stock 2nd gen.

If you make the airflow and tank insulation mods on a 1st gen it can be made to be just as cool as a 2nd.

Smoother? Really? In what way is that?

Certainly not in off idle throttle response.

Nor in clutch engagement, until one retrofits a 1st gen clutch slave.

Better highway gearing?

It has taller gearing for sure. Is that better? In what way?

What does that do for you? Other than to make sure you don't accelerate too fast?

Better gas mileage? That doesn't seem to be the case on average, based on empirical data. When we have a group of 1st and 2nd genners riding together everyone uses about the same amount of gas going over the same roads. Maybe you are getting better mileage now because you are turning the right hand less?

Easier to do maintenance on? Huh :blink:

Which maintenance procedures are easier on a 2nd gen?

More refined... Yeah, that's pretty specific (not).

You do get more with a 2nd gen. As in ~30 more lbs of bike to hoss around.

It is great that you like your 2nd gen bike so much.

You seem to have been unlucky with your '04 and very lucky (so far) with your '08. I hope for your sake that you continue to have good luck. But, if you don't take any precautions to protect your bike from the 2 electrical problems (noted above), the odds are high that you will get to experience (at least) one of them during your ownership. Where and when you experience it can go from being a nuisance to dangerous.

 

[RadioHowie]

^^^^^

Nice and gentle, considering it's Friday.

Good for you. Let's start calling you "High Road" Fred.



[SIZE=8pt](ps: and you didn't even play the "Altitude Sickness" card!)[/SIZE]

 

[SouthernCruizer]

I must be riding a mutant Gen II, cause I sure aint experienced any "electrical problems". Course, I only got about 42K on it since I use my other bike for weekdays and only use my FJR on weekends and long trips. Maybe I'll experience the phantom problems at 70 or 80K??

Yeah you must be right. All the other people that have had ignition switch failures and the ground spider failures, both of which have a propensity for stranding you on the road, those are all just "phantoms".

p.s. Had a Gen I 2004...the 2008 Gen II is superior in every way that is measurable to me. Smoother, less heat, better highway gearing, better gas mileage, easier to do maintenance, and generally more refined. Wouldnt go back to Gen I for any reason.

Boy, it sounds like you must have had a pretty crappy '04.

The heat is somewhat better on 2nd gens, if that is an issue. Which it might be for people like you from the south land.

The bikes both make the same amount of heat. It is just routed away from the rider better on a stock 2nd gen.

If you make the airflow and tank insulation mods on a 1st gen it can be made to be just as cool as a 2nd.

Smoother? Really? In what way is that?

Certainly not in off idle throttle response.

Nor in clutch engagement, until one retrofits a 1st gen clutch slave.

Better highway gearing?

It has taller gearing for sure. Is that better? In what way?

What does that do for you? Other than to make sure you don't accelerate too fast?

Better gas mileage? That doesn't seem to be the case on average, based on empirical data. When we have a group of 1st and 2nd genners riding together everyone uses about the same amount of gas going over the same roads. Maybe you are getting better mileage now because you are turning the right hand less?

Easier to do maintenance on? Huh :blink:

Which maintenance procedures are easier on a 2nd gen?

More refined... Yeah, that's pretty specific (not).

You do get more with a 2nd gen. As in ~30 more lbs of bike to hoss around.

It is great that you like your 2nd gen bike so much.

You seem to have been unlucky with your '04 and very lucky (so far) with your '08. I hope for your sake that you continue to have good luck. But, if you don't take any precautions to protect your bike from the 2 electrical problems (noted above), the odds are high that you will get to experience (at least) one of them during your ownership. Where and when you experience it can go from being a nuisance to dangerous.

********************************

Your post has too many points, questions, assumptions, lack of comprehension, and other religious/political-type-attitude to waste my time addressing LOL....boil it down to one ez question from me on your exprience with this...how has YOUR Gen II FJR stacked up against YOUR Gen I??

 

[RadioHowie]

********************************Your post has too many points, questions, assumptions, lack of comprehension, and other religious/political-type-attitude to waste my time addressing LOL....boil it down to one ez question from me on your exprience with this...how has YOUR Gen II FJR stacked up against YOUR Gen I??

VERY nice sidestep there, SC....you're a politician, right?

 

[SouthernCruizer]

********************************Your post has too many points, questions, assumptions, lack of comprehension, and other religious/political-type-attitude to waste my time addressing LOL....boil it down to one ez question from me on your exprience with this...how has YOUR Gen II FJR stacked up against YOUR Gen I??

VERY nice sidestep there, SC....you're a politician, right?

****************************

I'm Obama's new Motorbike Czar® <_<

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

Good for you. Let's start calling you "High Road" Fred.

My thoughts exactly.

Way to play nice Fred!

GenIIs have better looking, younger, thinner, riders.

GenI owners are generally more technically minded and make more money.

 

[Fred W]

Your post has too many points, questions, assumptions, lack of comprehension, and other religious/political-type-attitude to waste my time addressing LOL....boil it down to one ez question from me on your exprience with this...how has YOUR Gen II FJR stacked up against YOUR Gen I??

You really can't comprehend? Or your just trolling? I'm calling the latter.

"religious/political-type-attitude " really?

I clearly don't have a 2nd gen. Nor do I want one.

One doesn't have to have exprienced (sic) something bad to know the probability of its occurrence.

Most people are willing to learn from the experiences of others.

Just keep your head in the sand.

Good luck with your bike.

(BTW - I know that the real reason you didn't answer my post is because you couldn't. Easy maintenance? Sheesh.)

 

[RadioHowie]

GenIIs have better looking, younger, thinner, riders.

Sorry my friend....I'm calling BS on this post: :rofl:

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Your post has too many points, questions, assumptions, lack of comprehension, and other religious/political-type-attitude to waste my time addressing LOL....boil it down to one ez question from me on your exprience with this...how has YOUR Gen II FJR stacked up against YOUR Gen I??

You really can't comprehend? Or your just trolling? I'm calling the latter.

"religious/political-type-attitude " really?

I clearly don't have a 2nd gen. Nor do I want one.

One doesn't have to have exprienced (sic) something bad to know the probability of its occurrence.

Most people are willing to learn from the experiences of others.

Just keep your head in the sand.

Good luck with your bike.

***********************************

LOL HighRoad!! You dont have a Gen II?? What??? Sorry, I'm a dufus. Thought you had some actual 1st hand experience with the subject matter. Oh well, my bad.

Hope my crappy, inferior Gen II makes it thru the weekend, as I'm leaving in about 5 hours for the Hill Country of Texas. Hopefully the electrical system will survive another 1500 miles or so. :yahoo:

If it dont, I'm a gonna buy me one of them Urals, I here they got some great electrical systems.

GenIIs have better looking, younger, thinner, riders.

Sorry my friend....I'm calling BS on this post: :rofl:

**********************************

Hey, dont make fun of that dude, he conquered Anorexia!!

 

[SouthernCruizer]

(BTW - I know that the real reason you didn't answer my post is because you couldn't. Easy maintenance? Sheesh.)

**************************************

I will address this one point.**IF** you actually owned a Gen II, you'd know, for example, that taking off your A, B, C, & D panels and replacing them are easier on the Gen II. Just enough of a change to make it less headache. That's just one example in my humble opinion. Want more examples? THEN ACTUALLY WORK ON A GEN II! :blink:

Later, have to go bury my head in the sand before I pack for my hill country trip.

 

[Fred W]

Whatever. I think we have been down this path before, the two of us.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Atleast this discussion is civil and not circling down the drain with name calling.

 

[Fred W]

Ooops

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Whatever. I think we have been down this path before, the two of us.

******************************

No, dont think we ever debated Gen I vs Gen II. No worries though mate, just yanking your chain. Whichever Gen FJR anyone has, they are both still fantastic bikes in my opinion. I loved my '04, and just love my '08 a little more

Now, go out and ride and represent the FJR Nation™!!

 

[RadioHowie]

I will address this one point.**IF** you actually owned a Gen II, you'd know, for example, that taking off your A, B, C, & D panels and replacing them are easier on the Gen II.

Gotta question this.....since the Gen I doesn't have headlight adjusters built in to the panels, and that means more work, how is removing the panels on the Gen II easier???

 

[SkooterG]

I will address this one point.**IF** you actually owned a Gen II, you'd know, for example, that taking off your A, B, C, & D panels and replacing them are easier on the Gen II.

Gotta question this.....since the Gen I doesn't have headlight adjusters built in to the panels, and that means more work, how is removing the panels on the Gen II easier???

I am with stupid ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And since my Gen I is (used to be) a non-ABS, I am sorry, but that makes working on the brakes and wheel removal easier.

And what about the total lack of room for farkles under the Gen II plastic? Talk about a major PITA. That is one of the big reasons I won't get one.

 

[Fred W]

C'mon you guys... we don't have a 2nd gen so we can't possibly know anything about them.

 

[ionbeam]

I will address this one point.**IF** you actually owned a Gen II, you'd know, for example, that taking off your A, B, C, & D panels and replacing them are easier on the Gen II.

Gotta question this.....since the Gen I doesn't have headlight adjusters built in to the panels, and that means more work, how is removing the panels on the Gen II easier???

I am with stupid ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And since my Gen I is (used to be) a non-ABS, I am sorry, but that makes working on the brakes and wheel removal easier.

And what about the total lack of room for farkles under the Gen II plastic? Talk about a major PITA. That is one of the big reasons I won't get one.

OMG, a whole nest of those vile FJR thread crappers. I know, I read about you guys on the FJR Forum.