What to look for when shopping for an FJR

[Abercrombie FJR]

Well, I was looking for a oil filter for an R6 when I bought my FJR today. Not sure if that is any help to you but, it worked for me.

Seriously though, I would be looking for a well cared for 08 AE with about 15,000 miles, and I just might know where you can find one of those.

 

[SeattleTy]

You pick a good time to buy, lots of good deal this time of year.

Especially with the new model out, some people are more eager to sell their older model to buy the new one, good luck

 

[Dodahdude]

Here is my take......... Car's and motorcycles are like women! Enough said. Just do a general visual. Take it out for a spin. Ask a buddy.

 

[mcatrophy]

Here is my take......... Car's and motorcycles are like women! Enough said. Just do a general visual. Take it out for a spin. Ask a buddy.

You ask a buddy to try out your women?

 

[majicmaker]

Here is my take......... Car's and motorcycles are like women! Enough said. Just do a general visual. Take it out for a spin. Ask a buddy.

Yeah but, Waaaaaay more expensive!!

Here is my take......... Car's and motorcycles are like women! Enough said. Just do a general visual. Take it out for a spin. Ask a buddy.

You ask a buddy to try out your women? mg2:

I think he meant Preowned MC. At least I hope he did!

 

[bucky]

Can someone explain what the diffenrence between CBS and UBS is related to ABS brakes?

I assume you mean combined braking system and unified braking system. They mean the same thing. On abs fjr's, the rear and half of the right front is unified with the foot pedal. The hand lever actuates the left front and the other half of the right front.

cbs or ubs are not really directly related to abs, because you would not need abs to have either, but I suppose that without abs linking the front and rear brakes together there would be a bit of a safety issue as the front wheel provides somewhere near 80% of your real braking force.

 

[brady]

Brief update-

I found a 2006 w/40k that I've request some more info on. I will give an update if I hear back from the guy.I also want to say "Thanks" for all the advice and feed back. It is very helpful.

 

[Rolavine]

Don't underestimate the qualities of the owner when buying a used bike especially is you're going to have to travel to pick it up. Best used things are from people that know, loved and took care of them. Also a very low mile bike may have an owner who wouldn't even know if his bike was OK or not.

I bought my 2003 from a fellow who owned the bike for a year and rode it very little. On the phone he said the bike was excellent and that I would have no disappointments. When I took the bike for a test drive It cornered so badly I couldn't believe that anyone would be so delusional to think it was fine. The front tire had more wear on one side than the other. It turned out to be a bent front axle, that and new front tire fixed it. But if you had flown somewhere to buy this bike based on the owners glowing reports you would have wasted lots of time. And by the way it took a week to get the new axle.

I bought the bike only after a local dealer gave it the once over and found the problem.

 

[brady]

The bike im looking at is local. so I well have the chance to ride it with only an hour drive.

What is a fair price for a 2006 with 40k?

 

[6pk2go]

I just traded an '06 with 50,000 miles and bald tires on a new '13. The dealer gave me $5K against a very low sales price on the new fjr ($14,300). I was thinking with new tires, and it needed oil/filter change and was due for valve adjustment - in good shape I would have tried to get ~$6500. If the '06 you are looking at with 40K is in good condition all around (good tires and not needing any service) I would estimate it to be worth ~$7K. I believe Edmund's has a price guide for motorcycles also...........

 

[bgross]

You might find a simple formula for used FJRs, in good condition with 5-10k miles per year (give or take) is something like:

$1,100 X the model year. For example, an '09 = $9,900; '06 = $6,600, etc. Plus/minus about $500. YMMV.

Naturally, there are other factors such as time of year and location, how many farkles, etc.

(An '06AE recently sold on this forum for $7,500 -- and it was a STEAL, with over $5k in farkles and in Immaculate Condition.)

Have fun looking.

Edit: I should point out that my silly little formula works for Gen2s. As bike get older, the value depreciation slows -- you aren't likely to fine an '03 for $3,300!

 

[escapefjrtist]

The bike im looking at is local. so I well have the chance to ride it with only an hour drive. What is a fair price for a 2006 with 40k?

No matter which way you slice it, the bike is seven model years old. Start at $5500 and work up from there. Depending on how clean it is will determine where you go. Too many other good low mile examples to spend much over $6000.

Just my $.02 YMMV

--G

Edit to add: Extras don't add a lot of value to a bike. Figure 30 - 40% on the dollar at best.

 

[Buzby]

Can someone explain what the diffenrence between CBS and UBS is related to ABS brakes?

I assume you mean combined braking system and unified braking system. They mean the same thing. On abs fjr's, the rear and half of the right front is unified with the foot pedal. The hand lever actuates the left front and the other half of the right front.

cbs or ubs are not really directly related to abs, because you would not need abs to have either, but I suppose that without abs linking the front and rear brakes together there would be a bit of a safety issue as the front wheel provides somewhere near 80% of your real braking force.

Curious about this thread myself as I am shopping for an FJR. I've seen several Gen IIs (07-12) that have caught my eye. I have read (and thoroughly appreciate!) the comparison chart. Am interested to hear more of a discription of the difference between CBS (07) and UBS (post-07) ABS. Also interested in the mleage discussion. I admit, I'm trained to think lower miles = better, but the comments here (and seeing the miles piled on by all here on the boards) is reassuring. I corresponded last month with Duff about his 09, but he's decided not to sell. I'm hoping to find a clean, well-maintained (hopefully lower mileage) newer Gen II in SoCal.

 

[deanw]

It's hard to argue against "lower miles is better". The point a lot of us are trying to make is higher miles need not be scary on a well cared for FJR; on the flip, poor maintenance on a bike with lower miles can be bad.

 

[escapefjrtist]

<snip> I'm hoping to find a clean, well-maintained (hopefully lower mileage) newer Gen II in SoCal.

If i were looking for a clean used [newer] FJR...go for an '08 or newer. The incremental improvements made over the years make these (IMO) the best years of FJRs. OTOH, you really can't go wrong with any year clean FJR either!

Good luck with the search. Be patient and the right one will show up!

--G

 

[brady]

I'm going to look at a low mileage Gen 1(2005). What sort of things should I look for and ask the current owner that would be FJR specific?

 

[BkerChuck]

Dealership where I work uses KBB.com to determine trade in and potential retail values on customer bikes. Nice feature of this site is you must put in a zip code so it can use values for your particular area. I live in central Pennsylvania so what sells here at one price could be way off from a dealer in Florida or California. I got my '07 at a really good price because someone traded it in and I got to use my employee discount. Truth be told I wasn't even looking for an FJR when this happened. Damn glad now I had to work that Saturday or I would have missed out on it. Damn near every tech in our service department rode it before I got there! If I had been looking, shallow as it may sound, I would have picked the "07 over other years just for the color.

 

[brady]

Kbb is good but I feel its a bit low for private party. For a 05 it's showing $4100 and 6k retail. And a 06 is listed at 4900 and 7k dealer. I feel a dealer can get lower prices because they are offering something in return. I haven't seen a bike out there is has lower miles in the $4k range. Now don't get me wrong if anyone wants to sell me their 06 with under 30k miles for $4900. I'd be all over that but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[gimmeit]

This is kind of a continuation/divergance.

A lot of that is where I am right now. However, more so on the price. In particular, I can find examples from 2-3 years (or more) ago, of a 2007 FJR, with comparable (or better) mileage going for essentially the same prices that I am seeing now ($8k+).

Without getting too detailed into specific examples of bikes that I see out there right now (unless you want me to), should I be concerned about paying about the same price today, as was available 3+ years ago?

The bike im looking at is local. so I well have the chance to ride it with only an hour drive. What is a fair price for a 2006 with 40k?

No matter which way you slice it, the bike is seven model years old.

right? I'm all for a bike to hold its value but want to be sure I'm getting a good deal! I'd rather go for a 2007+ bike, but this is still how i'm looking at it as well.

 

[DragonflyTN]

Depends on the bike and what you want from it, I say. My '05 has 30K well-maintained miles. Dealer serviced every 4K since new. New fork seals and valves adjusted at 24K, fresh brake fluid every other oil change, etc. Has a bunch o' farkles including Russel day-longs for rider and passenger.

So I ask you: If I put that bike on the market for $6K and there is a box stock '09 for 9.5K with 5K miles on it, which would you buy?