Yes!

[MCRIDER007]

I now did 1000miles and loving it. The bike is absolutely perfect, and nothing is wrong. I will need to replace tires and brakepads soon, but that is normal regular maintenance.

Congratulations on your new ride. Seems like I remember you asking for comparisons on Sport-Touring.Net between the FJR and your VFR for handling abilities. Now that you have a FJR, how would you rate them?

 

[afterburn]

I did.

The effort it takes to switch direction is similar, sometimes even a little lighter on the FJR due to its wider bars

Steering is very neutral, however, I feel you do have to pick your line before you turn, as the weight of the bike makes it harder to change your line than it takes on the VFR.

Ground clearance sucks.

Stability at high speeds (>90mph) isn't 100%, but I largely deposit that onto the rear tire which has worn nasty flat by the previous owner. I ordered a fork brace though nonetheless.

After being used to fully adjustable, high quality aftermarket suspension, it takes a little getting used to a standard setup. That said, with 30k miles on the dial, the stock suspension is not exactly fresh anymore. Saving up for new suspension again.

Comfort is wonderful. My VFR is tricked so much to the sporty side, it puts strain on arms and shoulders for an entire day. After 8 hours in the saddle of the FJR, I am not even tired.

Luggage capacity is total bliss.

The torque and power are addictive. The way it just pulls when you twist the throttle, at any speed, any gear and any rpm is just amazing. I've gone up an 8% incline at 50kph in 5th gear at 1800rpm and it just accelerates up without so much as a twitch.

In all, great handling bike for long distance sports touring and with better suspension and slightly raised rear for more clearance, I imagine it will be close to perfect.

 

[MCRIDER007]

In all, great handling bike for long distance sports touring and with better suspension and slightly raised rear for more clearance, I imagine it will be close to perfect.

As I recall, you were most concerned about how much effort it would be to ride the FJR through the hairpins in the Alps -- and it sounds like that is no longer an issue, at least after you upgrade the suspension a bit. And yes, the FJR is fun to ride uphill and it doesn't seem to matter what the grade is.

 

[afterburn]

Correct. I did some hairpins last night, and I am actually able to make tighter turns more effortlessly due to sitting up more and the wider bars. The inbetweenies (between tight hairpins and fast sweepers) will be a little harder due to the weight and less clearance, but I shouldn't be trying to ride the same way as on the VFR either.