v65
ouch
I picked up my '06 yesterday in PA, about two hundred miles from my house. Will write up a dealer report soon, thought I would leave you with my first impressions. I am writing from the point of view that all new ride reports are really a comparison with previously owned bikes in disguise, so I am going to be upfront with the comparison.
So that you know where I am coming from let me describe my one and only previous scoot, an '85 Honda Magna. For those of you not familiar with this particular bike, Mr. Magna was pretty fast in her day - 116hp at the crank, <600 lbs, sub 11 second quarter mile with a good rider. A cruiser style bike with a v4. Coming from a 21 year old bike, most of you can take this as a tongue in cheek review.
To the FJR. When I left the dealer the weather was crappy - cold and rainy. So I was dressed with lots of layers, and my big honkin' winter gloves.
Immediately learned some things:
1) Seating position is a bit different than on the Magna. When I first sat on the Feejer I put the heel of my boot on the shift lever, those pegs are back a lot further than I am used to. My first thought was oh shit what have I done? More on this later.
1) I hate wearing these big gloves, makes it hard to feel the controls - this is no way to pick up a new bike. Case in point, pull up to the first stop sign and grab a LITTLE brake. Apparently braking technology has changed a bit in 21 years, cuz the FJR stops damn quick compared to the Magna. Both have triple discs, thats the end of the similarities. Definitely going to find a nice dry parking lot and practice the braking.
2) Riding in mid fifties weather in the rain on the no fairing, no windshield Magna is brutal, have done it numerous times, not good. On the feejer it was downright comfortable! Got out on the road and had to stop and shed some layers and switch to my summer gloves! Way cool!
3) I knew it was mid fifties because of the built in thermometer :clapping: Lets count, Magna has a tach, speedo, some idiots lights (one of which lets you know when you five miles left on your tank of gas). Feejer has a thermometer?! I am not impressed really, now if it had an anemometer that would be impressive
So after a two hundred mile trip home here are some of my thoughts on the comfort level:
1) After the first twenty miles I thought I was going to hate the riding position. After two hundred I really like it. I was forced to sit with a straight back the whole ride, which is far superior to the Magna where I end up slouching. The riding position does hurt my wrist, but I have yet to play with the bar and seat adjustment. Can definitely appreciate windjammers post on this one. I like the seat, nice and firm, could have ridden the whole 200 miles home in one shot, not so on the Magna.
2) Windshield and fairing. What can I say, it has one! Wind blast, helmet noise, etc? Compared to the open Magna it is an absolute delight! Two hundred miles of interstate on the Magna leaves me exhausted, FJR no problem. About 90 miles into the ride I thought to myself "this isn't so much better than the Magna". So I put the windshield all of the way down and put my head as far up into the windstream as I could. How quickly we forget, +1 for the windshield. How about helmet buffeting, etc? Read the previous - it has a windshield.
3) Suspension. OK, I have actually seen the shocks on the Magna compress when tied down with ratchet straps, other than that there is abolutely zero evidence that the suspension works. The interestate near my house has some really nasty bumps at nice even 40ft intervals, riding this on the Magna literally gives me a headache. What can I say, the feejer suspension works! Handled this section no problem. Can't say anything about cornering yet, but I think we can anticipate the results of a head to head comparison with the Magna.
How does the bike shift? Well Magnas are good for one thing, drag racing. After 40,000+ miles this poor bike has seen a lot of full power starts, and has taken them well, but that first to second gear shift really takes a good strong shift. When I am riding in between two buildings I can hear the resulting CLUNK echoing off the walls. Feejer, no problem shifting, nice and smooth. No missed shifts, no thunks, no nothing, just click, click, click. I have read it gets smoother when it breaks in, hard to imagine
Almost done here, how about the power? The first real roll on I did was on the highway, and in fifth gear at about 50mph. First thought, not really impressive. Second time I did it I watch the speedo instead of the scenery; note to self - watch what the heck you are doing with that twisty thing on the right, a ticket just waiting to happen She is smooth. I also did one full throttle roll-on in first gear from about 5mph, about a hundred miles into the ride. This is the Magnas specialty so I was prepared anough not to get thrown off the back, but holy crap!!! This was the Magnas one chance to come out well in this comparo, I am going to miss her anyways :lol:
One last thing, when did they start putting mirrors on motorcycles that you can see something other than your shoulders in?
I am renting the Magna out these days for folks that want to spend thousands in farkles on the FJR. For $100 you can take Magna for a little 400 mile jaunt. When you get back (days later) you will like the feejer just the way it is. Could save you lots of money :lol:
So that you know where I am coming from let me describe my one and only previous scoot, an '85 Honda Magna. For those of you not familiar with this particular bike, Mr. Magna was pretty fast in her day - 116hp at the crank, <600 lbs, sub 11 second quarter mile with a good rider. A cruiser style bike with a v4. Coming from a 21 year old bike, most of you can take this as a tongue in cheek review.
To the FJR. When I left the dealer the weather was crappy - cold and rainy. So I was dressed with lots of layers, and my big honkin' winter gloves.
Immediately learned some things:
1) Seating position is a bit different than on the Magna. When I first sat on the Feejer I put the heel of my boot on the shift lever, those pegs are back a lot further than I am used to. My first thought was oh shit what have I done? More on this later.
1) I hate wearing these big gloves, makes it hard to feel the controls - this is no way to pick up a new bike. Case in point, pull up to the first stop sign and grab a LITTLE brake. Apparently braking technology has changed a bit in 21 years, cuz the FJR stops damn quick compared to the Magna. Both have triple discs, thats the end of the similarities. Definitely going to find a nice dry parking lot and practice the braking.
2) Riding in mid fifties weather in the rain on the no fairing, no windshield Magna is brutal, have done it numerous times, not good. On the feejer it was downright comfortable! Got out on the road and had to stop and shed some layers and switch to my summer gloves! Way cool!
3) I knew it was mid fifties because of the built in thermometer :clapping: Lets count, Magna has a tach, speedo, some idiots lights (one of which lets you know when you five miles left on your tank of gas). Feejer has a thermometer?! I am not impressed really, now if it had an anemometer that would be impressive
So after a two hundred mile trip home here are some of my thoughts on the comfort level:
1) After the first twenty miles I thought I was going to hate the riding position. After two hundred I really like it. I was forced to sit with a straight back the whole ride, which is far superior to the Magna where I end up slouching. The riding position does hurt my wrist, but I have yet to play with the bar and seat adjustment. Can definitely appreciate windjammers post on this one. I like the seat, nice and firm, could have ridden the whole 200 miles home in one shot, not so on the Magna.
2) Windshield and fairing. What can I say, it has one! Wind blast, helmet noise, etc? Compared to the open Magna it is an absolute delight! Two hundred miles of interstate on the Magna leaves me exhausted, FJR no problem. About 90 miles into the ride I thought to myself "this isn't so much better than the Magna". So I put the windshield all of the way down and put my head as far up into the windstream as I could. How quickly we forget, +1 for the windshield. How about helmet buffeting, etc? Read the previous - it has a windshield.
3) Suspension. OK, I have actually seen the shocks on the Magna compress when tied down with ratchet straps, other than that there is abolutely zero evidence that the suspension works. The interestate near my house has some really nasty bumps at nice even 40ft intervals, riding this on the Magna literally gives me a headache. What can I say, the feejer suspension works! Handled this section no problem. Can't say anything about cornering yet, but I think we can anticipate the results of a head to head comparison with the Magna.
How does the bike shift? Well Magnas are good for one thing, drag racing. After 40,000+ miles this poor bike has seen a lot of full power starts, and has taken them well, but that first to second gear shift really takes a good strong shift. When I am riding in between two buildings I can hear the resulting CLUNK echoing off the walls. Feejer, no problem shifting, nice and smooth. No missed shifts, no thunks, no nothing, just click, click, click. I have read it gets smoother when it breaks in, hard to imagine
Almost done here, how about the power? The first real roll on I did was on the highway, and in fifth gear at about 50mph. First thought, not really impressive. Second time I did it I watch the speedo instead of the scenery; note to self - watch what the heck you are doing with that twisty thing on the right, a ticket just waiting to happen
She is smooth. I also did one full throttle roll-on in first gear from about 5mph, about a hundred miles into the ride. This is the Magnas specialty so I was prepared anough not to get thrown off the back, but holy crap!!! This was the Magnas one chance to come out well in this comparo, I am going to miss her anyways :lol: One last thing, when did they start putting mirrors on motorcycles that you can see something other than your shoulders in?
I am renting the Magna out these days for folks that want to spend thousands in farkles on the FJR. For $100 you can take Magna for a little 400 mile jaunt. When you get back (days later) you will like the feejer just the way it is. Could save you lots of money :lol:
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