FJR 1300

Sierra1 said:

Like this one?

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Scott's is the real deal. Very cool bike. But it's not exactly stock either

I rode a 14 FJR for 8 yrs and 100k .
Donk summed it up pretty well.
FJR more stable in high winds( like a pit bull) and heavier at low speeds.
I find ST better weather protection except for feet.
If running high speed interstate 80+ FJR all the way.
St much cooler in the heat than even my 3rd gen was.
Took me a long time to warm up to ST engine after FJR smooth, linear freight train pull.
About 10mpg more on ST unless high speed . About 90mph that almost reverses.
My wife finds the ST roomier but loved the FJR. It took a while but she now prefers ST.
FJR is a rock solid, reliable, high speed touring machine.


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Sierra1 said:

I'd get the one with the 6-speed trans.

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Why, you don't understand gearing? This has been a big discussion in the past and no doubt will continue to be in the future. No, you don't want a 6th gear, you want a lower cruise rpm, they aren't the same. The FJR isn't even at half it's rpm range at 75 mph with the 1st gen bikes, there isn't any need to drop the cruising rpm. It does have the torque to putz along at low rpms in top gear. On the 5 speed you could just stay in 5th as you slowed down to 25 for a small western town, then roll on throttle as you left and the speed limits stepped up again. You can't really do that on the current 6 speed with the taller final drive ratio. (the early 6-speeds didn't have the taller FD ratio, btw)

160k on an '04 FJR A, 100k on a '12 S10, another 50k on a '15 S10. Donk is pretty spot on, except about the off road on a FJR. I ran a car tire on the back for ~75k and yes, that's not everyone's thing, but I went off pavement a lot. Up dry creek beds with river run rock, sand, mud, AR goat paths in thunderstorms, etc. It's about your comfort level on the bike and to a degree how it's set up. Would I buy a FJR for trail riding? Oh heck no! But have I ridden single track on the FJR? Sure have. W/o any pucker moments either, but it was dry. The nut between the bars makes the decisions.

Both bikes benefit from suspension upgrades. Factory CC works really well on both bikes. Well enough that I never installed a throttle lock on the '15 S10, and I put those on all my bikes. The FJR will warp time and space, the S10 won't, but will make you giggle in your helmet when you pass the flagger on that road construction with 10" deep fresh gravel, then hop the berm after passing the motor grader.

I've done 10-11 day endurance rallies on both. I don't think my route choices would have been any different if I'd had the opposite bike. Went to Alaska on both, would have been fine on the same roads mixing pavement, bad pavement and no pavement. Loved the big tank on both, even better with fuel cell. Easy 500 mile range on the FJR with 11.5 gallons. The FJR is more consistent with MPG than the S10 is, by a good margin. I once spent most of 5 days running around 9k rpm on the FJR and still averaged 42 mpg. I've seen the S10 run dry in 126 miles on the stock tank too. Hey, it was the Nevada test track.

Sierra1 said:

So, my kid brought his FJR over today since he's moving Thursday. He showed me that he had lost a panel off of the cowling. Has anybody else had that happen? I can't see how it loosened on its own.
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Yes,, it's happened to people since 2007. The panel is adjustable for heat management.

On the 3rd gen if that panel is properly in place and twist screws locked in it cannot come off. It is however not difficult to not get it right.

A quick ride in shorts and panel positions will quickly be identified as to which relieves more or less heat to rider.


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EricV said:

. . . . The panel is adjustable for heat management.

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Yeah, always thought that was cool. (no pun intended) And I asked him if he had had it opened. Not since last summer. Guess it happens.

EricV said:

. . . . It does have the torque to putz along at low rpms in top gear. On the 5 speed you could just stay in 5th as you slowed down to 25 for a small western town, then roll on throttle as you left and the speed limits stepped up again. You can't really do that on the current 6 speed with the taller final drive ratio. . . .

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Well, that's kinda why "I" would choose the 6-speed. The motor does have the torque to be lazing around at a lower rpm and still accelerate respectfully. Need to move faster? Click down two, twist the throttle, and wait for the light rays to start bending. I would ass-sume that rpm to rpm, the 6th gear would provide a higher speed, or higher mileage depending on the right hand.

My last bike was a Versys 1000, it was also my first liter bike and sport tourer. I enjoyed the Kawi 4 cylinder, smooth transmission, slipper clutch, good luggage, comfortable with an aftermarket seat and rox risers (I loved the wide handlebars). It did everything I needed on the road, but the Versys1K also felt a bit uneasy at higher speeds, not frantic but not as planted as it should be. I also found it to have little upper body wind protection even with aftermarket options.

On one of my last trips, as I was keeping a pretty spirited pace down Hwy 285, a solo rider on an FJR1300 passed me. He glanced over… and then seemingly effortlessly blew the doors off my Versys at triple digits while looking completely relaxed. The FJR clearly looked like the better bike for the job that day. Now maybe the extra suspension travel on the V1K soaked up rough roads better (+0.5” front/+1” rear) but for me, it is a tall machine, and the plush aftermarket seat the PO had installed was wider than OEM so I would have preferred the FJR for that reason as well. Still I got a great deal on the V1K and it came completely farkled out, sold it after a year without taking a financial hit.



Then I decided I needed an adventure bike. Found a gem of a 2nd gen S10 from a trustworthy seller, and next thing I knew I did a fly&ride with a 1600 mile trip home. I Love the S10’s touring capabilities, hammering slab, 2 lane highway, and a little dirt on the way home without a hiccup. Now I told myself it would be mainly for highways, with easy gravel connectors, moto camping and occasional fire roads. Well the Super Tenere’s capabilities had me hooked pretty quick. I got myself into some pretty spicy situations, which doesn’t take much for an off-road novice. I also ride solo 99.9% of the time. I should probably get some training in the dirt, and I will address that at some point, but the obvious answer is always another bike, right?

So I start shopping lightweight Japanese dual sports to go with the S10. But maybe that’s too much off-road overlap for a 2 bike stable, and my lust for the FJR isn’t going away. I’d like to own both the big Yamaha’s but two big tourers just doesn’t make sense for me at the moment. The 2014+FJR shares a lot the things I love about the Super Tenere (reliable, shaft drive, cruise, handles big miles) and it sounds like its performance would edge out the S10 for big pavement trips and likely fit me like a glove (5’10, short inseam). I really like my Tenere, it’s a rugged beast, and it doesn’t give me that glass slipper feeling that I get with fully faired bikes. Still something about those FJRs though man, hard decision. As many of you pointed out both great motorcycles in their own ways!

I was hesitant to start a “this vs. that” thread but I feel like I got a lot of quality responses and I really appreciate all of your feedback. Very helpful to get others experience and perspective on what I’m considering. All motorcycles are compromises, I just may pursue the FJR/Dual Sport replacement in the near future, or not. Swapping bikes can be fun but I’d rather be out riding them.

The Tenere is more comfortable than the FJR, but the FJR is not uncomfortable. The FJR is stupid fast, but the Tenere isn't slow. And although I don't have an FJR, my kid does, so there's that. But if you do long distance bike traveling, then having one of each isn't all that crazy. Pick the one that's right for the trip. As for a dual purpose? More than a few folks on here have the Suzuki DR and love them. So, that's another option.

Sierra1 said:

Well, that's kinda why "I" would choose the 6-speed. The motor does have the torque to be lazing around at a lower rpm and still accelerate respectfully. Need to move faster? Click down two, twist the throttle, and wait for the light rays to start bending. I would ass-sume that rpm to rpm, the 6th gear would provide a higher speed, or higher mileage depending on the right hand.

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And that's the common thought, but it is incorrect. The fantasy is that adding a 6th gear ass-sumes that it will be an additional overdrive. The reality is if you ask for a 6th gear on a 5-speed bike, doing so requires a engine case change. And engineers will give you what you asked for. Exactly what you asked for. You asked for a 6th gear, B-I-N-G-O, you got a 6th gear. Annnnd, it splits the ratios of the original 5 gears so you have shorter ratios over the exact same final drive ratio. That's what sport bikes do to keep the engine in the narrow power band. But, that's not what FJR riders wanted, or what best suited that torquey engine.

Sadly, they didn't ask for a taller final drive ratio until after Yamaha gave them the 6th gear w/o any change in the final drive ratio. (5-speed bikes had 5th as the OD, 4th was ~1:1. 6-speed bikes had 5th as ~1:1 and 6th was the OD) Then they all whined "but we wanted a taller final drive ratio", not just the same final drive ratio for 6th and more gears in-between 1st and 6th. So Yamaha ended up putting in a taller FD unit to give them that lower rpm cruise. Some will argue that that diminished the use-able torque of the engine, (which didn't change, eh?), and took away some of the desirable characteristics of the FJR. Row, row, row your gears.

What they really wanted, but weren't savvy enough to ask for, was a double over drive transmission.

Useable torque isn't going to change. Where a motor is in the torque band is going to determine how much it's producing. I would expect that a true OD would take me out of engine's
"sweet spot". That's the whole point of an OD. Like my Jeep, instead of making 1st gear a granny low, they made 6th gear an OD; all about mileage. But it has the dual range transfer case, making the granny low unnecessary.

I’m used to five speed transmission on Goldwing so don’t really care for the six speed Tenere transmission. I wish First gear on the Tenere was a little slower . On a flat road my Goldwing can start out in any gear without touching the throttle, ain’t no way my Tenere will do that.

Sierra1 said:

The Tenere is more comfortable than the FJR, but the FJR is not uncomfortable. The FJR is stupid fast, but the Tenere isn't slow. And although I don't have an FJR, my kid does, so there's that. But if you do long distance bike traveling, then having one of each isn't all that crazy. Pick the one that's right for the trip. As for a dual purpose? More than a few folks on here have the Suzuki DR and love them. So, that's another option.

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Tenere definitely is not slow, I do find the heavy engine braking on the S10 to create more of a challenge on tight twisties. If I keep it I would consider an ecu flash mandatory to clean up the twitchy throttle, smooth engine braking, and open up a few extra ponies. I would want to do the arrow headers too after seeing how restricted the cat is. If I get out of the 'need it right now, this riding season' mindset, I can see how the S10/FJR compliment one another. Both are the kind of bikes that make good long termers, just need to have some patience grasshopper.

For the dual sport, I'm thinking lightweight 250/300cc class with some performance mods. I have owned 3 different DR650s. Great all rounders, that I always end up selling them when I want more performance, more street, etc. Told myself I'd try something different next time preferably with EFI after I sold my last one.

Also I'd be looking for a 5 spd FJR more than likely, since the 2nd gear recall on 6spds effected all but the most recent years and I prefer not to have a dealer tech split the cases.

You guys are a bad influence on me.


890 isn't going anywhere but the FJR sort of fell in my lap and it was a '14 same as the one I had so seemed silly not to.

Congrats!!

Looks like you have plenty of room for more bikes. Wait a month or two before getting another one. Otherwise you might look out of control.

Yeah that could be a problem. I was really after a '21 or '22 NC750X when the FJR came along. Of course life being what it is the minute I pulled the trigger on the FJR along came an NC so I put a deposit on that. Hope to fetch it in a couple of weeks. In the meantime my GasGas SM700 sold on Saturday, a lucky coincidence or Devine intervention on motorcycle deals? call it what you like but it kept funds available to keep this jelly roll rolling.

Cool...I appreciate it when a fellow rider's acquisition habits make me feel a little more normal.

Congrats on the bike(s).

I had an FJR for 4 years and am on my 2nd Super Tenere. I loved my FJR. I still think it is one of the best looking bikes around. The things that makes me lean toward the Super Tenere as a better long-distance tourer is the narrowness, and suspension. The FJR has a wide tank and, at least for my size/weight (6'3" and 260lbs) the FJR wallowed a bit ( a lot actually), even on the hard suspension setting. The knee bend on the FJR might seem like the comfort killer, but it was actually the tank width for me. I would get cramps in my hips from having legs splayed out so much after a couple hundred miles. The Super Tenere feels sooooo narrow compared to the FJR. That, along with the legroom and ease of standing to stretch, makes it a long-distance king. Even though it is down on horsepower, I think I can ride faster in the twisty bits on my Super Tenere because I am not constantly grinding pegs like I did on FJR due to the soft suspension. However, if you really want a sporty tourer.....In between the FJR and Super Tenere, I bought an FZ1 and equipped it with hard bags. I do love how smooth the FJR motor is, the torque on tap, and the wind protection, but for me the FZ is actually the better sport tourer the two. Amazing what losing 150 pounds of bike will do for you!

Not me. I love my FJ. And my kid's FJR feels like my FJ on steroids. Twist the grips and that 'roid rage is always ready willing and able. But I agree that the Tenere is the more comfortable ride as we get more candles on the cake.

I rode the FJR and my 890 Adventure back to back yesterday, same 20 mile loop. Some sweepers some tight stuff no highway and nothing over 65mph. At 5'7" it is easier to get on/off the FJR, FJR definitely has better weather protection or at least puts you in a more tucked riding position where you are less exposed to the weather. The 890 is just plain old fashioned less work to ride. It also has the advantage of being a 20 year newer design and I've been riding one regularly for the last couple of years so it has muscle memory going for it. Riding them back to back they are totally different yet it is hard to find fault with either bike. I will use the FJR for going far fast. Trips where the Interstate is really the best route for a large portion of the trip. Horses for courses as we say in the horse world.