:..Love my Supa10 -- but the FJR bug has a hold on me..:

hANNAbONE

...Patiently Waited...
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Talk me down, my friends, my people.

I wanna hear from those of you that have had the FJR and went to the Supa10

And from you that have come from the Supa10 and went to the FJR.

(*BTW : I've ridden many many sport-tourers, mainly Triumph Sprint's and many BMW's/RT's, K12RSA, K12R Sport,...prolly why I have the bug again*)

This isn't going away and I hope the Doctors are "IN"....

Now.....again, Talk me down....
 

Pterodactyl

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I had an FJR and then got a S10. But I kept the FJR too. That is the way to address this dilemma.

If I could only have one bike (perish the thought) it would probably be the S10. Much more versatile and easier to ride in an urban environment. Thankfully, I don't live near an urban environment, but still find myself often gravitating to the S10. The S10, when equipped with Jesse luggage, can also carry more stuff. When we plan to camp while traveling the S10 is always the choice. On the other hand, the FJR is a great bike to ride in Montana and the region I live in. Most roads are 70 MPH, the interstates are 80 MPH and there are many roads with great sweeping corners and vistas to enjoy. Even the interstates are good rides in several areas and the FJR is the best choice for this sort of riding. No matter what you do, you will be both blessed with what you have and screwed because of what you give up.
 

Checkswrecks

Ungenear to broked stuff
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Many of us have owned FJRs or still do and I had two FJRs (Gen1 and Gen2) before the two Teneres. The FJR is a fantastic machine, has a sexy look, and the turbine smooth motor is positively addictive. It's just more limited in what it can do when I'm poking backroads because it is no fun on gravel or dirt, the Tenere is better for sitting in traffic for commuting, the FJR is not as easy on my back for really long rides, and the Feejer REALLY tries to get me in trouble.


"Honestly officer, I was only in third when you clocked me hitting 95 to merge onto the highway."
;)


That said, I've recently noticed the prices of the earlier Gen2 FJRs are really attractive and I could always fit another bike in the garage.
O:)
 

greenwall

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Feb 12, 2014
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I had a gen 3 FJR that I traded my 2012 S10 for a the dealer. Wonderfully smooth turbine like power that everyone talks about, but just never learned to love it. Great on the highway, but not much fun around town. I consistently had to adjust my line in medium speed corners. Had a tendency to always want to stand up in corners which was frustrating to constantly correct for. Tried two sets of tires to no avail. Suspension was so so, no matter how much I played with the adjustment it never felt right. Granted, it was not the ES model, so I can't speak for that version. My 2016 S10 is a much better handling machine. Was glad to see the FJR go. Very top heavy as well.
 

RicoChet

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I have not actually owned an FJR, but I have rented one for a while when traveling the west coast with my wife in British Columbia.

The only thing I can say is that while the FJR is a smart looking machine, it's too sporty for my taste. Yes, it is hard on the back and wrists a little, the motor is a little buzzy (not sure if that was fixed in recent machines). I liked the luggage options as well with the bags being removable.

But overall, now that I have a Tenere, I really like it a lot better... its just a lot more versatile, I love the inline engine and I would prefer to own this over an FJR if I was in the market for both. I have owned other sport touring bikes in the past , I am very glad I was able to have the opportunity to have a Super Tenere now... the best of all worlds... Its a cruiser, It's a sporty bike, it can go offroad... its everything you could want a bike to be.
 

AVGeek

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Last IMS show I went to when I still lived in Phoenix, I had ridden my Tenere there, and decided to do the FJR demo ride (although it was on a Gen 3, and not a Gen 4). I had previously owned both a Gen 1 and Gen 2 FJR, and the thing that struck me the most on the demo ride was how small and cramped the FJR felt after the Tenere. Now the motor on the FJR is still exhilarating, but overall the Tenere is the best bike I ever owned.
 

EricV

Riding, farkling, riding...
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I came from a Gen I FJR to the Gen I Super Ten, now have a Gen II Super Ten. I do not buy a new bike lightly. I put 162k miles on the '04 FJR Abs bike, taking it everywhere from river crossings to single track to uber speeds in Death Valley and close courses. I got the Super Ten with an upcoming Alaska trip in mind. For a while, I owned both. And yes, once you get used to the more relaxed ergos of the Super Ten, the FJR seems way too cramped. It felt like I had to pull my legs up sooooo high to get my feet on the pegs, compared to the Super Ten and the cockpit was just a lot more cramped.

I loved my FJR. I missed the perfectly dialed in custom suspension and the ability to warp time and space during a high speed pass. But we all get older too, and the more Sport-Touring riding position was not as comfortable as the Super Ten's sit up a beg position. There isn't anything the FJR did that the Super Ten can't do well, with the exception of supra legal speeds and brute power. Toss some street rubber on a Super Ten and it will keep up with the FJR just fine in the real world. Hey, it's the rider, not the bike. ;D

So the real question comes down to what kind of riding are you doing with the Super Ten? And how comfortable are the ergos of the FJR for you? If you mostly ride street now, that part is simple. If the ergos of the FJR are comfy for you, or will be with some risers, fine.

Now, do you want to live with side loading saddlebags? The Feej has big bags, and liners come with, but still, I don't miss the side opening bags. Now if you ride sans luggage most of the time, just enjoying day rides and not needing the cargo space, this may be moot.

The Feej has better weather protection, imho. But not night and day better, just a bit better. And yeah, I do miss that power adjustable windscreen sometimes. All the way down all summer, then up to that sweet spot in the fall where the rain just sheets off my helmet visor and up all the way for a real frog strangler.

Everything else is just farkles.
 

RCinNC

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I had that same feeling. About a year ago I was itching to replace the S10 with an FJR. I wanted to love that FJR so bad. I went to look at one up close, and sat on one at a dealership, and what immediately struck me was that it felt a lot more restrictive that the S10. I'm average height (5'10"), and I felt like my knees were right up in the bodywork of the bike. I wasn't super crazy about the overall riding position either. Now, a lot of that could be attributed to overcoming the muscle memory of the S10, and maybe after riding it for a while it would have felt different, but my first impression was that it felt way more cramped than the Super Tenere.

I was also less than thrilled with the storage capacity. A lot of my riding is with a passenger, and even when you are pretty minimalist, having enough room for two peoples' stuff on a bike can be a challenge. Especially when you're traveling in areas where you're going to run the gamut of weather and temperature conditions, and have to carry enough gear to cover that. There was no way my girlfriend and I would be able to fit a week or two worth of stuff in those panniers without hauling a trailer too. My long distance touring rig on the S10 has three cases the same size as a Pelican 1550; you just can't duplicate that on an FJR. I did all kinds of research looking for someone making a pannier rack that could conceivably accommodate big square cases, but other than some company in Eastern Europe that may not have still been in business, I never found one. Even if I had, putting Pelicans on an FJR has that whole "mud tires on a Ferrari" feel to it.

I still love the FJR. I would love to have that smooth power. I could probably even get used to the change in riding position, and add some accessories that would improve the ergonomics for me personally. But once I did all that, I'd still be stuck with the limited storage, and I'd be back to bungee-cording stuff to the bike like I did back when I had a Road King.

If I replace the S10, I'm probably going to need two bikes: A Goldwing, and a DR650 with pannier racks.
 

RIVA

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Totally agree with Pterodactyl. Did exactly as he has done. When I bought my first Tenere I kept my 2010 FJR. Kept my Tenere for 70k miles and replaced it with another. Love both motorcycles to bits Horses for courses and all that. This is the way to go. ::022::
 

snakebitten

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Avoid the "either or" nature of this decision.

Remove the risk

I know I know, it is often not thought possible.
But neither was landing on the moon. :)
 

Sierra1

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RIVA said:
Totally agree with Pterodactyl. Did exactly as he has done. When I bought my first Tenere I kept my 2010 FJR. Kept my Tenere for 70k miles and replaced it with another. Love both motorcycles to bits Horses for courses and all that. This is the way to go. ::022::

::026:: I have a '14 FJR ES, and its granddaddy "THE" FJ1200, and love it/them. The FJR feels front heavy at lower speeds, but it is AWESOME when the speeds pick up. I am using BT-023s, which Yamaha is now using as OE. I have had it at the track against the ST1300, Concourse, and the RT1200. The Beemer is the only one that I could not pass in the corners. (Concourse is stupid fast in a straight line.) That being said, I've basically bequeathed the FJR to my youngest son. I worship my Tenere ES. The FJR is better on highways/open roads. (The smoothest power....) The Tenere is better everywhere else. The crappier the road, the better the Tenere is. If possible, get both. If not, I would go with the SUPER Tenere. IMHO.
 

hogmolly

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hANNAbONE said:
Talk me down, my friends, my people.

I wanna hear from those of you that have had the FJR and went to the Supa10

And from you that have come from the Supa10 and went to the FJR.

(*BTW : I've ridden many many sport-tourers, mainly Triumph Sprint's and many BMW's/RT's, K12RSA, K12R Sport,...prolly why I have the bug again*)

This isn't going away and I hope the Doctors are "IN"....

Now.....again, Talk me down....
Seeing a motor and two wheels each time you get on/off is good for the soul
 

jeepinoutwest

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Dec 22, 2016
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Ive had both. My gripe with the FJR was that even at 6' tall, the FJR splayed my legs too wide to always get a proper footing when stopped. It was the only bike I owned that I always feared dropping. I guess for me it just doesn't fit my body as well.
 

Squibb

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We only pass this way once - treat yourself, scratch the itch & run both.

That way, if you find you then have a natural prefence, then sell which ever bike becomes the garage queen.

Ride Safe ...................... KEN
 

jack d

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Apr 26, 2017
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Albuquerque, NM
Only have 2500 miles on my recently purchased 2014 Tenere but had over 75K miles on my 2009 FJR. Loved the FJR's engine, but the transmission not so much, hated the big clunk putting it into 1st. The ergonomics were not good for me at 5'7" with 29" inseam. Footpegs were too high and too far back, handlebars were too far forward even with a Helibars triple clamp. The seat was low enough for me but the bike is wide where your legs are when putting your feet down. The luggage capacity was meager for 2 up long tours. Riding with big trucks with a bigger windshield really pushed the bike back and forth, a smaller windshield, i.e. standard, was much better but was really noisy. The FJR got good gas mileage and would run on low octane gas. But it was very sensitive to tire pressure and tire wear. Slightly low tire pressure and/or 3-4K on the tires and the bike would fall into slow corners on turn in but had to be pushed into leaning on big sweepers and wanted to stand up through the big curves. I am not talking really high speeds as I am no longer much of a speed freak. The Gem 3 and 4 FJRs have a different rear shock with a stronger spring which will probably make a positive difference. I also had a BMW R1200GS and my thoughts were that the GS goes where I want it to go and the FJR went where I forced it to go. Having said all of this I still think about buying the new 6 speed FJR. I haven't yet formed any strong opinions about the Tenere except that the engine noise almost made me cancel my trip and return home as I was sure it was going to scatter itself all over I-40.
 

Kurgan

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Dec 11, 2015
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Wife has a ZZR1200 and I took it for 75 mile ride yesterday. I miss that locomotive-like engine and the sheer amount of thrust it produces. But the riding position is too cramped for me nowadays, hips, knees, back, elbows...all my joints were aching afterward. 10 years ago, I could ride that bike (or my Hayabusa) for 5 or 6 hours straight and be in better shape than I was after yesterday's brief ride.

What I would love, is the Super Tenere with a 1200cc version of the FZ09 engine. Something with 135hp and 90 pounds of torque at the rear wheel....Yamaha's shaft drive competitor to a KTM 1290 Adventurer. But for now, the S10 hits the most buttons for what I need in a single bike.
 

Sierra1

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If the Tenere had that much power, I'd have relearn how to ride it. As it is, I have traction trouble while leaned over and accelerating. I am likely to change to a dual compound tire if I can find one that fits. ::26::
 

Sckill

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Dec 15, 2013
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NJ
I had a chance to try out the latest FJR recently at the Romney rally. The bike felt amazing and the rush of power when rolling on the throttle was addictive. The S10 is a do-it-all bike, but I felt like I would have had a much more enjoyable 10hr ride back to ATL if I was on the FJR vs. the S10. If I had the opportunity, I would have both.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
 
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