Confessional

JQL · Jun 14, 2015

I sat on a 2014 FJR 1300 AE (new) yesterday at the Yamaha dealers.

Looking at finances...

The weight is only slightly more than the Deau, 291kg, fully fueled etc.

The seat height is lower

The width is greater

The seating position is nearly the same

The price is, erm, a lot - nearly double what I paid for my Deauville (accessorised) 5 years ago!

Things I still need to check:

Panniers how big are they etc. They weren't on the bike in the showroom
The Yamaha Topbox looks a bit small, I need to check it (or get a Givi 46L though I would prefer the Yamaha one)
Test Ride for over 45 minutes to check my shoulder (old biking accident - can't ride sports bikes any longer )
Position for DRLs

charlie b · Jun 14, 2015

And another one bites the dust!

Rich · Jun 14, 2015

The Yamaha Top Box is FAR smaller in volume than claimed. I had one, sold it, now have a Givi. Yamaha claims 51 liters, but it seemed far smaller than the 46 liter Givis I've had. So I measured it by filling with water (the top and bottom separately). Came out closer to 30 liters.

vzshadow · Jun 14, 2015

FJR is a great bike. Sporty seating position didn't suit me personally but I can see why people would look.

JohnC · Jun 14, 2015

I don't think the riding position is all that sporty, but the original purchaser installed an MCL riser plate.

The saddle bags are large enough that most helmets will fit inside just like the ads say. Sadly, an XL Arai Signet-Q will not.

Macka · Jun 15, 2015

My brother-in-law (overseas) has an FJR1300 AS (auto clutch) which I ride every Christmas/New Year when we go over there to spend time with them.
Every time I come back and get back onto the Deau I comment how similar they are to ride, except of course for the power and smoothness differences.
I feel that the ride and handling are very similar. I enjoy the smooth power but feel that it lacks a bit of personality. It is ULTRA reliable but a bit TOO bland. The panniers are also a little on the small side. I do not know the capacity but it is possibly no bigger than the Deau.
He also has a current Goldwing which I rode for the first time this past January and I have to say that although it was a very impressive machine I prefer the FJR and my Honda.
Both the FJR and the Goldie fail to excite me despite being great pieces of engineering.
The Deau and my other bike, a Suzuki GS500F, are both interesting to ride as they require input from the rider and they vibrate a bit. They have "character".

Macka

charlie b · Jun 15, 2015

LOL, yeah, bikes that vibrate a lot and make noise have character

One reason I like the Goose better than my old NT was that it is less refined. Shakes and makes noise when you start it. Funny too that I am on a search for a quieter exhaust for it (a cheap one

). Sometimes I do miss the NT. If only.....

vzshadow said:
FJR is a great bike. Sporty seating position didn't suit me personally but I can see why people would look.

I guess I assumed the FJR had a less sporty riding position. Is it that much more leaned over than your Trophy?

RedLdr1 · Jun 15, 2015

charlie b said:
Funny too that I am on a search for a quieter exhaust for it (a cheap one ).

Most H-D dealers have a ton of brand new OEM, as in quiet, exhausts sitting around because some squid wanted a louder exhaust. The exhausts are well made, have great chrome, meet EPA noise standards and best of all they are cheap...

I recall someone here put a Sportster exhaust on their NT....

charlie b · Jun 15, 2015

Yep, I have been 'dumpster diving'

Got my current mufflers that way.

Right now my dilemma is that I want a single instead of dual exhaust, so am working on the crossover part. Will take a bit of welding. Probably tackle it sometime this year.

Warren · Jun 15, 2015

For my body size there is little difference between the FJR and the NT. The FJR has 1? more lean angle and 5? more knee bend. This is with stock bikes.

vzshadow · Jun 15, 2015

charlie b said:
LOL, yeah, bikes that vibrate a lot and make noise have character One reason I like the Goose better than my old NT was that it is less refined. Shakes and makes noise when you start it. Funny too that I am on a search for a quieter exhaust for it (a cheap one ). Sometimes I do miss the NT. If only.....

I guess I assumed the FJR had a less sporty riding position. Is it that much more leaned over than your Trophy?

It's been a while since I was on the FJR. I still had my NT at the time and I found much more forward lean on the FJR, but I had risers on the NT which certainly mitigated the need to lean. There is no forward lean on the Trophy (for me). cycle-ergo.com says that forward lean for me on the FJR is 12?, 0? on the Trophy (what I find riding the bike).

If you want a sporty tourer - FJR. The Trophy is more of a touring bike.

Mind you I was very impressed with the FJR but my process brought me to the ST1300 and Trophy. Trophy won.

Coyote Chris · Dec 7, 2015

Warren said:
For my body size there is little difference between the FJR and the NT. The FJR has 1? more lean angle and 5? more knee bend. This is with stock bikes.

OK, so the net says (it must be true) that the NT is 571 lb wet and the FJR is 635-643 wet....how is the slow speed paddle around the parking lot stability and the "get it up on the centerstand" force on the FJR.?
I am wondering how much extra the bike insurance might be.....My Connie is 671 lb wet with 7 gallons of full on board.

Chucksklrst · Dec 7, 2015

The FJR has more of a sport riding position as the pegs are up and back more then the NT or the ST1300. I solved that problem with a set of lower peg brackets and handle bar risers. I also had both on my NT700 and my ST1300 The weight of the FJR falls right in between the ST1300 and the NT700 with of course the performance of the ST1300, + some. Centerstand is easier than both the ST and the NT. Slow speed is about the the same, That all comes down to technique,and length of inseam. Yes Insurance was more then my ST1300 even with the age difference taken into account. The FJR is considered a Sport Touring where as the ST1300 and the NT were considered Touring machines. The cruise control is smooth as silk and in the sport mode the throttle can be addictive. One must have total control of their right wrist. That is why I leave the bike in the touring mode 95% of the time. Only use the sport mode when I need to do some spirited passing of traffic. As I said in earlier post, my FJR was able to replace two bikes, giving me the good virtues of both + the updated electrictronic accessories from the factory, instead of after market.

Enjoy what you ride and ride what you enjoy.

Coyote Chris · Dec 7, 2015

Chucksklrst said:
The FJR has more of a sport riding position as the pegs are up and back more then the NT or the ST1300. I solved that problem with a set of lower peg brackets ans handle bar risers. I also had both on my NT700 and my ST1300 The weight of the FJR falls right in between the ST1300 and the NT700 with of course the performance of the ST1300, + some. Centerstand is easier than both the ST and the NT. Slow speed is about the the same, That all comes down to technique,and length of inseam. Yes Insurance was more then my ST1300 even with the age difference taken into account. The FJR is considered a Sport Touring where as the ST1300 and the NT were considered Touring machines. The cruise control is smooth as silk and in the sport mode the throttle can be addictive. One must have total control of their right wrist. That is why I leave the bike in the touring mode 95% of the time. Only use the sport mode when I need to do some spirited passing of traffic. As I said in earlier post, my FJR was able to replace two bikes, giving me the good virtues of both + the updated electrictronic accessories from the factory, instead of after market.

Enjoy what you ride and ride what you enjoy.

Good feedback...there are still new '14s out there ...the fast red ones....for around $12,000....Didnt know anyone could make a centerstand easier than the NT. I have a 34 in inseam so I dont have any leg length issues, but the NT is child's play to paddle foot around the garage or parking lot, especially without a touring load....my Connie (ask Phil) is a bear, especially with 7 gallons on board up high and a touring load.....If the sport mode makes the throttle as twitchy as the BMW 800, I want no part of the sport mode.
How would you compare the pannier capacity of the FJR vs an NT with the big lids?
The ad embedded in the New FJR thread said the clutch was easier on the 2016 than the 2015...is the clutch "hard" on the 2014?

Chucksklrst · Dec 7, 2015

Coyote Chris said:
Good feedback...there are still new '14s out there ...the fast red ones....for around $12,000....Didnt know anyone could make a centerstand easier than the NT. I have a 34 in inseam so I dont have any leg length issues, but the NT is child's play to paddle foot around the garage or parking lot, especially without a touring load....my Connie (ask Phil) is a bear, especially with 7 gallons on board up high and a touring load.....If the sport mode makes the throttle as twitchy as the BMW 800, I want no part of the sport mode.
How would you compare the pannier capacity of the FJR vs an NT with the big lids?
The ad embedded in the New FJR thread said the clutch was easier on the 2016 than the 2015...is the clutch "hard" on the 2014?

The throttle is smooth as silk in both the S and the T mode. In Sport mode it is just a sooner response to the twist. It is Twist and Go. No twitchy at all. The panniers will hold a lot with the the inserts. More than the NT large lids and more than the ST1300. It is the shape that allows for this. The lids are not as flimsy as the NT lids but the ST1300 lids opened and closed the easiest of the three bikes. Don't get the Yamaha top box. Too small for the overall size. Latch internals take up too much space. Givi works much better. Looks better also in my opinion . What is nice is the pannier come off easy and the bike looks good with out them. I sometimes leave them at home when not needed. Rear wheel maint. is much easier to accomplish. Panniers out of the way and exhausts do not need to be removed. (NT700) or swung out of the way (ST1300) Valves are shim under bucket but only required to be checked every 26600 miles. Throttle body sync is easy to do once one is set up for it. Mine were spot on and needed no adjustment. Attention to detail is important for this procedure. All in all the Gen III FJR has made a great replacement for both my NT700 and my ST1300. Best of both plus some. Again ride what you enjoy and enjoy what you ride. Truth be known, I ride my Wee more on my local rides than I did/do the NT, ST or FJR

PS: to me the clutch is normal. The NT might have been a bit easier than the three, but I don't have a problem with the FJR clutch.

Coyote Chris · Dec 9, 2015

Chucksklrst said:
The throttle is smooth as silk in both the S and the T mode. In Sport mode it is just a sooner response to the twist. It is Twist and Go. No twitchy at all. The panniers will hold a lot with the the inserts. More than the NT large lids and more than the ST1300. It is the shape that allows for this. The lids are not as flimsy as the NT lids but the ST1300 lids opened and closed the easiest of the three bikes. Don't get the Yamaha top box. Too small for the overall size. Latch internals take up too much space. Givi works much better. Looks better also in my opinion . What is nice is the pannier come off easy and the bike looks good with out them. I sometimes leave them at home when not needed. Rear wheel maint. is much easier to accomplish. Panniers out of the way and exhausts do not need to be removed. (NT700) or swung out of the way (ST1300) Valves are shim under bucket but only required to be checked every 26600 miles. Throttle body sync is easy to do once one is set up for it. Mine were spot on and needed no adjustment. Attention to detail is important for this procedure. All in all the Gen III FJR has made a great replacement for both my NT700 and my ST1300. Best of both plus some. Again ride what you enjoy and enjoy what you ride. Truth be known, I ride my Wee more on my local rides than I did/do the NT, ST or FJR

PS: to me the clutch is normal. The NT might have been a bit easier than the three, but I don't have a problem with the FJR clutch.

Thanks Chuck! Good review.....called two Yamaha dealers but they didnt have any FJRs to sit on.....so far, there are a number of '14 FJRs for sale new at reasonalble prices on Cycletrader....I need one like a need a hole in the head but I WANT one....

EX Winger · Dec 9, 2015

One thing Chuck doesn't mention, of course he is much more stable and not so clumsy;
With canyon cages in place the FJR can lay down in driveway or parking lot and not damage the saddlebags, It also can be gotten up all by yourself , even this old geezer can get it back on it's feet, I know from two separate experiments!

Also easier to get up than my 2000 Connie was

Eldon

Chucksklrst · Dec 9, 2015

EX WINGER said:
One thing Chuck doesn't mention, of course he is much more stable and not so clumsy;
With canyon cages in place the FJR can lay down in driveway or parking lot and not damage the saddlebags, It also can be gotten up all by yourself , even this old geezer can get it back on it's feet, I know from two separate experiments!

Also easier to get up than my 2000 Connie was

Eldon

Thanks Eldon for reminding me. Yes I also have the Canyon Cages on the front and the pannier guards on the rear. I hope I don't have to try them out. Never tested the tip over wings on my ST1100, kn ten years. Only tested the ones on my ST1300 once in 12 years, and tested the ones on my old NT a few times, in the four years I owned it. To include a real slow speed crash. First thing I did was put the Canyon Cages on the FJR. Hope I never have to test them out.

JQL · Dec 11, 2015

I was chatting to my Honda Dealer today and he said that Honda were looking at a replacement for the Pan European/ST1300. He was under the impression that it would be available in 2017. He also said they were looking at a replacement for the Deauville/NT700 with release around the same time.

He then went on to try to sell me a very nice, brand new, white Deauville/NT700 he had on the floor. It's extremely tempting but I'm wanting something with more oomph...

Coyote Chris · Dec 11, 2015

Chucksklrst said:
Thanks Eldon for reminding me. Yes I also have the Canyon Cages on the front and the pannier guards on the rear. I hope I don't have to try them out. Never tested the tip over wings on my ST1100, kn ten years. Only tested the ones on my ST1300 once in 12 years, and tested the ones on my old NT a few times, in the four years I owned it. To include a real slow speed crash. First thing I did was put the Canyon Cages on the FJR. Hope I never have to test them out.

OK, I google imaged the canyon cages and the pannier tip bars....looks like a good idea to me.....how much do they run?...the rear tip bars dont look to bad to install....how about the canyon cages?

Confessional

JQL

Growing old disgracefully

charlie b

Rich

vzshadow

JohnC

Macka

charlie b

RedLdr1

charlie b

Warren

2

vzshadow

Coyote Chris

Chucksklrst

Coyote Chris

Chucksklrst

Coyote Chris

EX Winger

Chucksklrst

JQL

Growing old disgracefully

Coyote Chris