If you're thinking of buying a 'gen 1', (first genertion), like this, you'll be seeing some mileage on the clock by now. Anything over 25k will need a new rear shock and the shock linkages replacing. Some FJR links have been known to fail, due to poor factory lubing, and the rear of the bike collapses. It's not simple to do as the centre stand has to come off whilst the bike needs supporting upright. Some Gen 1's had rattly top ends which often was identified as premature valve stem guide wear...another headache but by now, 2014, any living Gen 1 will have had it sorted by Yamaha or their owners. Also, I nearly forgot, another common Gen 1 fault is the fan doesn't kick in when getting hot in stop-start city traffic. Lots of people have fiddled with relays but mine was traced to a broken wire connection block under the petrol tank. Overall it's a superb bike. Very comfortable, even, two up, and very quick. I know because I have one and have done 40k miles on it. I have seen one with 128, 000 miles on too.
I don’t understand some of the comments here? “Bars are too low,” “Seat is too hard!” “Vibrates too much!” - Maybe some ppl forgot this is a BIKE! They may need to do their touring in a Winnebago? I’m in my fifties and I’ve toured hundreds of miles at a time on my YZF600 and CBR1100. This is the relative equivalent of a Lay Z Boy! The FJR is a sport touring bike. Maybe some ppl need to look at full touring. Like maybe a Goldwing?
Gold Wing started off as a naked bike:) You could get all kinds of trims to make it more suitable for touring;) Now its a full touring cool how things change.
as DTR 55 states gen 1 bikes are getting high in the miles but dont let that put you off a gen 1 {2001 to 2006} mine has 200100 ks on it and i just recently did a 12500 k tour. linkage lube is often over looked due to the centre stand bolts being the wrong way for easy removal. this means the headers have to come off the first time you lube the swing and linkage. reverse the bolts on the centre makes it easy from then on. update your head stem bearings to the taper kit for some preload{stock are needle rollers} check for a green dot cam chain tensioner. older ones have failed and caused enigine destruction. valve clearances are important as well as fuel pump wear and filters. id have to say i still look for a 6 gear........even now . other than that treat the bike ith respect they are big {lane splits while carrying panniers is problematic} and fast . spend the time to learn the bike , practice your slow uturns etc and above all PUT SOME SERIOUS MILES ON IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Great review, I've just bought a mint 2nd gen with only 12k miles and you're spot on, it feels like a more powerful Sprint ST/VFR with better build quality and speed, plus I love the shaft drive.
Just snatched an 05 with 7300 miles off craigslist for a song. I really had no idea how rough my vrod was until I rode this bike the 90 miles back home after the purchase. I was easily ready for 190 more! No backache (which the vrod was starting to bother my back), no wrist or neck pain, and my butt felt better than it did on the car ride up there. Maybe I'm just used to a rough ride... I'd be interested on the take from a first gen'er who upgraded to a 3rd gen.
I've a -04 around 78.000 km on it and my brother has a -13. Since I live in rather cold Lapland I found a major difference in the flow of heat from engine. In my -04 it directly comes into your lap/chest area and you can't direct it into anywhere else, while that is pleasant feeling in cloudy and rainy days I found it extremely bothersome when touring around southern Europe. In the -13 FJR you can change the direction of the heat blow from engine into under your feet or into your feet but not on your lap. So for areas with very high temperatures I'd go with the -13 but -04 is still somewhat manageable if you have light or airy riding gear. If someone has trouble with wrists (meaning the right one) then 3rd gen is a no brainer since it has that lovely cruise control ability. That comes very handy if you like to do long stretches in one go and you like to relax your wrists once in a while as you ride. Now what comes to seats, there's really not much of a difference but you can have even better seats than the stock one. My brother decided to buy rather soft leather seat into his FJR. While it feels nice in the shorter 100-150 km runs it can give hard time for someone's butt in longer runs. I've found that FJR's stock seat is the way to go in general. Oh and to add something that I did last year. I'd suggest you buy a bigger windshield if you're 170 cm or longer person. On the top position that stock windshield just doesn't take enough of the drag out when riding 100-150 km/h or even higher.
Adjust the shift lever to the top of its range, and shift into first with authority, like you own it. Don't pansy it in. You could also try a different brand of oil on the next change, some say that works, too.
I've a 1989 fj 1200, with 38 k miles ,I've clocked at 172 mph,it's the best bike I've ever own ,I like it more that my vstar 1100, or my Fatboy, these machines will eat a Harley alive even a VMAX!! It's my leave town bike.
What's hanging off the bottom of the bike? Love this bike, but the cases look like a poor afterthought, not like those on the ST1300 which seem to have been part of the original design brief.
I think the cases are one of the best things. They look great because they're painted and the mount is designed to be almost unnoticable when the cases are removed.
This is a misleading review, thinking of buying a gen1 go test ride one first. Bought a Gen1 a few months back for two up touring after checking all the reviews. Seats only good for an hour bars are too low,resulting in back ache, vibes at 3000rpm and I constantly try to change into the non existing 6th gear. Screen was ok once I added a spoiler and the misses hates the pillion. So its going up for sale.
Nothing misleading as everything is personal. Reviews are only a guide as no two riders are the same. This review is an opinion of the reviewer. If your opinion is different that doesn't make it misleading.
Nothing misleading about this review i travelled all over Europe over 4yrs the FJR was excellent in every regard,you must be talking about some kind of push bike or donkey you were trying to ride.
If you're thinking of buying a 'gen 1', (first genertion), like this, you'll be seeing some mileage on the clock by now. Anything over 25k will need a new rear shock and the shock linkages replacing. Some FJR links have been known to fail, due to poor factory lubing, and the rear of the bike collapses. It's not simple to do as the centre stand has to come off whilst the bike needs supporting upright. Some Gen 1's had rattly top ends which often was identified as premature valve stem guide wear...another headache but by now, 2014, any living Gen 1 will have had it sorted by Yamaha or their owners. Also, I nearly forgot, another common Gen 1 fault is the fan doesn't kick in when getting hot in stop-start city traffic. Lots of people have fiddled with relays but mine was traced to a broken wire connection block under the petrol tank. Overall it's a superb bike. Very comfortable, even, two up, and very quick. I know because I have one and have done 40k miles on it. I have seen one with 128, 000 miles on too.
I don’t understand some of the comments here? “Bars are too low,” “Seat is too hard!” “Vibrates too much!” - Maybe some ppl forgot this is a BIKE! They may need to do their touring in a Winnebago? I’m in my fifties and I’ve toured hundreds of miles at a time on my YZF600 and CBR1100. This is the relative equivalent of a Lay Z Boy! The FJR is a sport touring bike. Maybe some ppl need to look at full touring. Like maybe a Goldwing?
Gold Wing started off as a naked bike:)
You could get all kinds of trims to make it more suitable for touring;)
Now its a full touring cool how things change.
as DTR 55 states gen 1 bikes are getting high in the miles but dont let that put you off a gen 1 {2001 to 2006} mine has 200100 ks on it and i just recently did a 12500 k tour. linkage lube is often over looked due to the centre stand bolts being the wrong way for easy removal. this means the headers have to come off the first time you lube the swing and linkage. reverse the bolts on the centre makes it easy from then on.
update your head stem bearings to the taper kit for some preload{stock are needle rollers} check for a green dot cam chain tensioner. older ones have failed and caused enigine destruction. valve clearances are important as well as fuel pump wear and filters. id have to say i still look for a 6 gear........even now .
other than that treat the bike ith respect they are big {lane splits while carrying panniers is problematic} and fast . spend the time to learn the bike , practice your slow uturns etc and above all PUT SOME SERIOUS MILES ON IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Great review, I've just bought a mint 2nd gen with only 12k miles and you're spot on, it feels like a more powerful Sprint ST/VFR with better build quality and speed, plus I love the shaft drive.
i bought 2008 with 20k on clock but had a clock failure wondering if thats unusual ?
Just snatched an 05 with 7300 miles off craigslist for a song. I really had no idea how rough my vrod was until I rode this bike the 90 miles back home after the purchase. I was easily ready for 190 more! No backache (which the vrod was starting to bother my back), no wrist or neck pain, and my butt felt better than it did on the car ride up there. Maybe I'm just used to a rough ride...
I'd be interested on the take from a first gen'er who upgraded to a 3rd gen.
I've a -04 around 78.000 km on it and my brother has a -13. Since I live in rather cold Lapland I found a major difference in the flow of heat from engine. In my -04 it directly comes into your lap/chest area and you can't direct it into anywhere else, while that is pleasant feeling in cloudy and rainy days I found it extremely bothersome when touring around southern Europe. In the -13 FJR you can change the direction of the heat blow from engine into under your feet or into your feet but not on your lap. So for areas with very high temperatures I'd go with the -13 but -04 is still somewhat manageable if you have light or airy riding gear.
If someone has trouble with wrists (meaning the right one) then 3rd gen is a no brainer since it has that lovely cruise control ability. That comes very handy if you like to do long stretches in one go and you like to relax your wrists once in a while as you ride.
Now what comes to seats, there's really not much of a difference but you can have even better seats than the stock one. My brother decided to buy rather soft leather seat into his FJR. While it feels nice in the shorter 100-150 km runs it can give hard time for someone's butt in longer runs. I've found that FJR's stock seat is the way to go in general.
Oh and to add something that I did last year. I'd suggest you buy a bigger windshield if you're 170 cm or longer person. On the top position that stock windshield just doesn't take enough of the drag out when riding 100-150 km/h or even higher.
I had a VRSCX and it wasn't a good riding position. Like a scissor riding position. Horrible Harley's!
what a lovely review, thank you, cheers.
Adjust the shift lever to the top of its range, and shift into first with authority, like you own it. Don't pansy it in. You could also try a different brand of oil on the next change, some say that works, too.
I've a 1989 fj 1200, with 38 k miles ,I've clocked at 172 mph,it's the best bike I've ever own ,I like it more that my vstar 1100, or my Fatboy, these machines will eat a Harley alive even a VMAX!! It's my leave town bike.
Sensational! invention list 11
Great bike . Great review. 😎
2:36 what is that thing that looks like the side stand?
Great review
What's hanging off the bottom of the bike? Love this bike, but the cases look like a poor afterthought, not like those on the ST1300 which seem to have been part of the original design brief.
I think the cases are one of the best things. They look great because they're painted and the mount is designed to be almost unnoticable when the cases are removed.
nice bike!
9k
Thats cheap
9900 pounds in 2001 is 17000 pounds today, that's 23000 USD
This is a misleading review, thinking of buying a gen1 go test ride one first.
Bought a Gen1 a few months back for two up touring after checking all the reviews.
Seats only good for an hour bars are too low,resulting in back ache, vibes at 3000rpm and I constantly try to change into the non existing 6th gear. Screen was ok once I added a spoiler and the misses hates the pillion.
So its going up for sale.
Steven Kirk Did you sell your FJR and if yes what was the replacement bike? I have a VFR 1200 and was thinking about getting an FJR. Thank you
Nothing misleading as everything is personal. Reviews are only a guide as no two riders are the same.
This review is an opinion of the reviewer. If your opinion is different that doesn't make it misleading.
Nothing misleading about this review i travelled all over Europe over 4yrs the FJR was excellent in every regard,you must be talking about some kind of push bike or donkey you were trying to ride.
I almost bought a gen 1, but the short gearing and unrefined suspension compared to gen 2+ made it a no go.
Tomorrow I'm going to look at a gen 2.
The use of the word " Sensible" is over hyped, in regards to the Cat converter. Typical European brainwashing / marketing.