Fixed a bunch of complaints about my FJR.

If you've been reading my posts, you know that I have a pile of complaints about the FJR, such as:

1. Throttle lurch. PC3 + G2 + unwind helped, but did not eliminate it.

2. Weight.

3. Wind noise and helmet buffetting. 6 screens and a couple spacers helped but didn't elminate it.

4. Not enough airflow on hot days.

I was pretty satisfied with everthing else on the bike though, from ergo's to handling to engine smoothness and luggage capacity. But those four things remained unsolved until Saturday, when I went an bought this:



For my son I got the Radio Flyer in the background. And I bought my wife a nice mission-style desk (and an Ogio tail bag and PR3 rear tire for her SV).

But this post is about the Ninja ;-) It's a 2011 with 2200 miles on it, meticulously maintained by my friend (like three oil changes so far, keeps all documentation, etc). He included the stock Givi bags, a Corbin seat, Garmin 660 and various odds and ends. The price and timing was right. The tires have about 2k miles left in them, so I've ordered a set of PR4's. Not much space for a tankbag so I'm looking for a tailbag.

And it solved the remaining FJR's problems:

1. No throttle lurch. Fueling is excellent .. no need for a PC5 or whatever.

2. ~170 lbs less then the FJR. Yippee!

3. Smooth and quiet wind flow, in any winshield position.

4. Plenty of air flow.

I introduces a couple new problems, the main one is less weather protection. My Gerbings stuff will get more use. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with the bike. It is smoother than the FJR through the bars but there is a little tingle in the seat and pegs .. will do a TBS and see if that helps. Ergonomics are just as good as the FJR, except for the legs which are a little higher up and isn't a problem for me.

It has much more power than the FJR; 6th gear roll-on's (passing cars) is stronger than the FJR in 4th and 5th. The N1K has less torque than the FJR but without the weight to haul around it doesn't need it. I find myself lazy at times and shift from first to sixth and stay in sixth from 25 mph on up. The N1K is more responsive and immediate at every RPM and will loft the wheel if I'm not careful.

The suspension is good enough that I probably won't do anything with it. Compared the Ohlins / GP forks I have on the FJR, it is smoother and more plush yet tracks through corners with more confidence. Again ... with less weight to control, the suspension has an easier time. I do miss some of the "feel" I get from the GP forks and Ohlin's shock, but I'm not ready to shell out big bucks for that. Yet.

Honestly, I don't see the point of having both the N1K and the FJR, as the Ninja does pretty much everything I needed from the FJR. If I carried a passenger I'd keep the FJR; as it is I don't think I'll be riding it much. Ironically, when bringing the N1K home I saw a glop of lube under the FJR and noticed that the Ohlins had puked. Pulled that to send it in for a rebuild; I think I'll put the stocker on for the sale. I've got a bit of defarkling to do, and will list most of if (and the bike) here before putting it on Ebay.

Now I'm wishing that y'all rode Ninja's instead of FJR's so that I could learn that from you ;-) Oh well. Time to go register it and pay taxes ...

They are very nice bikes. Love the Traction control on the new ones. The 2013 I rode was not as comfortable to me as the FJR, but it was nice. Having my knees up higher is a problem for me. I hope you enjoy your new bike.

If that Ohlins fits a first Gen, we need to talk....soon.

I hope you enjoy your new ride.

I just bought a 2005 FJR a week ago and feel the same way as you about the air movement. I cut about 6" off the stock windshield and it came with baker air wings to direct air towards me.

I have a 2011 Triumph Speed triple in the garage to go with the FJR. The only reason I bought the FJR is when I ride with my wife. she rides her own Kaw Z750S and on a straight road she will hang in at 100 mph if we go that fast, but of course we don't But when she gets to a curve, it's like she throws out an anchor. Anyway, when we get to where we are going, she hops on the back with me and we hit the twisties, I don't have to wait on her, and she gets to enjoy the scenery.

When I ride with the "boys" which I do quite a few times a year, I will take the S3, so I got maybe not the best of both worlds, but enough that I am happy.

I test rode a 2014 this past Friday.

Nice bike. But the same trait you like in then Ninja made me bonkers. The gearbox. Shifted slick as butter, but I found 1st rather long, 2nd thru 5th, short, and 6th long.

I swear I thought I was missing shifts on the bike, 2nd thru 5th are EXTREMELY close. Great on the track, not so much on the street.

It doesn't have more power though, it's got a better power to weight ratio... and really tight gearing!

TripperMike said:

If that Ohlins fits a first Gen, we need to talk....soon.
I hope you enjoy your new ride.

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Ok I did some digging. It appears the correct Ohlins for the 1st get is a YA-342. The main difference is that the YA-342 is 1.5mm shorter and has a piggyback rather than a remote one.

From what I can tell, it *might* work. I would expect that a shock w/o the piggyback would fit where one with a piggyback would, but we'd have to make sure that you have a place to mount the reservoir (the YA-707 mounts under the right side footpeg bracket).

Chain Drive....The FJR is my first bike with a shaft---don't think I'd go back.

The shock will work on a Gen I without any modifications, at least I put a Penske from a Gen II on mine. No problems. Congrats on the new ride.

wmadoty said:

They are very nice bikes. Love the Traction control on the new ones. The 2013 I rode was not as comfortable to me as the FJR, but it was nice. Having my knees up higher is a problem for me. I hope you enjoy your new bike.

Click to expand...

I've been thinking about this and realized that this may be one of the last big HP bikes without the electronics. No TC, no ABS. I wouldn't mind ABS though ... that would be very nice.

Interestingly, my cars (2005 Outback, 2001 Prelude) are pretty basic too (ABS, no TC or vehicle stability control, etc). I get rentals frequently which have TC etc. and to be honest, going back and forth isn't an issue.

Bungie said:

I test rode a 2014 this past Friday.
Nice bike. But the same trait you like in then Ninja made me bonkers. The gearbox. Shifted slick as butter, but I found 1st rather long, 2nd thru 5th, short, and 6th long.

I swear I thought I was missing shifts on the bike, 2nd thru 5th are EXTREMELY close. Great on the track, not so much on the street.

It doesn't have more power though, it's got a better power to weight ratio... and really tight gearing!

Click to expand...

The gearing didn't bother me, as I was just having fun snicking through the gears. But I agree with your assessment ... as much torque and hp and lack of weight the N1K has, it doesn't need all those gears jammed together. I'd prefer to have 4,5 and 6 be more spaced out and taller. Either way it's not a showstopper, just like the lack of a 6th on the FJR isn't a problem either. Just different. I suspect I'll find a nice "cruising" pattern ... like 1,3,6.

Spud said:

Chain Drive....The FJR is my first bike with a shaft---don't think I'd go back.

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Yeah, that is a nice feature of the FJR. Actually, a belt would be ideal ;-) Most of my riding friends have chains though, and carrying a little can and spritzing the chain at the end of each day isn't that big of a deal. Spending $200 on a chain and sprockets every 10-20k is going to hit the pocket book a little though.

TomInCA said:

The shock will work on a Gen I without any modifications, at least I put a Penske from a Gen II on mine. No problems. Congrats on the new ride.

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Good to know! Now we're talkin' ... !

Also .. as I'm moving farkles from one to the other, it's pretty obvious that Yamaha has put a lot more thought and effort into fit and finish than Kawasaki has. Then again, the N1K is smaller and cheaper than FJR so this shouldn't surprise me.

For the chain lube, my friend has been using the Motul chain paste, really likes it over spray lubes.

https://www.amazon.com/MOTUL-Motorcycle-CHAIN-PASTE-3605-0042/dp/B008LG8YIU

May be available elsewhere for less.

Enjoy the new ride!

Have fun with the new ride, I'm sure you'll have lots of miles and smiles.

Is the cost of insurance a lot more for this bike?

Tanker said:

Have fun with the new ride, I'm sure you'll have lots of miles and smiles.

Click to expand...

I'm definitely enjoying it. Having been on the FJR (and VFR before it), it is taking a bit of getting used to the new mount ... braking and cornering limits, when the front wheel comes up, etc...

Constant Mesh said:

Is the cost of insurance a lot more for this bike?

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I'ts not as bad as I thought. I'm with state farm, and insurance went from $219 to $345 per year (250k,500k, $500 deductible etc). I'm sure being 40+ with a clean driving records helps. Percentage the increase is huge, but $200/year more is peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

EDIT: Ninja 1000 was $345. I had originally $412 in my comment, but that was for the ZX10-r was $412 ... I had to ask just for giggles.

Nice lookin NINJA1000.

I rode a 2011 just like that before I bought my FJR back in February 2013. Only had 1,500 miles on it.

I liked the bike but it was a little too cramped feeling for me AND it had BAD vibes as soon as I hit 75/80MPH.

I felt it severe through the footpegs, seat and the grips.

Is yours pretty smooth over 75MPH??

I heard the new 2014's are smoother.

Lube your chain about every 300 miles and clean it about every 800-1000 and it will last more than 20,000 miles.

I got 30,000 miles plus out of my chains, but you have to be religious on the lube/cleaning.

SoCalFJR1300 said:

Nice lookin NINJA1000.
I rode a 2011 just like that before I bought my FJR back in February 2013. Only had 1,500 miles on it.

I liked the bike but it was a little too cramped feeling for me AND it had BAD vibes as soon as I hit 75/80MPH.

I felt it severe through the footpegs, seat and the grips.

Is yours pretty smooth over 75MPH??

I heard the new 2014's are smoother.

Lube your chain about every 300 miles and clean it about every 800-1000 and it will last more than 20,000 miles.

I got 30,000 miles plus out of my chains, but you have to be religious on the lube/cleaning.

Click to expand...

The vibes on this one aren't too bad. I don't have any through the bard, some tingles in the seat and a bit in the pegs. Certainly not as smooth as the FJR but nothing objectionable either. When I get a chance I'm going to run some techron through it and then do a TBS and see if that helps ... I expect I can afford the time to set the TBS more accurately than the factory.

But I have thought about dropping the cruising RPM down. I've got a taller rear tire (190/55 vs. 190/50) waiting to get installed, and when I need my next chain/sprockets I'll adjust the sizes; it looks like I can drop 600 rpm @ 75mph (and get some more space between the gears) that way.

My rule of thumb has been to lube the chain about every 500 miles, or at the of long days, and I get 15-20k out of them if I buy quality. Once in a while I purchased the cheap $50 Parts Unlimited stuff as I re-used the old sprockets and just needed to get 5-6k to last out the season. One thing I won't do again is install a Scott-oiler ... good concept but they either drop too much lube when it gets warm or too little when it gets cold and in the end I have a worn out chain and the grimey-est swingarm ever. Bleh.

The 2014's look really nice, and the reviews of it were what prompted me to re-look at the 2011. However, I couldn't justify spending $5k more for a 2014 over the 2011 my friend was selling.

Nice pickup, great bike I'm sure. I only ride solo nowadays since I have two kids 2 and under but I like the FJR enough to keep it. Plus the bags look really wide on those N1K's once they are mounted up.

carlson_mn said:

Nice pickup, great bike I'm sure. I only ride solo nowadays since I have two kids 2 and under but I like the FJR enough to keep it. Plus the bags look really wide on those N1K's once they are mounted up.

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They ARE wide! They don't tuck in as nicely as the on the FJR. The 2014+ N1K's tuck in better too; but for the price difference between this nearly new 2011 and a 2014, I'm OK with it.

Another difference between the FJR and N1K becomes apparent the more I ride the Ninja: speed estimation. After seven years on the FJR I've been able to accurately gauge my speed visually and by the engine sound/feel, now that is all different with the Ninja. I find that 65 on the N1K feels like 85 on the FJR. There are all these little things that makes the FJR such a good long distance mount ....

Everything I read about those is positive. OTOH, I lube my chains every 500 miles. I have my own routine of 90w and wiping off the excess. I get 25k+ out my chains. Going on tour with a chain drive bike and no way to mount a centerstand is just not happening for me.

Isn't lubing the chain 2 or 3 times a day sort of inconvenient?