Test Ride FJR Tomorrow

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Dipstick

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Demo days at local shop tomorrow, can't wait to ride a FJR. Have 2 left over 2014 FJR on floor non ES just under 13k. Have enjoyed zipping around town this past year on my FZ 09 (first street bike) all been off road till this bike. Made friends with some sport touring guys and my ride is only good for maybe 2 hours pounding pavement. Thanks for all the great info on this forum!! See what happens tomorrow:)

 
Based on a few recently (within weeks) purchased 2014A models described on this forum, I think the dealer may have a little wiggle room on that $13K. Not much, but some.

Fair warning - those that demo ride the Gen III rarely resist the temptation. I did it, but oh baby, was it hard.

Good luck.

 
I didn't even make it to the test ride stage. Saw one at an International Motorcycle Show in January of 2014. Wore out the convention center carpet walking between it and every other bike on display. It was a red headed siren calling my name....

Got home, called my friendly local dealer (who's done right by me many times) in the middle of a snowstorm and told him to please get me one. That's all it took and couldn't be happier.

I think a test ride would have killed me in the snow
smile.png
. Good luck on your ride!

 
Based on a few recently (within weeks) purchased 2014A models described on this forum, I think the dealer may have a little wiggle room on that $13K. Not much, but some.
Fair warning - those that demo ride the Gen III rarely resist the temptation. I did it, but oh baby, was it hard.

Good luck.
Awesome bike for sure, no doubt you will feel the need to own one! But as the proud owner of a 2004, I did resist the temptation. Lol. I took the 2015 for a spin in Daytona. In baby mode I was disappointed, in aggressive mode I felt like I was on my bike. I was amazed at how it felt, sounded and rode like my bike. Looking down at the Speedo is what brought me back to reality! Lol. I was really taking a gamble taking it for a spin but I'm glad I did. I fell in love with my bike all over again. Lol. No doubt if I had it for a few days/weeks I'd be a Gen III convert! Lol. Enjoy the ride and bring your checkbook and camera. We'll wanna see pics of you taking one home!

 
Based on a few recently (within weeks) purchased 2014A models described on this forum, I think the dealer may have a little wiggle room on that $13K. Not much, but some.
Fair warning - those that demo ride the Gen III rarely resist the temptation. I did it, but oh baby, was it hard.

Good luck.
Awesome bike for sure, no doubt you will feel the need to own one! But as the proud owner of a 2004, I did resist the temptation. Lol. I took the 2015 for a spin in Daytona. In baby mode I was disappointed, in aggressive mode I felt like I was on my bike. I was amazed at how it felt, sounded and rode like my bike. Looking down at the Speedo is what brought me back to reality! Lol. I was really taking a gamble taking it for a spin but I'm glad I did. I fell in love with my bike all over again. Lol. No doubt if I had it for a few days/weeks I'd be a Gen III convert! Lol. Enjoy the ride and bring your checkbook and camera. We'll wanna see pics of you taking one home!
I like your way of thinking... Mind over matter. This would save me lots of money if I could resist like yourself. I just couldn't tell anyone my old square wheel was as good as their new round wheel. I'll have to work on the mind vs the matter.

Hehe, seriously.. I'm just a playn

 
Lol... Stop teasing yourself and just wring out a deal on a new bike ride it home, give it a name and live happy ever after.

Clearly you have narrowed it down.. :)

 
Hey guys no FJR yet. Place was packed had to wait one hour to ride the 20 min demo. We did not get over 50 mph, several lights and rode together in formation. I have to be honest I was intimidated. Just could not relax, not used to such a big bike and almost dropped it making slow tight turn in parking lot to get bike back in line at dealer. I got off the bike with blown confidence, arm pump and just confused on what to do. My sales guy was super busy so just told him will talk later in the week. Maybe I need more time on my current bike FZ 09, I don't consider myself a beginner at all but maybe I went in with out respect for the FJR??

 
Hey. I don't believe it would be lack of respect or any one thing attributable to your less than perfect experience. It was a whole host of things that ganged up on you at once. Visit with dealer asap and test drive bike by yourself. Better conditions will lead to better outcome. If you can't test drive their bike, come here and I'll put you on a 15 to try out.

 
The FJR doesn't particularly excel at (relatively) slow riding in traffic. Add the anxiety of riding in a group to the mix and it won't be a great experience. No matter what, the FJR is heavier and less flickable than your current ride. You really need to get it up to highway speed and allow it to rev a bit to get a real feeling for the machine. If you have a chance, check the tire pressure on any bike you demo. If too low, the FJR handles like a garbage truck - preferred seems to be around 40F, 42R.

If all of my riding was relatively local and urban commuting in a "non-sporty" setting, the FJR certainly would NOT be my first choice in motorcycles. Similarly, it isn't a spectacular rough road bike. The FJR is, however, a superb (sport)-touring machine capable of providing enormous fun and all-day comfort eating miles on the slab at whatever speed you want, running mountain twisties quite competently, providing quite reasonable protection from the elements and blowing away almost anything but a sport bike in any situation. It is also one of the most mechanically reliable bikes out there; especially important if you intend to ride a lot and keep it for a long time.

Its not a full-on sport bike and its certainly not a cruiser. I would say that its not the BEST at anything but is the best all-around machine I have owned for the multiple riding missions I typically undertake. Perhaps it isn't right for you but I think you need to get another ride under a different set of conditions before you can make a decision.

Good luck with it!

 
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By the description of your experience, I'm guessing you were at Freedom Powersports, as was I. The rides were about 5 miles, through traffic, stop lights, in tight packed groups of 8, not the best experiece in general, especially for a sport touring bike. I rode the cafe racer Bolt (my back and wrist were sore well before the end, looked cool but not even close to buy-able) and the FJ09. I liked smoothness and revablity of the FJ09, but the throttle was pretty off/on snatchy and clutch was almost all the way out before it started engaging (same way with the other FJ09 my friend rode). Talked to a guy that had just got off the fjr 15A, and he said he couldn't believe how docile and lacking in power it was, even in S mode. Well, we all know that's not true. Seems that most every demo bike I've rode is so poorly used, tuned and beaten, that you can't really assume a new/used bike you would buy would behave the same. So, take the demo ride with a grain of salt, schedule a test ride, take it out on highway, get the rpm's up and then see how it works. Then if you decide to go with it, realize you probably have another $1k to spend on seats, electrics, bar risers, whatever.. That's about the average spent according to my poll. Those of us with the ES will tell you it's well worth the extra $1k, if you can find one.

 
Meh - not surprised by the news here on the failure of a Yamaha Truck demo ride.... I thought it'd be fun to test out some of the new products this way, but never panned out - and news like this particular event is why I'm not upset I didn't get the chance....

I have read that a few rides have panned out to be a decent experience but those are few and far between....

As stated by others above - the FJR is not the Nimble little Minx in comparison to FZ09, but most def a excellent machine to cover all the bases, which is why many have extra stable mates in the garage.... More time in the seat for a better all around eval session is needed IMO....

Certainly can't go wrong with the low maintenance of the FJR....

 
The FJR doesn't particularly excel at (relatively) slow riding in traffic. Add the anxiety of riding in a group to the mix and it won't be a great experience. No matter what, the FJR is heavier and less flickable than your current ride. You really need to get it up to highway speed and allow it to rev a bit to get a real feeling for the machine. If you have a chance, check the tire pressure on any bike you demo. If too low, the FJR handles like a garbage truck - preferred seems to be around 40F, 42R.
If all of my riding was relatively local and urban commuting in a "non-sporty" setting, the FJR certainly would NOT be my first choice in motorcycles. Similarly, it isn't a spectacular rough road bike. The FJR is, however, a superb (sport)-touring machine capable of providing enormous fun and all-day comfort eating miles on the slab at whatever speed you want, running mountain twisties quite competently, providing quite reasonable protection from the elements and blowing away almost anything but a sport bike in any situation. It is also one of the most mechanically reliable bikes out there; especially important if you intend to ride a lot and keep it for a long time.

Its not a full-on sport bike and its certainly not a cruiser. I would say that its not the BEST at anything but is the best all-around machine I have owned for the multiple riding missions I typically undertake. Perhaps it isn't right for you but I think you need to get another ride under a different set of conditions before you can make a decision.

Good luck with it!

This is about as good an overview of the GenIII one could give. If you want a bike capable of providing a sporty combination of commuting and touring at a reasonable cost, this is the bike. I've owned cruisers and two Genii's. My 2014ES is hands down the best bike I have ever owned. Give it another more relaxed test ride!!!
 
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Agree that a short test ride will only show so much. This bike brings the biggest smiles after a few back to back 500+ mile days. It's a beast on the open road.

 
<snipped> I have to be honest I was intimidated. Just could not relax, not used to such a big bike and almost dropped it making slow tight turn in parking lot to get bike back in line at dealer. I got off the bike with blown confidence, arm pump and just confused on what to do.
Here's what you do: buy the bike, practice the low speed maneuvers (a lot), and enjoy the hell out of her at speed, especially above 4,000 rpm

I've dropped my 3 times in parking lots -- twice in front of a lot of witnesses -- and I am not the only one here who's done it. When it happens, just hope there are people around who can help you pick her up. She's heavy!

As FredW once said, FJRs like to lie down and take naps.

 
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