"P" Position on Gen 3 ignition - WTH?

I searched this so I apologize in advance if it's been discussed but I just learned about the "P" position on my '14 FJR quite accidentally and my first question is did the Gen 2 bikes have this too because I never ever noticed it on my '08 in the six years I owned it? I also didn't notice it on the new FJR after nine months of ownership until last week.

Off on a week long trip last week on the FJR I pulled into our hotel for the night and locked the steering. Then I remembered I needed something from the glove box and turned the ignition back on so I could open it and then off again and re-locked the forks. Checked in, went up to my room and then needed to go back and get something out of my side case and when I returned to the bike saw that the driving lights and voltage meter were still on. Huh? Turned the key back on and off and everything shut of. Ok. Since both of those things run off the aux Fuzeblock I thought that maybe somehow turning the key on and off prior didn't de-energize the relay but since it seemed to cure itself I put it out of my mind as an anomaly.

Head off the next day for the rest of the trip, spend a week riding around Maine head back home and after stopping for the night at the same exact hotel (it was the halfway point), I lock the forks start walking away from the bike and glance back to see the taillight on. WTF? Go back to the bike put the key back in the ignition and only then notice the "P" position with the little rays symbolizing Parking Lights. Geez...talk about your DOH! moments.

So have I been totally oblivious to this through two generations of FJRs or is it just on the Gen 3 bikes? I rarely lock the forks so maybe that's why I never noticed it before but I HAVE locked them before and this never happened. Just that little extra turn is all it takes. Talk about feeling like a dumba$$. Had this happened to someone else I was friends with I would have mocked and shamed the crap out of them.

Only on gen. 3's.... Consider yourself mocked and shamed. Reading the manual really can benefit most,,,,,,, Einstein. (feel better??)

I didn't think anything of it, coming from an '82 Virago that also had a 'Parking lights' position just past locked. Only got caught out by it once on the Virago, never again. I've found myself in the habit of taking one last look back as I walk away from the FJR, just to make sure the fairy lights and tail lights are off (and to wish that I wasn't walking away).

G Squared said:

Only on gen. 3's.... Consider yourself mocked and shamed. Reading the manual really can benefit most,,,,,,, Einstein. (feel better??)

Click to expand...

Really? And just what is the damned salesman good for anyway? I expect the guy who sells me the bike to tell me EVERYTHING about the bike in the 10 minutes between the time I sign the papers and the time I leave the lot. Also, it is not MY fault that everything the salesman says is not sinking in because I am all excited over my brand new bike and I am upset because I just signed a 10 year loan because said salesman overcharged me for the bike.

Oh, BTW (by the way), I did read most of my manual the night I bought the bike. It did not keep me from crashing the next morning on my way home from work, but that is another story.

I am so glad I talked you into joining this forum.

Redfish Hunter said:

G Squared said:

Only on gen. 3's.... Consider yourself mocked and shamed. Reading the manual really can benefit most,,,,,,, Einstein. (feel better??)

Click to expand...

Oh, BTW (by the way), I did read most of my manual the night I bought the bike. It did not keep me from crashing the next morning on my way home from work, but that is another story.

Click to expand...

Didn't stop me from dropping it in my driveway the night I brought it home either...

Well I didn't expect the salesman to go over anything with me but he sure made a good effort. Guess he didn't know about the P position either. I admit I only read the manual for the new widgets and do-hickeys and it just didn't occur to me that they would change the ignition switch. I am pleased to know this is only on the Gen 3's or I would have felt like an even bigger schnook never noticing it on the Gen 2.

Anyhow...thanks for the info and the public shaming. I feel better now. I also know that there is some other Gen 3 owner reading this that will now run out and look for the P position on their bike because they just learned about it from this thread too. Let's see if anyone else will admit it.

Coming from the Beemer side, I knew well about the "P" position, but it still doesn't prevent me from ocassionally engaging it when locking my steering. Eventually you'll get used to the extra click when locking your steering; until then always glance back at your bike as your walking away, as if only admiring it from afar but really double checking to make sure that all your lights are out.

Park position has always been on Eurpean FJRs.

In the UK at least, it's been a legal requirement to have parking lights on at night when parked on the road more than a certain distance from a lamppost, so Yamaha have always made that provision.

I guess Yamaha have simply homologated the U.S. Gen III to be like the rest of the world.

Red- I have it on good authority that you crashed because you were trying to finish the manual...... That said, I've never locked my steering so have never engaged parking intentionally or accidentally. My routine parking is secure at work and at home. And in my area, BTU's (bike theft units) use a panel van and hoists to snatch bikes locked or not, in under a minute. Probably should think about locking the forks when I travel.

G Squared posted:Only on gen. 3's.... Consider yourself mocked and shamed. Reading the manual really can benefit most,,,,,,, Einstein. (feel better??)

Click to expand...

My salesman explained it to me.

No, SilverHound, you are not a dumbass. Yamaha decided to provide that feature instead of self-cancelling turn signals.

you can lock the steering?

2014 - 18,000 miles

2009 - 60,000 miles

If you own a Gen III, you WILL accidentally kill your battery when you turn the key to far and walk away thinking you've locked the forks.

I've done it twice.

mcatrophy said:

Park position has always been on Eurpean FJRs.
In the UK at least, it's been a legal requirement to have parking lights on at night when parked on the road more than a certain distance from a lamppost, so Yamaha have always made that provision.

I guess Yamaha have simply homologated the U.S. Gen III to be like the rest of the world.

Click to expand...

The European vehicles have had marker lights for many years. I suspect Yamaha added this feature in conjunction with the LED eye brow feature on the headlight area. Perhaps it was decided this feature is now standard on all GenIII bikes. How did the earlier Gen European FJR's light the front of the bike in P? Surely it would not be full on headlights.

My only reference is my former R bike, which had a separate tiny bulb in the headlight housing, no bigger than a thimble, that illuminated when in parking mode. I thought it was there for some odd reason because it was a police bike. In hindsight, it may have been just a regional thing, like the euro headlight switch.

art miller said:

mcatrophy said:

Park position has always been on Eurpean FJRs.In the UK at least, it's been a legal requirement to have parking lights on at night when parked on the road more than a certain distance from a lamppost, so Yamaha have always made that provision.I guess Yamaha have simply homologated the U.S. Gen III to be like the rest of the world.

Click to expand...

The European vehicles have had marker lights for many years. I suspect Yamaha added this feature in conjunction with the LED eye brow feature on the headlight area. Perhaps it was decided this feature is now standard on all GenIII bikes. How did the earlier Gen European FJR's light the front of the bike in P? Surely it would not be full on headlights.

Click to expand...

A pair of 5w bulbs beside the headlights.(Click on image for larger view)

Bungie said:

If you own a Gen III, you WILL accidentally kill your battery when you turn the key to far and walk away thinking you've locked the forks.
I've done it twice.

Click to expand...

Just another reason why Gen1's are superior

Bungie said:

If you own a Gen III, you WILL accidentally kill your battery when you turn the key to far and walk away thinking you've locked the forks.
I've done it twice.

Click to expand...

I did it once on my 2013. I felt like an idiot in that all I wanted to do was lock the forks and I came out the next morning to a dead battery. I am sure it is right there in the owner's manual but why does it seem like it should not be that easy to draw from the battery when all you really want to do is lock the forks?

I don't have my paper manual in front of me, but the online manual mentions no P and doesn't show it in the diagram.

Bill Lumberg said:

I don't have my paper manual in front of me, but the online manual mentions no P and doesn't show it in the diagram.

Click to expand...

Try the 2014 Owner's manual, pages 4-1 & 4-2.