FJR Comfort vs. FZ6

I've been riding since 2001 and loved the FJR since it came out but never owned one. My current ride is a vStar 1300 cruiser which is super comfortable to me and my wife. Prior to that I owned a Yamaha FZ6. I had a lot of fun on that bike but it was always uncomfortable to me to ride anything over a couple of hours. If I rode all day I was in agony. I installed bar risers which put my torso fairly straight up and removed all pressure from my wrists. But my knees and mostly my butt always bothered me after prolonged riding. I tried using an airhawk seat cushion, and other seat pads but that did not help much.

By chance I test rode a cruiser at a Triumph deal demo day in 2010, because it was the only thing available when I got there, and I couldn't get over how comfortable it was. The combination of a big wide seat and floorboards was great. I found a vStar 1300 at a local dealer and got a great deal on a leftover. Bone stock the VStar is good for many hours of riding without any discomfort. Even leaning forward a little to reach the handle bars I'm still super comfortable. Of course the riding is not near a fun as was the FZ6 especially when I get into the mountains in NH and Vermont. I ended up selling the FZ6 as it just didn't make sense to keep a bike that was not comfortable to ride.

I'm 53 and not getting any younger but lust after the FJR every time I see one. I'm at the point where I could afford to have 2 bikes. I'd love to take some extended trips out west. I have a brother and other relatives in Colorado and would love to ride out there, but don't have any real desire to do it on my vStar. I've read ever post on rider comfort I can find. I also have a 30" inseam but think I can deal with that ok on the bike. I've test ridden an FJR a couple of times at Americade (though not recently) and handled it fine.

So my question is am I'm kidding myself into thinking I could make the FJR comfortable enough to ride all day. I'm guessing that someone here has some FZ6 experience and can give me some idea of the relative comfort of it vs the FJR, especially after adding a custom seat and bar riders and highway pegs to the FJR.

Thanks!

John from Massachusetts

RE: I ended up posting this one 3 times by accident. I have already reported the 2 duplicate postings.

I am not 53 years old any more, I'm pushing 70 and I can ride the FJR 600 miles+ per day with no problems. I bought my '08 almost 4 years ago and never regretted it.

If you decide to make the very positive move to the FJR I would do some serious inquires about getting a seat made that fits you, next bar risers, then a proper windshield, good luck with that one, and highway pegs are a nice addition as well. Since everyone is built different a trial and error approach may be needed to find that exact comfort zone we all seek.

These FJRs are designed to go on extremely long distances, but don't take my word for it just ask the IBA guys/gals.

My personal opinion, I think you would be hard pressed to find another long distance motorcycle that can offer what the FJR does in it's price range.

Good luck with your quest.

I moved from an fz6 to fjr when I was 50 and I also have a 30" inseam so I can relate! Get the fjr! I too felt uncomfortable on the fz6 when I rode more than an hour or two. On the fjr with a custom seat, I can go all day and have done many 9+ hour days traveling to events.

Allen_C said:

I moved from an fz6 to fjr when I was 50 and I also have a 30" inseam so I can relate! Get the fjr! I too felt uncomfortable on the fz6 when I rode more than an hour or two. On the fjr with a custom seat, I can go all day and have done many 9+ hour days traveling to events.

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That's a big vote of confidence! Pretty much the same situation as me. What kind of seat do you have on the FJR?

By the way, I was just in Indy for the MotoGP races, but took the car out there as my wife and daughter and her friend came along too. I just posted some of my photos of the race in the racing forum. I'd love to be able to show up next year on a FJR!

John

I have a Laam seat abd it is the most comfortable of the three seats I've tried. I was at the track all three days during MotoGP! There were lots of fjr's parked in the backstretch of the track.

I had a big Yamaha cruiser (Roadstar) for a few years. Floor boards and highway pegs on the crash bars. Initial comfort was pretty good but it started killing my back after a couple of hours. Went to a Yamaha Venture. Ergos were better but I still found that the initial Lazyboy comfort became a torture rack after a full day of riding. I bought my FJR six years ago and the big cruisers don't hold a candle to it in any way. INITIAL comfort is not as good on the FJR but I can ride all day with little pain and get up and do the same the next day. This is with a stock seat. I have little doubt that comfort would improve with an aftermarket Russell or Laam but I can manage just fine. (It did take some time to get used to the upright, feet-under-hips configuration.)

I have considered the highway pegs for some knee and hip relief from time to time. At 6'3", a little more legroom (seat to pegs distance) would help but I was never comfortable with the thought of a peg lowering kit. Essentially, I need a 5-10 minute break every 100-150 miles or so, but have (on many occasions) ridden from tank-to-tank.

The FJR isn't for everyone but it is the best long-distance bike I have owned.

Allen_C said:

I moved from an fz6 to fjr when I was 50 and I also have a 30" inseam so I can relate! Get the fjr! I too felt uncomfortable on the fz6 when I rode more than an hour or two. On the fjr with a custom seat, I can go all day and have done many 9+ hour days traveling to events.

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You're Over 50? Dang...

I went from the fz6r to the FJR. The riding position is very similar, I couldn't ride more than 100 mies without stopping. I considered adding hard bags, tall windscreen, custom seat to the fz6r because I genuinely liked it. I decided to trade up to the FJR instead of spending money trying to make the fz6r work and couldn't be happier. I have a Laam seat and genmar risers, I've ridden consecutive 500 mile days with no pain.

JohnP, can go here to do some comparisons of the FZ & FJR regarding ergonomics: https://cycle-ergo.com/

xcsp said:

JohnP, can go here to do some comparisons of the FZ & FJR regarding ergonomics: https://cycle-ergo.com/

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How cool is that! Thanks for the link!!! It looks like the FJR has a little more relaxed riding position for me stock. With bar risers I can get the forward lean to about what my vStar is. With a good seat I think I'd be good to go! Thanks again!

I came from a cruiser after looking at and researching the FJR for about 4 years. About a year ago when my bike died I bought my 07 FJR the next day from a neighbor who was the original owner. It had just 5000 miles and was in pristine condition. He hadn't ridden it in 2 yrs. but kept it in a garage and took good care of it. I am almost 50 and also have a 30" inseam, which worried me a bit. A year and 13,000 miles later and I love this bike more all the time and will definitely get another when the time comes. I was nervous driving it home, but within a few minutes I got over that. The bike has a Sargeant seat, V-Stream windshield and Heli- Bar Risers. I have ridden it 8 hours a day and never had any problems. It fits me perfectly and is A blast to ride. Can't say enough about this bike!!!

HotRodZilla said:

Allen_C said:

I moved from an fz6 to fjr when I was 50 and I also have a 30" inseam so I can relate! Get the fjr! I too felt uncomfortable on the fz6 when I rode more than an hour or two. On the fjr with a custom seat, I can go all day and have done many 9+ hour days traveling to events.

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You're Over 50? Dang...

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Yep, what did you think?

Dunno, I guess I just didn't realize you were 50+. You looked younger, or I was drinking too heavily. Either is possible really. Lol...

HotRodZilla said:

Dunno, I guess I just didn't realize you were 50+. You looked younger, or I was drinking too heavily. Either is possible really. Lol...

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Eh, most say I look younger, but in your case I'll attribute it to drinking to much!

Allen_C said:

HotRodZilla said:

Dunno, I guess I just didn't realize you were 50+. You looked younger, or I was drinking too heavily. Either is possible really. Lol...

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Eh, most say I look younger, but in your case I'll attribute it to drinking to much!

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+1 AJ, you were hammered. Alan passed 50 years ago. Not near as many as I have

I'm glad to see this thread, as I've been wanting to post something similar for a while. I signed up for this forum earlier this year when my eye was caught by the 2014 FJR for reasons I'm really not clear on, given that I've been a cruiser rider for...forever. Eventually I decided that the FJR just wasn't for me and I kept my cruiser for this year's riding season.

But like that cute redhead you can't get out of your mind, I continue to think about it.

My test rides on it -- two of them during a demo day event -- led me to think that it simply was not as comfortable as my cruiser. The forward lean was more extreme than I had imagined, and I found my wrists and palms fatigued and pained. I'm 6'1" with 34" inseam. So I thought, Well, that's that, and tried to stay content with my bike.

Then a few weeks ago I started giving risers and Heli-bars and the like some thought, wondering if I gave the FJR short shrift and if this change could make that necessary difference to make the bike work for me after all.

Guess that's a long way of saying that I'll be watching this riser-centric comfort thread with great interest.

Allen_C said:

HotRodZilla said:

Allen_C said:

I moved from an fz6 to fjr when I was 50 and I also have a 30" inseam so I can relate! Get the fjr! I too felt uncomfortable on the fz6 when I rode more than an hour or two. On the fjr with a custom seat, I can go all day and have done many 9+ hour days traveling to events.

Click to expand...

You're Over 50? Dang...

Click to expand...

Yep, what did you think?

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I knew just looking at you that you're older than dirt!

I'm 5'9 with a 33" inseam, and this bike fits me perfectly. I've ridden two others with risers, and they both felt bad. If you're close to my height, I think it will work great, but if you're taller, like 6'1" and you're gonna need risers, or something changed to reduce the lean. If you're shorter, you're going to need the bars to come farther back to reach them comfortably. I just got lucky that the Japanese guy they measured against was about 5'9" with a 33" inseam.

I've gone 400-600 mile consecutive days in great comfort on my FJR with a Rich's seat, risers, highway pegs (used infrequently- only to stretch the legs out once in a while). A cramp buster on the throttle helps also. I rode a Honda 750 Shadow previously; my back would kill within 45 minutes but when I put a bag behind me pushing into the lower back I could go for 300-400 miles okay. Just turned 60 and find the FJR continues to be amazing.