Considering FJR - Any Gen-X or years to steer clear of?

I've been riding two wheels for about 40 years now, and I've had everything from dirt, trail, sportbikes, and finally supermoto. At the moment I own a DRZ400SM with 13k miles and absolutely love the bike around town, but as you would imagine, it's a horrible highway bike. At 70 mph the 400cc motor screams at the top of the rev range, no wind protection, no steering damper, and the aftermarket exhaust is deafening. I didn't purchase it for the highway, but based on my locale, I always find myself traversing some freeways to get home after a long day of meandering along the back roads.

So I've decided to seriously consider the FJR as my top contender. Really no others at this point. It has all the sportbike looks I'm looking for, all the creature comforts if I wanted to hit the open highway, and doesn't look like my grandfathers Goldwing.

With that being said, and my rough $5k budget, I'm going to be looking for an older/higher mileage bike. Are there any Gen/years to be careful with? I've found a couple 2007's with 30-50k miles that place me in that range. Anything I should stay away from or look for?

Thanks!

Stay VERY clear of the following years: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and even the 2016

They are all inferior to the 2005 !!!

Just stirring things up… But you must be in central Florida if you are doing off-road (?)

We are have a Ride To Eat (RTE) soon, stop by and meet some Florida riders and get many different opinions of the best years of FJR models.

Info here: RTE Central Florida for June - Southeast - FJRForum

Mike, don't listen to a word pathfinder just said. If you like your chestnuts roasted on an open fire go ahead and go with his recommendation. If you don't, 2006 and beyond. You can thank me with a free beer at the RTE. You're Welcome!

majicmaker said:

Mike, don't listen to a word pathfinder just said. If you like your chestnuts roasted on an open fire go ahead and go with his recommendation. If you don't, 2006 and beyond. You can thank me with a free beer at the RTE. You're Welcome!

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But… Just remember AE stands for "Arrive Eventually"

101stpathfinder said:

Stay VERY clear of the following years: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and even the 2016
They are all inferior to the 2005 !!!

Just stirring things up… But you must be in central Florida if you are doing off-road (?)

We are have a Ride To Eat (RTE) soon, stop by and meet some Florida riders and get many different opinions of the best years of FJR models.

Info here: RTE Central Florida for June - Southeast - FJRForum

Click to expand...

I'm actually in Jacksonville. I will have to keep an eye on upcoming dates. I have family in central Florida and ourselves down there pretty regularly.

Thanks for the info!

Any FJR will be such an amazing improvement in your riding enjoyment it won't matter what year you choose. And the heat issue on Gen I's is greatly exaggerated, IMO. They all have pretty much the same mill, and all produce lots of heat. There have been SOME improvements in later models, or at least modifications, in where that heat blows (best if it's not directly at you, but it's going to go someplace), but for my money, the improvement is not dramatic.

There are lots of things people have done and products (both home made and "store bought") to address this, and some of them are pretty good. Like:

- Highway pegs. Lets you get your feet and legs (or one at a time) out of the hot blast.

- Heat blanket over the engine, under the tank. If the gas in the tank heats up, it lowers your comfort factor.

- A tank cover, like the Bagster. I liked mine. Insulates, protects the paint, gives the included tank bag a stable anchor.

- Baker-Built Air Wings. Never used them, but guys swear by them. Blows cool air on you, or deflects cold air or rain way as needed. Google it.

- Keep tank more than half full. A near-empty tank gets hotter faster.

- Something else that I can't think of, but I bet somebody will, and post it, soon.

Good luck.

All years are going to be excellent bikes. Some of our members have gone over 300k on theirs, and few over 200k, and several over 100k, they are very well engineered. Like was said earlier, the '03 to '05 Gen I's could get a little toasty on the legs and nads, this is something they took care of somewhat on subsequent Gen II and up models, but there are enterprising owners that have come up with fixes to address some of these issues on their Gen I's. As and example, you can google Cromeit's fix. Best of luck on your hunt.

I own a 2007A, there have been a lot of complaints on the 06/07 platform as they are a bit jerky off idle and had some ground spyder issues.

There are a lot of good deals on the 09's and up. If I were telling you as a friend I would tell you to look that way.

Now I do have 90,000 and counting with no intention of selling as it runs hard and still the best looking color!

101stpathfinder said:

majicmaker said:

Mike, don't listen to a word pathfinder just said. If you like your chestnuts roasted on an open fire go ahead and go with his recommendation. If you don't, 2006 and beyond. You can thank me with a free beer at the RTE. You're Welcome!

Click to expand...

But Just remember AE stands for "Arrive Eventually" :tease:

Click to expand...

Tony, the AE stands for, Weeeeeeee!!! :yes:

majicmaker said:

If you like your chestnuts roasted on an open fire go ahead and go with his recommendation. If you don't, 2006 and beyond. You can thank me with a free beer at the RTE. You're Welcome!

Click to expand...

Gen I to Gen II/III Yamaha just moved the blast furnace heat stream from knee/crotch level and focused it a little tighter down onto your feet. So get highway pegs to move you feet out of the furnace.

For your budget you should have no problem finding a Gen II with about 30k to 40k miles. 2007's have a little bit of throttle-snatch issues but is fairly easy to resolve. Also check to see if the recall work was done for the year you are looking at. For instance, my 07 Gen II had the ignition switch recall, wiring harness recall, and ECU (altitude sickness) recall work done as scheduled so it was all taken care of before I sold it. My 07 pulled the hardest it ever had the day I sold it with 77k miles on it. It was a phenomenal machine. The Gen III's just take it up a notch with some great improvements.

Good luck. Post pictures when you make the plunge! You can't go wrong! You'll love the FJR. It's quite a capable machine with lots of nice amenities!

I'd definitely hunt for a '08 or newer FJR. You'll get most of the incremental improvements over the years and a great platform to build the bike you want.

Be patient and you'll find the right bike with decent miles!

Good luck with the search.

--G

escapefjrtist said:

I'd definitely hunt for a '08 or newer FJR. You'll get most of the incremental improvements over the years and a great platform to build the bike you want

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^^^^^^ This.....my 08 was a significant improvement over my 05.

As the new owner of a nicely sorted '08, these comments make me feel good!

Another vote for the 08 model. Just because I own one, but in my opinion all fjr's are great.

SacramentoMike said:

Any FJR will be such an amazing improvement in your riding enjoyment it won't matter what year you choose. And the heat issue on Gen I's is greatly exaggerated, IMO. They all have pretty much the same mill, and all produce lots of heat. There have been SOME improvements in later models, or at least modifications, in where that heat blows (best if it's not directly at you, but it's going to go someplace), but for my money, the improvement is not dramatic.

Click to expand...

I have to respectfully disagree. I had an '03 and the heat issue was unbearable--especially in a warmer climate like Texas (and Florida). Yes, you can apply some fixes that will reduce it, but IMHO it's best to avoid Gen I's. While I had my '03 my buddy got an '06 and the heat problem was pretty much non-existent due to the revised radiator/fans design. I now have a '13 (soon to have a '16) which basically has the same design and also have no heat issue.

Mike, I picked up my 2006 FJR1300A with under 25,000 miles for $5,000 at a dealer in Kansas. If you look hard enough you can find some great deals.

stose85 said:

Mike, I picked up my 2006 FJR1300A with under 25,000 miles for $5,000 at a dealer in Kansas. If you look hard enough you can find some great deals.

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Amen^^

I did the same thing with my 06. The thing that made it the fastest FJR of all? It wasn't dragging a payment book.

There are some great fly and ride deals out there

• 2006 with 17k miles for $5200: https://appleton.craigslist.org/mcy/5586599224.html
  
• 2006 with 34k miles for $5500: https://southcoast.craigslist.org/mcy/5582906529.html
  
• 2007 with 17k miles for $6000: https://syracuse.craigslist.org/mcy/5592804337.html
  
• 2006 with 22k miles for $5200: https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/mcy/5594855295.html
  
• 2006 with 36k miles for $5500: https://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/mcy/5558442370.html
  
• 2008 with 22k miles for $5495: https://batonrouge.craigslist.org/mcd/5572065150.html
  
• 2006 with 5k miles for $6000: https://lexington.craigslist.org/mcy/5553783696.html
  

And I only did about half the country so you get the idea. Some of them have a lot of upgrades like top cases, heated grips, sliders, etc already done! https://www.searchtempest.com

ElectricFJR said:

SacramentoMike said:

Any FJR will be such an amazing improvement in your riding enjoyment it won't matter what year you choose. And the heat issue on Gen I's is greatly exaggerated, IMO. They all have pretty much the same mill, and all produce lots of heat. There have been SOME improvements in later models, or at least modifications, in where that heat blows (best if it's not directly at you, but it's going to go someplace), but for my money, the improvement is not dramatic.

Click to expand...

I have to respectfully disagree. I had an '03 and the heat issue was unbearable--especially in a warmer climate like Texas (and Florida). Yes, you can apply some fixes that will reduce it, but IMHO it's best to avoid Gen I's. While I had my '03 my buddy got an '06 and the heat problem was pretty much non-existent due to the revised radiator/fans design. I now have a '13 (soon to have a '16) which basically has the same design and also have no heat issue.

Click to expand...

I have a 10/2002 build 2003 US model that I still ride. I've had bikes that were hotter (Gold Wing GL1100 '83 and a GL1200 '84 come to mind). Improvements have been made over the years but my reason for changing would be more about the Gen 3 cruise with the higher max limit) than for the heat.