Handling of a Stock 2008 FJR

As I never get tired of saying, I purchased a low mileage 2008 FJR recently. I have been in the process of replacing all fluids, the antifreeze looked the worst of all (8 years old). Tonight I was able to take the bike out on a local road that leads to a ski resort above the city, Very nice blacktop surface with many posted 20 MPH hairpins. Climbed up 5000 feet over 20 miles.

My other bike to compare the FJR to was my Aprilia Tuono. The Tuono is a 1 liter naked track bike or a hoodlam bike that will get you in trouble. Anyway, I found the FJR to be even more powerful in the acceleration mode than the Tuono, but the conering of the Tuono required only effortless thought, while the FJR can carve turns well, it just requires more body movement. The brakes on the FJR are definitely up to the task of hauling down its weight, I found the nose dive to be a little disconcerting, as well as the tendency of the FJR to stand up during hard braking.

The FJR is a tourer, so not unexpectedly has way more weight to deal with in hard turns, I would not want to go long distances on the TUono either. I am very happy with the predictable handling of the FJR, it's ability to go like stink, and its braking ability. But then you already knew that....

oreana said:

As I never get tired of saying, I purchased a low mileage 2008 FJR recently. I have been in the process of replacing all fluids, the antifreeze looked the worst of all (8 years old). Tonight I was able to take the bike out on a local road that leads to a ski resort above the city, Very nice blacktop surface with many posted 20 MPH hairpins. Climbed up 5000 feet over 20 miles.
My other bike to compare the FJR to was my Aprilia Tuono. The Tuono is a 1 liter naked track bike or a hoodlam bike that will get you in trouble. Anyway, I found the FJR to be even more powerful in the acceleration mode than the Tuono, but the conering of the Tuono required only effortless thought, while the FJR can carve turns well, it just requires more body movement. The brakes on the FJR are definitely up to the task of hauling down its weight, I found the nose dive to be a little disconcerting, as well as the tendency of the FJR to stand up during hard braking.

The FJR is a tourer, so not unexpectedly has way more weight to deal with in hard turns, I would not want to go long distances on the TUono either. I am very happy with the predictable handling of the FJR, it's ability to go like stink, and its braking ability. But then you already knew that....

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As far as I am aware this tendency exists in all bikes...

I believe it is caused by the front tire running off the centre line while cornered. When the brakes are applied the braking force is transmitted to the road surface through the 'off centre' circumference.

This in turn (no pun intended) induces a slight turning force to the steering which is effectively a 'counter steer' and will cause the bike to stand up (It's exactly what you would do coming out of corner).

As long as you are aware of the tendency it is easy to control by use of the handlebars.

I was trained to brake in corners and once I had been made aware of what was happening it never bothered me again. YMMV

Everything is a compromise. The FJR is neither a Sport Bike nor a Touring Bike but something in between and better. A friend of Dad's told him when he got his '07 FJR that it looked like a GoldWing and an R1 had mated and the FJR was their bastard child.

Fortunately Yamaha has continued to refine this platform and improve the suspension. A new Gen3 rear shock under your Gen2 will improve things as would some aftermarket goodies in the forks.

These are great bikes and they can do many things well.

The primary difference between your Tuono and an FJR, or any other similar Supersport Touring bike, comes down to one undeniable factor: Weight.

You can spend gobs of money on an FJR's suspension and make it as sharp handling as possible, but you will never get around the fact that it is a > 650 lb mass of metal, plastic and rubber, and that is at least 200 lbs heavier than your reference bike.

To provide some context, imagine how a Tuono rides with a 200 lb passenger perched on the back. That's where the FJR starts out without any passenger.

Gee thanks Fred. Now I am getting a mental picture of my gravity challenged wife perched on the back of my FJR. I did not need this.

Exactly what Fred said, but I will add, with the appropriate suspension upgrades, the FJR can be VERY close to sportier bikes. I am a HUGE believer in getting the suspension built and tuned to your weight and intended use. I've been there, done that, and now got four (street) bikes with Traxxion upgrades.

The first time I took my (new to me and already upgraded) FJR to the hills, was two-up and on some of my favorite twistys. Coming from a couple of FZ1s, riding solo. I barely noticed the weight, the bike took it all in stride. I actually think the weight gives more traction (so I probably need to look at the tire pressures I run on the smaller bikes).

Then I took it to the Dragon (solo) and had a blast.

The ONLY time I notice the weight (while riding) is when I get on one of my other bikes.. but I'd still rather ride the FJR..

Check out the stock suspension adjustments before doling out the big bucks. The front end has a lot of them and quite often they are nowhere near where they ought to be if they haven't been reset since new or have a different owner/operator. You just might find improvement if not total satisfaction.

Redfish Hunter said:

Everything is a compromise. The FJR is neither a Sport Bike nor a Touring Bike but something in between and better. A friend of Dad's told him when he got his '07 FJR that it looked like a GoldWing and an R1 had mated and the FJR was their bastard child.
Fortunately Yamaha has continued to refine this platform and improve the suspension. A new Gen3 rear shock under your Gen2 will improve things as would some aftermarket goodies in the forks.

These are great bikes and they can do many things well.

Click to expand...

The Gen II FJR's have a soft suspension. This was fixed starting with the Gen III's. Redfish has a good solution here. Many running Gen III find the rear shock works well. Still the front end needs attention such as a GP Suspension front fork valving and stiffer springs.

I have upgraded the suspension on my 09 and it was one of the best upgrades. It solved many of the problems you described - it put the bike on rails and made turn initiation easy. The bike still stands up when braking in a turn but that isn't a suspension issue.