Definitly hard to compare these two bikes since one leans towards sport while the other sits on the touring end of the spectrum, but i'll give it quick go...
I've owned a 06 FJR for 10 years before biting the bullet on the trophy SE. I really enjoyed the FJR, but was looking for a change. My hands would fall asleep secondary to vibration (yes, i sat like yoda and had heli bars, so lets not go there), was a bit tired of looking at my elbows in the mirrors, hated the oval throttle body they put in the 06-07 (yes, i farkled around it the best i could, so lets not go there), and just no longer utilized the freight train like power of the motorcycle. Bottom Line: FJR is a rock solid "sport like" touring bike thats does most everything really really well.
That being said, i absolutely positively love that triumph SE. I lean towards the touring end of sport touring and this is by far the most comfortable bike (out of the box) i've ever owned). But lets be frank, comfort is all about how your built. I'm 5'6", so would this bike be comfortable for a 6 footer?....maybe not quite so much (except when they put that "day long" on there). Looks?....another subjective topic.....i love it...others hate it....On the power end, the triumph triple cant pull like the fjr, but the power is fantastic throughout the entire power band. Bike has an incredibly nice feel to it during hard acceleration. Shifting is by far the smoothest of any of my previous 10 bikes. There has been nightmarish stories about the original trophy SE's out there, so i can see where this bike may have gotten a bad rap. These bikes were leaving guys stranded initially all over the place due to battery failures. Turns out, they had a software issue with the radios that were draining the batteries. once that was fixed, that issue was solved. they also had a batch of early bikes that were considered "noisy". Triumph stepped up and offered anyone within that vin range a fix if they wanted it done. the "noisy" bikes did not suffer from any longevity or malfunction issues pre or post fix, and left it up to the owners to decide. The fix was big and basically involved replacing the entire head. I know owners that did and did not have it done, and have not had any issues. I've been riding with a group of SE owners and have yet to hear of any nightmares or anything out of the ordinary. Many of these guys are really putting these bikes through the paces and have been trouble free. On the down side, Triumph did not do a good job with the electrical controls on the bike. Everything works well, but the controller is not backlite, and placed in a spot that requires you to remove your hand from the bars to make simple adjustments. Like i said, it all works, but they could have done a much better job of it. Also, The dealer network is anemic compared to its Japanese competitors. you break down on a triumph, and your in the same boat with all the BMW / Ducati guys out there. But a large majority of us dont buy our bikes with total breakdowns in mind. If we did, we'd all own camry's and F150s. The triumph wants service every 10,000, with every 20,000 being a major servicing......So that definity needs to be part of the equation before purchase. Rumor is also that the trophy SE will be discontinued after 2017.
I could probably go on and on here, but i'll try to summarize: In my experience , the trophy SE has been a great bike to own. Its fun to ride, handles like a dream, provides great power throughout the band, Shifts like butter, and has a seating position (out of the box) that the majority of owners unsuccessfully try to farkle their way to. I would highly recommend this motorcycle to anyone that is looking for a sport touring bike with a focus on touring.
Goose
