Another first time rider's impression (and is this a good deal?)

So went to the local dealer today, just to shop around and to gaze at bikes. They had 3 different used FJRs on the floor. A 2009, with only 1300 miles on it, but it was scratched up all too hell!!! Poor thing lead a rough short life. There was a 2008 AE, not interested in the AE, I want a traditional clutch, (don't ask me why, just looks strange with out a clutch lever) and a tricked out 2008 with 27K miles on it. Dealer let me take it for a spin. here are my thoughts.

As I pulled away and started riding down the normal streets, I was like, this thing is not as powerful as everyone said it was. Where is the 140HP/1300cc?? Coming from harleys I expected to be blown away. After a few stop lights I figured out what my problem was. I was shifting too soon!!!!! Used to the low RPMs of a Harley I was not paying attention to where Redline on the FJR was. After a few more stop lights, I was blown away, very nice acceleration!!!! wow!!!! way cool!!! Time to take it on the highway, as I pulled on the Highway, very nice acceleration of course, liking this. I pulled behind a car, and just starting cruising. moving around in the seat, moving my legs, checking out the windscreen, see the difference in it up or down, getting a feel for the bike. I started thinking, this thing is really buzzing, Not liking this, I'm only doing 50.....as I look down I was sitting around 85!!!!!!! wow, better slow down, wait, let me down shift and give it some gas.......yup, its fast. time to get down to the speed limit, don't want to get a speeding ticket. Didn't get a chance to take twistys, other then some side streets and on/off ramp sweepers, but I am sure I will not be disappointed if I buy this bike. Coming from an Ultra Classic Harley, everything else on two wheels handles better then that land barge.

so big question 2008 (black) with 27K miles asking price $9,999, got him down to $9,500, but I wasn't working the sale that much, I am sure I could have gotten lower, another $500.

Goodies on the bike

Sergeant seat with passenger backrest.

Yamaha top case

Tall aftermarket windshield, unknown brand, but the thing had a smokey shade to it.

Frame sliders

Voltmeter display

Heated grips

those spongy sleeves on the grips.

Headlight covers (the plastic ones with the Velcro circles)

some type of aftermarket exhaust on it, unknown brand, but I think they were Remus Hexacone exhaust, didn't see any markings, but they looked like those.

overall the paint was a 8.5 out of 10. no major scratches nothing more then average for a 4 year old bike. This FJR was well taken care of, whoever owned it must of had a GPS or heated gear on it, hence the Voltmeter display add on. To me that says serious rider.

anyway what is everyone's impressions? good price for a 2008?

The only reason I did not ride away with it, was because they were not giving me enough on my trade-in. If I can get my truck sold soon, privately, then I will be back ASAP on this bike.

Bikerguy.

Decent goodies, but the price is merely ok for the miles. I would have taken the 09 and swapped plastic with the 08.

The only bad choice was not buying an FJR. Don't look backward.

I'm with Hudson. On the goodies, some are pretty expensive but you can't just add their value up and add it to the blue book on the bike. You probably wouldn't have selected the same ones. Like the Sargent seat is an improvement over stock IMO (had one on my last FJR) but some others are held in higher esteem by plenty around here. The top box is both expensive and desirable, but the cans are expensive but not everybody's cup of tea. Would you really have gone out and spent a grand or so on a pair? Of course, some do. Other things that are also nice but not all that expensive: the heated grips, headlight lens covers, sliders, etc.

I think you can do better if you're patient. What did they want for that low-mileage '09? Several around here have painted their own bike or had it done, too, if the paintwork is the worst thing about that bike. Couldn't be trashed too bad with only 1300 miles, could it? And have you been watching the forum for used bikes?

One other thing--you don't need to be shifting up or down much on the highway. This bike has an amazingly wide power band. I'm guessing that's a Harley habit you'll be shaking soon after you get used to your new FJR.

Too much. That bike should be in the $8,000-$8,500 range imho for a 'good' deal. Valve check on an FJR is due at 27,000 miles. So you need to find out if it has been done. If done right, and/or some valves need re-shimming, it can be an expensive maintenance evolution. My dealer who does it right charges $650 to perform the valve check.

Good luck.

Take a look at the forum classifieds and "sold" values on eBay for an idea of a bikes worth and then knock another $500 or $1000 off. I'm with Skooter here [did I really say that... :blink: ] the '08 is a max $8000 motorcycle regardless of goodies. You can bet the dealer nitpicked the bike to death and didn't give one extra $$$ for them.

Begin your negotiations at trade in less $500, this is probably close to what the dealer has in it. Stay tough, there are a lot of great buys that come up but when they do show you've got to be quick.

Good luck, you won't be disappointed!

--G

escapefjrtist said:

Take a look at the forum classifieds and "sold" values on eBay for an idea of a bikes worth and then knock another $500 or $1000 off. I'm with Skooter here [did I really say that... :blink: ] the '08 is a max $8000 motorcycle regardless of goodies. You can bet the dealer nitpicked the bike to death and didn't give one extra $$$ for them.

Begin your negotiations at trade in less $500, this is probably close to what the dealer has in it. Stay tough, there are a lot of great buys that come up but when they do show you've got to be quick.

Good luck, you won't be disappointed!

--G

Click to expand...

Dealer's typically undervalue addons stating that they are paying for the BIKE and don't care about addons. They'll tell you you'll get the same trade-in price regardless if you keep the addons there or not. Then when selling it, they talk about all the addons that you don't need to buy cause "It's already prepped and ready to go!" So you can bet they paid a lot less than that for tradein. As a matter of fact, you can play the game a bit and talk about how you don't LIKE some of the addons and just are interested in the bike and are going to have to get rid of them. Tell them you never liked Seargent Seats and now have to look for a replacement or something, or how you're worried about that smokey windshield when riding at night. And then tell them that you're happy it has frame sliders so they don't think you're just literally trying to beat them down. But overall, I've seen on this site deals that seemed better. Although personally, I prefer buying from a dealer. I know I pay more out of pocket, but I feel that a reputable dealer wouldn't WANT their reputation tarnished and I'd probably be less likely getting some crazy ziptied together bike, and if for some reason I do, if I raise enough hell, to make their business and word of mouth look better, they'd work with me to fix it. A personal seller, well, you just have to hope his/her words and assurances are genuine, and if something goes wrong, good luck getting them to help you fix it.

Alexi

Thanks for the replys. I knew there was a valve adjustment, wasn't sure when it was done. Is it done AT 27k? Of is it more of a 25k thing or do you wait till 30k? Just wondering, also how often do you do it? When would be the next adjustment? for all the goodies, nothing for me is a MUST HAVE , only "would like to have" I was already of the midset that a luggage rack and bungee cords would be what I would use on long weekends. And I was not getting a top box, unless one fell in my lap. Same thing for pipes. From what I understand new pipes only improve the bike 5-10HP. Not really IMHO, needed not at the price of $1K, for those pipes. I was going to go to a stock windshield anyway, I like the look better, and only use the tall shield during the winter or long trips. The seat is a huge plus, and it would have been my first large buy anyway on a bike.. No idea what brand I would buy. Don't think mustang makes seats for FJR, I am a loyal fan of them.

For the price I did not think $9.5k was a lot, but then again I was looking a Craigslist and eBay for the asking prices people had up there. I don't think the dealer would go down as much to $8K maybe 8.5 or 9 is a more reasonable number.

BTW the 09 with 1300 milesthey wanted $11.5. The 09 had the tops of the panners beat up from boot marks, and long scratches on the fairing. More then one place. While the 08 I was looking at had none of that.

I am in no rush to go out and buy a bike, even though I do not have one at the moment. And I will wait till the time is right, the impulse buyer in me wants to jump on his one, but I am being HRAPs back buy my better half. At least till the right deal/price comes along.

HRAP???? Damn auto correct on my phone. Ment to say "held back"

It's a good dealer. It's the local Harley dealer that Also sells BMWs under a separate name. They are planing on moving their BMW "dealership" into another part of town, (the old Harley building) they are also hoping to expand into triumphs, and KTMs, and other non Japanese brands.

$11.5 for the 09 is very high in my opinion. Add $1600 - $1800 to that and you can buy a brand new 2012, monthly payment difference would be minimal between the two. Blue Book price is $10.3 in excellent condition, low mileage doesn’t increase the value plus with the scratches $11.5 is nuts.

Wait until you have cash in hand then start some serious shopping. Even though I have a 2012 in my garage I still check the used market for the heck of it and I see some pretty good deals every week or two.

As for the power. When I was riding mine home just as I shifted in to 5th I glanced down at the speedo, she had just swung past 70 and climbing fast.

Good luck in your search.

Out of the 3 I was looking at the 09 first. But when they told me the price, I went running to the 08 with higher miles. I expect a phone call from the dealer this week with a lower offer on bike, higher on the trade in. I doubt a FJR is going to sell fast at a Harley dealership.

BikerDude said:

Out of the 3 I was looking at the 09 first. But when they told me the price, I went running to the 08 with higher miles. I expect a phone call from the dealer this week with a lower offer on bike, higher on the trade in. I doubt a FJR is going to sell fast at a Harley dealership.

Click to expand...

You can bet an HD dealer will be motivated to move a metric MC [especially a sport bike ]off the floor. If this is the bike you want, keep politely working them over until you get a reasonable price.

--G

I just put a dep. down on a really nice 08 with 6,200 miles. The bike is spotless except for the back of the right mirror (scuff, may be rubbed out) and the left engine side cover is scuffed at the bottom. Owner was surprised when I pointed it out and seemed legit not knowing how it happened. No other marks on the left side; handle bar end, foot peg or any plastic. Maybe rubbed a high curb?? He was asking $9,500 and took $8,000. I think I did well for the time of year, low miles and pristine condition.

$8K For a low mile 08, wow gives me hope that this bike could be had for around that price. I love the color, (black) the greedy packrat in me wants all the goodies, and not pay for them. If I could only pick one, I would pick the seat. But everyone can use a top box. And pipes are always cool. We will see, crosses fingers on a phone call from them this week trying to sell me the bike.

I just got my 09 w/ about 16.5k miles for $9250 out the door (so about $8200 before tax, title, license). Mine also had add-ons that the dealer didn't even acknowledge. They listed the bike at 10k before TTL. I would imagine your dealer will come down a lot if they want to get one of the 3 non-BMW / Harleys off the floor.

Well the dealer called today. It was one of the mass surveys. How was our service, etc. I made sure I told the girl that I wanted the FJR, but we could not work out the numbers. So maybe that gets to the manager.

Well the dealer called today. It was one of the mass surveys. How was our service, etc. I made sure I told the girl that I wanted the FJR, but we could not work out the numbers. So maybe that gets to the manager.

150Fuelie said:

and the left engine side cover is scuffed at the bottom. Owner was surprised when I pointed it out and seemed legit not knowing how it happened. condition.

No other marks on the left side; handle bar end, foot peg or any plastic. Maybe rubbed a high curb??

Click to expand...

That is the sure tell-tale sign of a drop on the left side. If there was no other indications then I bet the owner did know about it and repaired everything else. Not that having an FJR that has been dropped is all that bad. It's fairly common.

SkooterG said:

Too much. That bike should be in the $8,000-$8,500 range imho for a 'good' deal. Valve check on an FJR is due at 27,000 miles. So you need to find out if it has been done. If done right, and/or some valves need re-shimming, it can be an expensive maintenance evolution. My dealer who does it right charges $650 to perform the valve check.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Hey Skooter, what dealer do you go to, Casa Grande?