2016 Is Official 6-spd, Slipper, LEDs, Analog Tach, Price

[John d]

Still no '16 FJR for Canada at www.yamaha-motor.ca

 

[Uncle Hud]

well, I posted some shit and it just didn't seem funny today. something about the Slipper Clutch as a rebus ........ this plus this

See? Told you it wasn't funny.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

well, I posted some shit and it just didn't seem funny today. something about the Slipper Clutch as a rebus ........ this plus this
See? Told you it wasn't funny.

Oh, don't be so hard on your self. Its sort of funny and I'm a little smarter today because of you. I'm guessing you don't hear that every day. I now know what the definition of rebus is.

 

[zzzzip]

Wonder how well a slipper clutch works when pulling a trailer.......?

 

[DiggerDr.]

Absolutely beautiful. But then again, it's an FJR so that is expected. I love the lighting. I could do without the LED tail light as I don't care for the "Euro" look. Then again I don't ever see the rear while riding. Slipper?... Well maybe. I kinda like my engine braking. 5 speed works for me but another would be welcome if it gives any advantage and not just another shift point. I rode a 14 a while back and loved it. The 07 has a lot of life left so an upgrade can wait a while. If a 16 is available at that time maybe it will join the herd. Which makes me wonder. (Stirring the pot a little here) My 86 Venture Royale has anti dive forks. Is there a reason that is no longer used? Did not work well, expense or what? Or does the 16 incorporate this in some way I have not found out yet?

 

[wheatonFJR]

... Which makes me wonder. (Stirring the pot a little here) My 86 Venture Royale has anti dive forks. Is there a reason that is no longer used? Did not work well, expense or what? Or does the 16 incorporate this in some way I have not found out yet?

If you have your front suspenders adjusted right, does your FJR still dive? If so, you may want to look at replacing components.

 

[MCRIDER007]

Which makes me wonder. (Stirring the pot a little here) My 86 Venture Royale has anti dive forks. Is there a reason that is no longer used? Did not work well, expense or what? Or does the 16 incorporate this in some way I have not found out yet?

Last question first....NO. I had a 84 and 89 Venture Royale, ST1100, and GL1800....all of which had anti dive forks attached to very weak front springs. I didn't feel the anti dive was a positive or negative, couldn't tell it did much of anything, but the track guys thought it was a bad idea. I much prefer heavier springs to anti dive forks, both for handling and braking.

 

[DiggerDr.]

My FJR is fine. I also realized after thinking about it that the old school technology has been replaced long ago.

 

[rfespinosa]

Wonder how well a slipper clutch works when pulling a trailer.......?

It only slips when it's supposed to, it's magic.

 

[FJRMGM]

OMG! A 6th gear!??

YAAAAAAAAWN. .

 

[El Toro Joe]

OMG! A 6th gear!??YAAAAAAAAWN. .

Good to see that you finally made it to the party...

 

[Uncle Hud]

Personally, I think the extra weight of that 6th speed pinion is not worth the marginal improvement in MPG. You're carrying that extra 2 or 3 pounds around for every single mile ....

 

[LKLD]

Before we make fun of, and dismiss a 6th gear, shouldn't we wait to see what Yamaha has done with it? NSJS

 

[kieefjr]

Personally, I think the extra weight of that 6th speed pinion is not worth the marginal improvement in MPG. You're carrying that extra 2 or 3 pounds around for every single mile ....

No,no,no.

this new gear box is 20% lighter.

Gas mileage is dependent on your right wrist anyway.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Gas mileage is in some ways dependent on the right wrist, but also dependent on wind drag, speed, and rpms in a power band that overcomes it (ie, not lugging the engine at speed). That's why in some conditions one can get better mileage in 4th, if starting to bog in 5th. I measure that somewhat by the amount of twist required to maintain a speed. Most of the time, my FJR is happy cruising at 4000 rpm at speed. While we haven't seen the ratios for the 6 speed, I suspect with 4th and 5th being moved down, 6th will be just a slightly taller 5th as we know it today..... I'll take a guess and say it will lower rpm by 3-400. Not a huge change, perhaps useful to some, more freeway riders than two laners.... I don't do slab unless I have to, so I'm not all that excited about the 6 speed. IF I were redesigning the FJR tranny, I would have left 1st & 2nd alone and moved everything else down a tad, then made 6th only a tad taller.... but hey, I think the 5 speed is perfect.

By contrast on my V-Strom, 6th is rarely used, as the bike needs about 5000 rpm to cruise easily..... 1st is too tall, etc. so some change the sprockets to get different gearing.

 

[El Toro Joe]

I don't care that the 2016 has a 6 speed. I don't think it will hurt the bike at all. I have loved the color of my 06 since getting it new, in 07...so for me it's all about the fact that they brought back my favorite color.

 

[mcatrophy]

.... I measure that somewhat by the amount of twist required to maintain a speed. ...

I don't think that's a very useful measuring technique.
If we made the assumption that we needed the same power whether in 4th or 5th to move the bike at a particular speed, the engine is obviously turning faster in 4th. So it needs less air/fuel drawn into the cylinder for each stroke because there are more strokes per mile; in the lower gear, you'd need the throttle set lower to get the same total air/fuel per mile, so your test becomes dubious.

That also immediately says that engine pumping losses would be higher in the lower gear due to having more vacuum in the inlet manifold - one of the reasons diesel engines are more efficient is that they work at full throttle all the time, so run with minimum pumping losses.

Where the higher gear gets less efficient is when valve timing becomes unsuitable and/or the air and fuel aren't mixing properly for complete combustion at very low speeds.

I've occasionally tried using my bike's mpg figure to compare 4th and 5th at a speed held steady on the cruise control, and a few attempts at odd speeds between 30 and 70 give me the impression 5th is better than 4th, but short term variations due to slope and wind make this difficult to get hard results.

Oh, yes, pumping losses are mostly what gives you engine braking when you shut your throttle. If you get the opportunity, get up to speed, shut your throttle, get the feel for your engine braking. Now try again, this time turn the ignition off, open your throttle fully, feel the engine braking. I think you'll find it's significantly less. (Won't work for a Gen 3 - the throttle plates won't open with the ignition off. Damned YCC-T.) Oh yes, if you do this test, shut the throttle BEFORE turning the ignition back on.

But you already know you get more engine braking in 4th than you do in 5th.

 

[Uncle Hud]

2016, 20-schtixteen. I love my stealth-colored FJR and she loves me. We're a couple. She has 5 gears and I ride like a grandma. We're perfect for each other.

 

[art miller]

Personally, I think the extra weight of that 6th speed pinion is not worth the marginal improvement in MPG. You're carrying that extra 2 or 3 pounds around for every single mile ....

If you think carrying around 2-3 extra pounds will negate the 6th gear MPG gain, then you may want to think about losing 5 lbs of body weight and really gain some MPG!!

I'm not an engineer but using logic I would conclude, if you add another gear that is taller then the current 5th gear on GenII bikes you will gain better fuel economy. When the auto companies added 5 speed trans to cars the gas mileage improved over the 4 sp boxes. When the auto companies came out with automatic trans with 6 and higher gears the MPG increased even while increasing the HP. I realize tuning had a major role. I may be using voodoo logic but that has been my life's experience with vehicles. My 2003 Toyota Highlander had a 5sp automatic and I got average 26 mpg. I now have a 2015 Lexus RX350 that has more HP and weighs more and I am getting an average 28 mpg. The Lexus has a 6 sp auto trans. Any of this make sense to the 6 speed doubters??

 

[ionbeam]

When troubleshooting a problem with my Gen I, I wired a DMM to my TPS signal so that I could monitor TPS voltage while riding. It was a quick and solid education about gear selection, RPM and speed vs throttle position. For good mpg the goal is small throttle openings which = lowest TPS voltage. Having low rpm does not always equal small throttle opening. For the same RPM you can select several gears but only one gear will provide the correct engine load for optimum mileage. If someone tries the volt meter on the TPS signal trick, let us know what you find, I think you will be surprised but also educated.

-----------------------------------------------------------

I have always wanted better power in lower gears at lower rpm for my FJR. My Honda sure had the feel/perception of better power down low. It sounds like the '16 will have even less feel/perception of power. I would have to ride a '16 and and see how the new gear mix works, I'm not sure it will be as good at low rpm and low speed. I sure wouldn't buy a '16 without a good long test ride first. In terms of power I'm familiar with, I would buy any '13 - '15 without hesitation.