'08 News

[RadioHowie]

Gatdammed apologist.

How's that No-Longer-Sold-In-America Kawi, runnin' there, sport? :bleh:

Like a champ. Needs a new chain, though. Other than that, 42K trouble free miles. I take it out when I feel like being a hooligan. Just "does it for me" more then the Feej when I'm feelin' like raising a little moto-hell. Funny thing, I ride the ZedRex like a crazy man, but have never received a Performance Award. Drive the Feej like the old fart YOU are and have 3 in the last 18 months. I think the tupperware attracts more LEO-notice than a naked bike. Uninitiates think it's just another crotch rocket.

It is a bit scary, though, after driving the Big Guy around all week as my daily driver, then hopping on the nuclear powered mini-bike. The two really feel THAT different. Of course, if I farkled up the Feej the way I have the Rex, the Feej would be performin' in ZX14 territory.

Waiting for a ZX14-based ZRX and I'll be uppin' the herd by one. Hope the "rumors" are true.

 

[CRMH Eagle]

Black? Why not red. Heck, they should go ahead and paint it with Wal Mart smiley faces all over it. Why not more than one choice of color? Why not change the seat?

Looks like I'm going find a dealer who has an 07 and get the black cherry. I want RED!!!!! Not black cherry, not black, but RED. How friggen' hard is that?

How much does it cost to paint a bike these days? I can do the 07 and have it repainted.

When does the Gen III come out. Is it late 2008?

I wonder how much a can of red spray paint is at Wal Mart. Maybe they'll have the smiley-face-yellow discounted.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

Black? Why not red. Heck, they should go ahead and paint it with Wal Mart smiley faces all over it. Why not more than one choice of color? Why not change the seat?
Looks like I'm going find a dealer who has an 07 and get the black cherry. I want RED!!!!! Not black cherry, not black, but RED. How friggen' hard is that?

How much does it cost to paint a bike these days? I can do the 07 and have it repainted.

When does the Gen III come out. Is it late 2008?

I wonder how much a can of red spray paint is at Wal Mart. Maybe they'll have the smiley-face-yellow discounted.

welcome to the board. Evergreen eh? I used to live just down Bear Creek Canyon road from there. Ah, the good ol days when I could ride my bike up and down the canyon and see just a few cars.

Oh well...

I got a paint job quoted at $900-$1100 bucks. I guess I got lucky in '05 - Galaxy Blue is my favorite color for an FJR

 

[Rev Ed]

I bought my '03 used and now has close to 60,000 miles on it and runs great! In all honesty, I don't see Yamaha giving me any good reason to trade in for the '08. Besides, I paid cash for my '03 so why take on 8 to 10 grand in payments now.

 

[C&C]

What about a recalibrated ECU, more refined throttle response and strengthened rear sub-frame?

I would be willing to bet there were some pretty fair changes in these areas, too.... it's just that Yammy doesn't want to discuss them....

They mention in their literature that the bike runs smooth, throughout the rpm range and at different elevations, so yeah, it appears they have addressed the problems (without drawing attention to the '07, and earlier, problems) we have expressed here.

 

[dragonchef]

It's simply not realistic to make major changes every year, or every other year. The fact that Yamaha focuses on any changes at all is good. From '04 to '05 there were suspension upgrades. Gen I to Gen II came after 6 years run on the production line. Hopefully, with the increased sales, the FJR sales will pay for an earlier retooling of production lines.
Even Honda Accords are only redesigned every 3 years and they sell quite a few more boatloads of them than Yamaha sells FJRs.

And HD's are retooled every 30 years, or when they are bought out....whatever comes first.

How hard will it become to get dark cherry accessories or farkles now?

The guys in Cypress do read this stuff, but feel that, as with much of what is written on line, strong filters are needed. They also have a limited amount of weight back in the old country. Sadly, the largest effect will be had if the machine sells badly. Then it could be drastically changed or even eliminated, as the unit sales are not as big as mamma's other sport machines. Perhaps less folks buying a feej 'cause they can't swing a 4th morgage...???

I like OVale's perspective....it's quite realistic and strikes a good balance for the future of our machine.

 

[tmassey]

Look at the Yamaha site. The new 2008 is Raven (black) with new grips and a different windshield bracket. No other real changes. Guess they will wait until 09 to make bigger upgrades.

 

[bramfrank]

They mention in their literature that the bike runs smooth, throughout the rpm range and at different elevations, so yeah, it appears they have addressed the problems (without drawing attention to the '07, and earlier, problems) we have expressed here.

Check out the thread at the COG web site and you'll find that YAMAHA SAID EXACTLY THE SAME THING in 2006 and 2007, at least in the Canadian blurbs. And the altitude thing was a problem unique to US machines.

They DO mention new mapping on the US site and other factors for the '08 including some internal changes to the transmission.

Link here: https://www.concours.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=34999

 

[Constant Mesh]

The COG thread is full of inaccuracies.

If you compare the detailed descriptions of the 2008 and 2007 FJR's on the Yamaha Canadian site the list of changes appearing earlier in this thread are accurate.

 

[kansas transit]

For all of you guys wanting a completly updated machine every couple years, I'll inject this THINK V MAX fans. They have only been waiting 22 years, thats "22" like your kid was born in 85 when they came out, went all thru school, college, just got married, and his wife is pregnant with your first grandchild!!!!!! Think porsche 911 evolution not redesign, also go to the thread on the new connie, how many comments have been made about "Oh I won't buy a bike in it's FIRST YEAR OUT" to many bugs. I"ve already changed my grips I'm deciding on what size cee bailey to order and when and if my bike starts surging I'm sure there will be a fix along shortly, until then I'm gonna ride what I got and I'm glad that 07 will be the only year for black cherry. Some people just like to complain.

 

[Falcon124]

I've been reading with interest all the replies defending Yamaha and their inability to react to competition from Kaw due to timing and marketing constraints. I can't argue those points because I have no access to the inner circles at Yamaha. One thing I do find very annoying though with Yamaha, Kawasaki and some other manufacturers is that they seem to cater more to the European market then they do here. Case in point is the Concours 14. It is only offered in neutron silver in the US, but is also available in diablo black in Europe. I also find it very hard to believe that Yamaha did not have advance knowledge of the impending re-design of the C14. It's water under the bridge at this point and I will more than likely end up buying a new FJR in the Spring just because I Love This Bike!!

Andy

 

[kansas transit]

Quite the avatar you have there Falcon lol

 

[Toecutter]

Flylooper has it already.

 

[bramfrank]

Hey, I like my bike. I don't like the soft clearcoat. I don't like the scratches on the headlight. I don't like the stone chips in the paint (mainly on the mirrors).

But the bike handles very well. It has more torque at low RPMs than the C14 (and lower RPMs are a LOT more important than redline is). It is easy to do an oil change. It starts and runs well. There may be a touch of vibration and, I'll admit that the Kawasaki power train is 'electric motor smooth', but it certainly isn't a hardship - this ain't no boxer or Harley.

I do not have to look at my saddlebags in my rear view mirrors and I can flatfoot my machine. I do NOT have driveability issues nor does my bike suffer from altitude sickness.

It also runs on regular, which is a small, but real operational benefit.

I'll hang on to my FJR for a while, though I might just buy the rubber trim piece and hard windshield.

 

[dragonchef]

Black? Why not red. Heck, they should go ahead and paint it with Wal Mart smiley faces all over it. Why not more than one choice of color? Why not change the seat?
Looks like I'm going find a dealer who has an 07 and get the black cherry. I want RED!!!!! Not black cherry, not black, but RED. How friggen' hard is that?

I wonder how much a can of red spray paint is at Wal Mart. Maybe they'll have the smiley-face-yellow discounted.

Looks like there is a red one available.....clicky!

 

[Scab]

Black? Why not red. Heck, they should go ahead and paint it with Wal Mart smiley faces all over it. Why not more than one choice of color? Why not change the seat?
Looks like I'm going find a dealer who has an 07 and get the black cherry. I want RED!!!!! Not black cherry, not black, but RED. How friggen' hard is that?

How much does it cost to paint a bike these days? I can do the 07 and have it repainted.

When does the Gen III come out. Is it late 2008?

I wonder how much a can of red spray paint is at Wal Mart. Maybe they'll have the smiley-face-yellow discounted.

What would look real nice is to take this black bike and have a Red Pearl sprayed over it. Yeah, that's it. You'd have the only color-changing FJR.

 

[FJR_pig]

Flylooper has it already.

What happened to Flylooper, anyway? He came on a ride on the Oregon Coast with a few of us about a year ago, then dropped off the face of the earth. He was an old Connie man, wondering if he defected all the way...

 

[jmdaniel]

Raven? Nevermore...

 

[Howardrg]

$100 more than the 07. Those new grips must be sweeeeeeeeeeet!!!

Nah...it's a $100 inconvenience charge for all the '06 ECUs MamaYama's gonna be replacing soon.

Sounds good to me. I will let the newbie's pay for my new ECU. Yep, won't bother me one bit!

Heated handlebars are now standard

 

[snikr]

I'm happy with my 04 FJR for now. Told my local Yamaha dealer when Mother Yamaha makes a RED FJR I'll be in to put money down on one. Maybe 09?? It'll be time for a Gen III bike by then.

Tom