Look what followed me home today.

[Madmatt2525]

I too have a new ES and have been having lots of fun playing with all the settings. I do wish that they would provide some weight guidelines though on which of the 4 Preload settings is the most applicable based on total load. For example, at my 270 pounds should I still use the Solo setting, or Two Up? Right now I settled on Solo plus luggage and haven't really tested out the others.

I guess the question is, how much does Yamaha think a solo rider weighs?

Madmatt

 

[MCRIDER007]

I have to wonder if all FJRs are created equal...

I am in the same camp. In May 2013 I did a long demo ride on a '13A and liked everything about it except the soft suspension. In October I rode a second '13A demo and could not find anything to complain about, even the suspension felt good. I ended up buying that bike, still intending to upgrade the suspension, but after numerous back to back comparisons with my 08 FJR (which had upgraded suspension) and my C14 (which also has upgraded suspension), I decided to leave the '13 as is for at least a year (and currently don't see any reason to change it after 12K miles) Yamaha uses a lot of different subcontractors for their parts, sometimes more than one for the same part, and the extreme differences in suspension in the 2 demos I rode may have been due to different parts. We have had much different comments about suspension from the '13 owners on this Forum, most have been pretty happy with the OEM suspension, a few have felt the need to upgrade both ends and have reported significant improvements.

Slightly different subject:

I might add that yesterday I rode a KTM 1190 Adventure demo, which also has electronic suspension similar to the ES, and the damping changes between Comfort, Street, and Sport were barely detectable. The overall ride quality was not that good (and not even close to a FJR) which I verified by immediately riding my S10 over the same demo loop (the S10 does have a Penske shock). The 1190 is no longer on my wish list (this was the Street version, not the R).

 

[MCRIDER007]

I too have a new ES and have been having lots of fun playing with all the settings. I do wish that they would provide some weight guidelines though on which of the 4 Preload settings is the most applicable based on total load. For example, at my 270 pounds should I still use the Solo setting, or Two Up? Right now I settled on Solo plus luggage and haven't really tested out the others.
I guess the question is, how much does Yamaha think a solo rider weighs?

The Japanese manufacturers have traditionally used about 160 lbs for a solo rider. My experience, at about 230 with riding gear, is that you are heavy for the Solo plus luggage preload but a little light for the 2-Up preload. You need to try both and go with what feels the best although I think that 2-Up would be the way to go if you actually had luggage.

 

[twisted]

Abercrombie FJR -> here's another fine example of the ES by Bogus. I hope mine looks that nice someday. The three things I'm missing that would help are the tank band, the side panels, and the rear rack. Otherwise, I'm close. Red, black, and silver go together pretty well.

 

[mcatrophy]

...The A model has a much higher rear spring rate, but it is the hard/soft lever adjustment only. Most of the time I'd say you're OK with soft on a Gen III, and would use hard for two up. ....

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I understood that the "hard/soft" on the Gen II is a preload adjustment, the "hard/standard/soft" on a Gen III is damping, the preload being done with the "Rider-only/rider-with-luggage/two-up/two-up-with-luggage".With my not-very-portly 145 pounds, I find "rider-only", then soft on highways, and hard on twisties or bad surfaces. I rarely use "standard". (I've not yet started playing with the "+/-3" damping modifiers.)

The hard/soft on the GEN1, GEN2, and the GEN3 A models is not a preload adjustment all though everyone, including Yamaha calls it a preload. Those shocks have two springs that work in series in the soft position but only one working spring in the hard position. The result is two very different spring rates, neither of which has a preload adjustment. Its a true dual rate system that works very well if the individual spring rates fit the needs of the rider when riding solo or 2-up. The GEN1 and GEN2 shocks were badly under sprung for all but the lightest riders, the GEN3 shock is made for the big boys.

Thanks for the edumucation.
My experience so far with my AS (AE in the 'States if they did one) that has the ES suspension (AE in the UK) is that when I first rode it home from the dealer, I had it on rider only, standard. Half-way home I was thinking, "What the hell have I done? This thing's bucking as if the font and rear suspensions are on a totally different wavelength".

Having got home, read a bit of stuff, went out round a loop that I know well that has corners and humps and bumps. When I tried "hard", all was forgiven. I could feel every road imperfection, but the bike tracked like my Gen II never did. Then on the slab, the "soft" setting smoothed out the imperfections, so was more comfortable. I've yet to try fiddling with the "+/-" settings.

The result is a little worrying. There's a corner near home that I go round frequently. The road used to be a 40mph limit, it's now 30. On this corner, with my Gen II, I wasn't happy even reaching the old 40 limit. The last few times on my Gen III, I've glanced at my speedometer, 45, with absolutely no sign of it being too fast. Apart, that is, for that new "30" sign. As many have commented, this suspension is a big improvement, even for an (apparently) under-weight, non-peg-dragger (well, not very often) such as myself.

Talking of peg-dragging, the hero-blobs on the Gen III are longer than those on the Gen II. Not sure why.

(Click on image for larger view)

Gen II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gen III

 

[DezzertRider]

Congrats on your new ride. Safe travels!!

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

I think until you have a bike with the ability to adjust the suspension such as the ES model you won't appreciate the option. Now you can adjust it as road and riding conditions change, not so much as set it and forget it.
As for the $1k option, there have been some very good deals on ES models and I don't think many pay MSRP(list price).

Nice bike Abercrombie! Was that the one in WI?

No, I did not. The dealer in Fargo shot me a deal I could'nt refuse and I didn't have to drive 1200 miles round trip to pick it up. I could have saved a few hundred dollars if my time wasn't worth anything but I like to stay in good relations with my home town dealer. They treat me well for some reason????

 

[Tanker]

Congratulations on the new "RED" ride!

 

[Iris]

Congrats on the new ride. I'm sure you're grinning from ear to ear (priceless)!

 

[MojoGuzzi]

Nice purchase--welcome to the club

 

[twisted]

We have a club now?

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Congratulations for your new beautiful bike!

 

[carlson_mn]

Probably use about 180 for a solo even though that is very light for American 'standards' especially once gear is added.

 

[MojoGuzzi]

We have a club now?

Sure!

Our theme song:

 

[twisted]

We have a club now?

Sure!

Our theme song:

!

 

[bergmen]

I have to wonder if all FJRs are created equal...

In May 2013 I did a long demo ride on a '13A and liked everything about it except the soft suspension. In October I rode a second '13A demo and could not find anything to complain about, even the suspension felt good. I ended up buying that bike, still intending to upgrade the suspension, but after numerous back to back comparisons with my 08 FJR (which had upgraded suspension) and my C14 (which also has upgraded suspension), I decided to leave the '13 as is for at least a year (and currently don't see any reason to change it after 12K miles) Yamaha uses a lot of different subcontractors for their parts, sometimes more than one for the same part, and the extreme differences in suspension in the 2 demos I rode may have been due to different parts.

Are you sure both 13s were set up the same way (front: compression/rebound damping, spring preload; rear: rebound damping, hard/soft)?

When I picked up my 14A, the dealer could not tell me where the suspension was set as a default on the new bike. I went home and set everything at the softest settings to start off with and after a few weeks I went to the "Standard" settings on everything, soft on the rear spring (which is where I am today, nine months later). I'll be increasing the rear damping a few clicks before I take off on my 2,000 mile run to the Canadian border and back.

Dan

 

[patiodadio]

Beautiful ! I love red !

 

[Silver Streak]

Hey Abercrombie,

I would ask how you been but I see well.

Now you just need a new picture for your avatar.

Lets ride again soon

 

[MCRIDER007]

I have to wonder if all FJRs are created equal...

In May 2013 I did a long demo ride on a '13A and liked everything about it except the soft suspension. In October I rode a second '13A demo and could not find anything to complain about, even the suspension felt good. I ended up buying that bike, still intending to upgrade the suspension, but after numerous back to back comparisons with my 08 FJR (which had upgraded suspension) and my C14 (which also has upgraded suspension), I decided to leave the '13 as is for at least a year (and currently don't see any reason to change it after 12K miles) Yamaha uses a lot of different subcontractors for their parts, sometimes more than one for the same part, and the extreme differences in suspension in the 2 demos I rode may have been due to different parts.

Are you sure both 13s were set up the same way (front: compression/rebound damping, spring preload; rear: rebound damping, hard/soft)?When I picked up my 14A, the dealer could not tell me where the suspension was set as a default on the new bike. I went home and set everything at the softest settings to start off with and after a few weeks I went to the "Standard" settings on everything, soft on the rear spring (which is where I am today, nine months later). I'll be increasing the rear damping a few clicks before I take off on my 2,000 mile run to the Canadian border and back.Dan

Good question.....the first demo shock was in the soft position, I switched to the hard position because the back end seemed way too low and the steering was too slow. The preload in the forks was in the middle. Just the opposite on the second demo, I started with the shock in the hard position and switched to the soft position after a mile. Forks preload was in the middle just like the first demo. After I bought the second demo I checked all the damping settings and they were set "by the book". The damping felt the same as the first demo as long as the road was smooth, the difference was when I increased the speed on less than smooth back roads, the first demo became unstable, classic case of soft suspension, the second demo was steady at high speeds and as stable as my 08 which had aftermarket suspension (I rode the 08 on the same roads at the same speeds after each demo as a baseline to validate my suspension impressions).

 

[Sharif]

Really pretty in red.