Auburn
Well-known member
A few have asked me why I am selling the FJR. Rather than writing several PM response I'll put it out here for all to see.
First, it is not because the bike is bad or anything. It has to do more with the fact that I ride 2 up 95 % of the time towing a trailer. The FJR is a good bike, but the Goldwing is much better towing platform. The torque the wing has is made for towing. The trailer has no affect on the wing. Probably due to the size and weight of the wing. A big factor is the fact the gold wing has an anti dive feature that links the rear brakes to the front shock so when the brakes are applied, the bike doesn't pitch forward to load the front wheel as the rear brake is applied by the anti dive device.
After a long day of riding the twisties I am not sore or tired. The riding position is straight up and down, feels great on the back and shoulders, and there is NO vibration in the handle bars, so my wrists are very happy.
The wing is surprisingly agile for it's size and weight. I am sure the suspension upgrades I did to it are the reason why. The grunt from the torque pulls very nicely out of corners, where the FJR needs RPM to get the same pull out of corners. When braking into corners, the wing doesn't get that push the FJR does from the weight of the trailer. It leans over a lot further than I expected before anything drags and is very planted feeling in the corners. Anyone who has ridden with us knows we look for twisty roads, the more the better. I am not a slab fan, but sometimes the trip dictates that is the route needed to get to the place we are going so we can spend maximum time there before heading back. I did not ride the new DCT wings since I was not looking for that new of a bike, so I have no idea how they feel or ride.
I talked with FJRay about his wing and what his thoughts were. Ray recommended 06-10 wings because the price was very reasonable and the bikes were very good. I found a 2006 GL1800P (the base model) wing for $7K with 50K miles on it at a local dealer. I have put another $2K in suspension upgrades, and farkles to make it comfortable. I have a few more to do, one to manage heat better, the seat definitely needs to be done. So I will have another $1500 to do. I did dark side it, due to trailering and the fact that we have a few long distance trips planned over the next few years (as in east coast, and Alaska again).
I don't need two touring bikes sitting in the garage. And frankly the FJR would not get ridden much since we have the wing to tow with now. I decided to sell it fully farkled as it is set up to easily do long distances for fun or as a rally platform.
Lastly, Yamaha doing away with the FJR after 2020 kind of soured me. I was considering getting an new one in a year or two once the youngest was out of college. They helped make my decision easier to switch. I'll still do tech meets once this COVID bullshit is done. And I will still be active here and the other sandbox. Just gonna be riding a Honda for a while.
First, it is not because the bike is bad or anything. It has to do more with the fact that I ride 2 up 95 % of the time towing a trailer. The FJR is a good bike, but the Goldwing is much better towing platform. The torque the wing has is made for towing. The trailer has no affect on the wing. Probably due to the size and weight of the wing. A big factor is the fact the gold wing has an anti dive feature that links the rear brakes to the front shock so when the brakes are applied, the bike doesn't pitch forward to load the front wheel as the rear brake is applied by the anti dive device.
After a long day of riding the twisties I am not sore or tired. The riding position is straight up and down, feels great on the back and shoulders, and there is NO vibration in the handle bars, so my wrists are very happy.
The wing is surprisingly agile for it's size and weight. I am sure the suspension upgrades I did to it are the reason why. The grunt from the torque pulls very nicely out of corners, where the FJR needs RPM to get the same pull out of corners. When braking into corners, the wing doesn't get that push the FJR does from the weight of the trailer. It leans over a lot further than I expected before anything drags and is very planted feeling in the corners. Anyone who has ridden with us knows we look for twisty roads, the more the better. I am not a slab fan, but sometimes the trip dictates that is the route needed to get to the place we are going so we can spend maximum time there before heading back. I did not ride the new DCT wings since I was not looking for that new of a bike, so I have no idea how they feel or ride.
I talked with FJRay about his wing and what his thoughts were. Ray recommended 06-10 wings because the price was very reasonable and the bikes were very good. I found a 2006 GL1800P (the base model) wing for $7K with 50K miles on it at a local dealer. I have put another $2K in suspension upgrades, and farkles to make it comfortable. I have a few more to do, one to manage heat better, the seat definitely needs to be done. So I will have another $1500 to do. I did dark side it, due to trailering and the fact that we have a few long distance trips planned over the next few years (as in east coast, and Alaska again).
I don't need two touring bikes sitting in the garage. And frankly the FJR would not get ridden much since we have the wing to tow with now. I decided to sell it fully farkled as it is set up to easily do long distances for fun or as a rally platform.
Lastly, Yamaha doing away with the FJR after 2020 kind of soured me. I was considering getting an new one in a year or two once the youngest was out of college. They helped make my decision easier to switch. I'll still do tech meets once this COVID bullshit is done. And I will still be active here and the other sandbox. Just gonna be riding a Honda for a while.
