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First Real FJR Ride

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budzrex

budzrex

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Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
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Location
New Braunfels Texas
First Name
Buddy
Last Name
Slover
So a few weeks back I purchased an 05 FJR, clean low mile bike. I had read all he horror stories of the heat on these bikes, roasted private parts and other horrors of riders all but spontaneously combusting.

So I figured trial by fire, had an test to run with a customer in Dallas on Friday so pitch some clothes in the bag and off to Dallas Thursday afternoon. No real issues temps in the mid 80s I would guess, and arrive in Dallas around 7pm so not much traffic.

First off very impressed with the FJR quick quiet and smooth, I like it for my type of riding better than the ST1100 it replaced. Seat could be better but I am probably spoiled by the Russel Day Long that was on the ST and or either of the two custom seats I have for the ZRX

Friday I left Dallas (Richardson) at 4:30 for the trip back to New Braunfels so I had an hour of Dallas traffic to test out the heat horror stories first hand.

Honestly I found no issue at all, no more heat than any other large CC bike ridden slowly in 90degree temps.

I think this FRJ will hand around the garage for some time:rider:
 
budzrex said:
So a few weeks back I purchased an 05 FJR, clean low mile bike. I had read all he horror stories of the heat on these bikes, roasted private parts and other horrors of riders all but spontaneously combusting.

So I figured trial by fire, had an test to run with a customer in Dallas on Friday so pitch some clothes in the bag and off to Dallas Thursday afternoon. No real issues temps in the mid 80s I would guess, and arrive in Dallas around 7pm so not much traffic.

First off very impressed with the FJR quick quiet and smooth, I like it for my type of riding better than the ST1100 it replaced. Seat could be better but I am probably spoiled by the Russel Day Long that was on the ST and or either of the two custom seats I have for the ZRX

Friday I left Dallas (Richardson) at 4:30 for the trip back to New Braunfels so I had an hour of Dallas traffic to test out the heat horror stories first hand.

Honestly I found no issue at all, no more heat than any other large CC bike ridden slowly in 90degree temps.

I think this FRJ will hand around the garage for some time:rider:
Click to expand...
I had both an 04 and 13 and am I huge fjr fan boy. I rode the 04 for 9 years and definitely felt the heat and occasionally *****ed about it but I loved that bike. The 13 was a significant improvement heat wise but that wouldn't have been enough on its own to upgrade.

You're going to love the bike. Enjoy!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
budzrex said:
So a few weeks back I purchased an 05 FJR, clean low mile bike. I had read all he horror stories of the heat on these bikes, roasted private parts and other horrors of riders all but spontaneously combusting.

So I figured trial by fire, had an test to run with a customer in Dallas on Friday so pitch some clothes in the bag and off to Dallas Thursday afternoon. No real issues temps in the mid 80s I would guess, and arrive in Dallas around 7pm so not much traffic.

First off very impressed with the FJR quick quiet and smooth, I like it for my type of riding better than the ST1100 it replaced. Seat could be better but I am probably spoiled by the Russel Day Long that was on the ST and or either of the two custom seats I have for the ZRX

Friday I left Dallas (Richardson) at 4:30 for the trip back to New Braunfels so I had an hour of Dallas traffic to test out the heat horror stories first hand.

Honestly I found no issue at all, no more heat than any other large CC bike ridden slowly in 90degree temps.

I think this FRJ will hand around the garage for some time:rider:
Click to expand...


Bought an '04 last year and already have 5k miles on it, I agree 100%, it's a great bike, solid, quick, and comfy for the long road. Glad you found it!
 
Good stuff! Glad to see the FJR's are increasing in numbers around here. Used to be you couldn't walk around at a pie run without tripping over one of them. Last month I think I counted exactly one FJR, and it wasn't mine since I rode the new bike. :D
 
gixxerjasen said:
Good stuff! Glad to see the FJR's are increasing in numbers around here. Used to be you couldn't walk around at a pie run without tripping over one of them. Last month I think I counted exactly one FJR, and it wasn't mine since I rode the new bike. :D
Click to expand...

Well as an 05 its my newest street bike by 5 years and my first fuel injected
bike. If I had anything to nitpick it would be the more abrupt decel when you chop the throttle
 
Bud, talk to Jasen, he is the FJR Ambassador and can fill you in with all the information you will ever need to enjoy, even more, your bike.
:trust:
 
Yea, I started to shoot him a PM to pick his FJR brain when I was up at our office in Richardson on Friday but I got pulled into a meeting that ran long and I was ready to head out of Dallas and get home.
 
You've got the 05, which is pretty darn good. 06 is where they messed up the throttle and fueling. They fixed it in later years but our 06/07 models do well with a new throttle tube, PC and the smoothness map.

Quite a few early FI bikes (and some modern ones...looking at you GSX-S1000) use fuel cut during decel when you have the throttle closed. Going from full off to full on the throttle can be a bit abrupt. Worse on some bikes, not so much on others. The second gen FZ1 had it pretty bad apparently and there's a product out there to eliminate it. Not aware of any for the FJR but it's not too bad and you'll get used to it.

The good part about FI is it always pretty much just works. The FJR is just always ready to go. You are already dipping into the mile eating part of the FJR, soon you'll be looking at the map thinking "Geez, it's 4am and I need some BBQ, Memphis for lunch perhaps?" :D
 
:tab Sometimes I think people that gripe about heat are the same people that put those monster windscreens on their bikes because they don't like the wind... :roll: A big motor sitting between the legs is going to get hot! They're motorcycles, so you might expect to get some wind in your face :-P

:tab I spent time on an FJR and an ST 1300. Both generated heat, but nothing that bothered me. I had several of the 1998-2001 generation of VFR 800s. Now those babies put out some heat off the rear header pipes right under the right thigh. That would literally burn even through several layers of riding gear. Sitting in traffic on that bike was a major no-no. Unless you were moving at 10mph or better, the engines would over heat and the temp gauge would start flashing at you within a minute or two. Still... I loved those bikes!
 
I had an '05 and like id to so much I bought another one when I totaled the first.
The first had no heat issues at all. You're crouched over a 1.3 liter motor, it's gonna be warm. The second was a different story. Opening the fuel filler cap o.n a hot day as an exercise in sprinting -- you had to get away before you were doused by the gasoline geyser.
Seriously, gas would erupt and shoot four or five feet in the air. The second time it happened, I parked the bike until I could come up with suitable insulation to pack between the tank and the motor.
Not all the grousing about the heat was as a result of an overactive imagination.
Didn't spoil my taste for FJR, though. I sold it and bought an '07.
The FJR is a seriously great touring bike.
 
Seems like I read somewhere that the the fuel cut off during closed throttle decel was EPA mandated. Not sure. I know that the Concours 14 is afflicted by this, and a well developed ECU flash will cure it nicely.
 
gixxerjasen said:
Good stuff! Glad to see the FJR's are increasing in numbers around here. Used to be you couldn't walk around at a pie run without tripping over one of them. Last month I think I counted exactly one FJR, and it wasn't mine since I rode the new bike. :D
Click to expand...

I am still around. :wave:
Have not made it to a pie run lately. :(
 
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