FJR 1300

The annual itch to change my bike is looming, whether I will get around
to it I don't know, but I have been looking at the FJR and reading the
reviews / road tests etc and this seems to summarise the bad things:
- handling not all it could be (gonna be far more capable than I would
ever need I suspect..)
- throttle excessively heavy - tiring after extended periods of riding
- screen not as good as e.g. BMW tourers and the Pan

Any of you got/had one of these care to comment?

 

I had a pre-ABS one (note: restricted to 106 BHP). Lovely and comfy,
fast as **** but a bit heavy to do the 'knee down' thing (not that I'd
have been capable..). Would cruise all day at 120 mph without breaking
into a sweat. Incredible protection, but _probably_ better for a
sub-six-foot rider, as the front of my shins knocked against the rear of
the fairing.

On the downside, there was a fair bit of vibration through the bars,
such that after an hour's cruising, if you stopped for a piss/fag, you'd
have fingertips resonating like tuning forks. And I gather from a
conversation with a German FJR owner, that BMW Germany had narrowly
escaped a lawsuit because the front mudguard was too short at the
'trailing edge', and so stones etc were mangling the radiator. Those
problems may have been fixed, since. All in all, a fucking gorgeous
mile-gobbler, and when I got back from a thousand miles in 48 hours
(Paris - Basel - Stuttgart - Strasbourg - Paris), my back aching and my
face covered in cold sores, I remember thinking, 'ah **** it .. just
another ten minutes ...' and setting off for another round the block run.

There was a Bear Decree issued in, IIRC, 2000 which saw the FJR classed
as a 'lardy tourer'. I might be wrong (you'd have to check), but I'm
pretty sure that this Decree has never been repealed. You might like to
consider that, as it'll affect its resale value, should you decide to
sell to a UKRM poster.

D.
--
des | 'what does it matter what he posts?'
http://www.jr.co.il/terror/israel/index.html
end the 'occupation': http://minilien.fr/a0k8xe
ukrm: 'where it's "cool" to be stupid!'
myths of islam: http://minilien.fr/a0j5qo

 

Des owned one. Crashed it, and then had it snatched back by the finance
co. That's all you need to know.

 

Whew you should have removed the fancy bits, put them on a newer low
miles FJR and saved......erm.....how much!

 

Surely that was the iR1?

 

Nah, can't have been you can't have iFinance on an iBike.

 

I test rode one before buying my Pan. Too much like hard work for me,
unforgiving if you are in the wrong gear, much less grunt at low revs.
Your mileage may very much vary. I prefer something with a wider power-
band.

 

For a sports-tourer (and especially a full-on tourer), this is *exactly*
what you want, yes. Grunt and power at any revs between tickover and
three-quarters of the rev band, and sod an ultimate top end. It's
irrelevant.

Think of all the respected sports-tourers, from many BMWs, through the
Yamaha FJ1200, past the Kawasaki ZZR1100/1200, taking in the VFR750/800
series, and you'll see this is what they all offer.

 

iCrash, iSnatchback.... that's stretching credibility too far...

 

Not forgetting the iPhone...

 

The one I tried didn't have a power-commander I loved the adjustable seat
and screen but in the end I preferred the V4 Pan. As I said, your mileage
may vary. I guess it's all down to personal preference.

 

Seems to contradict most of what I've read - not saying it doesn't
compare in terms of grunt and flexibility to the Pan - though I have
seen nothing but praise for the flexibility and power of the FJR.

I'm sure I'd fine them both fine... though to me the FJR has the edge in
terms of appearance.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Derek Turner

The Pan's definitely better at towing.

<fx: looks at drive...>

 

<fx: mumbles and looks at feet>

Come spring I'll get it serviced and the tow-bar fitted. Have friends in
Wootton so should be able to pop over for a night then.

 

I was brought up there.

 

Then you'll remember Keely Farm when it were all fields?

 

My sister lives in the road directly behind the old farmhouse and I
went to school with Suzanne Wiles whose family owned the farm. Her mum
was one of the A+E staff nurses who attended to me when I smashed
myself up badly in 1981.

Yeah, I know Keeley Farm and the surrounding area very well

 

My friends, well ex-girlfriend (very ex as in >35 years) and her second
husband, live in Keeley Farm Court.

 

That's over the road from the original Keeley Farm house. The big house
on that side of the road was built much later on the farm's land. The
little detached cottage with the pond is the original farm house, all
the milking sheds and farm proper were on that side of the road and the
land extended back almost to the centre of the village when I was a
kid. The other side, where they built the new houses your friend is in,
was grazing land and the new house. Bit by bit the land was sold for
development, and a huge estate was built on the farm site, which is
where my lil sis lives directly behind the old lace-maker's cottages.