BamaRider
Guy
I picked up my new ride today at Cool Springs Powersports a H, Y, K, S, Dealer, Franklin, Tenn. (near Uncle Phil) The price was 2000 better than my local dealer. I found several Yamaha dealers with almost same price but Franklin was the easiest for me to get to. Why the local dealer won't compete I dunno. I gave them every chance, and said if they could just get close I'd give them the business but they wouldn't budge.
Folks, this is a heckuva ride. I rode it back from Franklin (270 miles) and throughly impressed. My previous ride was a short (20 mile) ride on a 2013. I still have my ST and RT so relax, I don't plan on selling either. Both are 10 years old now with a lotta miles, they are worth more to me than anyone will ever pay me, so I plan to keep them, I still enjoy riding them.
How did I arrive at this decesion? Lets see.
I made the decesion to upgrade to a new bike a few months ago. My thinking was trade the 2005 RT on the 2015 RT next spring. I know that to be a great bike, with all the bells and whistles, but I'd hafta to be patient and let the recall sort itself out etc. I really like the RT, but so do a lot of folks, and the rumor was the 2015 is pre sold deep into 2015 which = FULL STICKER PRICE. My guess by the time a dealer adds on doc fees, taxes, prep the RT will be the high side of 19,000. "Ok I can deal with that if that's what I want." I said.
In the interim I decided to recheck to see what else was out there. I went down the list-
-Honda no longer makes a sport tourer so that rules Honda out.
-My brother just bought a 2010 Concours, I can ride it anytime I want, so that ruled the Kawasaki out, no need to duplicate.
-Trimpuh Trophy- I hear its a great ride, but a triple doesn't do it for me. Rule that out.
-BMW 1600 GT- Lets concede it is the best ST a guy can own. Decked out with options I need to have, you're tawkin well over 26,000. Rule the GT out.
-BMW RT- put it on the short list.
-Yamaha FJR- Lets see. It ha been around since 2001, but has been relentlesly upgraded by Yamaha. When I entered the sport tour world in 2001 the FJ was only available in Europe where it won bike of the year. The first FJs to come here were slanted too far to the sport side for me, but over the years that changed to what we have now. The FJ is perfect example of a reliable platform that has been tweaked, added and kept modern. Any complaint heard in numbers Yamaha addressed. "The seat is bad." It now has one of the best in the genre, my 2014 has some kind of dual density thick seat that is the most comfortable stock seat I ever sat on, including the stock on the ST 1300 that I put over 100k on. "It needs a cruise control" Done. "It needs better aerodynamics" Done. Over the years it has seen the windsheild tweaked and the list goes on.
The bike I rode home from Franklin (270 miles) is the best bike I have ever owned. Sleek, powerful, excellent cockpit with modern electronics, great wind mgt, and outstanding suspension adjustable on the fly. Not been able to lean it seriously yet in the twisties but I played with the ES alot on the way home today, and it works very well. It is way lighter than my Honda ST and easier to move around in the garage. I ficked it around when I could a few times. When I did get to lean, it was very responsive and light in the steering. A finely balanced machine it is. It pretty much does everything better than my ST, but you have to note the 10 year difference in technology.
Little things like digital readout on coolant temp. It has actual numbers to see. Back in ala the temp soared to 101, and the FJ stayed went from 164 coolant temp to 172 LOL.
The RT has a slight edge in wind mgt, and how far you can lean it. But whatever advantage the RT has in lean factor, the FJ will be right there with it in the twisties becauses of its King Kong motor, and slick transmission, it will quickly close any gap the RT can manage in a tight turn.
I left a backroad today and got on I-65 south. I put the predamp on one rider, no luggage, adjusted the spring to one of the soft settings to soak up and bumps, switch to tour mode which does something to the throttle repsonse to make it just a little easier around town and on the open road. I just rolled the power on. I hit a few buttons to get the suspension where I wanted, and took off. It made 90 mph feel like 50. Because of he style of the windsheild, and new bodywork it sliced through the wind. With screen on low I had wind but it wasn't real noisy and no backwash thanks venting near dash that takes away much of buffeting the Honda has.
Adjustable handlebars gave me just the right reach, footpeg location work great for me. Not as much lean to the bars as the Honda, but not straight up like the RT, fits just right in between. What I like most about the cockpit lets you know you are on a sport tourer, but not so much you get beat down.
Mirrors are best I've seen on a ST. You see ok direclty to the back, and excellent view of either lane beside ya. I can't see much of anything on my other 2 without alot of twisting around.
It has the little things like LED turn signals and running lights, 12v outlet, place to tie straps to, great dealer network, proven design and reliablity, bag liners included with purchase, rock solid cruise control, something called traction control, that helps in the rain, and most of all it is RED. Fit and finish are excellent.
It will devour the ST at any speed, in any gear, same with the RT.
But in the end, I already HAVE a RT, it is not gonna be all that different ride experience than a 2015, the FJ costs 4000 less than a 2015 RT, maybe more (mine came in 14,000 and some change). Price included extended 6 year, unlimited mile warranty. So remove the RT from the list, and the FJR is last one standing. So I now have the FJR in the collection. In my long list of bikes, the FJ first Yamaha I have ever owned.
I can't wait to ride it out west in a few weeks.
I tried to upload a pic when I picked it up from the dealer but keep getting message file failed to upload. It is JPG format. So I dunno.:biker:
Folks, this is a heckuva ride. I rode it back from Franklin (270 miles) and throughly impressed. My previous ride was a short (20 mile) ride on a 2013. I still have my ST and RT so relax, I don't plan on selling either. Both are 10 years old now with a lotta miles, they are worth more to me than anyone will ever pay me, so I plan to keep them, I still enjoy riding them.
How did I arrive at this decesion? Lets see.
I made the decesion to upgrade to a new bike a few months ago. My thinking was trade the 2005 RT on the 2015 RT next spring. I know that to be a great bike, with all the bells and whistles, but I'd hafta to be patient and let the recall sort itself out etc. I really like the RT, but so do a lot of folks, and the rumor was the 2015 is pre sold deep into 2015 which = FULL STICKER PRICE. My guess by the time a dealer adds on doc fees, taxes, prep the RT will be the high side of 19,000. "Ok I can deal with that if that's what I want." I said.
In the interim I decided to recheck to see what else was out there. I went down the list-
-Honda no longer makes a sport tourer so that rules Honda out.
-My brother just bought a 2010 Concours, I can ride it anytime I want, so that ruled the Kawasaki out, no need to duplicate.
-Trimpuh Trophy- I hear its a great ride, but a triple doesn't do it for me. Rule that out.
-BMW 1600 GT- Lets concede it is the best ST a guy can own. Decked out with options I need to have, you're tawkin well over 26,000. Rule the GT out.
-BMW RT- put it on the short list.
-Yamaha FJR- Lets see. It ha been around since 2001, but has been relentlesly upgraded by Yamaha. When I entered the sport tour world in 2001 the FJ was only available in Europe where it won bike of the year. The first FJs to come here were slanted too far to the sport side for me, but over the years that changed to what we have now. The FJ is perfect example of a reliable platform that has been tweaked, added and kept modern. Any complaint heard in numbers Yamaha addressed. "The seat is bad." It now has one of the best in the genre, my 2014 has some kind of dual density thick seat that is the most comfortable stock seat I ever sat on, including the stock on the ST 1300 that I put over 100k on. "It needs a cruise control" Done. "It needs better aerodynamics" Done. Over the years it has seen the windsheild tweaked and the list goes on.
The bike I rode home from Franklin (270 miles) is the best bike I have ever owned. Sleek, powerful, excellent cockpit with modern electronics, great wind mgt, and outstanding suspension adjustable on the fly. Not been able to lean it seriously yet in the twisties but I played with the ES alot on the way home today, and it works very well. It is way lighter than my Honda ST and easier to move around in the garage. I ficked it around when I could a few times. When I did get to lean, it was very responsive and light in the steering. A finely balanced machine it is. It pretty much does everything better than my ST, but you have to note the 10 year difference in technology.
Little things like digital readout on coolant temp. It has actual numbers to see. Back in ala the temp soared to 101, and the FJ stayed went from 164 coolant temp to 172 LOL.
The RT has a slight edge in wind mgt, and how far you can lean it. But whatever advantage the RT has in lean factor, the FJ will be right there with it in the twisties becauses of its King Kong motor, and slick transmission, it will quickly close any gap the RT can manage in a tight turn.
I left a backroad today and got on I-65 south. I put the predamp on one rider, no luggage, adjusted the spring to one of the soft settings to soak up and bumps, switch to tour mode which does something to the throttle repsonse to make it just a little easier around town and on the open road. I just rolled the power on. I hit a few buttons to get the suspension where I wanted, and took off. It made 90 mph feel like 50. Because of he style of the windsheild, and new bodywork it sliced through the wind. With screen on low I had wind but it wasn't real noisy and no backwash thanks venting near dash that takes away much of buffeting the Honda has.
Adjustable handlebars gave me just the right reach, footpeg location work great for me. Not as much lean to the bars as the Honda, but not straight up like the RT, fits just right in between. What I like most about the cockpit lets you know you are on a sport tourer, but not so much you get beat down.
Mirrors are best I've seen on a ST. You see ok direclty to the back, and excellent view of either lane beside ya. I can't see much of anything on my other 2 without alot of twisting around.
It has the little things like LED turn signals and running lights, 12v outlet, place to tie straps to, great dealer network, proven design and reliablity, bag liners included with purchase, rock solid cruise control, something called traction control, that helps in the rain, and most of all it is RED. Fit and finish are excellent.
It will devour the ST at any speed, in any gear, same with the RT.
But in the end, I already HAVE a RT, it is not gonna be all that different ride experience than a 2015, the FJ costs 4000 less than a 2015 RT, maybe more (mine came in 14,000 and some change). Price included extended 6 year, unlimited mile warranty. So remove the RT from the list, and the FJR is last one standing. So I now have the FJR in the collection. In my long list of bikes, the FJ first Yamaha I have ever owned.
I can't wait to ride it out west in a few weeks.
I tried to upload a pic when I picked it up from the dealer but keep getting message file failed to upload. It is JPG format. So I dunno.:biker:
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