BamaRider has a new 2014 FJR 1300 ES

Redfish said:
65K? Really? I never heard that one. There was an issue with some of the earliest FJRs with a defective Cam Chain Tensioner but that problem was solved long ago.

There are several FJRs on the fjrforum with well over 200K on the original engine. A very large # with over 100K and still running strong. At least two of the FJRs that finished high in the last IBR had over 150K on them.
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Well, so much for my 'reliable' sources of information and my 'mad' research skills. I have an acct on http://www.fjrowners.com/ and searched there as well. I perused many Google hits on FJR, missed the good 200k ones and found the old whines about the auto clutch and the guys with engine problems.

I guess focused on the negative, My Loss. :mad: I just broke 13k on my ST, so it'll be a while before the "boss" (wife) lets me have another toy.

I have to admit, I'm smitten with her good looks, even though she's red. ;)

I would have never thought to ask on an ST board about FJR's reliability. THANKS!
 
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Zonker said:
found the old whines about the auto clutch and the guys with engine problems.

I guess focused on the negative, My Loss. :mad: I just broke 13k on my ST, so it'll be a while before the "boss" (wife) lets me have another toy.

I would have never thought to ask on an ST board about FJR's reliability. THANKS!
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The auto clutch (AE) versions have their own issues. They never gained popularity here but they are still sold in Europe.

As far as picking between the FJR and the ST... MY OPINION!!! is that until the Gen3 came out in 2013 the two bikes were about equal. It just depended on personal preference. Yes, I would say the ST was the more reliable overall and more refined. After 2013 the FJR was by far the more refined bike. The '14 with electronic suspension and improved cruise control is about as good as it gets.

My ST is still a wonderful bike and I don't regret my choice at all. I am just wondering if it is time to make another choice.

Oh, and you're welcome. I spend as much time on the fjrforum as I do on the ST forum, plus riding and maintaining Dad's '07 has given me a fair idea of the strengths and weaknesses of both bikes.
 
Redfish said:
The auto clutch (AE) versions have their own issues. They never gained popularity here but they are still sold in Europe.

As far as picking between the FJR and the ST... MY OPINION!!! is that until the Gen3 came out in 2013 the two bikes were about equal. It just depended on personal preference. Yes, I would say the ST was the more reliable overall and more refined. After 2013 the FJR was by far the more refined bike. The '14 with electronic suspension and improved cruise control is about as good as it gets.

My ST is still a wonderful bike and I don't regret my choice at all. I am just wondering if it is time to make another choice.

Oh, and you're welcome. I spend as much time on the fjrforum as I do on the ST forum, plus riding and maintaining Dad's '07 has given me a fair idea of the strengths and weaknesses of both bikes.
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Certainly the ST 1300 is still a great bike. But it will soon be extinct. Each year a little less will be around till you wake up oneday and you only have a smattering of once was. I dunno what the sales numbers are on the hideous CTX 1300. I just don't get it. My guess they are trying to capture the "cruise tour" market? You know part cruiser part tourer. Is there such a market ya reckon?

To get a bike better than a FJR, you're gonna hafta to spend at least 10,000 dollars or more, and then it won't be better, but emotion runs those things so I dunno. Some are all BMW and price doesn't matter.
 
BamaRider said:
Same place the ST 1300 "weave" went to? Urban legend?
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No, not an urban legend, I followed the whole thing. Some pursued and got it fixed under warranty. I just wonder what was changed and when it got fixed.

I'm definitely digging that red bike.

Just did some reading on FJR site. Fixed from 06 model and forward. Don't know what the change is.
 
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Pete in PA said:
What happened with the valve guide problem? (The tick)
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BamaRider said:
Same place the ST 1300 "weave" went to? Urban legend?
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Pete in PA said:
No, not an urban legend, I followed the whole thing. Some pursued and got it fixed under warranty. I just wonder what was changed and when it got fixed.

Don't know what the change is.
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The "Tickers" were almost exclusively corrected before the '05s came out. There has been much speculation on the forum as to what was changed but we know it had to do with the valve guides. As fas as I know, most if not all tickers were taken care of under a factory warranty regardless of mileage. The defective CCT (Cam Chain Tensioner) issue carried on into the early Gen2s but the greatest damage was to the Gen1 where a couple of motors did grenade due to valve/piston interaction.

So no, not an urban legend.

With each update to the FJR, Yamaha has made some subtle changes to engine internals. We don't always know why or what but each generation brings less vibration and better fuel economy. Changes in power have been minute although I know for a fact that the Gen3 will pull the front wheel easier than the Gen2 bikes.
 
The fact that Yamaha is addressing issues as they show up has been one of the main reasons that I am looking at the FJR. Maybe not right away, but in the next upgrade. Other than a some ECM changes I'm not sure if Honda ever made any improvements to the ST over its live span.
 
BamaRider said:
Same place the ST 1300 "weave" went to? Urban legend?
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I don't think its an urban legend, it just occurs in such an odd place in the performance envelope that only a few riders are ever going to experience it. Motor cops come to mind. I could induce my ST to weave on demand. All it took was a top box, pillion, empty saddle bags, speed over 110 and a good breeze from either front quarter. Absent any of those conditions and it wouldn't do it. I guess its just some kind of weird aerodynamic anomaly.
 
BamaRider said:
I rode the ST about 100 miles between storms today. The first since the FJ came home.

I still enjoy riding it. It is a different experience than the Honda. But once in the saddle and ridin, the first thing that came to me was "dated." After several hundred miles on the high tech Yamaha it was quite a adjustment. I've been a Honda man all my life, I still am, but they left me, not the other way around. The FJ just begs you to ride it.

Take the seat. Honda never touched a thing on the ST after the launch, just changed the color. Yamaha OTOH tackled the seat issue once and for all, with this dual density, suede kinda feel seat. It is the best stock I've ever sat on. At first glance you'd think the Honda has the better wind mgt, with its larger screen and fairing. Yamaha accomplished the same level with less fairing and screen due to good design.

The RT and ST feel "wide" to me now. The dash is much wider than the slim FJ. The RT still offers a more quiet cockpit, and no wind with the screen in the right place. It will make you feel you are not on a sport tourer with its upright seating position. Yamaha just took a different approach, it wanted to keep the things a sport toureris noted for and did so pretty well.

With cruise control, good seat, nice footped and handlebar reach, and quiet but sporty wind mgt, the FJR can make quick work of any long drone interstate run.

Deals can be had on these bikes. If you're in the maket now or will soon be, do yourself a favor and take another look at it. What I did and it changed my mind to give the bike a chance.
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Guy;
I jumped ship last year for a 2011 FJR for all the reasons you and others have stated. Honda left US.
Your comment, "The FJ just begs you to ride it", is right on the money. Since Redfish has experience on both he told me one day: The ST is like an old buddy that is willing to do whatever you want to do. The FJR on the other hand, comes with a little devil that sits on your shoulder.
 
Great thread! Loved reading thorugh all of it. Sigh, if only I didnt already have a beautiful ST1100, so many choices right now! Especially among the used bikes.

But if I were looking for a new ST bike, man, the FJR is totally the one I'd pick. I'm mighty curious to see if the FJR 900 triple rumors turn out to be anything significant - a true middle weight ST bike!

Regards,
Vishnu
 
I rode the RT today first time since bringing the feejer home. I took it out for a run on my favorite long loop (100+ miles) in the late afternoon. I wanted to see how it felt after all those miles on the FJ, but mosly I had missed riding it the last 10 days and wanted to get back on it.

Even the RT feels "heavy" in the steering after riding the FJ. I noticed it before I left the driveay. A mile later I'm working my out of the city over a road that doesn't have potholes but ant hill like things sticking up. It is rough. Back in my fire dept days Engine 2 traveled the road often going and coming on calls to the north side of town. The constant bending warped the frame of the truck in a few years. The road was layed ontop of a poor foundation thus the it sinks, On the RT these few blocks jarred me pretty hard, but the same ride last saturday on the FJ was much better, and it soaked up the dipping road with aplomb.

Out on the rural backroads of my home county I settled the RT in. Like the Honda the cockpit of the RT is wider and deeper than the FJs. With windscreen in low postion it will punch a clean hole in the wind, where as the Yamaha will just channel it. You definiely have more wind on the FJ, but it is not noisy, the RT is virtual isolation. If you gotta have a quiet, no wind cockpit you have to take a serious look at the RT.

Performance? This is not even close, the FJ has the goods. It will outrun the RT in 3rd gear? In the twisties it will come down to the rider. That's how well the FJ handles with its dial in shocks.. The FJs smooth handling of low speed dips, holes and ripples is better than the RTs at any setting of the ESA you put the RT on.

The RT is more tourer for sure with its total upright seating and handlebar reach. It does not fall into a lean as precisely as the FJ, but it will have more lean factor (ground clearence) one you get it tilted, but its heavier steering takes a little more to get leaned. The RT also demands more counter steering.

RT and FJ are just nothing alike.
 
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I can relate to every one of Guy's comments, and my FJR is the best bike I've ever owned despite enjoying my ST13 way back. I told myself a couple of years ago I'll keep it until it dies and I expect it will last over 200K..... but more recently, I want a GenIII FJR as the throttle by wire is a great improvement. I am very familiar with the mechanics, having participated in many tech days as one of the go-to guys.
The ticker was a 2005 issue, thought to be related to valve guide diameter and oil seals, fixed in 2005. Regular fuel, can't beat that. CCT was redesigned in mid-'07 and previous ones had a weaker spring, all fixed if you put a new one on.
 
RaYzerman said:
I can relate to every one of Guy's comments, and my FJR is the best bike I've ever owned despite enjoying my ST13 way back. I told myself a couple of years ago I'll keep it until it dies and I expect it will last over 200K..... but more recently, I want a GenIII FJR as the throttle by wire is a great improvement. I am very familiar with the mechanics, having participated in many tech days as one of the go-to guys.
The ticker was a 2005 issue, thought to be related to valve guide diameter and oil seals, fixed in 2005. Regular fuel, can't beat that. CCT was redesigned in mid-'07 and previous ones had a weaker spring, all fixed if you put a new one on.
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Ray- I haven't spent any time on the FJ forum (some inactive guy has my handle) so I dunno alot of stuff. Can ya run the FJ on 89 gas?
 
BamaRider said:
Ray- I haven't spent any time on the FJ forum (some inactive guy has my handle) so I dunno alot of stuff. Can ya run the FJ on 89 gas?
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Guy, you can run the FJR on 87 Octane or higher, but you only need regular...... our 87 and your 89 may be the same thing. 89 here is mid-grade..... not necessary, nor is premium. Should be in the owner's manual.
 
As the FJR closes in on 10,000 miles, one thing I've noticed is how well the touring/sport option works on the throttle response. I really didn't know what all that was in the beginning, but now I have a clearer picture. In touring mode the hair trigger is off the throttle, which for me means less drive snatch, better gas mpg, and better tread life on tires. I was looking at the rubber on the FJ, and if nothing happens, I'm gonna get 10k plus off the Brigestones, tire life I get from the Honda. I didn't think that would be the case.

I can switch it back to sport mode from the handlebar, and get all the HP back when I need it. Handy feature.
 
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