Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

time I left the windscreen in the "down" position. (Heck, I had ridden the bike about a month before I realized that the windscreen returned to the lower position automatically when you shut down the motor.) Because of my height , I'd look into the larger screen that Yamaha offers as an option. The FJR's cockpit is functional and fairly modern-looking, though the LCD odometer and dual trip meter were a little confusing to operate - at least until I could remember which button did what and ho w. The analog speedometer and tachometer offer clear viewing. I like the fact that the FJR has a handy built-in fairing poc ket on the left side , but it took me a while to figure out that the ignition has be in the "o n" position for it to unlock . I kept thinking the latch was jammed or something. I, however, had no such problems figuring out the very functional, q uick-release saddlebags. Th ey're simple to operate and large enough to hold a full-coverage helmet and , as adve rtised, can be removed and reattached swiftly. The FJR I 298cc, DOHC, 16-valve in-line 's four-cylinder motor (w hich Yamaha claims divvies out 145 ho rsepower at 8000 rpm and 99 ft.-Ibs. of torq ue at 7000 rpm) is just plain sweet. It really wants to go when you o pen 'er up. Th e po wer starts building way down low and just keeps building and bu ilding as you ro ll on the throttle more and more and wat ch th e RPMs gradua lly increase until it's time to click up another gear (do n't worry, yo u'll kno w w hen). Th e motor certainly lives up to th e "supersport" part of supersport touring. I also e njoyed the light feel of the FJR's hydraulically o pe ra te d clutch an d its smo o t h-s hift ing, w ide-rat io , five -speed transm issio n. No t often d id I find myself wishing for a sixth gear. At speed, the FJRI300 cruises along co mfortably at 65 mp h at a very re laxed 3800 rpm in top (fifth) gear. Open 'er up so me more and t he FJ R responds gen tly - but instan taneously - w ith a heavy dose of acceleration, m aking it easy (no t to me ntion fun) to zap t he veh icle in front of you . Even at significantly highe r and prolo nged speeds (i.e ., normal L.A. freeway speeds; that is, w hen there 's no gridlock), th e FJR doesn't feel as tho ugh it's straining one bit, and there is very little vibra tio n to be fe lt anyw here thro ughout the FJR broad powerband. 's As fo r th e FJR's fuel-injection syste m, throttle respo nse was always crisp and clean, even heading ou t on cool morni ngs. Basically, the bike req uired ze ro warmup time , though you co uld detect so me no ticeab le, but harmless, deceleration -po pping co ming fro m deep w ithin t he FJR's 4-into -l -into -2 ex haust syste m be fore th ings warm up. On ce there, ou r FJR ran flawlessly. Speaking of warm, you can certainly fee l so me engi ne heat radiating up th roug h the sea t and fairing. It's not as bad as the Hond a ST I300 th at we rode ea rlier in the year, but you can ce rtainly fee l it. I wel co me d th e wa rm th in the mo rning, t hough, and cou ld just tolerate it e noug h on a co uple of my 100plus-deg ree-aftemoon rides home . A big part of my co mm ute re qu ires mane uvering th roug li tight and slow traffic, and the FJRdealt with these not-so-fu n situ- ations quite well. For a rather large motorcycle, it feels quite nimble and is very responsive to rider input, and I liked the fact that the saddlebags weren't too wide. I was also impressed with the bike's slow-speed, parking-lot stability. A relatively low seat height helps out here, too. The FJR's suspension is extremely good. No complaints from me . The bike offers a nice, plush ride . Yet, even with my 170 pounds and with each saddlebag filled to capacity, I never felt the need to bump up the preload, which, if desired, can be easily accomplished with a simple flipof a lever. You have two choices: hard or soft. The Yamaha's front 48mm, conventional Soqi fork has provisions for preload and compression adjustment. When it comes to the FJR's brakes, Y aha didn't ho ld back one bit, fitting it witih am massive nOmm RI disc brakes up front and a single 282mm rotor in the back, and , if you wish , you can get AB5 as'an option (like the one we tested). Quite simply, getting the FJR slowed was never. an issue . Fuel wasn't an issue with us, either. We figured that w e averaged about 40 mpg on the FJR, and with its rather large 6.6-gaIlon fuel tanks , tha t's a long way be een fill-tips abo ut 260 m iles. When you hit "reserve," you have 1.3 gallons left and the trip meter re turns to zero and starts co unting up again, so yo u have a good idea how many miles are left befo re yo u're left stranded. After our. 4000-plus mile s, the Bridgestone Battlax tires t hat came o n our test bike sho w e d very little wear, II the while xie ld ing a smooth and co nfidenceinspir ing ride . As you can probably tell by now, w e are e xtremeJy impressed w ith the FJRI300, so it's so mewhat hard for us to unde rstand w hy Yama ha produce s only so many of th es e gems a ye ar. Okay, so the sp o rt- tou r. ing marke t migh t no t be-one of th e ho ttest bike -selling cate gories o ut there , but if more machines like the Yama ha FJR1300 start sp ringing up, it w ill be . After all, how ca n you no t appreciate a bike like the FJRI 300 that is fast , handles w e ll and is comfo rta ble en ough to be ridden all day and every day? eN SPECIFICATIONS 2005 Yamaha FJR1300ABST The Rl-based front brake is, as you can image, super strong. ENGINE TYPE . . 1298cc, liquid-coo led , 16-valve , DOHC, in-line four-cylinde r HORSEPOWER . . 145 HP @ 8000 rpm (claimed) TORQUE 99 ft.-lb. @ 7000 rpm (claimed) BORE x STROKE .79 x 66.2mm COMPRESSION RATIO 10.8: 1 CARBURETON Fue ll nject ion TRANSMISSION 5-speed CLUTCH . .. Hydraulic, multi-plate , we t EXHAUST . A-into- l-into-2 stainlessstee l FINAL DR IVE Shaft FRAME Hollow cast- aluminum, twi n-spar w/detachable subframe SWINGARM Cast-aluminum, inco rporates shaft drive SUSPENS ION Front . . .. A8mm Soql te lesco pic fork w/adj. preload, com pre ssion and re bou nd damping Rear .. . .Single-shock, link-type , w/ad j. preload and rebou nd damping WHEEL TRAVEL Front 504 in. Rear 04.8 in. BRAKES (ABS Opti o nal) Front .Dua l nOmm discs w/4-pis to n calipers Rear 5ingle 282mm disc w/2-pisto n caliper TIRES Front 120/70-ZR17 radial Bridgestone Battlax Rear 180/50-ZRI7 radial Bridgestone Battlax WHEELS .. ... 3-spo ke, cast-aluminum WINDSHIELD Electro nically adj. O/A LENGTH 87.8 in. O/A WIDTH 30.3 in. O/A HEIGHT 56.5 in. SEAT HEIGHT 32.2 in. GROUND CLEARANCE .504 in. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT 55 3 Ibs. (ABS model) FUEL CAPACITY 6.6 gal. COLOR Galaxy Blue MSRP $ 12,899 (ABS)/ $ 11,799 rtV/O ABS) The FJR's shaft drive doesn't feel much different than a chain drive, except it's fa r smoother. www.cyci enEWs.com CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 22, 2004 27

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