To those of you that have not rode an FJR all I have to say is don't knock it till you try it
I had the opportunity to rent a 2013 this weekend and I must say yeah its a pretty nice bike. The electronic cruise control is nice but there's more to it than just that. My impressions...
The first thing i noticed is how much lighter it is than the C14. I know Its only around 50lb, but it feels like more because the FJR has a much lower center of gravity. Isn't top heavy like the C14. I didn't feel soo worn out after a days ride. Parking lot speeds/maneuvering is easy and very controllable.
Plain & simple, its just easier to get on & off the FJR. My wife also confirms this. She had a much easier time swinging a leg over. The passenger seat is lower and seems closer to the rider, & just overall lower to the ground. She said she felt very secure & liked how much lower & easier it was to get on & off the bike. The adjustable rider seat is pretty nice & pretty simple to adjust. I rode in both positions, but preferred the lower seat height. I felt like I was riding in the bike, and not on it...also was able to flat foot it at stops better (Im 5'11"). The seat itself was pretty supportive for my weight (205 with riding gear on) and had really no discomfort. I didn't travel the country on it, but the amount of time i did spend on it I did like it more than the OEM seat on the C14.
For those of you who think it needs a 6 speed tranny, think again. I also thought this prior to my riding experience. The gears are spaced wider than the C14, and at highway speeds the RPM's are no higher than on the C14. Shifting is pretty smooth, tranny is not clunky, overall a nice experience. Yes the engine is slightly smaller than the C14, but you never notice it. The power to weight ratio's are pretty close. The FJR has plenty of power to put a ear to ear grin on your face. The other nice thing the FJR has is two different driving modes. T for touring & S for sport. I used both modes, and ultimately preferred S, but T mode came in handy riding in busy Columbus traffic. It softens power delivery and really helps in around town/heavy traffic situations. Once out of the city, it was S mode all the way baby!
One of the least liked features about the C14 here on the forum, has to be the linked brakes. Ive def gottin used/adjusted to using them on my C14, but the linked brakes on the FJR are hands down absolutely 100% better. Yamaha routes two brake lines to the front right caliper, and when pressing the rear brake it activates two pistons in the front right caliper along with the rear caliper, and OMG what a night & day difference from the C14. The braking is sooooo much smoother, linear & stronger. There is 0 weirdness feel in the pedal like there is in the C14. My wife & I absolutely LOVED the brakes on the FJR. My wife commented to me on more than one occasion how much nicer the ride was because the brakes were soo much smoother. I was able to ride as fast and aggressive as i wanted and slow the bike smoothly as "one" unit. Even in somewhat quick/aggressive braking situations, the FJR came to a stop with 0 drama. What you put into the pedal is exactly what you get back. No weird pedal diving to the ground, no grabbing too much brake force when you didn't ask for it. Absolutely smooth linear braking force. Good job Yamaha! I am aware of this type of linked brakes, my 03 VFR had it, but it is the first time experiencing it on the FJR.
One of the negatives about the FJR is that the suspension is too soft. I had preload, rebound, & compression pretty much maxed out, and it def felt much better, but I still felt it was a bit soft. Im prob 205 & my wife is around 140 with full riding gear on. I do feel more confident in the corners on my C14 on riddin known roads, but Ive owned my C14 for 3.5yrs as well, plus I have PR2's on it too, which are awesome tires.
The other nit picks are that the windshield and heated grips are now located in the menu on the right side dash...so if you want to adjust the windshield height you have to toggle the menu to make sure its on the windshield adjustment, and then toggle over to heated grips & hit the up & down switch for high med & low. Seems to be more complicated than it needs to be especially on a motorcycle. A designated windshield switch and heated grip switch like they used to do would be much better. Also the toggle switch used to adjust the windshield/heated grips is in a really weird location & has an unnatural feeling to it operating it at speed. Over time I did get used to it and did became easier to use once I learned where all the switches were, but it just seems like it could have been done better.
Overall the FJR is a really nice sport tourer, despite the couple of negatives I could def see one of these parked in the garage?? Even tho its a 10yr old chassis/engine, its still a very competent ST. If you happen to get a chance to ride one, I highly recommend it.