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Tuesday, 29 August 2006 |
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Juvenile YCC-S Mutiny from Mike Emery ~ Photos by Lord Nelson and Captain Riles
2007 Yamaha FJR1300A and AE
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Living life at 100mph is great, riding bikes' hard and putting them away wet, scratches my particular itch but sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses - enter the Yamaha FJ1300. Being sporty guys and gals, it's hard to look at anything that's not the lightest fastest and most seriously focused bikes with too much respect, however this bike offers that same hardcore focus.
Hardcore? Focus? Hell yeah, this bike enjoys over 140 cranky horses, sure it's tuned for midrange juice but it's a mover and shaker too, especially with almost 100lbs of torque under that bodywork. Obviously it's a different vein but it's just comfort and speed coming together, sandwiched between two rather large bags. |
| The presentation took place at the ever-so-groovy W Hotel in downtown San Diego. The hotel was a young at heart, upscale joint, similar in genre, as we're told, to the average FJR buyer. You guys (you know who you are) are a little younger than the typical super-tourer buyer and a little more sport oriented as well - heck, I like you already. This segment of the industry has seen an incredible 35% sales increase since 2002 (according to MIC figures) with Yamaha nabbing 28% of the market share in 2005. The typical FJR'er covers more miles than the average sport-tourer too, not all weekend miles either, commuting being the most popular usage and with the bike only requiring 86-octane gas, why not?. We got to commute on this bike too, we rode to our own workplace and got to sample the latest FJR-A (standard) and FJR-AE in sunny So-Cal with sport touring weather and twisty roads to boot. |
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First up was a readjustment in my brain on the size, specifically, the width of this vehicle. I actually made note of that just as I side-swiped a fellow journo with my usual CA shunt to the head of the traffic light queue habit. The bike's obviously a tad wider than I'm used to - point noted. Another adjustment is the fact that you won't need another adjustment, chiropractically anyway, due to the ergo's - the thing is so frigging comfortable. That seat for example, it's big and wide, just like your mummy. It's adjustable too... tall to even taller, no tools needed. Upholstery behind the rider is equally as comfy for your girlfriend, wife, or brother's girlfriend. The passenger foot pegs are also roomier, being 40mm forward and 20mm lower. Further ergonomic adjustments for the captain of the ship are available with the three-way sweep adjustable handlebars. |
| Our trip took us toward and over parts of the Palomar Mountains, along both freeways and byroads, in and out of traffic. The first FJR I rode featured Yamaha's new fingerless clutch, basically turning the YCC-S (Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift) button on, allows you to change gears with just the push or pull of a lever. It's billed as a manual tranny with a computer controlled clutch - once activated it'll act like a big overgrown scooter and when you put it in gear it automatically engages drive at 1300rpm (just off of idle). To Yamaha's credit, the system works pretty well in the higher gears but loses the plot at lower RPM. Riding this bike in slow traffic reminded me exactly of how much I use (slip) my clutch. In low first gear situations the bike can't make its mind up whether you're looking for neutral or first. This was particularly noticeable in the many U-turns for photo opportunities and that resulting snatch might see a tip over, I also felt very silly paddling my feet every time I turned the bike around. To reduce potential complexity, the gear shift has also been reworked to use a simple 5-up configuration with neutral at the bottom, after first - a bit like my very first Yamaha 50cc FS1-E, no biggy. |
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Up to speed, the shifting was flawless - It's by no means a quick shifter more like a medium to slow shifter. I could go into detail and tell you how it works, I should really tell you that the basis system consists of two actuators attached to the clutch and shift mechanisms controlled by a nifty and very sophisticated computer. Instead imagine there's a Yamaha blue-suited pixie who changes gear for you at your every command. He's a clever little guy too, perfect shifts every time. I (he) never lost the plot all the time I rode the thing, no such thing as a lazy toe here. By the way, if you want, you can override the system any time you like by just using your foot (still no clutch lever needed, or supplied). It's a true manual transmission, with you making the decision when to shift. The only time that it'll override you, is if you do a "silly" change, from say 5th to 1st - it'll wait patiently until the RPM is correct and then proceed. There really isn't anything as innovated as this on the market. |
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