Yamaha FJR 1300 A

Perfect Pitch?

WHAT IS IT?
Yamaha's premium sports tourer, now in its second generation with some refinements.

IN A NUTSHELL
A big, powerful and friendly sports-tourer that has lots of potential as a serious mile-eater.

THE BIKE
As Yamaha's Sean Goldhawk pulled a tight U-turn around me at the Big Y's front door at Wetherill Park to hand over the FJR, I was struck by the size of the bike. At 2230mm long, 264kg dry and with the standard hard panniers bulking up its hind quarters it looked like being quite a handful in the Parramatta Road traffic. Wrong!  More or less as soon as I climbed aboard, the neatness of the fairing and the general view forward from the office changed my perception. It felt reasonably compact.

Out amongst the traffic the pleasant surprises continued. Generally for my first outing in heavy traffic on a big bike, I'm inclined to sit back behind the car in front, as if I'm driving half a car. That wasn't happening this time; almost immediately I found myself comfortably pushing it forward through the lanes of cars and trucks to pole position at the lights. So the FJR1300 is a big tourer that can do a good imitation of a mid-weight.

SO IT'S GOOD IN THE CITY, EH?
The bike's overall mass is carried fairly low and its alloy frame contributes to a lack of top-heaviness. This, combined with good rider ergonomics in general and nice sports touring 'bars, makes for relaxed controllability. Brakes and gears (it's a really sweet shifting gearbox) are great in traffic too. Interestingly, it's a big torquey engine but there's not much flywheel there. I stalled it a couple of times until I adapted to giving it a bit more throttle and eased the clutch engagement a whisker more than I would have expected with a 1300.

Part of its traffic-carving competence is related to its mirrors. Unlike those on some other big tourers, like for example Honda's ST 1300, the Yam's mirrors are mounted reasonably high. So they don't run the risk of clashing with car mirrors. If you're considering buying a big tourer that will also need to do the daily commute, through heavy city traffic, the Yamaha should be on your list. The mirrors also easily fold forward for parking in tight spots or wheeling the thing through your side gate or whatever (and they click back into perfect alignment when you're ready to roll).

The final traffic test came when I got trapped in a proper peak-hour traffic jam (broken-down truck). For half an hour I could only inch forward - the full stop/wait/start/stop routine. There was no clutch-hand fatigue. So it's a nice clutch. Also in this situation I felt nothing of the problem of discomfort from excessive engine heat that was associated with the previous model FJR. Yamaha's literature openly refers to improvements in this area. The flow direction of radiator air seems to have been modified. There's attention to detail like a lining of thermal/acoustic foam on the inside of the fairing. This seems to reduce the amount of radiant heat from the exhaust headers and engine castings that escapes through to the rider's legs.

WHAT'S SHE LIKE ON THE OPEN ROAD?
From a previous FJR ride at a Yamaha ride-day at the Phillip Island circuit, I knew that it is a very powerful bike with very capable chassis, suspension and brakes. There's no question - it's a proper sports tourer. At the track it demonstrated a total contempt for the old "magic ton" (160km/h) as it rocketed towards the low 220s. I would estimate top whack being 240 or maybe a whisker more.

Two fingers on the brake lever wash off all that kinetic energy convincingly and repeatedly. The chassis and suspension deliver a great ride - on the firm side - and impressive cornering. It doesn't turn in like a sports bike but once you push it down in to a turn it tracks beautifully and predictably. Neither throttle nor brake makes it feel like it wants to stand up - mid-corner bumps are "processed" by the forks and rear shock without fuss. The well-matched chassis and suspension (possibly aided by the bike's weight) produce really stable cornering at quite high speeds.

WHAT ABOUT THE DONK?
The big 1300 engine is a stunner. Earlier I mentioned that there's not much flywheel. Once you're giving it a bit of stick, this translates into a real eagerness to spin up very rapidly. And there's a touch of Rottweiler to the way it responds. The engine doesn't want to be mistaken for a docile old Labrador. It's much more exciting than that. Oh, and in calmer operating modes you can be assured that the engine's injection-management system works really well. It holds and comes off low throttle openings without snatch or surge. It gives a lovely linear response. Fuel consumption was fine averaging 16-17km/l on the highway. During an afternoon involving a mixture of Tom-foolery and legal highway cruising it dropped to 15km/l.

HOW ABOUT LONG DAYS IN THE SADDLE?
This assessment of its touring performance was based on a daytime ride from Sydney to Melbourne on the Hume Highway (Yes I know… But I was pushed for time and had no choice on this occasion).

You're well on the way to touring happiness if the basic ergonomics of the bike work for you - setting you up for a natural posture where you lean a little toward the bars. The FJR was just right for me in that respect. Then add a comfortable seat. Give another big tick to Yamaha in the seat department. Next the fairing and screen should shield you quite efficiently from the worst of the wind loads. Again Yamaha hits the target. The fairing is a compact one that is very efficient. I rode through rain on the open road on a couple of occasions without having to stop to pull on the waterproof pants. My legs were well shielded from wind and rain at highway speed. The electrically-adjustable screen means that the majority of riders can easily set it to protect them from all but some light turbulence around the helmet. Shorter riders can tour totally free of wind noise.

The engine pulls a lazy 3600rpm in top at an indicated 110km/h which also contributes to stress-free touring.

In a typical two and a half-hour stint on the highway you knock out between 270 and 290km. You pull up fresh and happy and after a brief pit stop you're itching for the next session. For the ride home my door-to-door total was just on 900km. It was a piece of cake. 1200km per day could be done painlessly on the FJR.

A small observation for the powers that be: When you're riding the highways these days you do spend an inordinate amount of time looking down at the speedo. It's not really the best place to be focussing.

AND ALSO
The FJR is a good looking bike. The styling integrates the components well and the fit and finish are good. The fairing slots break up the wrapped-in-plastic look and allow you glimpses of the lovely machinery. The silver paint was deep and lustrous.

The rear edges of the fairing gave me a nudge on the shins occasionally when I was bringing my feet back up on to the pegs as I got rolling or after dangling my legs for a stretch out on the highway. If it finished 25mm further forward there would be no problem.

When you stray down around 3000rpm in the higher gears and then load it up with a handful of throttle (a big, grunty, 1300 hasn't fallen off the torque curve at 3000), there's a noticeable driveline resonance that's quite harsh compared with the otherwise silky performance of the FJR. Maybe it was an idiosyncrasy of this test bike.

At the price, on an ace tourer, it would be nice to have heated grips and cruise control as standard (I've since been advised that heated grips are now standard fitment - my test bike was built prior to the upgrade).

SUMMING  UP
It's hard not to love a capable sports tourer that's such a good all-round performer. The handsome steed delivers touring comfort and efficiency while being a fast point-to-point road burner. There's just a touch of mongrel to the power delivery to remind you that touring can still be an exhilarating experiences. And then there's the convenience of the unobtrusive shaft-drive. Its faults are minimal. It's not cheap - but you get a lot of first class bike for your dollars.

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