Dogdaze said:
Greg, I have to say, I have seriously looked at the FJ (Tracer in EU) but the chain, although not a big deal, the lubing of it is, every 600 miles or so. I would value your opinion of it compared to the S10, as I may have to change bikes if our situation here changes.......
I'll do a blog post once I hit 5k on the bike. Around 3600km now and counting.
The good on the FJ:
-It's featherweight compared to the ST.
-Fantastic get up and go. The other day, I drag raced a FJR. The guy was in it, but the FJ did better, on one wheel! Honestly, this thing moves.
-Great ergos. I'm 5'9" 165 lb without gear, and the bike fits me very well. I have not moved the bars, but have swapped the stock seat to a seat concepts seat. The stock windscreen sucks, but I'm currently living with it, until MRA comes out with a better replacement. I tried an Ernmax and it still doesn't solve the buffeting. A lower screen would be ideal to put the helmet in clean air.
-Decent on fuel. On the 18L tank, I average 270-300km in the city before having to push.
-I bought the gun metal grey. The bike looks very good IMO.
-LED headlights are a treat. I'm a bit disapointed that yam didn't use both lights for low beam, but having to ride to work daily, it works very well. The high beam is very bright, and has vg spread.
-Brakes are excellent (no name radials) and I don't see having to do an upgrade to stainless, or any of that non sense
-In the city, it feels great. Better than the Tenere. It has presence, but it's not a big bike
The Bad:
-Stock suspension. If you're going to use the bike as intended, the suspension needs work. once again yam has saved the money here. I've gone with a traxxion dynamics drop in cartridges (fully adjustable) and the difference is amazing. At the rear, I've installed a fully adjustable Yacugar shock (2 way comp, rebound, and hyd. preload)-magic. Yes it was $2G US, but I intend to keep the bike for a while. The same rear shock on my tenere lasted 50k before needing a rebuilt that set me back about $300 CDN.
-OEM screen and seat could use work. But are berable. The OEM units on the ST sucked too. Usually the first things I change on a bike.
to sum up:
I've ridden an FJR before. The power is electric, and so smooth, it's scary. That said, the tank is very wide, and the bike is very very heavy. As a long distance blaster, it would be great. But for your back yard, it would be too much (weight and power really). Unless you're two up all the time, covering 600km + per day, the FJR is a waste.
With the chain, the FJ/MT shares the tenere dash. Under my service section, I reset when the oil gets changed, and I reset everytime I lube the chain. Granted, without a center stand, this was a royal PITA with the FZ07 and my 09. With the FJ, I pull into the garage, center stand the bike, and lube. One minute, and I'm good for a 1k. I've adjusted the chain once. The quality of it seems much better than the FZ07. My buddy that bought my 2014 FZ09 is now replacing the chain at 25K.
Don't get me wrong. I love my Tenere. I would be hard pressed to replace it with another bike. It's heavy yes, but if you ride it as intended, the thing is pure magic. I started doing some simple single track near where I live, and if you weigh the bike properly, it will do what it's told.
It's really nice to have choice. If I had to have one road bike, it would be the tenere. I'm lucky though, and can have more than one bike.
I'll be doing my annual California trip at the start of september. The FJ gets the nod this year. It will be 95% pavement, with some occasional fire roads thrown in. I think the bike will do great on the 7k round trip.
