I think I've found my next bike.

The BMW episode is close to resolution now, I hope.

In anticipation of that, I've been test riding contenders.

First was a Pan European which was OK but didn't thrill me. It was rather
dull for reasons that I can't really identify. I think it was just too big
and didn't have any real bite from the throttle.

Today I took a FJR1300 out for a spin. Quite a difference. It was a lot more
responsive and manoeuvrable than the Pan. It had a good steering lock and
is easy to ride in traffic and a blast on the open road. I stubbed my toe
going for sixth gear because there isn't one.

The engine is the smoothest I've ridden although there's a bit of vibration
at around 7000 revs and there's loads of grunt left at a ton. A brilliant
tourer.

I've put down a deposit.

 

I finally got to ride a 1300 Pan and wasn't blown away by it.
There wasn't enough of a difference to my old 1100 to justify
changing.

I'd like to ride an FJR because they look like they'd probably be good
to ride.
The only problem is that the finish, on the 2nd hand ones I've seen,
is shite - which is a shame.

 

That's one of my worries. I've never liked them and this would be my first.

However, the one I rode had 8000 miles on an 03 plate and was immaculate.

 

It could be worse, it could be a Suzuki.

 

That's funny coming from you.

 

Molly said...

Mine's fine and it lived outside at the seaside for 2 years. The only
corroded bits on my Gixer were aftermarket parts made in UK, they've
been replaced. My Thunderace was 40K miles old and had barely any
corrosion on it when I sold it.

All this talk of finish not being as good is bollocks, have you seen
modern Hondas? they aint as good as they were.

 

They must be good cos the rozzers ride them. But at the end of the day
they're an old man's bike & they look it.

I bought an 04 FJR in April. It had 3000 miles & was stock apart from
Oxford hotgrips (just coming into their own in this weather! Silly sod had
wired them to the battery though. Must get round to fixing that...) Can't
say I share your enthusiasm for the handling though - she was like a drunken
hippo in London traffic. Do yourself a favour and raise the back end.
There's a jack-up kit available for about 60 quid. Makes a world of
difference. Also replace the screen with a taller one. The stock one's
useless unless you're a midget. I got one from Bile Johnny for 110 quid &
now I can do the M11 at 95 with my visor up. There's a Merkin website for
FJR owners & some of the mods they've come up with enter into Goldwing
territory. Worth a look for a laugh, but they're probably taking things a
bit far methinks...

Certainly is! I also added a wing-rack for three 46ltr Givis. She's
happily carried me all over the country for work as well as taking me & the
Memsahib fully loaded (tank bag, rucksacks, Givis, the lot) touring in
Scotland & France (cruising French autoroutes at 120 for hours on end - the
FJR just lapped it up!). We're planning Spain next year & possibly some
Alpine touring too.

Good man!

Dunks

 

Lozzo came up with the following;:

eee ... when ah were a lad ...

There are very few finishes made that will stand up to UK weather and
salting / gritting of our roads without fettling every so often.

 

Hope it's cheap - they depreciate like a Baghdad mini-cab.

 

1) Stickers peeled off after a year
2) Stanchions plating wore off
3) Snatchy clutch had to be fixed
4) Electrical connections got corroded
5) All external nuts corroded
6) Very thin paint on the wheels which virtually came off in part when I
cleaned them.

The above was after a year.

The R1 I owned throughout the winter was still pristine by spring
The RR Blade I owned through the winter was also still pristine by spring
Even the finish on myZX7R was excellent.

Loz you can dismiss it as "bollocks" but that is from your viewpoint. I'm
just stating it as it is with my bike. Granted we are only talking about
cosmetics and my bike was one of the first Gixxers but it is annoying
because most of these early faults were corrected before the end of the
year. Don't forget, I've owned the bike from new and saw the deterioration
and could make a real and direct comparison with the R1 that I also owned
from new. I actually did more early miles on the R1 than I did on the
Gixxer.

This leads me on to a question: Can I replace the external nuts and bolts
with stainless steel? For example, the big nuts that hold the wheels on and
the calliper nuts?

 

I know what you mean, but I was disappointed that a great bike was spoiled
by some early detailing faults, they were corrected under warranty though.

 

I won't do that, stainless steel has less tensile strength.
It's ok for "cosmetic" nuts and bolts, not for wheels, brake calipers or
discs, forks, engine, etc.

 

Likewise, I've not spotted any corrosion on mine, although TBF it
doesn't spend much time left outside. Then again, it's only very
rarely[1] cleaned and not used much when roads are being salted.
Still, it's a damn site more resilient to corrosion than was the
Triumph.


[1] The dealer cleans it at every service.
--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

There you go then. I'm still waiting to hear back from Suzuki about my
letter concerning the major defect[1] on my V-Strom.

[1] I had to install a PowerCommander to make it run right.

 

Lozzo wrote

Is this going to be one of those people with testosterone level issues
only threads again, or can those of us with bikes of less than 0.995l
capacity join in? Cos I have Suzuki now and I have opinions about this.
Small yet perfectly formed they are, just like my bike.

 

I think you're speaking for many people there, though it's nothing to
do with him buying a new bike.

 

Francis said...

That's my take on it too. I've replaced a few of the cosmetic fasteners
on mine purely because I prefer the nicer look of stainless, but I
wouldn't put stainless in anywhere that was proper load bearing or under
any kind of sheer stress.

 

steve auvache said...

You can join in, old man.

I looked over a 2yr old 10K mile Honda Dullville 650 today. The exhaust
was as rotten as a pear with barely any chrome left on it, the forks
were pitted, the paintwork was dull and had faded and overall it looked
like it had been to hell and back. It had been regularly cleaned by the
look of it, but the zinc finish on just about all fasteners was all but
gone, leaving a fine layer of rust.

Honda just don't make them like they used to.

 

Lozzo wrote

I already have.

This may be true. My 22 year old VT is still surprisingly shiny
considering it is sitting in the darkest wettest spot I can find for it
and has been for a couple of months now. I must at least move it into
the back garden, as laid down in plan B, subsection g4(ammended), asap.