“The FJA 1300 can be tricky to get used to.
Good throttle control is essential on slow turns such as roundabouts. It's a good idea to slip some sponge grips over the original heated grips for this.
Yamaha advise that you close the throttle before shifting gear. This can make the bike very jerky at slower speeds yet the changes at lower speeds are seem less with the throttle slightly open.
The gear selector paddle on the bars is a good feature but if you use the lower part of the paddle to shift down, chances are you'll keep hitting the horn so I found it best to push and pull the top section of the shifter which is very easy to use.
I found that my backside aches very quickly on this bike (50 miles or more) and it would benefit from a change of seat or a cushion.
The screen when raised fully keeps you nice and warm but if your 6'2 as I am also batters your head with wind and the noise is horrendous. The aftermarket screen with the small extender is recommended to fix this.
The bike is a pleasure to ride with lots of grunt and top end circa 150MPH
The only other thing that it could do with is a pass beam button which they seem to have forgotten to include.
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“It's a wonderful bike, and a joy to ride. Wife often rides as pillion. From the Midlands, we've taken it to Europe, Scotland and Cornwall. Finger's crossed, it has never let us down. The only downside is that now I am 66 I find manoeuvring it at very very low speed over poor ground is a bit of a nightmare - it's a really heavy bike. Once astride at walking pace or above, it handles well especially at higher speeds. I appreciate its excellent performance in acceleration, and pretty decent fuel consumption even if used at relatively high speeds. Pals have said "when you upgrade, you should go for this or that". Why change the bike, when I am totally satisfied with it!”
“I have had three FJR's in the last seven years and just love them. I did try the auto version for a year but went back to manual ( personal choice ). You get what it says on the tin, fantastic ride quality, huge tank range average 260 miles ample luggage space even when two up and most of all comfort with a great riding position. I changed to a Sargent saddle and fitted handle bar risers, I found it suited my height better and allowed me to ride for longer periods without a stopping. Handles and performs like a sports bike with comfort. I have several other bikes in my garage but the FJR is the one I use the most.”
