Yamaha Fjr1300ae

Yamaha FJR1300AE

Long-Term Wrap-Up

LIFE WITH THE TRIGGER-SHIFTER

IRST THINGS FIRST: WE LOVE THE Yamaha FJR 1300. In articles written and letters published, this magazine played a big part in getting

the previously Euro-only sport-tourer admitted to the U.S. No surprise, then, that in past years the FJR has nabbed two of our annual Ten Best Bikes awards.

Quotes from the logbook

Main drawback to the AE setup is at low speeds when the clutch sometimes decides to disengage completely—like when you are making a U-turn while dragging the rear brake. I laud Yamaha tor taking the leap with this technology, but it doesn’t solve a real problem. To me, it’s fundamentally a pointless exercise.

A very comfortable ride, especially that seat. Easily regulated heated grips come in handy. Best mirrors of any bike I have ridden-easy to adjust, non-vibrating. I was comfortable doing the CHP spot-check without turning around on this bike.

Our biggest bitch about the Yamaha was radiated engine heat. The leg-warming effect, while welcome on foggy, 60degree blasts up the Pacific Coast Highway, was almost unbearable in stop-andgo traffic-and no one wanted to borrow the bike for a summertime weekender to Las Vegas.

So, we were excited to learn that the 2006 FJR had been updated with new bodywork that routed hot air away from the rider. The announcement of an AE version with automatic clutch and handlebar-mounted thumb/finger shifter gave us a good excuse to add an FJR 1300 to our long-term test fleet. How would the changes affect one of our all-time favorite bikes?

Thumbs-up all-round on the new airmanagement system. The Editor-inchief’s first long ride on the FJR was to the 2006 USGP at Laguna Seca during an unseasonable heat wave. At times the bike’s ambient air-temp gauge registered as high as 102, but Edwards reported no undue discomfort. This takes some getting used to. At first, our techniques were all over the board, some of us rolling off to upshift as usual, others simply leaving the throttle open and banging shifts. With praetice comes smoothness: When possible, start off in second gear to avoid the 1 -2 gearchange herky-jerkiness; ease off the gas for upshifts; quick mini-blips of the throttle for downshifts.

I can’t image ever going back to a big bike with a manual clutch. Many bikers scoff at the idea of clutchless bikes but it’s simply because they’ve never tried one. -Tom McQuiggin Bolton, England

“A 100 percent improvement over the previous model,” he wrote in the logbook. “In fact, on the old bike, I might not have even left for Laguna.”

Not that the new FJR was perfect. Twistgrip effort seemed excessive, fatiguing right wrists on long, straight stretches. A call to Yamaha revealed that for reasons no one could fully explain, the throttle pulley had been made elliptical. We got around the problem by fitting a Throttlemeister throttle lock (www. thwttlemeister.com). This is a high-quality kit, well worth the $147 asking price, that replaces the right bar-end weight with an adjustable-friction assembly. A matching left-side bar plug is included. Installation is so seamless that you’d never know the stock pieces had been replaced. Electric handgrip operation is not affected.

For the 2008 model year, Yamaha has seen the error of its ways and reverted to a circular throttle pulley, but we’d still fit a Throttlemeister; it’s that handy.

Speaking of hands, an FJR1300AE rider’s left mitt has to learn some new skills. No clutch lever to manipulate; instead, the forefinger triggers upshifts via a rocker switch while the thumb cues downshifts. A foot pedal in the conventional location can also be used to initiate electro-shifts.

lii August, I did a six-hour trip in 100-degree weather across Tennessee, finishing with stopand-go traffic for 30 minutes. The clutch lever was one thing I did not miss. ,Aaron Kruger Baton Bouge, Louisiana

The auto clutch comes into its own when you hit lots of traffie-the AE is beautiful in that situation. -Bob Campbell Huntingtown, Maryland

Toward the end of our time with the AE, we noticed that the auto clutch takeup point, originally 1300 rpm, had crept higher. The 12,000-mile service ($253) at our local dealer failed to rectify the problem. Later, Yamaha diagnosed this as normal clutch wear that should have been accounted for during the tune-up. Actually, the manual calls for inspection every 4000 miles, which we had neglected. The fix is simple: Clutch engagement can be moved up or down among 21 different rpm settings.

Judging by the AE owner comments we received, the auto clutch was a strong selling point and remains a favorite feature. We’re not so swayed.

Mr. Edwards again: “You have to work harder to be smooth on the AE than on a conventional bike,

especially with a passen ger aboard. Plus, you lose the control that a clutch gives in

SPECIFICATIONS

$15,299

slow-speed maneuvers. All this for an extra $ 1800? Am I missing the point here?”

Luckily, Yamaha gives buyers the choice of going electro or not. Both

the conventional-shift and AE verIft. sions of the 1300 remain in ■ÉC, the lineup for 2008. Our next FJR will have a clutch lever.