All new FJR owners carry on and expounds about the thrill and the happy face they get from the wonderfully responsive FJR1300 torque monster of an engine. As I also do. But, few mention one the strongest virtues I find the FJR displays, and the one that brings as big a grin to my face as I ride at any speed........it's is an unbelievable handling, well balanced, and graceful 600 lb. Gorilla.
I come from, and in fact, still own a Yamaha GTS1000 ...you remember the one with that funny front end.....forkless. I bought the GTS because after one test ride on a friends GTS and I was in awe of it handling prowess. I have often bragged how great a bike the GTS was, and still is, and that I would probably never sell it. It weighs a few pounds more than the FJR. It is a little top heavy bike when not in motion, but once on the move it handles like a much smaller bike. Owners often joke about how they often give Go Fast Joe Rocket on his 600 cc machine a surprise on mountain roads with the ability and agility of the GTS to move through the curves at speed. I just finished a 14,000 mile ride on GTS in just over a two weeks period, it is a great performing bike in all respects. Every aspect of it virtues and strengths are still vivid in my mind and my motorcycle sense touch is still active from spending long hours in the saddle.. The difference between the GTS and FJR is still readily discernible to my senses. My point is the GTS is no performance handling slouch for being a 600 pound plus Gorilla. I was worried that the FJR would not handle as well as my GTS. With that said, true, the power and torque from this FJR1300 engine is awesome, but just as awesome is it's handling and balance at any speed. Yamaha has not just built a go fast machine, but a big bike capable of doing donuts in a parking lot or moving down a gravel road with ease and grace. Wing Honda owners brag about how well that half ton monster handles at walking speeds and stop lights, and it does. Yamaha has also learned the trick. The center of gravity on the FJR has been put down low, making it handle like a much smaller and lighter bike from the moment you release the clutch. Not only am I smiling, as I open up the throttle to pulling away from a traffic light or pass a car, but I smile from the time I push the start button on FJR. I smile as I do a snap turn out my driveway , or a u-turn on a two lane road, as I flick it around at walking speeds, or as I dive into a corner at speeds 10 mph faster than I comfortably did a few weeks ago ..... It is simply a big ass R1 in all respects. I am at one with this machine every time I put my leg over it. Yamaha you have a winner. This is the most fun bike, best handling bike, I have ever owned. I feel like that guy in the Suzuki Kantana TV commercial with the bike following him around enticing him to take it for a ride at all hours of the day. Hawke FJR 1300 ...... Snarly http://homepage.mac.com/johnlaurenson/
