At 15 years young, Yamaha continues to develop its flagship sport touring FJR1300 with a new gearbox, clutch and LED lighting.
The old five speed box is gone in favour of a new six speed that features all new gear ratios and a taller top for lower rpms in cruising mode. The clutch is now an Assist and Slipper type that allows for smoother downshifting and lighter action at the lever.
LED lighting front and back includes a ‘twin eye’ set up at the front with the ES (electronic suspension) model becoming the first Yamaha to incorporate active cornering lighting. This is achieved by using three separate LEDs located above the main lights that illuminate in succession as the bike goes further into a lean. Each light is aimed to light up the section of road that is usually left in darkness as the rider banks over, giving better coverage as a result.
And let’s not forget the instrument panel that also gets reworked. Unfortunately we do not have any details specific to Canada as the bike won’t be officially released until January 4th, but it’s obviously coming and will be available for the manufacturer’s show circuit.
Talking of which the new MT-10 (the naked R1) that was unveiled at EICMA, will be coming to Canada and is due to hit the show circuit starting in Edmonton (sorry Calgary, maybe next year). No pricing yet, maybe that will also be announced January 4th.
And finally, there is another new model coming to round of the Yamaha mega release party. It’s a … ok, we don’t know, but what we do know, is there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
Uh oh, I think i just plagiarized that last bit.
GALLERY
Check out all the pics that go with this story! Click on the main sized pic to transition to the next or just press play to show in a slideshow.
«And finally, there is another new model coming to round of the Yamaha mega release party»
Is this confirmed?
With any luck it will be a R1 based sport touring machine with heated grips and cruise control. C’mon Yamaha let’s do this!!!!! 😉
It is confirmed, yes. Just not any details. I assume though that it’s not a huge deal otherwise I’d have expected it to have been released at EICMA.
Thank-you, unfortunately you’re probably right, there won’t be something big like a FJ-10, strange how in past years the japanese have given up leadership in the market, and Yamaha is surely not the worse of them, Honda and Suzuki are.
Might just be time for my third FJR. Great bike that just keeps getting better. Too bad it wasn’t a six speed box from the get go 15 years ago.
I approve , as a sport touring rider , the FJR is the only real alternative to the more expensive and far less reliable German mounts. I speak from experience. Yamaha has continued to develop the FJR while Honda has seems to have abandoned the segment with the end of the ST1300 in 2014.
I must admit I’m disappointed with the «new» FJR, I was hoping for much more newness, for example something that could compete with BMW s1000xr or even the new KTM Super Duke GT. As for the new MT-10 it’s way too ugly for my taste and has no wind protection nor the other goodies I would like.
I’m in the market to replace my 2002 FZ1 in 2016 but so far I find nothing much exciting from Japan and that’s too bad really, I’d much prefer to stick with the more reliable and more affordable Japanese machines.
But hey, there’s still hope with this other announcement, with any luck it will be a R1 based sport touring machine with heated grips and cruise control. C’mon Yamaha let’s do this.
George and John – thanks for the heads up. I’ll raise it at the next tech meeting and see if we can get it fixed or maybe get a better gallery.
Cheers, Rob
So it’s not just my new iPhone, then…
WTF Harris?! Get thy poop in groups!
In the meantime, I shall be retaining my un-flashed 2003 liquid silver FJR – the fastest of the fast ones (well, For FJR’s that is). It got the hardened exhaust valves but I made sure that they never touched the electronics. It would be nice to see the accompanying photos, all the same.
Mine’s still gonna haul ash.
Hah!
John.
I never seem to be able to see more than the first picture of the gallery on my android phone.