Yamaha R1 vs. FJR - impressions

[Franz]

'NoaY' :lol: , problem's not many legal VFR's here in LOS, considered already the Tiger and the F800GS but then again spent already such a big amount of money on the FJR, makes no sense in selling and getting any other of these high priced bikes, would be a waste of money. Other thing, had a Beemer before and don't want to go back to no good after sales service and overpriced spares again. But thanks for the tips anyway, they are really good and comfy bikes the Tiger and the F800 . cheers, FR

 

[Not on a Yamaha]

Consider the VFR rider resides in Bangkok as a Godsend. :lol:
My last set of tyres chasing the VFR only lasted 5,000kms!

I have followed an FJR before. They are not slowcoaches for sure.

Have no experience of the BMW, and therefore cannot relate.

Stay safe and ride in front, less debris that way.

 

[Franz]

'Not on a Yamaha', I think I must know you :wink: , first why do you know the VFR rider is from Austria and second, resides in Bangkok ? :lol: . You rip your tyres with only 5000kms, so let me think ............ another SSR ?? Are we talking about Bakerboy Gerhard ???? :mrgreen:
The one about the front is only too true....... :lol:
Cheers, Franz

 

[Not on a Yamaha]

Bakerboy is a very good friend of mine.
He spoke at length of the rides.

And an FJR which dices with the VFR. :twisted:

 

[Franz]

'Not on a Yamaha' a very warm welcome to the club !!!! So with what bike will the FJR dice again in the near future ??? (Except Tony's Ninja6 and Bakerboys FVR....) :mrgreen: Coming up to CNX you're invited too (F&B), would be nice to know you. I mean a friend of Gerhard on a bike must be another one with the style of riding I like :wink: , cheers, Franz

 

[TonyBKK]

Not on a Yamaha wrote: Bakerboy is a very good friend of mine.
He spoke at length of the rides.

And an FJR which dices with the VFR. :twisted:

Welcome to the Golden Triangle Riders!

For those of you not familiar with this character, he wasn't able to join us on our ride to Chiang Mai on account of bending both wheels on his Triumph Tiger. (That's not the end of the story OR the reason he couldn't ride though...)

Should I continue??? :mrgreen:

 

[Franz]

TonyBKK wrote: [quote quote=Not on a Yamaha]Bakerboy is a very good friend of mine.
He spoke at length of the rides.

And an FJR which dices with the VFR. :twisted:

Welcome to the Golden Triangle Riders!

For those of you not familiar with this character, he wasn't able to join us on our ride to Chiang Mai on account of bending both wheels on his Triumph Tiger. (That's not the end of the story OR the reason he couldn't ride though...)

Should I continue??? :mrgreen:
Tony, yes please, must be one of your Bangkok Hooligans from the SSR :lol: :lol: :lol: .............So who's chasing whom, Ninja the Tiger the VFR or the other way round......... :wink: .

Cheers, Franz

 

[TonyBKK]

Heh, heh-- ok, so after bending the wheels on his mighty Triumph Tiger the kind folks at the dealership lend him a Street Triple.

Perhaps they forgot to remind him that the Street Triple doesn't have ABS like his Tiger...

And so it goes- chasing Bakerboy and the VFR through Khao Yai National Park that this funny fellow manages to bowl his borrowed Street Triple down a perfectly straight road to the tune of over 200,000 Baht in damage and he figures out AFTER he picks up the bike that he has a broken wrist... :shock:

But it's only the left wrist we tell him- just have the clutch moved over to the right and ride on!

He sounded game and we thought he was hard, only to learn the day before the ride that he ran out of pain pills and decided to be a wuss in the end and stay home... :roll:

The SSR disciplinary board is currently deciding his fate- banishment or 2 weeks hard labor on a Phantom... Hard to say which would be worse... :mrgreen:

Ha ha!!!

Ride On!

 

[Not on a Yamaha]

Tony,
He only asked about the bike I am currently riding.
You have to tell everybody the full details....

Give yerself a jab in the ribs...

Just to put the record straight, after Gerhard chased me. I allowed him to go in front.

Enough of that.
Does anybody know how to speed up time? So I can get the cast off and back on my motorcycle.

Thank you...

 

[TonyBKK]

Not on a Yamaha wrote: Tony,
He only asked about the bike I am currently riding.
You have to tell everybody the full details....

Give yerself a jab in the ribs...

Just to put the record straight, after Gerhard chased me. I allowed him to go in front.

Enough of that.
Does anybody know how to speed up time? So I can get the cast off and back on my motorcycle.

Thank you...

Just takin' the piss my man- I know you can take it like a REAL MAN!!! Ha ha ha!!!! :mrgreen:

You can give me a jab in the ribs with your busted arm, ok? :mrgreen:

And to make you feel better I'll go ahead and state for the record that you are a biker god, so handsome the bar girls give it to you for free, and are the only person I know who's ever crashed a bike on a perfectly straight road. 8)

I hope some day I can be as cool as you, but without the cast, thank you very much!

RIDE ON! :twisted:

 

[Not on a Yamaha]

Thank you Tony.
For the above brutally honest post.

 

[bard]

Well welcome to the forum "Not on a Yamaha" I finally saw the light and selling the FZ6, however due to the bribe I had laying ready for me from Yamie I got a brilliant deal on the 2010 R1, so will ride it from next week.

R1

Anyway found out about the power modes on it, not like the Gixxer where it restrict power. The way it works is with throttle control only, so Standard mode... Standard throttle response, A Mode is Speed Throttle response, B Mode is slower response, made for slippery conditions or for Trenty's.

When are you back on 2 wheels again? Have to test out the R1 on a decent tour...

Cheers Bard

 

[TonyBKK]

bard wrote: Well welcome to the forum "Not on a Yamaha" I finally saw the light and selling the FZ6, however due to the bribe I had laying ready for me from Yamie I got a brilliant deal on the 2010 R1, so will ride it from next week.

R1

Anyway found out about the power modes on it, not like the Gixxer where it restrict power. The way it works is with throttle control only, so Standard mode... Standard throttle response, A Mode is Speed Throttle response, B Mode is slower response, made for slippery conditions or for Trenty's.

When are you back on 2 wheels again? Have to test out the R1 on a decent tour...

Cheers Bard

Oh wow! Congratulations Bard! Surprised at your choice as I thought you were really keen on Triumph Speed Triple, but very much looking forward to checking out your new R1!
When are you back and ready to ride??? I'm hoping to head up north on ~28th to explore some of the fantastic roads around Nan again.
Ride On!
Tony

 

[bard]

Captain_Slash wrote:

Here it is, its the MT-03 that I was thinking of not the XT660X, I think this is the bike that they should bring in

They have the MT-03 in Yamaha Bangkok, they don't sell many of them tho so last time I chatted with Mr. Man he told me they get them on order. Have no idea about the price tho.

From the Cardamom ride the guys in Yamaha Riders Club is pumped on Cambodian offroad adventures so they will join with streetbikes to S'Ville then rent XR250's there for blasting around in Bokor Hill National Park. This is very good news as that will probably drive there interest to get in the XT's. Anyway they asked me to arrange a tour like this soon, so let's see the outcome.

Read all the posts about the R1 vs FJR, the R1 takes time to get used to. You cannot jump on one and ride in comfort, do some track time get the auxiliary setup right, suspension etc. Learn to sit on it without having any wrist pain, there should never be any weight on the handlebars. As soon as you sit relaxed on it, you can tour with it in ease. It will never beat the FJR in comfort on tours tho.
Also note MCN found out that in twisties they put it in B mode, with slower throttle response as the bike had so much power from down below it will spin out very fast until you get the throttle control right, so B mode in areas where you will crash and burn until you have better control.

I tested out the R1 for an entire day yesterday, and all I can say is WOW. Nimble and very fast, I figured out to put it in a higher gear and lower RPM in curves made it easy to ride, there is so much power from low RPM it's like riding a 2 cylinder bike, then you get the 4 pot top end. I was comfy on the whole ride, and played a lot with the modes, found the A mode to be suicidal but standard was fine on the road. Curves change to either B mode OR put it in a higher gear than you first think is right makes it very fast and easy to control in the curves.

Hey Tony, I'm back and I am all ready to ride. Right now I change the clutch on the XR plus some other small bits, and are changing to the new R1.

Nan tour but yes of course I am in, my new streetbike and me will be in a sick shape by then. That's what she's there for road touring, road fun and race track.

 

[Franz]

Hi Bard, congrats to your new toy !!!!! New model is a real brute & beauty !! Did that with the Standard/A/B mode already on the testride, finally rode all in standard just revved the engine higher so not to go into danger in pirouetting out of a corner. I really loved this bike, but won't go into the troubles of getting used to another one yet as right now I'm really starting to enjoy the slower but much more comffy FJR, she's quite quick if you dare.......Right now R1 for me is equal in my nephews & nice seeing my last will earlier than intended, I know meeeself, give me a quicker one and I'll still take on the challenge easily without any thought of increased speed and danger 555555555.
So that means I will see you & Tony somehwere before new year for a ride near Nan :mrgreen: :mrgreen: ........looking forward for another go !!!!! Cheers, Franz

 

[Not on a Yamaha]

bard wrote:
When are you back on 2 wheels again?

Cheers Bard

I predict to be back on my white Bengal spanking your R1 sometime in January.

 

[TonyBKK]

Not on a Yamaha wrote: [quote quote=bard]
When are you back on 2 wheels again?

Cheers Bard

I predict to be back on my white Bengal spanking your R1 sometime in January.
Talk is cheap!

 

[Not on a Yamaha]

TonyBKK wrote: [quote quote=Not on a Yamaha][quote quote=bard]
When are you back on 2 wheels again?

Cheers Bard

I predict to be back on my white Bengal spanking your R1 sometime in January.
Talk is cheap!

Yes you are correct. Still will enjoy doing so.
Look forward to seeing the R1 in the flesh.
How come the R1 is not restricted like the ZX1OR is from Kawasaki?

 

[bard]

Dude the R1 is import not a compliant little bugger like the ZX10R in Thailand. It will be great to ride with you on the Tiger again man. Get well soon the R1 is mine on Monday, matte black one.

I shall see how the Tiger runs vs the new R1 at the bottom end, as this is where it has changed the most and this is where the triple is strong. Tell you what when I get the exhaust it will be a seriously nice sound in it.

I get it delivered to Bira where I will run the engine in

It will be great riding the weapon up North and meet up with everyone again, will still have the stock exhaust tho but never mind at least I have something to look forward to when my new carbon cans arrive... They're loud, very loud... Probably get nailed in Patters so stickers off and claim it's stock I guess...

Absolutely Franz will be great to meet up and do some decent riding up North with you. Hopefully "Not on a Yamaha" has recovered enough to participate, I have to see how she rides with the Tiger. On the way up I'll just do 5km/h faster than the top of the Tiger to irritate else I will play it nice

 

[bard]

Not sure about the ZX10R to be honest, I do know it's very restricted in Thailand and much cheaper than the other brands. Maybe assembled in the Thai factory, maybe a special arrangement as it's restricted I am not sure.

All I know is the Yamie, Honda and Gixxer is not restricted, plus much more expensive. I assumed it's assembled in the Thai Kawasaki factory to government regulations to manage to get that price, but I might be wrong.

I read all Kawasaki bikes will be made in Thailand from 2010, again that might be a rumor with nothing behind it. But there could be a connection between price, restriction and this rumor.

 

[LivinLOS]

bard wrote:
I read all Kawasaki bikes will be made in Thailand from 2010, again that might be a rumor with nothing behind it. But there could be a connection between price, restriction and this rumor.

Yes quite a few articles saying how Kwaker were moving ALL big bike production out of Japan to Thailand.

So if thats true.. Does it mean the 2010 z1000 arrives on the market, at a Kwaker style price ??

 

[bard]

The ZX10R is already cheap compared to the other brands. R1 is 870k baht, including reg and 1 year full insurance which is worth about 70k. Still 800k...

The Gixxer is 30k cheaper than the Yamaha and the Honda, well that is only grey import prices on for the moment so very hard to tell. The ZX10R is 630k, 120 - 170k cheaper than any of the others. The negative point with it is that it's very restricted in power in Thailand, and the buyers spend a good deal of money and effort just to get stock power (as the EU, US and AP models) out of them.

Yamaha in Pattaya (which is also the Kawasaki big bike dealer) told me the ZX10R is not popular at all, and very hard to sell. They sell more R1's than ZX10R's, from the price perspective that should be weird, as you would expect the bike to sell much more for the way lower price.

 

[feejer]

bard wrote: The ZX10R is already cheap compared to the other brands. R1 is 870k baht, including reg and 1 year full insurance which is worth about 70k. Still 800k...

Scary prices. If I ever get to moving over there, will have to go "pre-owned". How do R1/FZ1-ish bikes depreciate over there? Decent, 2-3 year old stuff possible to be had for 450K, more/less?

And 70K for reg/ins sounds crazy. How much of that is insurance? I pay about 15K baht (US equiv $450/yr) on my FJR here. I would think Thailand would be much less without all the litigation and ambulance chasing lawyers.

 

[bard]

Bikes are expensive here if you want an import.

Problem with second hand is they are most likely gray import, dodgy books etc. Insurance on these bikes are extremely expensive, a friend of mine has only one insurer willing and they demand 80k baht per year for 1st class insurance.

Benefit when you buy from a legal dealer is way cheaper insurance, brand new R1 is 22k baht for 1st class with unlimited mileage. So I save 2000$ per year buying a new one, plus warranty for 2 years if I manage to blow up the engine, only original parts in it etc.
Best deal on a literbike is the Yamaha FZ1 with or without fairing, unless you want track weapon it's a great bike.

You can get proper 2nd hand bikes, hard to find tho and more importantly you have no clue if this is a "import" made from wrecked bikes.

Yes bikes cost an arm and a leg here, the only cheap bikes is Kawa ER6n and Ninja 650R, every other big bike is way more expensive.

Compared to the prices in US Thailand is extremely expensive, compared to most of Europe it's not really, and in comparison to the European insurance prices it's very cheap.

 

[Franz]

Just to add to Bard's reply: FJR1300A first class insurance per year THB 12.500,- now in my second year, Tax per year THB 400,-. Got the bike in March 2008. Insurance and Tax is done by BAF, the leasing/financing arm of Yamaha Thailand, good services & prices, low interest too.
Tax for SRX600 per year: THB 100,-, compulsory insurance per year THB 645,- // Pay the same for the NT400Bros. Small STEP125, tax THB 100,- per year, insurance THB 324,-.
Cheers, Franz