Yamaha Fjr1300ae

CW RIDING IMPRESSION

YAMAHA FJR1300AE

It changes gears electrically, but you still have to give a shift

PAUL DEAN

"THIS BIKE DOES NOT HAVE AN automatic transmission," said Bob Starr, Yamaha's Corporate Communications Manager. "Anyone who calls it an 'automatic' will be fined five bucks for each infraction."

Starr made this proclamation during the recent press introduction of the 2006 FJR1300 in San Diego, California. I and a dozen other moto-joumalists then spent the next day hammering both of Yamaha’s new-and-improved sport-tourers along the scenic mountain roads northeast of the city. I logged a little time on the FJR1300A, which has a conventional five-speed gearbox, but I racked up almost 350 miles on the model Starr was referring to, the FJR1300AE that incorporates motorcycling’s first electric-shift technology.

Starr wasn’t serious about his threat of financial sanctions, of course. He was just trying to make sure the press corps understood an important fact: The AE has to be shifted manually, just like any other motorcycle. The only differences are in where the rider can input those shift commands and how they are subsequently carried out.

On the standard FJR, shifting is entirely conventional. The rider’s left hand works the clutch lever and left foot moves the shift lever, causing mechanical linkages to operate the clutch and change gears. But the AE doesn’t even have a clutch lever, and it offers two means of changing gears: a left-foot lever and a small finger-operated toggle next to the left handgrip. Neither of those is connected to anything mechanical; they operate electrical switches working through the ECU (main engine computer) to control servo motors that change gears and work the clutch (see sidebar, pg. 60).

Yamaha calls this technology YCC-S (Yamaha Chip Controlled-Shift), and it is only one of the FJR’s many changes and improvements for 2006. Both models now include linked AB S braking as standard equipment; both feature three-wayadjustable handlebars and a two-position seat offering a .8-inch variation in height; and the electric windscreen rises an inch farther and sits 2 inches closer to the rider. The detachable hard bags are the same as on previous FJRs but a new subframe mounts them closer together, narrowing overall width by 2 inches. Heated grips are included on the electric-shift FJR, optional on the standard model. And while the styling is more aggressive, the FJR still looks like.. .well, like an FJR.

Down in the engine bay, the 1298cc inline-Four is unchanged. The exhaust houses two more catalysts (one in each muffler, assisting the two existing cats in the collector pipes), along with a heated O2 sensor that provides more-accurate exhaust-gas data when the engine is cof Overall gearing is 2 percent taller for more-relaxed cruising, and the swingarm is 35mm longer for improved rear-suspension action.

Electric shifting aside, the big news about this year’s FJR is that riders of this acclaimed sport-tourer are no longer slowroasted in heat thrown off by the engine and radiator. Yamaha has devised an elaborate air-management system that diverts the heat outward and downward, using ducted cool air to help drive hot air away from the cockpit. This called for a complete redesign of the fairing, along with the use of a curved radiator, twin cooling fans and a large heat shield beneath the tank. And to answer the question before you ask it, no, this air-management system cannot be adapted to earlier FJRs.

That’s too bad, because it works wonderfully. Even when I rode the AE into the 102-degree blast furnace they call the Anza-Borrego Desert, I felt no heat radiating from the engine. That feature alone makes the ’06 FJR a vast improvement over its predecessors.

So, too, does the electric shifting perform admirably. Aside from not having a clutch to operate, shifting with the AE’s foot lever feels about the same as it does on any other motorcycle. With the handlebar shifter, a flick of the lever toward you with your index finger produces an immediate upshift, while flicking it the other way (or pushing the rear of the L-shaped lever forward with your thumb) results in a downshift. All the while, the ECU modulates the rate of clutch engagement according to prevailing conditions (engine rpm, road speed, etc.) so there is never any clunking or jerking. Even when you don’t blip the throttle during downshifts (the system doesn’t do it for you), the result usually is at least as smooth as it is with conventional transmissions.

In fact, gearchanges in both directions are so smooth that a knowledgeable passenger would never suspect that anything different was going on with the gearbox.

Neither does the electric shifting detract from the bike’s ability to shred a backroad. Still possessing all the brute power that has made it a modem performance legend, the FJR flies down the road not with the wail of a 15,000-rpm repli-racer but with the gutteral groan of an unstoppable 9000-rpm torque monster. In that regard, the manner of shifting, electric or mechanical, is almost irrelevant; the FJR goes like hell in any gear, any time, just as it has since its introduction in 2003.

It also handles as deftly and gracefully as ever, though it still comes up just a bit short on cornering clearance for aggressive sport riding. But the longer swingarm reduces the chassis-jacking this shaft-driver exhibits when the throttle is snapped open or closed, and the linked braking is all but invisible. Mashing the rear brake pedal activates both of the rear caliper’s dual pistons but only two of the right-front caliper’s four; the six other front pistons come into play only when the front-brake lever is applied. So unobtrusive is the linked system that I learned about it at the tech briefing but completely forgot about it while riding the bike.

If you aren’t warming to the idea of electric shifting, not to worry: Only about one in five ’06 FJRs will be delivered with the YCC-S system. But regardless of whether shifted conventionally or with the aid of Ben Franklin’s 18th-century discovery, the new FJR1300 is a wickedly fast, exceedingly comfortable, exceptionally nimble piece of sport-touring equipment. And at $13,499 ($15,299 for the YCC-S version), it’s considerably less expensive than its closest competitor, BMW’s stellar new K1200GT.

We’re planning a comparison between these two in the near future. Both are powerhouses that have earned top Sport-Touring honors in our annual Ten Best Bikes competition, so that showdown promises to be epic. Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait.

For additional photography of the 2006 YamahaFJR1300 AE, visit www.cycleworld.com