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Yamaha FJR1300A

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Back on the road again, and this time I’m out in Arizona with Yamaha North America, riding the recently updated 2016 Yamaha FJR1300 sport-tourer.

Tomorrow sees our group leaving Phoenix and heading up into Sedona, where the red earth and picturesque mesas should make for an epic backdrop to our full day of riding.

For those who don’t know, the FJR1300 is a model that Yamaha has been slowly evolving each model year, instead of making punctuated improvements every few years. This makes it a surprising machine for press launch, but it also happens to be an important one for us to evaluate.

The sport-touring segment is surprisingly hot right now, with 17% growth in the past year, thanks mostly to the Yamaha FJ-09. There are some who think that the sport-touring market is dead, supplanted by the adventure-sport category, yet for some veteran riders, the ethos of the Yamaha FJR1300 is ideal.

The big news for the 2016 model year is the addition of a new six-speed gearbox, which should make highway speeds a bit more friendly. We will also be keen to tryout the suite of electronics on the base model FJR1300A, and experience the electronic suspension on the FJR1300ES, both of which were on the 2015 models, but are new to us.

As usual, I will attempt to answer questions regarding the 2016 Yamaha FJR1300 from the road. We will have two days of riding on the machine, so that should be ample opportunity for A&R to get acquainted with this venerable sport-tourer, and give you the skinny on its qualities.

As before, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Yamaha personnel that are here with me in Arizona. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via FacebookTwitter, and Instagram. You can also try searching for the hashtags: #FJR1300 for the thoughts of our colleagues as well.

The Yamaha FJR1300 is an icon in the sport-touring world. First introduced in the U.S. in 2002 as a 2003 model, the FJR1300’s development over the years has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

2016 is no different, with beneficial new features added to both the standard model (FJR1300A) and the electronic suspension model (FJR1300ES), while retaining the tried and true 1,298cc in-line four engine with shaft drive and familiar FJR styling.

The sport-touring market in the U.S. has changed a lot over the last decade, with much of that change being driven by the ever increasing popularity of ADV bikes. Most of the big Japanese and European manufacturers have shifted their focus to the adventure market, and have either chosen not to update their sport-touring line, or have eliminated it all together.

Yamaha is keenly aware of that fact and continues to actively update their sport-touring machines in what they see as an important market niche. As such, Yamaha has done a lot of research on the desires of its sport-touring customers and found that these bikes are being used less for short rides and commuting and more for full day rides and long touring.

Additionally, their research found that technology is extremely important to the sport-touring rider. With that in mind, Yamaha added a number of new features to the 2016 Yamaha FJR1300 that should enhance comfort and safety, while still retaining the same familiar look and feel of previous generations.

Everyone is entitled to a bad day at the office, and for motorcycle journalists, that phrase usually means crashing a press bike during a bike launch or test. You expect to run that risk when you are riding hard at the track, or maybe on a twisty or unfamiliar canyon road, but a solo-crash on a deserted city street? Not so much.

Proving that you can never let your guard down, especially when it comes to riding along the water’s edge, our dear colleagues at the esteemed French publication Moto Journal got a quick reminder to mind the panniers.

With the 2013 Yamaha FJR1300A at over seven feet in length, some gorilla math puts the drop at 10 to 15 feet for our protagonist, who somehow drops directly into the boat along the pier’s edge. How he and the bike didn’t end up in the drink is beyond comprehension. Hopefully the only thing hurt was Lolo’s pride.

You have to give the folks at Moto Journal some credit for having some good humor and posting this video up to YouTube. No doubt, they will be the brunt of every other motorcycle publication’s joke for the next week.

Thanks to our good friends at the Dutch site Oliepeil, we have our first glimpse at the updated 2013 Yamaha FJ1300A. Said by Yamaha to have minor updates for the upcoming model year, it is clear from these photos that the FJR has spent some time at the spa, and gotten a visual makeover. What is underneath the fairings is anyone’s guess, though beyond some upgraded systems, the new Yamaha FJR1300A seems relative unchanged, which should surprise no one.

Exposed by Akrapovic’s 2013 exhaust catalog, the pictures here show the Yamaha FJR1300A with an aftermarket exhaust (of course), as well as a new instrument cluster, which supposedly makes way for the addition of traction control to the sport-tourer. Leaked EPA document’s peg the 2013 Yamaha FJR1300A as staying with its 1,298cc motor and 143 hp, seemingly putting to bed suggestions that the FJR will get a displacement boost for 2013.