Yamaha 3 Cylinder Sport Touring Bike

Warren said:
The 2015 FJ-09 is out. 115HP. Hard bags available as an extra. Price is $10,490. It does have a chain. 462 lbs wet.

It reminds me of a mini Super Tenere

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/reviews/2015-yamaha-fj-09-first-ride-motorcycle-review
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Thanks for posting that. Interesting, but I agree with the comment that 180 miles on a tank is a little low. If it is set up as a tourer I would hope for 230+ miles on a tank.

I almost ran out of gas on my DR650 with a 5.1g tank coming home from Spearfish in 2013. That got me 210 miles that day fighting the wind.

Hopefully there will be an aftermarket tank option available.
 
The 180 miles to a tank assumes 38 mpg which seems low to me. The 38 mpg was based on what the tester was getting on his FZ-09. I have a feeling he rides it hard.

I would guess the way I ride I would get in the mid 40's. Still not the same range I get on my NT but it over 200 miles per tank. For me this bike would be overkill for what I need but it is a nice package for a middle weight bike. I think the seat height would also be to high for me at 33+ inches
 
It is more of an Adventure touring bike. Which the manufactures are trying to rename as sport touring. Real Sport Touring bikes have included hard bags, optional top boxes, at least a 5 gal. fuel tank, and A DRIVE SHAFT. Adventure touring bikes had all that but a more up right seating position and more ground clearance, with a chain drive. The manufactures are trying to Blurr the dividing line between these two types of machines. With that said... Anybody can tour, ether, sport or adventure, on any type of bike or scooter.
 
Chucksklrst said:
It is more of an Adventure touring bike. Which the manufactures are trying to rename as sport touring. Real Sport Touring bikes have included hard bags, optional top boxes, at least a 5 gal. fuel tank, and A DRIVE SHAFT. Adventure touring bikes had all that but a more up right seating position and more ground clearance, with a chain drive. The manufactures are trying to Blurr the dividing line between these two types of machines. With that said... Anybody can tour, ether, sport or adventure, on any type of bike or scooter.
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OK, I'll take the bait...

Let's see...590 pounds wet...130hp...160+ top speed...comfy ergos...great handling...9 liters less luggage capacity than a new Gold Wing...220+ miles before thinking about finding a gas station...and a chain! Not a "Real Sport Touring" bike? (Hint - I ride one!) :ukflag1:

The manufacturers are all trying to find bikes that will sell. I applaud Yamaha for adding a potential sport touring bike to their lineup to augment their sport touring bike. I'm hoping they can do the job right and actually get more people interested in a bike that is a weekday commuter, weekend road burner and summer epic ride mount. It's even better when you don't need a second mortgage to afford it. :wink:

Cheers,
 
bicyclist said:
What's the fuel mileage on one of these machines?
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I have been tracking mine using Fuelly... My best tank so far was 50.9 mpg (mostly backroads) worst was 43.9 (100+ miles at 85mph followed by some fun riding around the lakes).
Average over 19 fill-ups is 47.9. My normal riding is my 140-mile round trip commute, 20% city and 80% on the slab at 80-ish mph.
 
Warren said:
The 180 miles to a tank assumes 38 mpg which seems low to me. The 38 mpg was based on what the tester was getting on his FZ-09. I have a feeling he rides it hard.

I would guess the way I ride I would get in the mid 40's. Still not the same range I get on my NT but it over 200 miles per tank. For me this bike would be overkill for what I need but it is a nice package for a middle weight bike. I think the seat height would also be to high for me at 33+ inches
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I would bet most all the moto mag testers ride the bikes hard, just observe their ride photos. Plus they push the bike's limits for their reviews. I agree average riders will do better on the average mpg on any tested bike.
I have been averaging 52.4mpg on the Wee and about the same average mpg on the NT.
 
To me the Yammy is just another bike. Touring? Well, yeah, you can tour on anything if you put luggage on it. Other than that it seems to be just another bike with a too small fairing.

If I wanted a chain I would have bought a Triumph Sprint or Trophy a long time ago.

I'd still love a VFR800 with a bit more fairing for a touring bike. If they could add the shaft and DCT from the VFR1200 that would be even better.
 
I think the NT will be the last new bike we will see that's under 1 liter with a shaft drive.
 
Warren said:
I think the NT will be the last new bike we will see that's under 1 liter with a shaft drive.
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You're probably right, but Honda's still builds lots of cruisers with our final drive. So, at least for Honda, it wouldn't be a big investment to get back into the shaft drive sport-tourer market.
 
KazooST said:
Average over 19 fill-ups is 47.9.
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Thanks, Patrick. One of the things I look for is good fuel mileage.

Warren said:
I think the NT will be the last new bike we will see that's under 1 liter with a shaft drive.
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You're probably right. Shaft drive is more expensive to produce and bikes under 1 liter couldn't be price competitive, unless they all used it.

Modern chain drive is pretty decent, but would be much better if the chain was enclosed. An enclosed chain is quieter and stays cleaner.
 
mikesim said:
Although, I probably would not dump Traveller, a Yammy entry into the sport touring market might provide the impetus to Honda to get off their duff and do likewise.

Mike
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Mother Honda is not that smart, she would rather see her dealers lose money is sales to Yamaha dealers and FJR's!

Eldon
 
Warren said:
The 180 miles to a tank assumes 38 mpg which seems low to me. The 38 mpg was based on what the tester was getting on his FZ-09. I have a feeling he rides it hard.

I would guess the way I ride I would get in the mid 40's. Still not the same range I get on my NT but it over 200 miles per tank. For me this bike would be overkill for what I need but it is a nice package for a middle weight bike. I think the seat height would also be to high for me at 33+ inches
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I agree that 38 is a little low. My brief visit to Fuelly tells me most FZ-09 riders are getting 40-42. I remember one rider seemed to average 44. So It sounds like a better distance per tank average would be just above 200 miles.

To me, this would be barely adequate. I had to put the aftermarket tank on my DR to get over 5 gallons and Acerbis now has a new version that adds at least another gallon. I am seriously considering putting the newer bigger one on. The DR is very variable on conditions, but I have had tanks of highway touring where I was easily in the 50s and in the mountains I was in the 60s. If I was touring some of the same places and the range was ~200 I would be worrying about it. I don't want to worry about things like that.

The range is my only nit-pick on this bike. Despite this, I am going to keep an eye on it. I might be in the market for a new motorcycle this spring. Fuelly results show the Super Tenere in the same ballpark MPG wise with a bigger tank. Just have to burn 91 octane. I have been places that only offer 87. So that is my biggest nit-pick with the Super Ten. I am not sure what octane this 3 cylinder engine runs.
 
And I continue to want a 750-800cc shaft-drive sport-touring bike with a good fairing and a 6-gallon gas tank.

I'm guessing I'm gong to be disappointed for a long time.
 
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