How comfortable is the FJR for 2 UP?

[Clovis]

How comfortable is a FJR for two-person long distance riding (multi day, 500+ miles per day). If you could, please let me know your experience as the rider and for your passenger.

I'm planning out the route for a 4-5k trip to the west coast next year and I envision my wife coming. I have a FZ6 and we occasionally ride 2 up but about 300 miles is the max we can take. I feel squeezed between her and the tank and she has this small seat with thin padding.

I'm going back and forth between the FJR and a FZ1 -- looking only at used.

and 2006 or newer FZ1 runs $4000-6000 locally.
A 2005 or newer FJR runs $7,000 to $10,000 locally.

I'm very familiar with the FZ1s but the FJRs are kind of rare (at least in my crowd).

Is one paticular model year of the FJR better then another? Is there a year to avoid? I'm fine with touring on a FZ but being that it's roughly the same size as the FZ6 I can see doing long distance touring 2 up.

The main appeal of the FJR for me is touring and 2 up ability.

Thanks for your advice!

-Clovis

[BentAero]

Stick with the 2nd gen fjr; 2006 or newer. My wife has been with me for roughly 15k out of the 50k miles I've put on my fjr, including trips of 4400 miles and 3100 miles. The best thing we ever did for her comfort was have Rocky Meyer build a seat. The pillion seat on an fjr slopes forward pretty bad, so she would slide forward all the time. Rocky fixed that, now she is in mc bliss. We have no regrets on the fjr. Fwiw, we put 35k on a ST1300 prior.

[BigBeavk]

We really enjoy our 07 FJR with the dual Russel DayLong touring seat. We've put in several 10 to 12 days and yes we were tired but not sore from the seat. It would help you know we are 5'6 and 5'4  and have plenty of room to shift around a little. I could see it may be a problem for a much larger couple but for us it's all we need. Find someone in your area on the FJR forum that will at least let you sit on theirs to check out the seating arrangement. Every year around this time someone starts a group buy so you can get a 20% discount. I think we paid $570 or something for ours. It was well worth it. There is highway pegs and lowering brackets for the rear pegs if you are taller.

 

[Bounce]

Personal comfort is a personal thing. I've ridden both the Fizzer and the Feejer and would hands-down give the nod to the Feejer for distance riding.

[gradus]

Make sure to leave money for a 1-way ticket home if needed.  Going from an occasional 300 mile day to 500+ per day for 4k-5k miles is a big jump.  

[Flying W]

I owned an 05 and my wife could never get really comfortable on it because of wind blasting her (5' 7" 125 lb) I tried three different windshields and only with it at its highest position did one of them offer any relief but not much. I sold it  because I wanted something lighter with less bodywork and bought a Bandit 1250 and installed all the factory touring stuff but figured even with the touring windshield it would be bad for her... To my suprise she says its one of the most comfortable bikes I have ever owned at least from her pillion spot and that it rivals my 03 wing for comfort.. I find that hard to believe but if it gets her out riding more who am I to argue.

[Baz]

I have an 06 FJR and the wife loves the comfort compared to my old Bandit.

We have done a 12 hour day with really no complaints with the stock seats and C-Baily screen.

[billo]

FJR years to avoid.
http://www.bestbits.org/ticking_overview.html

[birdrunner]

One of the most pillion friendly bikes is a DL1000.  I've heard many raves about it's passenger comfort.

Coming from a FZ6,  Bikes such as Blackbird, Busa, ZZR, Connie will all be much more comfortable, but most (not all) people get a custom saddle (Corbin et al).  These bikes can be had cheap, and many are already set up.  One of the keys to passenger comfort is some sort of backrest ... a tail trunk is ideal.

I sold my GSXR  and got a XX for my wife's comfort  (at least that's what I told her).  She believed me and is actually content to cross the continent on the back.  Normal days are 3 to 4 hundred miles, a long day is 500 plus.   Our longest trip was to W. Virginia and we spent 13 days on the road.

[Rampant]

I had a first gen FJR.  Only rode 2 up a few times but it was reasonably comfy.  Passenger(s) said the pipes got uncomfortably hot though.  Comfort seems to be based on how tall a person is.  Really tall people... not the best.

Don't know about second gen FJR

[sfalexi]

Whatever you get, budget for a custom seat, and you'll be fine.

Stock seat my wife seemed "ok" on the FJR.  Secondhand Russell seat GREATLY increased the comfort.