If so, is the bike a good tourer? How is the wind protection at highway speeds? Worth the $$?
Anything else you can tell me about the bike is much appreciated, if there are any owners here to begin with.
Hey bud,
Crazy timing. I just rode the FZ09, FJ09 and the Tenere on the Canada Yamaha test rides today.
Coles notes.
The FZ09 is a couch suspension wise and with light weight and power is a hooligan giggle ride. Lot's of fun. Holy snatchy A mode (sport) FI. Run it in standard.
The FJ09 is a great ride. Surprisingly it is a lot different than the FZ09. The suspension is better sorted, and more firm like bikes I'm used to. The throttle tune is also more neutral than the FZ09. Thought it is still twitchy in the sport A mode,... go standard mode in the city and it works well. The bike does the job, can be very fast, but instead of FZ09 type accidental wheelies, consider it more intentional wheelies in that capacity. The bike has lots of power, but likes some rev's. I rode in 2nd gear to 60 mph for example. It can do that, and do it well. And the FJ had much less buzzy bars than the FZ at everywhere, including 100 - 120 kph.
I liked the seat and it is adjustable. The seating position is more comfortable as well. All this adds up to a more neutral ride. Wind protection was far superior to the FZ09 (not surprising), but not perfect either. In my ride, visor down on a ff helmet was notably preferred to open visor, let alone an open face helmet (at least with the stock wind screen). And FWIW, the FJ09 looks so much better in person than the magazine pictures. It is beautiful, with attention to many details.
My only advice would be to also ride the Tenere. That bike was the sleeper of the test ride. It has tons of power and character. It has better low end power than the FJ, though the FJ has better top end power if that matters. It had notably more oomph from 3-5k rpm, then at 7k rpm + the FJ09 came into its own. I'd characterize it as the Tenere pulls hard instantly (with still a relatively high rpm ceiling), while the FJ09 pulls slower with a more sport bike rush at mid-high rpm and with a high rpm ceiling. The Tenere had over-the-top power for an adventure tourer, great wind protection, great character, a total surprise. It has a big intake honk on large throttle, which combined with the low end torque of a parallel twin makes it very responsive... plus that sound
. I'd call it a hooligan adventure tourer bike, and it had more character than the FJ09.
IMO, the FZ09 and FJ09 are two of the best bang for buck bikes out there. Definitely for touring the FJ09 is a big step up from the FZ09, at a great price.
