2006 Yamaha FJR1300 – E-shift anyone.
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005 at 4:17 pm by gothicbeaST
I am a happy owner of a Honda 2004 ST1300 non ABS. When I was looking for a new ride last year, I came down to a few bikes. I was getting rid of a BMW and really did not want to live with a small dealer network for service. The Yamaha FJR1300 was on the top of my list, but the pre-order thing made my life difficult. All the local Yamaha dealers with an FJR1300 wanted over asking price for the bike. Couple that with a too small rear seat for my wife and a 1 year warrantee and I went with the ST1300 and never looked back.

Yamaha FJR1300AE
For 2006 Yamaha has updated the FJR1300. This is not a complete change, but a change to fix some problems and do a bit of updating.
The Sport Touring market is really small in the US, but in Europe these bikes are very popular. So the FJR1300 and the Honda ST1300 really fight it out. But by the looks of the changes to the FJR1300, Yamaha is trying to capture some of the Honda ST1300 buyers.
FJR1300A Updates
- Reducing heat on the rider by adding several flow though vents and narrowing the radiator.
- Adjustable seat height (2 positions for 20mm of range)
- Adjustable handlebars (3 positions)
- Increased range of adjustment for the windscreen (128mm from 80mm)
- Lowering of the passenger footrests for comfort. (40mm forward and 25mm lower)
- New “Unified Braking” system
- Longer swingarm (+35mm)
- Revised gearing of 2.7% taller in every gear
- New Meter with Gear Position and MPG meter (Avg and Instant)
- New Headlamp (To allow vents on either side for cool air to rider)
- Standard DC Power outlet
- ABS Standard
- $600 less than an ST1300 and $1700 less than an ABS ST1300
The interesting model is FJR1300AE

Yamaha FJR1300AE - No Clutch Lever!
Now that “E” is for electric shift. Yes you are reading correctly, we are talking about a motorcycle without a clutch lever. The shifting is done via “Paddles” on the bars or stabbing at the gear shift lever. The FJR1300 will then shift gears for you doing all the clutch work. My wife will love this as she hates having to use the clutch.
I don’t know what to say about that, but I am blown away by this new technology.
My take on all of this:
The heat issue is really bad on the FJR1300, but the ST1300 is a bit warm to. Both bikes suffer from the “Tupperware” effect of few places to send heat out of the bike. When the temps are 100+ your lower legs bake on the ST1300, while you’re whole body bakes on the FJR1300.
The Adjustable seat unified breaking, MPG gauge all point to matching the ST1300’s features. I love my adjustable seat on my ST1300, but the range is 60mm on the ST1300 vs 20mm on the FJR1300. I am not a fan of the linked brake concept, as I am a heavy front brake user, but I do say using the foot pedal does stop my ST1300 hard.
I wish every bike came with a gear indicator. Call me stupid, but I really like to know what gear I am in and not reach for that next gear when there is none.
But the electric shift bike is going to take the motorcycle world to a new level. I think many people avoid bikes due to the clutch. Having a clutchless bike really would make things easier for people. I know I own an automatic car for my wife’s need, and I can see the advantage of a semi-automatic motorcycle. If the bike can shift the gears, all the computer needs to do is decide when to shift for you.
The price difference is a big deal, and it really was a factor for my ST1300 purchase.
In the end one of the downsides is the Yamaha warrantee is just not that long. I want a BMW grade warrantee with my bike and the Yamaha YES plan only extends my warrantee to 5 years. I was able to extend my ST1300 warrantee out to 7 years with no limit in mileage.
I am happy that the updated FJR1300 is out and I hope that it improves the field in the US. I personally think any motorcycle that is not used for racing or bar hopping should have bags. I like being able to carry stuff in hard luggage and lock it away when I am away from the bike.
Anyway I am still blown away by the electric shift version… I wonder how much?

Yamaha FJR1300AE E-Shift
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I want this semi-auto gear box on a lighter bike as my daily commuter ! Provided it works the clutch smoothly at low speed of course.