A Cool Ride on Yamaha's FJR 1300 AE - Electric Shift

To shift or not to shift…that is the question...

Stewart Crouch

Last Saturday morning I was responsible for leading the Snowball Haul Sport Touring ride. I spent some time in the morning laying out a route that would be interesting without going too far away and allow us to be back to the dealership within 2 hours. 

Since temperatures were going to be in the upper 30s and mid 40s I pulled out my moderate gear. Into the garage to fire up the bike and I got nothing but the dreaded click, click, click, and click. Arggg, why didn’t I hook up that battery tender last night? No time to charge the battery so I loaded up everything in the truck and headed to the store.

Now I had to decide what to ride. I had multiple choices from our selection of nice used bikes; a 1000cc sport bike, no that’s too much, a 600cc sport bike, no I wanted something different.

That’s when the used FJR1300AE caught my eye.

Having ridden a few FJRs in the past I knew it handled well and the larger fairing would be welcome in the chilly morning air. But it was the AE model with the automatic clutch or electric, paddle-style shifting options. Now I am an old-school rider and have believed riding a motorcycle means shifting gears with a clutch. Oh well, time was running out and the idea of the extra wind coverage looked real good, so the FJR it was.

Yamaha only had the AE option available for a few years, thinking the sport-touring crowd would like to ditch the clutch, but it never really caught on. The system allows you to shift two ways.  You can shift the foot lever and simply roll on the throttle (automatic clutch), like a kid’s small dirt bike and manual shift ATV...or you shift using the paddle style levers on the left side of the handlebar (electric shift). With the electric shift option, you use your forefinger to up-shift and your thumb to downshift.

I spent about half the time in each mode but liked the paddle shift mode best. I found that once I got used to it, I was able to shift so smoothly it seemed like a completely automatic transmission. I admit that before I got used to the lever location, there were a few times I beeped the horn when I went to downshift…"Sorry, buddy!".  The automatic shift worked exactly as advertised, but I couldn't help think "Formula One Driver" each time I shifted with the paddles.

I rode one of the AE models a few years ago and had mixed thoughts.  I liked the way it handled and rode, but had a little trouble with the way the transmission engaged in some situations. At that time, whenever I had to make a 90-degree turn the transmission engaged more than I expected causing me to run wider than anticipated. That experience was on my mind the first time I came to a stop sign to turn left. Maybe I smoothed my technique or maybe I was just more aware, but this time transmission engagement was not an issue. I was able to make the stop, do 90-degree turns and stay on my line in the turn effortlessly.

 The AE model also has an “on the fly” adjustable windshield. I found I like the shield either all the way up or all the way down but it was interesting feeling the difference in wind buffeting as the shield went up or down. Now I am tall at 6’3” but if I ran the shield all the way up and scrunched down 2” or so there was no wind noise at all. If you are tall and want a quiet ride there are a number of taller shields available. 

The other nice feature for taller riders is the option to run the seat in a higher position, which gives a little more legroom, which would make a big difference at the end of a long day.

So...to shift or not to shift? If you are in the market for a sport tourer, should you consider the AE model? 

Absolutely.  There is much more to this bike that just the shifting modes. You at least owe it to yourself to take one for a ride. It might just change your mind. It got me thinking.

Thanks for reading...now go for a ride!                 
Stewart