All Things BMW Boxer:RT vs FJR

[@shakey2634]

I travel with friends and among us is a Honda VFR 800, an FJR and an BMW RT. We’ve all ridden each other’s bikes and agree, the VFR is more Sport, the RT is more Tourer and the FJR is right in the middle.

[@BenzAddiction]

Very good comparison video. Thanks mate.

[@michaelgill5186]

From my experience which goes back 46 years of riding , The Yamaha will be totally reliable , The BM ? always a question mark , parts and servicing the Yamaha wins, glad you have both, Ive owned many BMW cars , I would Never own a BMW bike. Yamaha forever !

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

Hi Michael. Thanks for your comment. The RT has been pretty good. Over the 185000Km I've had it..the only problems it has had are: speedometer partial failure, throttle position indicator failure and exhaust butterfly valve motor failure. The Speedo costs $3k fitted, which is a bit steep...the other two problems I fixed myself for $300 (exhaust servo motor flap bypassed...thanks to Skutrnet). I would heartily reccomend the RT as it is a quality machine with quality components and easy to work on.

[@stevendegreef93]

The speedo went kaputt, how can you disregard that, and it s 3000$ price tag for some stupid dials that shouldn’t even break to start with??

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

@@stevendegreef93 yes, the speedo issue is a bigee and has ultimately led to the bike being dismantled and the engine will be used as a paramotor quad engine. It was repairable, but not really worth spending the money with other second-hand bikes being affordable...for $6k upwards

[@simon9447]

Thanks for that great summary. I have owned both and loved both. I was happy on either one but I felt the yammy had a bit more sophistication about it. I would ride around Aus on either.

[@grahamoldfield3474]

. These are ex POLICE bikes . The NSW Police switched to Yamaha because of the extreme cost of maintenance . They used to sell them of around the 40- 50,000Klm mark . The Yamaha they sell off around the 110,000 mark . Simply put the Yamaha have a 20 year history of lasting a long time and are far cheaper to maintain. Forget doing a vale adjustment on an FJR . You do one after 20- 40,000 Klm , thats it ,they never need another adjustment , Spark plugs are dependant on quality , generally 70,000 klms is when I replace mine . The BMW is far easier to ride at very low speed e.g. turns , due to the weight being so low according to Police I have spoken to over the years . They ALL love the Yamaha over the BMW except for low speed u turns . . Suspension on bikes is dependant on milage and if they have replaced the shocks on the BMW or rear shock on the FJR .IMO the rear shocks on most bikes are stuffed after about 50,000 klm . Upgrade the rear shock and change folk oil on the Yamaha , upgrade both shocks on the BMW . Ive just serviced the Forks on the 2008 FJR and will replace the rear shock with a 3 way adjustable high quality shock from one of my other bikes . The Clunky first gear on the FLR has a bit to do with the clutch wear , adjustment and oil used . Gearboxes are hard on ordinary engine oil that they share . I have had great improvement when using diesel oil as its designed for higher sheer loads ,witch is what gearboxes do . Ordinary oil goes clunkier faster than diesel oil in my experience .Oil is cheap replace it , DO NOT use friction modified oil ( they are generally higher in Molly to reduce friction ) this can affect the " wet" clutch . Both bikes are far more capable than 99.99 % of riders . I prefer the FJR , REMEMBER BMW stands for Bring More Wallet .

[@Andrei_K1G1K]

Well the BMW is also an old Police bike so it doesn't have as many electronic displays and it has a slightly lower final gear ratio. I have a 2009 and that thing LOVES to be thrown around the canyons. Yet in town it's super nice because the sitting position is nice and upright. If you ride the BMW between 6 and 8000 RPM, you can keep up with most outright sport bikes.

[@charlys1219h]

It will be great if you carry the mic with you at a the time for better sound ..

[@Crazygaucho62]

Leaning Towards the FJR only because of maintenance cost , really love the R bmw but is more out of nostalgia, my only concern is that I’m only 5’ 7” , don’t worry much about the weight my current bike is over 800lbs …

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

The FJR is a good choice, lovely engine. I think the stock rear suspension unit is horrible though and needs to be replaced by an aftermarket unit...maybe Hagon, if you are on a budget.

[@Crazygaucho62]

@@lornescott-wilson6144 I was kind of wishing you’d recommend the BMW ……rode on the tank of my Dad’s R50 , when I was about 5 years old ( I know today’s probably a crime,I thanks God , I thanks God I was born on another era ) well put video thanks again .

[@staffordvideoproductions5788]

Hey Lorne I liked your video. I agree on the first gear from neutral clunk. I find if I’m just a little assertive it goes in pretty easily but I’ve also found that if I click up to second from neutral and then put it in first, it goes in a lot easier. It would’ve been nice to see your chart a little better but it looks like the bottom numbers were the same?

[@jivadaya6439]

Nothing clunks like a BMW :D Part of its charm I suppose - They are both beautiful!

[@Golfspieler]

Sehr gut 👍🇨🇭.

[@emnhw1comcastnet]

Are you thinking about adding another bike to your collection? The Kawasaki concourse 14 is a excellent tour bike and all around excellent bike. Have you considered the concourse 14 bike?

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

Hi Ed, I'm sure from the reviews the Concourse must be a nice bike, however Rego in Australia is quite pricey, so I think I will stick to two. I would however be tempted to buy a TMax Scooter for lazy A to B trips, since it is a twist and go kind of bike. What do you ride?

[@emnhw1comcastnet]

Lorne Scott-Wilson if you could find that concourse for a decent price you would be good to take a look at it. When I had my concourse 14 it outlasted my other bikes. It’s a great bike, that’s whey I was asking. Thanks!

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

@@emnhw1comcastnet Would be good to take one for a spin sometime and see 👍

[@ramonschliszka6332]

Where did you buy the smuggler on the fjr rear seat.?

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

That comes standard on police edition FJR bikes...Very useful for toolbox and gloves

[@fabioljaguiar09]

Thank you so much!!!!

[@thierryjousselin1514]

very ckear, like a profesionel, congratulation, I will choose BMW more confident, thanks May be you forget compare breaks, on BMW it is a realy good point, more secure than Yamaha, the telever system + abs, are very sure

[@lornescott-wilson6144]

Thanks Thierry. I agree with you, the BM is the better choice, especially if you like a cool and comfortable ride. The brakes on the BM are excellent and it comes with steel braided brake hoses...quality stuff! The BM has linked brakes...always worked fine for me.

[@zeke2566]

Fjr kills it! Hands down,Breemer looses big time in long term,over 22,too in repairs,maintenance.....