Road – Test Yamaha FJR1300 AS 2013: electronic facelift – FJR1300AS 2013: thank you electronics!

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Yamaha FJR1300 AS 2013 test: electronic facelift

Road - Test Yamaha FJR1300 AS 2013: electronic facelift - FJR1300AS 2013: thank you electronics!

By equipping the FJR1300AS with the latest technological refinements, Yamaha has achieved a double blow: its GT motorcycle is gaining in efficiency and relaunching the manufacturer in the electronic arms race. As a bonus, its “ 2.0 ” robotic clutch is mature. Test.

FJR1300AS 2013: thank you electronics !

Electronic aids such as traction control, injection maps and configurable suspensions on the handlebars would they become for motorcycles the counterpart of Botox, namely a means of smoothing the dynamic and technological "wrinkles" of an aging model without heavy and expensive "surgical-mechanical" intervention ?

By contemplating the list of developments made to the new Yamaha FJR1300 AS (robotic clutch), some observers might be tempted to believe it: a traction control and two injection maps here, a speed regulator and electronically controlled suspensions by there, and here is a new model at a lower cost since technically very close to the previous one (read our detailed technical point on the following pages and our).

Except that in reality, the new opus of this emblematic and appreciated road bike (17,000 FJR1300 registered in France since 2001, including 3,500 for the administrative markets) marks a significant break with its predecessor. Not only aesthetically, thanks to subtle stylistic alterations, but also – and above all! – in terms of dynamic efficiency and driving pleasure.

However, seen from the side or from the rear, nothing looks more like a 2012 FJR1300 than a 2013 FJR1300 … (read our)! The most striking differences are not of a visual nature, even if a trained eye will immediately notice the new design of the fairings on which it is possible – as in 2012 – to adjust (without tools) the spacing of the deflectors to improve protection..

FJR1300AS / FJR1300A 2013: what’s changing

  • YCC-S robotic clutch (mechanical on A)

  • 48 mm inverted fork (not inverted on A)

  • Electronic suspension adjustment (manual adjustments on A)

  • + 7kg (296 kg all full facts against 289 kg for the A)

  • + € 2,000 (€ 19,499 compared to € 17,499 for A)

The more incisive and sporty forms of these side panels are highlighted by the adoption of unpublished LED indicators integrated in the top of the fairing. This technology has also been retained on the new headlight, whose elongated almond optics are highlighted with a ramp of LEDs. Below, the air inlets are redesigned, both to improve internal cooling and to modernize the front panel.

This very successful stylistic makeover reinforces the status and opulent side of the bike, whose original pencil stroke has also aged remarkably well. The quality of workmanship is up to this flattering picture: in "good Yamaha", the 2013 FJR1300 comes out with its head held high from an examination of details, with the possible exception of the welds on the rear frame of its aluminum frame..

In the cockpit, the appearance of a multitude of buttons on the left stalk and a new very qualitative on-board console (half-analog, half-digital) brings a welcome wind of modernism. Extremely supplied (see all the information in our Technical Sheet on the last page), this instrumentation remains fairly readable and the information is scrolled on the handlebars. Two excellent points !

However, functionality is not the primary quality of this on-board computer … The screen on the right offers no less than four different displays, which can be accessed via the "Menu" key located on the left control unit: the first allows to scroll through the usual information (trips, consumption, engine and air temperatures, etc.), the second is used to adjust the heated grips, the third is reserved for the bubble height and the fourth leads to the multiple combinations (84!) offered by electronic suspension (read our Technical point).

Added to this is a "Mode" command located on the right stalk which allows you to choose between a sporty (S) or more progressive (T) injection mapping, the two paddles used to raise or lower the gears on the handlebars, a button to activate or deactivate the automatic downshifting system of this robotic clutch gearbox, another commanding the new cruise control and finally a switch on the dashboard to disengage the traction control !

Everything is not really intuitive, nor very practical to use: even the Yamaha France staff sometimes lost their "Franco-Japanese" during a demonstration aiming to familiarize us with all these features….

There is no doubt that the installation of direct commands to some of the most commonly used functions (electric bubble, suspensions, heated grips) would greatly simplify handling. And that would avoid having to look down at the instrumentation to make sure you are not about to touch the suspension settings while trying to raise or lower the windshield …

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