The Yamaha FJR1300 Has Gone Six Feet Under

There was a time when Yamaha had an extensive lineup in the States. Today, it’s arguably the shortest yet, and things have gotten even worse for MY25. That’s because the company’s flagship sports tourer–the FJR1300–seems to have gone six feet under. It goes to show no matter how good old bikes are, producing and selling them against far superior motorcycles is a losing battle.

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Bad News: Yamaha’s Flagship Adventure Bike Will No Longer Sell In America

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The FJR1300 Is No Longer Listed On The Yamaha Website

As usual, there’s no formal press release from Yamaha to back up our statement. But the only “touring” motorcycle listed on the official website is the Tracer 9 as of now. That speaks for itself. Just like the big Tenere, the 1300’s demise isn’t a surprise. If anything, it’s been a long time coming. We say that because the sports tourer segment is already very niche and the FJR’s been unchanged for what seems like an eternity.

Not to mention, the new sports tourers–like the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT and Kawasaki Ninja 1100–make a better case for themselves with a low MSRP and modern-day niceties. Then there’s the crossover segment–like the BMW S 1000 XR–that eats into the FJR’s sales.

Yamaha FJR1300ES Rivals

• BMW R 1250 RT
• Suzuki GSX-S1000GT
• Kawasaki Ninja 1100
• BMW S 1000 XR
• BMW R 1250 RS

The Yamaha FJR1300 Comes Armed With A 1,298cc Four-Cylinder Engine

If you can look past its age, the FJR1300 is still an epic motorcycle that you may consider. Even more so now because the underlying examples could come at a heavy discount over its $18,299 MSRP. For starters, there’s a juicy 1,298cc four-cylinder engine here, armed with over 140 ponies and 100 pound-feet of torque. All that reaches the wheel via a shaft-driven six-speed transmission.

Then, there are the fancy underpinnings. You get electronic suspension at each end, with four pre-load settings, three damping presets, and an additional seven damping fine-tuning adjustments. 5.3 inches and 4.9 inches of travel fore and aft further makes life easier. This, and the 4.9-inch ground clearance, is quite impressive for a sports tourer of this stature.

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The brakes, meanwhile, comprise 320 mm front rotors, with a 282 mm rear rotor. All this ties together to an aluminum chassis, said to “provide an ideal balance of chassis stiffness and feedback”. There’s an extensive feature list here to round things, which goes to show how ahead of its time the FJR was. They are listed below for reference.

Yamaha FJR1300ES Key Features

• Cornering LED headlights
• Cruise control
• Linked brakes
• Traction control
• Ride modes via Yamaha’s chip-controlled throttle
• Adjustable handlebar
• Electronically adjustable windscreen
• Adjustable saddle
• Heated grips
• Fairing-mounted storage

Yamaha FJR1300ES Specifications