Yamaha Fjr1000 Super Sport-Tourer Revealed
YAMAHA FJR1000 SUPER SPORT-TOURER REVEALED
ROUNDUP
YAMAHA’S LONG-AWAITED replacement for the aging FJ1200 is just around the corner. The completely new FJR1000 is set to debut this fall and will reportedly feature RADD-designed hub-center steering and a fuelinjected, 120-horsepower FZR1000 engine, and be fitted with hard luggage and a catalytic converter.
Styled by the same Tokyo design firm that penned the Morpho II showbike (see CW, February, 1992), the FJR1000 is said to have a relatively upright seating position, swoopy bodywork, dramatically styled wheels and a unique lighting assembly. A single front-brake rotor and six-piston caliper mated to Yamaha’s anti-lock brake system are also expected. Unlike the Morpho, though, the new Yamaha will not be fitted with liquid-crystal instrumentation, active suspension, two-wheeled steering or adjustable ergonomics.
Yamaha wanted its new flagship to be a true sporttouring successor.
According to European sources, Yamaha axed plans for an all-out, RADDequipped repli-racer, convinced that potential buyers are shying away from ultrahigh-performance motorcycles. And since the FJ series, and sport-touring motorcycles in general, has been so well-received in Europe, Yamaha wanted its new flagship to be a true sport-touring successor.
To that end, the highly advanced FJR1000 will also be expensive, perhaps even as high as $15,000.
James Parker, the New Mexico-based inventor who designed the RADD front end, would not confirm the existence of the new Yamaha, but said that the company had purchased the non-exclusive rights to manufacture his novel steering/suspension assembly.
U.S. Yamaha officials have been tight-lipped concerning the bike’s technical details, but did confirm its existence.
“Yamaha Europe has been working on such a model.
They’re planning to introduce it soon. It is an exclusive, technical tour-de-force. And, yes, there are some similarities between the Morpho and this new model,” said a company spokesman.
Does the introduction of an FJR1000 spell certain doom for the much-loved FJ 1200? Sources at Yamaha say the big FJ should be around for at least another two seasons, though the presence of the FJR1000 may put an end to further refinements of that model. Whether the FJR will even be sold in the U.S. is another question.
“At this time, we haven’t made any decisions, but we are looking at it very closely,” said the Yamaha official.
Matthew Miles
