So the FZ-1 Super-Standard Packs A Real Punch. If you’re Yamaha, why not make it a 1-2 combo, with the knockout blow coming by way of the FJR 1300 sport-tourer, so far a Euro-only device? “We’ve had tremendous response to the FJR 1300,” admitted a Yamaha U.S. spokesman. “We would love to bring the bike here, but it has to have legs-it needs to stay in the line-up year after year. If it doesn’t, it will disappoint our customers. Also, the sport-touring category is very price-sensitive. The price has to be right.”
Jim Yeardly, a staffer for England’s Motor Cycle News, recently rode the FJR in Spain. A sportbike nut to the core, he came away impressed. “The large, pullback handlebars are perfectly postioned for leisurely riding,” Yeardly reported. “The dash, wich offers a segmented LCD gas gauge, a clock, two tripmeters and a range of other gizmos alongside the usual speedo and rev-counter arrangement, is reminiscent of the FJR’s discontinued older brother, the user friendly FJI200. That makes me feel very much at home, as I have very fond memories of that bike.”
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