Awesome, 3-cylinder bike with lots of... everything

I have parents who ride custom bikes (they now have only one bike left, a Honda Shadow that I ride from time to time), a brother who could have been a sportbike champion with his Honda CBR600 and Yamaha R6 - kinda of Valentino Rossi's way - if cystic fibrosis wasn't in his way, whereas I'm more of a...n adventure bike dude. I've own since I was young a Honda CT-70 (minitrail), a Kawasaki KE175 (1975, 2-stroke engine, wicked old-school dirtbike that I should have kept!), scooters, and ride a few different bikes owned by close friends, including my Bro's sportbikes, rode a Suzuki DR-Z400S 2014 the last two summers (but the piston gripped in the cylinder at 10 500 km - special thanks to the Japenese dude who was sleeping on the working line at the manufactury - the bike drank oil like crazy due to a internal valve intake problem - the calibration is normally done at 24 000 km... - not cool, this engine is supposed to be top reliable - and maintenance was conducted top-notched... I've been unlucky, but will never buy a Suzuki product again), and now own a Yamaha FJ-09 2015 (after having tried a BMW F800GS which was okay, but not more than that). I can tell you something: I've just finished yesterday night the 1600 km of what we call in French (I'm a french-canadian bastard) "la période de rodage" and this bike is purely awesome. Period. The piloting position is perfect (I'm almost 6 foot tall), the power & torque you get from the 3-cylinder, in-line engine is unbelievable in the three different electronic injection modes (A: you're gonna die, Standard, and B: use the gas handle with parcimony even with the 30% cut-off of the engine cause you'll probably die too). One downside is the comfort of the seat: it is only "okay" for a long trip; Yamaha definitely needs to improve this - but this is the first year of this bike, so I'm giving them a chance!). I'll put SW-Motech side-luggage quick-lock evo mounts, fit 40-45 liter Pelican cases, crash bars, and other protective stuff, and we'll make a long bike trip to South America with a close friend of mine who own many bikes, but we'll likely use is Suzuki V-Strom 650 for this trip (I've tried his bike, it's pretty decent, but nothing to compare with my FJ-09 - and keep in mind that Suzuki has been a bad experience in my case, although I must say that my ATV is a Suzuki King Quad 400, 2008, and I like it a lot...). I guess that a Triumph Tiger could be an alternative, but in term of long-term reliability, I'm sure that my Japenese, great quality-for-the-price "adventure" sport bike is way better than that of a UK-made bike (I cannot think of a good, reliable car made in the UK, but own a good, reliable Subaru Forester which I appreciate a lot as an outdoor enthousiast). So, to make a long story short, don't ask yoursefl too many question abou this bike, it's an impressive, great-quality, high-tech bike with, on top of that, a sound that is pure joy to your ears, especially when you hit the gas, release it, and then push it again at a lower RPM range: the sounds give you shivers - and people turn their heads when you pass them; and I've seen many people giving me a "thumb up" on the high-way or when riding in the city. That tells everything. I'm a Yamaha fan now. Forever.

Julien Mainguy
Québec, Québec, Canada. Read Full Review