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For several years I looked for a worthy replacement for my beloved XJ750 Seca. I even considered importing my own 900 Diversion, since Yamaha wouldn't bring them over here. Yamaha introduced the FJR1300 to Europe and Austral-asia in 2001. I sure liked what I saw and read, and bought one when they arrived here in 2002.

Update: Closing in on 100,000 kms now. I've changed one valve shim. She uses about 200ml of oil between changes. Eats tires like crazy if you are not careful with the throttle! Hence her name: Pandora.

I commute 2 1/2 hours each way through all kinds of weather. Three things I can't live without: throttle lock, heated vest, and heated handgrips. The problem is the FJR is so new there is no throttle lock to fit it yet, and the manual with wiring diagram is not yet available in Canada...

I love my Vista Cruise. I don't care for the universal version. Problem is, the 2 cable Yamaha Vista Cruise doesn't fit the fancy casting of the FJR! Following a tip I read about on the web, I ground off the lip on the tab, drilled the tab, and drilled and tapped the fancy casting to receive a 4-40 machine screw. Care must be taken not to over-drill and hit something important inside and the screw must be cut short so it does not protrude into the cable space, but it actually works better than the metal clips that come with the Vista Cruise for other bikes. There's no slop or play in this - it locks the throttle very precisely.

The problem with most heated grips is you are stuck with using their style and shape. I prefer to heat the existing grips. Both Dual Star and Kimpex have a mylar heater element that can be installed on the bars underneath the grip of your choice. As an added bonus , they are about 1/10th the price of the Yamaha grips (made by "Hot Grips" for Yamaha). Here they are installed under the stock factory grips. Leave plenty of unsecured wire for the throttle side, and I recommend encasing the wires in a protective plastic loom, as shown above.

In the case of the FJR's factory grips, I found the easiest way was to lube the outside of the grip up well with dishsoap and peel the grip inside out until enough of the bar underneath was exposed to fit the heater, then rolled the grip back. The heater element is self adhesive on the bar side. You can use grip glue on the element, but I've never found it to be necessary.

Now, it's all fine and dandy to install the grips, but you've got to power them somehow. I wanted the circuit switched by the ignition so the battery couldn't be killed by some curious kid playing with buttons on my unattended bike.

The problem is I didn't have a wiring diagram for the bike and I wasn't sure what circuits were sized for the extra load. So I added a fused lead to the battery, but switched it with this relay, controlled by the left front marker light. I didn't even cut into the wiring loom -- I unplugged the bullet connectors and installed a lead between them. When the bike is switched on, the relay goes 'click' and power is supplied to the heater controls.

Now the problem with electrically heated appliances is that you don't necessarily want full power all the time. There are various controls out there to regulate the current flow ranging from the simple high-low toggle switch that comes with the grip heaters to fancy electronic variable units like 'Heattroller'.

I prefer these off-high-medium-low rotary switches designed to control automobile heater fans. (My 1949 Chev Maple Leaf used an almost identical switch.) $12.00 at Canadian Tire, they're rated 5 amps each, so there's no problem running the 3 amp vest or grips. The resistor element is part of the switch itself, simplifying installation. And the switch is self-illuminated, making them easy to find and set at night!

I installed them on the right side inner fairing panel, and used a flat 4-pin trailer connector to facilitate panel removal in the future. Make sure the "car end is attached to the bike to prevent short circuits when disconnected. The switches must be grounded for the light to work, but there is no tab for a ground wire when used with plastic motorcycle fairings. I merely cut the supplied clamp-on mounting bracket into the shape of a male spade connector and plugged a wire onto that. Pinched between the fairing and the switch, it grounds things nicely. Here, the white wire comes from the battery ground, the green supplies 12v to both switches from the relay, yellow is out to the grips and brown to the vest.

At night the bulb creates a red glow in the centre of the knob, illuminating the word "heat".

One terminal on each switch is marked "B". If the power from the battery is connected to this side, then the light will vary with the setting (dim on low, bright on high). If the power is connected the other way, the bulb will be on bright at all times (even if the switch is "off). This makes it easier to see at night. It's easy enough to tell the setting from the angle of the wording.