Farewell the Yamaha XJR1300

[simi_ed]

From Rideapart, sad news!  RIP.  We'll miss the cousin of our FJs that we never knew.

http://rideapart.com/articles/farewell-yamaha-xjr1300

Farewell the Yamaha XJR1300
Yet another motorcycle that Americans probably would have loved had it ever been released Stateside is set to disappear into the sunset: the rip-snorting Yamaha XJR1300.

British website Visordown is reporting that both it and the XT660Z Ténéré will be scrapped at the end of the year as casualties of ever-stricter emissions standards in the European Union. The difficulty of meeting Euro 4 compliance is the same reason Kawasaki recently announced that it has chosen to discontinue its truly retro W800 model.

Yamaha XJR1300
The XJR1300's air-cooled inline four traces its history all the way to 1984, when it was used as the powerplant in the FJ1100. In 1995, it was transformed into the muscle-bound XJR1300 and not a whole lot has been changed since.

Producing roughly 105 hp and 80 ft-lbs. of torque, the 1251cc beast built a small, but faithful following in Europe but never made it across the Atlantic Ocean. That's a decision that has made even less sense in recent years.

READ MORE: 5 Motorcycles You Wish You Had in the States | RideApart

Yamaha XJR1300
With the retro craze hitting its zenith, Yamaha made the wise decision in 2014 to give the bike a retro makeover. But for reasons that only Yamaha knows, it chose to continue to keep the XJR1300 out of American hands.

Now it seems Yanks will never know its joys.

Yamaha XJR1300
Meanwhile, the fate of the smaller Ténéré (also not available in the United States) is not as dire. Although the XT660Z is to be discontinued, recent spy photos have shown a Ténéré-styled model housing the same liquid-cooled 689cc twin engine that powers the FZ-07. We wouldn't be surprised to see a new tiny Ténéré revealed at either Intermot or EICMA this autumn.

A number of manufacturers are assessing the viability of older models as the implementation of Euro 4 regulations draws closer. Don't be surprised to hear of a few other greats being put out to pasture before year's end.

Yamaha XJR1300

[Pat Conlon]

That also means that Yamaha will stop production of the 1250cc air cooled engine and associated parts.

[racerrad8]

That also means that Yamaha will stop production of the 1250cc air cooled engine and associated parts.

Yes and no...

The engine production will cease at the end of October.

But, Yamaha must provide parts for the engine for many years to come. Obviously some parts will go out of production immediately because they are not needed after the production stops.

There are already part numbers that have been FJ1100/1200 superseded to XJR part numbers. The FJ numbers are no longer available in the US to your local dealer, but since I can still supply them. A great example is carburetors or FJ1100 piston rings.

For example, I ordered new 84 petcocks last October and they came in. As long as the number is still good, I can still get them.

So, the engine will continue to get Yamaha support; which means the ongoing support from RPM to keep your FJ's on the road for many more years to come.

Randy - RPM

[4everFJ]

Sad that it will be the end of one of the last big aircooled fours  


XJR1300 by Wrenchmonkees.
http://www.wrenchmonkees.com/motorcycles/monkee-75-yamaha-xjr-1300.html

[gumby302ho]

 One would think that this bike was taylor made to the North American market, its a total brute muscle bike and shocked it never came over the pond. White collars made a big mistake there! Times They Are A Changing.

[ribbert]

One would think that this bike was taylor made to the North American market, its a total brute muscle bike and shocked it never came over the pond. White collars made a big mistake there! Times They Are A Changing.

Maybe it was an emissions issue. That is what's driven most of them to water cooling. Even engines like the BMW boxer that dont need it have buckled under increasing emissions demands.

Noel

[Alte Fahrt]

You could always import one.

http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_odkw=&_osacat=9809&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1311.R4.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xxjr.TRS0&_nkw=xjr+1300&_sacat=9809

[rktmanfj]

One would think that this bike was taylor made to the North American market, its a total brute muscle bike and shocked it never came over the pond. White collars made a big mistake there! Times They Are A Changing.

I was at a Yamaha dealer show in St. Paul when the XJR and the TRX850 were shown to US dealers for the first time, to gauge interest.  I would've expected both to generate a lot of enthusiasm, but from the response I saw, it just wasn't there.  The dealers were much more interested in getting the (then) new line of 4wd ATVs...