We just got back from a press ride of the new sport-tourer (ST), the Yamaha FJ-09. It’s based around their last year’s hit and bestseller, the FZ-09.

Whether by accident or design, David Docktor and Linda Adams from the Yamaha PR team chose a day of inclement weather for us to test the new Yamaha FJ-09. And that turned out to be a good thing. Our route, based out of Ojai, California, in what must be the only week of rain in the last half century, threw almost everything at us.

 Riding north along the picturesque and awesome Highway 33, it was mostly a cold and drizzly day with other goodies tossed in like high elevation mountainous roads, non-stop twisties, slick mud patches, flash flood road crossings and debris from rain-related landslides. Not your typical venue, but perfect for a condensed test.

If you've never spent quality time on a sport-tourer, you may find it immediately addictive. And that's how I'd rate the FJ-09. Out of the box, this is engineering genius. I fell in love with Yamaha's triple—the torque, smoothness, mannerisms, and the tone... ah, the tone! 

The Oh-Nine is a nimble, great handling bike and it’s easy to see where they get the “sport” in sport-touring. If you’re accustomed to manhandling big enduro adventure bikes, this behavior will come as a shock to your senses. It’s extremely smooth, handling is amazing, it’s comfortable, responsive and allows you to do things on tarmac you’d never try on an ADV bike.

Rider position is extremely comfortable. But this bike isn’t designed for standing up for any duration. The rider angle is wrong for standing up, and the footpeg positions won’t lend themselves for much aftermarket improvement, either. But again, this isn’t an off-road machine.

What’s really exciting about the FJ-09 is the engine package. Strong, smoooooooth and positive all the way through the gear range. The fly-by-wire throttle mapping is precise, too—apparently it wasn’t quite so in the FZ-09, but clearly Yamaha’s engineers have addressed the issue.

The clutch is spot on, not grabby with positive incremental engagement feel, and the transmission shifts cleanly and crisply—no slop there, either. Likewise with bike’s balance and agility.

The Oh-Nine is a nimble, great handler that’s super responsive for this class of a bike. It’s relatively lightweight, too. Although I’m not arguing against the bigger displacement tourers, this 850cc is one heck of a lot of fun, and after spending a day on it, I’m not as anxious to jump on a bigger bike. Simply put, I didn’t miss the extra power.

Traction control (TC) is another relatively new feature that’s bound to become standard on medium- and larger-sized bikes. Combined with modern ABS to create different rider modes, there’s a definite feel of increased rider safety

The Oh-Nine has three traction control settings: Standard, A or B (it can also be turned off). When you start the bike, it always defaults back to Standard mode. Traction control will keep you upright in many conditions where only extreme skill would have saved the day.

Cruising over slick mud patches, or bits of loose gravel, the bike attempts to compensate rather than slide. I’d like to have several weeks of evaluation time to shake it out, and test the various modes, but the more I ride with TC-enabled bikes, the more confidence-inspiring they seem to be.

Yamaha has released the bike with a host of useful accessories, with a long list of more to come. Options like a taller windscreen, heated grips, engine guards and panniers will likely be at the top of most buyers’ lists. But there’s also a lowered seat and a custom touring seat to consider (all seats can be set to high and lower positions).

I’m generally not a fan of plastic panniers because they’re typically of very limited carrying capacity. But these aren’t bad, mostly due to the unusual exhaust system there’s none of the typical loss of space to accommodate a big-ass exhaust canister. The bike also comes with a 12 volt outlet to run electric clothing, phones, etc., and there’s even an additional port ready for adding a second (option).

The “Adventure” label has appeared on a variety of bikes over the past few years but adventure-tourers are generally set up for off-road as well as tarmac. The distinction is extremely relevant because when you give up the ability to ride off-road, the entire characteristics of the bike as well as the types of terrain you can access change.

This is neither a positive nor negative aspect, but a compromise based on the type of riding. Give up dirt for more rider comfort, handling and zippiness. Or, be dirt-ready but take on more tractor-like qualities. Not all long distance riders need or want to take their rides off-road—and that’s the domain of the FJ-09. MSRP: $10,500 (as tested $12,000) Yamaha FJ-09

 {gallery}ARTICLES/Bikes/Yamaha_FJ09/gallery{/gallery}