RaYzerman

I buy OEM, because there are different designations of bearings, e.g., front wheel bearings may have a suffix indication they are designed for side loads..... doesn't mean standard ones won't work, but aftermarket bearings in my neighbourhood aren't any cheaper than OEM for the most part... check for the stamped numbers on the outer bearing race.

I'll speak as one who does his own work on the various motorycles I've owned, plus worked on many friends' bikes. If you have mechanical ability, all the better, and you're not gaining much by your service guy doing your first oil change.... nor are you voiding any warranty. You could ask what all they are going to do at that first service..... usually it's oil change and TB sync (maybe) and steering head torque verification. TB sync will involve some disassembly and time. The dealer was the one who uncrated the bike and installed the front wheel, windshield, etc. I've seen some awful ones, loose fasterners, screws missing (on FJR's). No reason you can't go over the bike yourself and see that all was put together properly. I've done three valve checks on Tracers, lots of plastic and tank to remove, etc. and it will take most of a day. More if you need shims and have to adjust, a couple of special tools. A friend near me took her MT-09 to her local guy her and her hubby use.... 7 hrs. labor for a valve check and oil change. Charged her extra $150 for valve cover gaskets, which we all know do not need to be replaced. Another thing y'all wanna think about is, if you've got the facility and tools, hold a regional tech day where a few of you can learn to do stuff. I've been to several for FJR's and mostly I'm the knowlegeable one, have tool box will travel, lol, but there are some others who are good too. I haven't found very many good service mechanics, but maybe you have one. I'm all for DIY if you're anywhere capable. None of my bikes over the years have ever been to a dealer.

The clutch plates are assembled dry and one relies on them getting wet with oil later. Trouble is, a few do and some don't. Very likely your problem is solved by removing all the plates and coating them with engine oil. You will feel a little judder maybe, due to the slipper clutch.

Lots of good advice here and yes to the tilt method. It may have been as simple as air, but easy enough to check thermostat.... I would highly recommend you do not return to this shop for any further service. Definitely not.

Depends on the bike..... I don't know how you'd revalve some OEM ESA's, but yes should be able to re-spring easily enough. I can tell you that just removing the rear shock on an ES FJR is definitely an all day job, so again depends how the OEM integrated it into the bike. I"d venture to say if you want decent ESA you have to buy a European bike, not an Asian one.

I would shy away from electronic suspension unless you are the guy they designed it for..... lighter weight touring rider type. 150-160 lbs. and doesn't push the limits. The majority of bikes are undersprung, damping adjustments only by a formula they determined was good enough but likely isn't, some higher end bikes the exception. But, manual suspension gives you the best shot at upgrading it to suit you. IMHO you don't need to be playing with buttons for every road condition you come across, but some need their toys and will pay extra for them.

I've had it happen on 4 of the last 5 bikes I've owned (2 FJR;s, Honda CBF, Kawi V1K), ..... note, it is not 100% that it happens EVERY time it's just you have very high odds it was the cause if it did not start the next time... FJR's in particular are notorious for the issue, others less so IMHO.

I'm having a tough time believing anything "bad gas".... we are allowed anything up to 10% ethanol and there is no requirement to use "Top Tier" gas.... however, might be advisable if you did. I suspect it was warrantied because you had extended warranty..... what we don't know is how it got carbonned up, but if you can, help us understand how you ride this bike, commute, etc. and maybe we can make a little more sense of the "bad gas" thing. What was bad about it?

Sorry, I should have advised you to start with a freshly charged battery, FI bikes need enough oomph in the battery...... cranking with part throttle just exacerbates the problem, you have to use WOT to shut the injectors off. Anyway, you got there, all good. Now you know for next time.

If you don't let FI bikes warm up, they think they need to stay in enrichment mode.... ECU is feeding it fuel for a cold start longer than it should....... hold throttle wide open while cranking and that shuts the injectors off. May have to repeat, don't do extended cranks more than 30 seconds and give it a rest. Once it starts, be ready to let off.....

100% agree, the story doesn't add up, and no good pictures..... I'd sure like to know the real answer....

Generally speaking, one should run TopTier fuel as it has the best additive package for keeping things clean. Premium fuel may or may not have 10% ethanol, check with your local station.... very soon (here) we will not be able to get ethanol-free any longer. Controversial whether ethanol actually helps, some say ethanol causes problems, so check your facts.... What happens to some is sticky deposits build up on the intake valve stems, presumably on non-TopTier fuels or short trips where things don't get to extended times at full operating temperatures. This will cause the valves to stick once the engine cools down. If a valve gets stuck open, may be hard to start. You'd have to remove your throttle bodies to see if that's the case. Otherwise, short trips and not using the engine's horsepower band may carbon up the intakes at the valve seats, whereas the exhausts run hotter. Piston tops will build carbon eventually as well. I'd sure like a better explanation from the dealer or Yamaha on the bad fuel determination..... did they test the fuel or just what specifically did they mean by that...... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

I would have expected if they removed the valves to clean them and lap in the seats, they would have had to replace the valve stem seals...... do you use the bike to commute?

Meanwhile over on the FJR forum, a gent with an FJR 2022 with 27k miles. Just returned from a 7000 mile trip and bike would not start, compression low, dealer removed the cylinder head and said there is carbon holding the valves open. They say caused by bad fuel and Yamaha is not covering the repair. The story is not yet complete, bike is being fixed and owner is protesting with Yamaha. None of us are buying the bad fuel story...... In your case, I'd like to know what they did to repair your engine.

Too expensive......

Marketing... convincing you you need it when you don't. However, explain to me on a motorcycle why you'd want/need adaptive cruise, self levelling suspension, or any electronic suspension for that matter. All are compromises and formulas they decided for you that you'll have to live with, not to mention most suspensions are undersprung poorly damped things in the first place. Just give me a good suspension for once, the right springs, fully adjustable damping and preload, i.e., more like aftermarket suspensions. I'd like cruise control, but adaptive? I find it has limitations in the car and I can see it a hazard on a bike. OK I guess if you're a sheep and content to stay in one lane and follow traffic. Don't need it, don't want to pay for it. Been riding for over 50 years, and survived so far.

Seems they're all competing by adding features we don't really need and of course, we're paying extra for it. The GX is an interesting bike, but 2" taller than the S1000GT. Has anyone sat on a GT, can one be comfortable for a week or two trip into the mountains?

Meh... doesn't say how much current it can handle. OTOH, you can easily monitor a voltmeter........

Did a valve clearance check and re-shim on a friends 900GT over the last couple of days, amongst other things. Data point, 24k kms., one exhaust at minimum, two at nominal, three at .22-.23. Intakes, 3 below minimum and 3 above minimum, nothing at nominal.

Best you have a voltmeter and monitor it. I don't think you have anything to worry about, should handle all that gear including the heated grips if you monitor the voltage. Spec in the service manual (2019-20) says charging system is 14V = 29.6 Amps, so loosely say 415 watts, some of which the bike needs to run..... the question is how much excess is available and that's not stated. Once the charging voltage drops to 12.9, you are now starting to use the battery to supplement the shortcoming. That's OK for a while, let's say if that voltage drops to 12.5, but you are using battery..... best not let that go on, and dial down your heated gear. You ride all day but your battery is not likely to have a full charge when you get home, so plug it in to your battery tender.....

Glad it's being covered, but I have to ask, were you riding the bike like grandma and not getting the revs up into the power band? For reference, max HP is developed at 10,000 rpm and max torque at 8500. If you're only using half that all the time, could be a contributor..... don't be afraid to wind this thing up under load........ A little true story, FJR project bike I was given to work on.... the owner shifted the bike at 3500 rpm all the time and ran Yamaha RingFree in it all the time (BTW, it has a significant amount of oil in it). Never got it much over 5000 rpm, where it starts to develop it's power, with peak HP at 7000. Basically, it carboned up really bad on the intake valves and had problems with starting when hot. Compression in a couple of cylinders was very low, no wonder. Just saying if you don't wind it up once in a while into the power band, you're not doing yourself any favours.

See my comments in the other thread....... respring your existing, etc.

Swapping shocks from another bike usually doesn't gain much if anything with damping, but maybe you'll get a bit better spring...... why not just re-spring the shock you have, springs are ~$100. The other thing you can do is see if there's a local suspension shop that does rebuilding of OEM shocks, and can possibly revise the valving as well as re-spring..... What I've also done is buy a HyperPro progressive spring... they don't publish their spring rates, but it will be better than what you have.

Don't know what the situation is in BC, but in Ontario if a bike is written off, it can no longer be registered in Ontario in any way. There are no more "salvage" or "repair" titles for motorcycles here. You cannot buy the bike back and fix it and ride. The only way is to avoid an insurance claim in the first place and just drag it home and fix it..... one should also consider what it will cost you over the next 5 years if you make an insurance claim, in increased premiums.

Let's hope for a better diagnosis....... meanwhile, it will be very interesting what the actual cause is. I'm following this with great interest and want to know if the valves are bent, burned or carboned up..... each will have its own cause. Odd that exhausts are leaking along with an intake.... makes me think clearances are too small. HOwever, the real story is yet to come.