keithu

During my one visit to Australia I got the impression that the motorcycling culture there is very similar to the USA. I saw a lot of cruisers including Harleys, Indians, and some of the Japanese brands. I was actually surprised by how many Indians I saw. So perhaps a lot of the bikes you see on the road merely look like Harleys? Here in the USA, Harleys are certainly the most common brand you see on the road, which makes sense considering they have around 50% market share here. But it also varies by region. I travel all over the USA for work, and in the middle part of the country where roads are flat (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, etc.) it seems like 4-of-5 bikes I see are Harleys or other cruisers. But in places with more curvy roads (Tennessee, Virginia, California, Oregon, etc.) cruisers are maybe 2-of-5 bikes I see. This is all just anecdotal observation, of course. Here in Oregon I actually see FJ-09s and Tracers pretty regularly. I've seen two others in the parking lots of my work, someone in my neighborhood has one, and I commonly see them out and about. Power Yamaha east of Salem seems to sell them by the dozens.

In 1993 I hauled a BMW K100RS 1000 miles in a 4-cylinder Nissan pickup and it was fine. That bike is longer and quite a bit heavier than the Tracer. Loading diagonally helps. Coincidentally, this coming weekend I am hauling that exact same K100RS for someone else. Now I have a Tundra which is a slightly better bike hauler.

Congrats! I really like the MT-01. I'll never understand why Yamaha didn't sell this in the USA. It would have been a niche bike, sure, but no more so than in Canada.

Those lugs are used on the FZ-09/MT-09 to mount the instrument panel. I've thought about using them, but they're so low I haven't come up with any good applications yet. I'll be interested to see if you come up with anything.

Update: I have about 3500 miles on my Road 5 rear (front is at about 7000) and I'm super impressed with the wet performance. I got caught in a very heavy deluge of rain and hail a couple of weeks ago in the Oregon coastal range, and traction was great. It was a mountain highway with sweepers, and cars were slowing down to 50-55 mph due to the heavy rainfall. Despite standing water on the road, I had no problem passing them at ~55-60 mph when a passing lane opened up. Road feel remained good and the TC light never lit up. I'm probably not a fast enough rider to properly evaluate the Road 5 dry performance, except to say that I have no complaints. But as a year-round rider in Oregon I've spent plenty of time on cool, wet roads, and the Road 5s are easily the best rain tire I've ever run.

I see, thank you. Has anyone tried using the yellow wire for HB triggering? According to the wiring diagram in my Haynes manual it triggers the high beam indicator light, so I would expect it has positive voltage.

He did not mention it, but it sounds like the new hardware enables (or simplifies) updating. So I assume the older units can't be easily updated with new firmware.

So I thought the Skene controller was getting power via the red wire, and white is just a switching signal from the HB. Now I'm confused.

Following. I have similar issues with the large National Cycle V-Stream shield. I suspect that a lot of air is coming around the sides of the headlight assembly to the rider. I wonder if some strategically placed side deflectors like these Super Tenere units would help:

So when you say, "the bike HB wire from the LED controller under the headlight," do you mean the yellow or yellow/black wire? What you describe makes sense for a standard light circuit. You wouldn't want to power the aux lights through the OEM light circuit or switch, those would simply energize a relay for aux light power. But I thought with the Skene controller that the white wire just needs a signal (any voltage) to trigger its own built-in SS relay. Weird.

Did you ever finish this project? I'm curious whether you tapped into the yellow/black or yellow wire for the high beam trigger. I'm in the middle of six straight weeks of work travel so I haven't had time to chase voltages myself.

Were these measurements taken at idle? I wonder if the values are dependent on RPM, alternator output, or some other variable. I ask because I have my Low value set to 2 and there is obviously some heat in the grips at this setting. This would be impossible with a PWM value of 0%, right? I've also noticed that sometimes 10 feels hotter than 6, and sometimes it doesn't. Usually 10 feels the same as 6 when I also have my heated jacket cranked to max, so it could again be related to something in the charging system (or a flawed perception on my part).

Update in case anyone is interested or has recently ordered MCCruise: I placed an order for the MCCruise unit last week. The owner Tony Guymer emailed me and said they are hoping to fill about 30 backorders this week. They have a new hardware rev that he says offers improved performance, full CANbus compatibility, and Bluetooth v5. Tony says he tested the new hardware on his own Tracer and was "blown away" with the improved performance. Bluetooth v5 should offer more reliable phone connectivity for field upgrades and customization. They are working on some revised software that will take some months to develop, but among other things they are experimenting with an active cruise system that can adjust speed automatically based on BING or Here Technology speed limit data. I'm not sure this is something I would want to use, but it's an intriguing concept. NOTE - I haven't received my MCCruise yet, so I can't yet offer my own opinion on these upgrades. But it's good to see that MCCruise support and development for the FJ/Tracer is ongoing.

Full fairings don't necessarily mean difficult to work on. My Triumph TT600 - a fully Tupperwared sportbike - was easier to work on than the FJ-09. There was only one type of fastener, and the panels came off quickly. The radiator was on a hinge so I could check valves or change sparkplugs without draining the coolant. Triumph even put a little cutout in the belly pan for the oil drain plug, so I could change the oil and filter with the fairings in place. It was a really nicely engineered machine. The FJ-09 fairing is... as you say, a puzzle.

Great write-up. I won't rehash what everyone else has said, but I chuckled at your comments about maintenance and the S1000RR fairings using all the same fasteners. WTH is Yamaha's problem? I dread doing any maintenance in my FJ-09 because removing the fairings was such a pain. Six different kinds of fairing fasteners on the FJ that I can think of off the top of my head. Come on, Yamaha.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I do wear glasses. I've been using one of those Clearview stick-on anti-fog shields so I guess I'm accustomed to minor ghosting.

Shouldn't be used at night?! Cross Pinlock off my list.

The teflon inner line may not be as prone to chemical degradation, but they are well known to fail due to abrasion. Dirt gets through the steel braided sheath and becomes an abrasive as the line flexes with suspension movement. If the stainless line has a plastic outer sheath that also seals the hose at rigid joints, then yes I suppose it has an indefinite lifespan. But if your SS lines are unsheathed, they need to be replaced periodically.

I do have a nose cup. My helmet also came with a chin curtain, but it made fogging worse so I had to rip it out. So you spray the RainX stuff on the Pinlock insert? Maybe I'll just try that on what I already have.

This is all true, but it's worth noting that steel braided lines also deteriorate and should be replaced on about the same schedule as all-rubber lines. The steel braiding is just an outer sheath; inside is a fluid line made or rubber or similar material. Those internal lines deteriorate just like on any other brake line.

The fogging was bad enough yesterday that I cracked the shield open even though it was raining hard. My thought was that water running down the inside of the shield would wash off the fog. It didn't work.

I got caught out in a pretty heavy downpour yesterday and my helmet's faceshield fogged up badly. It was starting to do it a bit last Spring, but now it appears the adhesive anti-fog liner in my shield has failed. I see that there are now Pinlock-compatible shields available for my Scorpion Exo GT3000; they weren't available when I bought the helmet three years ago. I'm heading into winter so I definitely need to deal with this. So do the Pinlock inserts really work? A new shield plus Pinlock insert is $85, which seems like a lot to spend on a three year old helmet. But finding a modular helmet that actually fits my weird head is difficult. (Shoei and Schuberth are out.)

Yes, I have. I've done one ~1050 mile day in my FJ-09, plus a few others in the 600-800 mile range. My 1000+ mile day was mostly on curvy back roads in NorCal, I spent less than 100 of those miles on a slab. For this kind of ride the FJ was perfect. The light weight meant it wasn't fatiguing on roads like CA-128 out to Fort Bragg, or CA-70 through Quincy. I have a custom seat and a large National Cycle windshield, and those two mods were critical for comfort. I've done these sorts of rides on bigger bikes, notably a K100RS, ST1100, and R1100RT. Those bikes are great for eating up miles, but their weight also makes them a chore on the best twisty roads. So when it comes to picking a sport touring bike, people usually assume that you have to choose between something that's great on superslabs, or something that's great in the twisties. I like the FJ-09 because it is pretty darn good in the twisties, and it can be made to work adequately on the slab. For the kind of riding I like to do this bike strikes almost the perfect balance.

I put the Fuzeblock under the seat bracket because I felt the need to retain the useless tool kit. Silly, I know. I'll probably dump the toolkit and move the Fuzeblock out where it's easier to access.

Bigger touring bikes definitely have their place, but I am a huge proponent of touring on lighter motorcycles. The FJ-09 has nearly the same riding position as the FJR, so with a better seat and windscreen it can definitely be a good touring bike.