shadowhawk

Well guys thanks for all the great input. I went ahead and got myself a set of Michelin Road 5's. I am going to give those a try and see how they do. From what I read I don't think I will be disappointed. I even said "What the hell..." and threw in the money for the givi engine guards while I was at it. Thanks again guys.

From all the strait shot highway/freeway riding these dunlap's have a pretty considerable flat worn in the rear tire. How are all these other tires for highway/freeway riding?

So it's been a while since I've had this conversation, so I'm not sure if things have changed or not. I got almost 8000 miles on my '15 and it's time to change out my rear tire. I am currently running the dunlap sportmax d222 tires that came stock with the bike. From what I have read those dunlap's are not the greatest tire out there. I have plenty of tread left on the front tire but I think I'm going to change it out as well just so both tires are the same.
 
So... from last time I talked about this, I came to the conclusion that I was going to get the metzeler roadtech 1. Are those still pretty good tires or has something better came out that provides the best grip and longest mileage. I've heard about some michelin tires that are pretty good but I forgot which exact ones they were. I'm just a regular everyday rider so my riding style isn't to crazy. Anyway thanks for the help in advance.

Oh ok so it is normal for everything to be so stiff then... I put the suspension on the softest setting the first day I got the bike so that part is done. Because I had a tough time on finding how the links are installed I didn't know you actually had to remove the exhaust. I figured it was one of those thing that was overkill to do the job. Guess I was wrong. I will try out these links for a little while and see if I like them. I think I will get a set of the yamaha stock 9/16" lowering links as well just so I have more options. Now that I got that one bolt broke loose things will go much faster next time. I thought for sure I was going to bust that bolt before it broke loose. Or worse yet round off the head of the nut. That would have sucked.

I just got done putting on Soupys lowering links. Holy crap what a pain in the ass. Got the bike up in the center stand and got the bottom link bolt out in no time at all. Then spent about 2 hours trying to get the top bolt out. Couldn't get a good hold on it so I had to loosen the exhaust and drop it out of the way. Then I couldn't get the top bolt broke loose because it was torqued down so tight I thought I was going to bust the bolt. I almost ended up rounding off the nut... I finally got the top bolt out and the new links put in... kinda. From what I have read all you have to do is use a jack on the swing arm and jack it up till the holes line up. Well to do that I would have ended up throwing the bike over cuz it wasn't heavy enough. So I had to take a ratchet strap and wrap it through the rim of the rear tire and over the passenger seat and ratchet it down till the holes lined up for the bottom bolt. Got the bolts all in and tight and exhaust is back on. Dropped it off the center stand and... damn thing feels like there is no suspension at all now. It has some give but I have to jump on it with all my weight to make it sag any. Hopped on and it feels great as far as height goes but just riding it around the block it feels stiffer than shite. Is this normal? Should it feel that stiff? If it is I think I just wasted about $60 cuz this thing is going to beat me to death.

What about when you get off the bike?  I use the side stand as I dismount then usually put it on the center stand.

This is what I do when putting my bike in the garage.  Amazing how much room a bike takes up when it's on its side stand.  Usually I use the sidestand out of habit from riding my 06 yamaha Vstar 650 but I am liking the center stand a little more every time I use it.

Just put on the Kouba 2" mirror extenders. Wow they make a HUGE difference! I can see everything directly behind me so easily now. I highly recommend this as one of the first upgrades. Very cool customer service too, nice people.
 
 
Here's the link to them for those looking.
 
http://www.koubalink.com/

Has anybody tried these lowering links from lust racing? It says it will lower the bike a little over 3/4". .8" to be exact.
 
http://www.loweringlinks.com/moto/yamaha-fj-09-lowering-kit/

I looked at the site for the higdonion and it looks like it would be nice to have. but man with a 1 1/4" lowering kit it looks like it would dang near touch the ground just as it sets on the side stand. I might have to do the happy medium and do the 5/8" Yamaha lowering links, save up money for the higdonion, put in a Mazda oil plug and hope for the best. I guess 5/8" is better than nothing. Let me know how your set up works when you get your Yamaha links on with the higdonion.

Hmm good to know about the skid plate. Last thing I want to do is to rip off my drain plug on a brand new bike. Now I'm considering not getting the lowering links and just dealing with tippy toeing. Sucks being 5'6" and having a 25" inseam. I tell people I'm not short I'm a giant midget.

Kennewick Washington here. Just bought my FJ and I'm ready to go. Now if the weather would just cooperate.
 

I just bought my fj-09 last weekend and I am trying to find a guide to install lowering links. I want to get a set of the soupys lowering links and I tried doing a search but I'm not coming up with anything. I found posts talking about them but nothing that really tells me how to install them. Can somebody point me in the right direction?