texscottyd

@Butrzrulz - (a) Do you recognize the road in the photo above? (b) Is your screen name a Southpark reference?

Agreed, but I think it goes back to the fact that it wasn’t really designed as a touring bike. It’s an FZ9 at heart, and Yamaha’s liability-conscious legal team has their stamp of caution all over the bike. The 114 mph speed governor on the early bikes is just another example. Use some common sense and you’ll be fine. I’ve had the factory bags and rear rack on my FJ since day one, even though the Yamaha accessory literature would have you believe I should have spontaneously combusted by now… 😳

“It was a dark and stormy night, and a mysterious stranger silently shifted his FJ 09 into sixth gear at 37 mph. Clearly, evil was afoot…”

Exactly! I ride for fun, and that doesn’t sound like fun. Related thought: The ‘recommended shift points’ in my owners manual reads like the introduction to a Steven King horror novel…

I’m probably pretty close to the overall averages you mentioned, although I’ve never tracked it in detail or manually calculated an actual average. I’ve never reset the average fuel economy reading on my 2015 FJ, and it currently shows 42.6 mpg over 21k+ miles. (I’m assuming it didn’t reset when I had the battery out) If you allow for being 5% optimistic, this gets the actual number down to right around 40 mpg. I haven’t really thought of it as good or bad… it just kind of ‘is’. I just pay attention to the gauge, since I’ve had tanks when I trigger the reserve countdown at 120 miles, and others where it’s around 180 miles. I can’t see actually getting 200 miles out of a tank, personally.

@bikelee - The equivalent bolt on the FJ (where my Evotech frame sliders are installed) called for 33 ft-lbs torque. Converts to 45 Nm if you prefer that convention. While I can’t guarantee it’s the same for the new T9, that should be in the right ballpark for now.

Ok, that makes more sense just based on empirical evidence. Still sucks, though… Good luck on the motor search

Well that kinda sucks @redfjniner 106k isn’t exactly low mileage, but I’m still surprised to hear about this. I suspect the center cylinder runs hotter than the outsides, so maybe that combined with valve lash got things to/over the edge? Regardless, I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Does anyone know definitively if the FJ/FZ/XSR motors are interchangeable? I know you would have to swap & use all the FJ externals, but is the mechanical core the same? One would think there’s a lot more availability of used FZ9 motors.

😃 Every time I see a Buc-ee’s, my thoughts immediately go to Primus:

I know, right? But that corkscrew design is an elegant solution to a space-constrained problem. Pictures don’t really do justice to the scale… it’s a massive structure on a relatively compact footprint. The sentimental me kind of misses the charm of the old swing bridge, however. I found the following video that gives a bit of historical perspective…. Swing and draw bridges used to be all along the Intercoastal Waterway, but have now almost entirely been replaced:

It’s a pretty creative new project from the Texas DOT to cross the Intercoastal Waterway at Sargent Beach. Coming south, it’s 720 degrees of left-handers, with half uphill & half downhill. Heading back north, it’s 720 degrees of right-handers…

I rode it around. And around, and around… Here’s an entertaining GPS trace:

I got in a couple hundred miles along the Texas Gulf Coast near Sargent Beach, and got home just before the heat became unbearable. My ride partner canceled at the last minute this morning, so it was solo freestyle exploring… Gas at the almost world famous Buc-ee’s. You can’t go wrong with the beaver!

I think this perfectly highlights the challenge with these bikes… there are a vast number of options for screens, but each person can have a completely different opinion of how each one works. Case in point: I have a Cal Sci shorty on my FJ, and I really like it. Obviously it didn’t work for you, and I 100% respect your opinion… it’s your bike, and only you can decide what you like/love/hate. I’m 6’1” and have the seat in the tall position, with the screen at the lowest setting. I do have lower Rizoma handlebar risers installed, so the bars are forward and down about an inch from stock… this may be the key difference that makes it work for me. The wind is clean and doesn’t buffet, and with earplugs I’m not bothered by the wind noise. It’s comfortable at cruising speeds well into the upper-80’s, but the wind starts getting noticeable above 90 mph or so. Strong crosswinds definitely do sneak in behind the screen, however, and I can feel wind gusts from the side pushing on my helmet. I guess I’m more of an ‘in the wind’ rider than a ‘behind the screen’ rider. Good luck on finding the right one for you! -Scott

You NEED that, and you know it…. 😇