texscottyd

@maximNikenGT - Is that the plate holder off your US spec bike? The shape doesn’t look right for our plates, but I have no idea what sort of adapters or secondary plates might be on the bike. Is that entire thing held on by the two little screw hole tabs at the bottom of the picture? If so, that does seem like a sketchy design…

I don't know if the shape of the dash on the T9 enables this trick, but it was 100% foolproof on the FJ:

Funny you say that: I found the jetting box for my old race Hawk last weekend, and showed it to my kids. You would have thought it was some sort of mythical holy grail…

Welcome @the snake1201, and congratulations on the new T9! I’m sure you’re going to love it

Honestly, that’s why I do a lot of the maintenance tasks myself… I’m way more paranoid about things I don’t know in detail. If I did it myself, I know it’s done right. Or at least ‘right enough’ 😳😀

I did nothing to my FJ today. But I did get my vintage Aprilia Mille R inspected yesterday, and back on the road after a couple of years of neglect… new fuel pump, injector cleaning, master cylinder rebuild, etc. It’s now running as strong as ever. But what this did let me do was conduct a back-to-back-to-back comparison ride test of my 2015 FJ, the 2000 Mille R, and my new 2022 Triumph Speed Twin. Three bikes, seven cylinders, vastly different personalities. 😀 I have about a 40 mile loop from my house that mixes up suburban traffic, some nice twisties, and a lot of rambling rural 2 lane highway. In a successful effort to avoid doing housework, I made the same loop on all three bikes. Some random thoughts, in order of ride: - Aprilia Mille R: Once again, I remember why I’ve had a have such a long term love/hate relationship with this bike. It’s miserable and magical, all at once. Even for a supersport bike, it’s an absolute torture rack… I was more than ready to get off the thing after 40 miles. Awkward at low speeds, roasts you with heat in traffic, very abrupt low speed fueling, and zero electronic aids… this thing will hurt you if you aren’t paying attention. But oh, it’s still gorgeous & exotic in its advancing age, and in the 5 miles of curvy backroads, it’s unparalleled. It’s like that line from Brokeback Mountain: “I wish I knew how to quit you…” - FJ 09: Like coming home to an old friend… instantly comfortable. It just does everything well: If I could write my own script for the perfect middleweight hooligan-sport-tourer, this would pretty much be it. Granted, mine is far from stock at this point, so the awesome suspension, great brakes, smooth fueling, and pretty good seat & wind protection all came at a price. 40 miles on this loop, but it would have been easy to roll past the house and make it 400. I still love this bike, and especially the ‘just rough enough around the edges character’ that oozes from its pores. It’s a keeper, and the one I would choose from my stable if (God forbid) I had to only have one motorcycle. - Speed Twin: We’re still in the ‘getting to know you’ part of our relationship, but I can tell it’s a winner. It’s small & compact for a 1200, but fits me like a glove at 6’1”. Even though it weights just about the same as the FJ, it feels much lighter on the move. Slow revving twin, boatloads of torque, perfect fueling (noticeably better at low speed than my 2WDW reflashed FJ), and nimble handling makes this hands-down the best city bike. The ergonomics aren’t that far off from the FJ, with the pegs a little higher and the bars a little lower, and it’s really comfortable up to about 75 mph. Above that, the lack of any wind protection becomes pretty apparent. It’s a fun, comfy, sport standard for short-hop day riding. I rode it 225 miles home from the dealership when I bought it, and that felt like about 75 too many. 150 mile days will be in the sweet spot, much more than that and I’ll be taking the FJ. I suspect I’ll end up doing suspension upgrades and exhaust at some point, but for now I’m just enjoying having a new toy in the shop to play with.

Maybe this bump of the thread just in time for the weekend will help… I had honestly forgotten all about it. This is about as easy of a challenge as they get!

Hi @OZVFR - I know that the 2016 - 2020 model R1 rotors are correct for bolt pattern and offset to fit the FJ & Tracer 900/GT wheels. They are 320mm diameter instead of the stock 298, so you’ll need caliper spacers as mentioned above. I don’t know if the new T9 uses the same wheels, so you’re on your own in that situation… I’m sure there are other years of the R1 rotors that will fit (I have specifically heard 2004 as compatible), but be aware that many model years of R1 surprisingly have 310mm rotors fitted stock… that’s probably not what you want.

In the interest of full disclosure, it’s worth noting that the Mille is a 60 degree v-twin, and not a 90 like the VTR & Ducati. Regardless, the sounds emitted from this are glorious… When you mention ‘what the VTR should have been’ I can’t help but secretly wish Honda would resurrect the VTR formula as a modern-era v-twin sport standard. But parallel twins seem to be the Honda focus for now… nice enough, but very different.

<inner voice> Stay out of this. Nothing to gain here… </inner voice> So, after owning a VTR1000 and a first-gen Aprilia Mille R (which I still own), they really do have a totally different character & sound. The VTR was an amazing motorcycle: Smooth, refined, totally reliable… typical Honda of the era, in other words. And with the high-mount Staintune exhaust, it had a wonderful bass exhaust note. But the Aprilia (and from what I’ve seen & heard, many Ducatis) are just different. The torque is noticeably harder hitting, and the entire thing has more of an edge to it… including the sound. Mine has the stacked dual canister titanium Arrow exhaust, so it has a rather, uh, ‘pronounced’ tone. 😀 The VTR was arguably a better motorcycle for 90% of what I need in a bike. But the Italians, despite some occasional pain & suffering along the way, just have an intangible - but very real - character that can’t be matched. Your mileage may vary. My opinion only, and just for friendly discussion purposes….

Interestingly enough, mine wasn’t even finger tight when I went to change the original chain & sprockets… l literally just spun it the rest of the way off by hand. I have to assume something went wrong when it was staked at the factory, and the bolt had a chunk missing where (I’m assuming) it should have been punched into the output shaft groove.

Good news is that if it came off, it will go back on. Just need to figure out the secret handshake…. is it sliding up into the mounts at the front? If so, and the back isn’t settling all the way down, is there a fuel or vacuum line that got in the way when things were re-attached? Don’t force it…

@angrygirafe - I’m literally looking at the reaction options, and think any one of them might be appropriate here! Regardless, I’m happy to hear you’re back on the FJ and (mostly) loving it again.

Yep… you are correct. The FJ seats are 2015 - 2017 only; newer models are a different design.

Ah, my apologies… I misunderstood what you were saying. Yes, the accessories are there to promote the model launch, but do tend to disappear quickly. I’m planning accordingly for the items that I really want.

Valid point, but I’ve kept a first year Mille R on the road for 22 years… parts availability doesn’t scare me. 😀

There was a Sargent seat pair for sale here recently… let me see if I can find the details. Please hold. @JP3RKS - Didn’t you have a Sargent or Corbin seat for sale? I can’t seem to find the post.

Well, it didn’t take long for boxes of machined billet pieces to start arriving. Evotech fender eliminator & radiator guard; factory Triumph swingarm spools. No major aftermarket purchases yet, but I’m already browsing for suspension and exhaust options. The Triumph factory accessories catalog should literally have a XXX rating. They understand how to sell accessories, just like Ducati and Harley… this stuff is packaged and presented like fine jewelry. 😀

I spent my hard-earned bonus money on an entirely new motorcycle! Which (of course) I’ve now decided needs upgraded suspension… 🤷‍♂️ It’s a fun, vicious cycle

That’s an interesting comment, and something I hadn’t considered when looking at EVs. Is there something that makes this unique to the Zero, or a more universal EV issue? Pardon my ignorance, but I’m just starting to really dig into electric options (cars & bikes).

I’m only half-kidding to say that I was just thinking “isn’t it about time for @wordsmithto reappear with yet another FJ/Tracer/T9?” 😀 Great to have you back! Again!! Sorry to hear about the covid battles, and hope you & your wife recover quickly & fully.

Welcome! Great score to find a super-low mileage Gen-1 FJ. I’m sure you’re going to love it.

@petshark - Looking good! Are you happy with the T9GT as an upgrade from the previous Tracer?

Welcome @INDYST - Congratulations on the new bike! We look forward to hearing what you think...

I wasn't aware of this option, so just looked it up to see what it's about. I'll be interested to hear your feedback. Many of us here have taken the approach of having the factory ECU reflashed (several reputable shops offer the service) specifically to address fueling issues from the emissions-related lean settings from the factory. As a bonus, they can remove the top speed limiter, default to a different ride mode at start-up, etc... The downside is that you can't tinker with the tuning settings once it's done, which it looks like you can do with that Dobeck. Keep us posted on how it goes!