bruceintucson

I had my top end limit removed when I had my flash done by 2WheelDyno, but I've only had it up that fast once, trying to get out of a bad situation. 
Anyone know what the top end for this bike is without the limiter?

Approx. 114-115mph. 

Dropped my bike off at the dealer to replace a leaky fork seal just before Thanksgiving, only to find out a couple weeks later they had decided to do the CCT replacement while it was there. They referred to it as a "recall". Funny, because I never got a notice like I did with the shift cam recall. The ETA for the revised CCT kits keeps getting bumped, now looking at beginning of Feb.  Best time of the year to ride here in FL and I'm grounded. Wishing I had gone the APE route when I was considering it awhile back. Sigh.

Go get your FJ back & have them call you when the updated CCT kit comes in. Had Mary's done in July and it's perfect, no noise at all. Your bike isn't going to blow up riding it 'til the kit comes in. Leaving it there makes no sense. 

Here's an easy way to do it with the wheel/brakes on. First, remove the ABS sensor from the right side of the wheel (there will be times when the wheel/axle are not straight and the clearance to the ABS sensor is very tight & you don't want to damage it). Second, loosen right axle pinch bolt & axle nut, fender mounting bolts; you don't have to remove the axle. Third, take weight off front wheel (jack with towel under exhaust headers works fine). Fourth, completely loosen lower triple clamp pinch bolts. Take a business card and make markings on how much you want to raise the forks. Slightly loosen one upper triple clamp pinch bolt, grasp the fork, loosen the bolt enough to where it moves, and move the fork upward as far as it will go; it probably won't be 5mm. Snug the upper pinch bolt. Go to the other fork, loosen the upper pinch bolt & while grasping the fork & using your business card,  slide this fork up to 5mm or whatever. Snug pinch bolt. Go back to first fork, grasp the fork tube, loosen that pinch bolt and using the marks on the business card make it the same as the other fork; and snug the pinch bolt. Torque the upper & lower pinch bolts to spec, tighten the front axle, remove jack, push the FJ off the centerstand [em]without using the front brake and pump the front end up and down several times to align the right fork tube. Torque the right axle pinch bolt, snug the fender bolts, re-install the ABS sensor, pump the brake lever. [strong]You're done.[/strong][/em]

To do this procedure, there is NO reason to either elevate the front wheel off the ground or loosen/fiddle with ANYTHING below the triple clamps.  You simply adjust one fork leg at a time, I always do it with the bike on the center stand.  Loosen one leg and make height adjustments to your choosing (the other leg will hold the bike up) then tighten the pinch bolts and adjust the other leg to the same height.  The entire process takes about 3 minutes, I use this procedure on all of my bikes and have even done it on the side of the road before.  I have never had the front end out of alignment or had fork binding.

Respectively have to disagree on a couple of points. Yes, you can do it without the front wheel off the ground & just on the centerstand. The problem is the ABS wheel sensor & rotor sensor. The specified gap is .9-1.5mm approx. the thickness of a matchbook cover doubled over. It would be easy to make contact with the sensor/rotor damaging one or both when moving the right fork up or down (and the 2 parts on partzilla.com are about $114!) Take an extra 2 minutes & remove two allen bolts to get the wheel sensor safely out of the way.The front fender is pretty stiff & rigid even if it's just "plastic". Loosen the fender bolts, also makes it easier to move the forks. Tighten the fender last. Once you've decided on your fork height & tightened the pinch bolts, take the bike off the centerstand & pump the forks up and down a few times to align the forks [em]before[/em] you tighten the axle pinch bolt on the left fork. If aligning wasn't important, the pinch bolt wouldn't be there. So take 5 minutes rather than 3 to potentially save money & have proper fork alignment. :-) 

see I did almost do something stupid. I do have a rear wheel stand too that does work unlike the front one. Its 80 minutes driving to get a wheel mounted so I was hoping to do them both at the same time.

Once the front wheel is off, you can put the front axle back in & using a jack stand that is the same height as the front wheel or slightly shorter put it under the axle & release the jack from under the exhaust pipe(s). The bike will then sit on the centerstand & the front axle & jack stand just like the front wheel is on the bike. Of course loosen everything related to removing the rear tire before doing the above. I've done this a few times with success, but if something goes wrong it will be ugly! 

So I want to remove my from wheel to get new tires. I bought one of those stands to lift the front wheel but it will not work, I think its the ABS sensor in the way. So, is it okay, while my bike is on its centerstand, to lift the front wheel off the ground by placing wood under the header pipe to lift the wheel off the ground? My concern is crushing the header pipe or cracking the seal at the head itself. Thanks in advance, Rick

It won't be a problem. Been using a small scissor jack on all my bikes for years on the headers with no issues; I just put a rag on top of the scissor jack so as not to scratch the headers. Couple words of warning. Loosen [em]everything[/em] up first before you jack the wheel off the ground and jack it up til the rear wheel just touches the ground-no further.  Keep the ABS sensor out of the way, keep magnets of any type away from it & wipe it off with alcohol or brake cleaner before re-installing it. Careful of the ABS disc on the front wheel, stupid expensive to replace if it gets tweaked. 

Well, following the above advice, the stock shock came out no problem. That was the easy part, getting the new one in the upper mount has been impossible. Traxxion shipped the shock with no instructions, so does the shock mount with the reservoir hose coming out of the left or right? I cant get it to fit either way, but knowing if I am attempting it right or wrong would help. And finally where are you supposed to mount the reservoir? The hose seems way too long, its 15" from the elbow on top of the shock to the reservoir. When I mock it up in place, the hose goes way back behind the passenger peg mount with nothing to mount it to.

Run the hose in the area under the left rear frame mount & the chain guard. Remove the left passenger peg and install a couple of approx. 2mm washers between the passenger peg & the frame mount. Remount the passenger peg. Take the rubber mounting piece supplied by Penske & cut it in half. Run the hose clamp around/behind the passenger peg & it's mount to the frame (reason the washers are needed), take the now two sections of the rubber mount & put one on each side of the outside of footpeg sections that go down, slide the compression adjuster in place & tighten the hose clamp. Use  couple of zip ties to pull the hose up tight to the rear frame tube.I sent pictures to Dan at Traxxion a couple of months ago but apparently he hasn't made copies to include with the Penske shocke yet. 

Personally I just found it much easier (and in the long run actually quicker) by taking off the necessary tupperware & propping up the gas tank. Takes 10 minutes to get the tank propped up...once you've done it the first time. :-)

Thanks to bruceintucson and piotrek for the instructions on raising the forks in the triple trees.

...can't take any credit here, it's all @bruceintucson ... all his fault.

Sounds like a comment from Mary (the wife & the FJ rider)....it's [em]always[/em] my fault. :-) 

Was that easy to do? I keep thinking about doing this to help when I have the rear side cases on.

...with the wheel off, no it wasn't difficult at all because I wasn't fighting any weight/load (twist the fork up/down to suit and clamp it up). I am not sure how I'd do that with the wheel on, but certainly there must be a safe procedure/way. I used the stem on the Vanier caliper to get the rise measurement (from the top of the triple tree to the top cap surface). My only concern is that my posture will bias forward a bit... thus the 5mm for now. Different risers and bars can offset that a bit... we shall see how things work and take it from there. I also ride with the top case a lot, and the front end can get a bit light at times.

Here's an easy way to do it with the wheel/brakes on. First, remove the ABS sensor from the right side of the wheel (there will be times when the wheel/axle are not straight and the clearance to the ABS sensor is very tight & you don't want to damage it). Second, loosen right axle pinch bolt & axle nut, fender mounting bolts; you don't have to remove the axle. Third, take weight off front wheel (jack with towel under exhaust headers works fine). Fourth, completely loosen lower triple clamp pinch bolts. Take a business card and make markings on how much you want to raise the forks. Slightly loosen one upper triple clamp pinch bolt, grasp the fork, loosen the bolt enough to where it moves, and move the fork upward as far as it will go; it probably won't be 5mm. Snug the upper pinch bolt. Go to the other fork, loosen the upper pinch bolt & while grasping the fork & using your business card,  slide this fork up to 5mm or whatever. Snug pinch bolt. Go back to first fork, grasp the fork tube, loosen that pinch bolt and using the marks on the business card make it the same as the other fork; and snug the pinch bolt. Torque the upper & lower pinch bolts to spec, tighten the front axle, remove jack, push the FJ off the centerstand [em]without using the front brake and pump the front end up and down several times to align the right fork tube. Torque the right axle pinch bolt, snug the fender bolts, re-install the ABS sensor, pump the brake lever. [strong]You're done.[/strong][/em] 

This has been discussed before. Going from OEM 16/45 to 15/45 = 6.6% change "lowering" gearing (higher numerically). Going to 16/47 is a bit less at 4.36% change "lowering" gearing (not as high numerically). 16/49 = 8.88% change "lower". A 15 tooth CS sprocket stresses the chain due to the smaller radius it must follow more than a 16T and of course stepping up in the rear has no negative effect on the chain but it would need to be determined if a larger rear sprocket is available (and keep the OWM 16T front with its damper but I've never heard a whine going to an AM CS sprocket as mentioned on other motorbikes in the last 40 years but I guess it's possible) and at what size larger tooth sprocket a longer chain would be required. I doubt a 47T would be an issue. On the other hand, a smaller front may run the chain out of adjustment (at least with the OEM adjusters and has anyone tried one of the AM adjuster assemblies?) when it wears (there's no such thing as chain stretch) down the road (pun intended).

The biggest sprocket JT Sprockets lists is a 46T rear. Don't think a 15T front would be as hard on a 525 chain as say a 530 chain, but know where you're coming from. As far as "running out of adjustment with the stock adjusters", it's only an ordinary M8 bolt and you could replace with a longer (or shorter) bolt with no issues. And don't think even if a 47T rear was available you could get the axle/adjusters that far forward with the stock 110 link chain; the axle is already so far forward that the marks on the axle side pieces barely even come into play with the marks on the swingarm. Think 15/45 is probably what Yamaha intended the FJ/MT/FZ to be geared with initially with the 110 link chain. Would have increased the wheelbase a little (good thing). Why they didn't install a 112 link chain with the 16/45 is beyond me. 

Did it effect the speedo error? Too lazy to go into the workshop & look at the SM to see where the speedo sender is driven from.

When I got my bike new, I did a speedo test with a GPS mounted to my bars, accuracy was within 1-2mph.  I did the same today after switching to the 15T and it was still off by 1-2mph. 
I'm not sure where the speed is detected from, on my previous FZ1, I originally had to use a SpeedoDrD to correct the inaccuracies.  With that bike there was also an option to correct it as part of the ECU flash.

Nice to know, thanks. Guess I'll get that 15T ordered for Mary's FJ and not tell her when I change it.... :-) 

Did it effect the speedo error? Too lazy to go into the workshop & look at the SM to see where the speedo sender is driven from.

Nice to know they're now available. Tried to order one a few months ago and no one had the 15T. Another slight advantage is it lengthens the wheel base a little.

Guys, is there a way to flush the oil gunk, or cleanout the forks without complete disassembly? I can take out the top cap and the spring, and looking to get as much out as possible before refilling. Would pouring a little WD in there (to mix with old oil) to flush things out be bad?

Generally once the spring is out pumping the damper/cartridge until it goes dry (fork upside down), then pouring in some clean fork oil, pumping the cartridge until it's fill up (fork upright) then repeat above. Word of warning!!! Once the cap, spring are out DO NOT pick up the fork by the gold part that attaches to the triples, the fork will come apart; probably damaging the seal when you try to put it back together. Hold the fork by the chrome tube, and careful inverting the fork (for obvious reasons).I've heard of flushing forks with kerosene, but never done it myself. And BTW, the left fork "cartridge" is a dummy and there will be no oil retained in it after draining. 

Much better with more threading on the shock body for more [em]course[/em] range of adjustment. Still no Torrington bearing on the bottom adjuster?

Torrington bearings are a Forks-by-Matt value-added upgrade (free) until such time as the factory changes their mind. 

Excellent...good job! Sure makes preload adjustment easier. 

Much better with more threading on the shock body for more [em]course[/em] range of adjustment. Still no Torrington bearing on the bottom adjuster?

With 5mm up on the forks didn't notice any difference on the wrists (Mary would have let me know! :-). If you do, rotate the handlebars back a couple of degrees.

@bruceintucson ....have you noticed a tangible difference in handling after dropping the front end 5mm?

Define "handling?" The FJ does turn in to a corner a little easier, but it didn't really understeer much before raising the forks. It holds a line better once in a corner and mid-corner corrections take virtually no effort; just look there and it goes there. It seems more balanced front to rear. The two things that are really noticeable are less turbulence-induced twitchiness or hunting from bad side winds or trucks on the highway. The second is much more stability at higher speeds, the front end doesn't get as light and the FJ feels more planted. ECU has been re-programmed so speed limiter is removed and 120+mph speeds are [em]generally[/em] a non issue. This is a stiff (slightly too stiff IMO) bike that has very little chassis flex so it's similar to a sportbike in that it's susceptible to occasional strange handling effects depending on the road & conditions even with upgraded suspension.Depending on your weight (and if you set the rear suspension properly for your weight-most people don't-) 5mm is a minimum. Try 5-6mm to start, then go up 2mm at a time until it feels right to you; you'll know when you've gone too far. It will start to understeer, ie it wants to turn too quickly given an input and will fall into corners and not hold a line. This is probably from my experience on other bikes somewhere around 10-14mm.For each 2mm you raise the forks, try adding 1/2 turn of preload. 

I just received a very cordial personal message from Oxracing regarding the issues I had with my purchase. Great guys who seem to be willing to make things right with their recent modifications to the shock preload adjusters. Unfortunately, I'd already chosen to go with a different product. Hopefully someone else will buy and confirm that K-tech's new setup on this shock remediates the issues.

What shock you going with Clint? 

Clint, et al. Just went and looked at my Penske on Mary's FJ-09. It also has a 6" spring and probably only + or - 5mm of preload adjustment at the bottom of the shock. The big difference (on top of the fact as Matt mentioned that it is the correct larger diameter normally used in a single shock application) is that the [em]entire[/em] shock body is threaded and with the preload rings Penske uses (and the tool they send), it is pretty easy to get to the top spring adjuster ring and turn it. In fact, although the preload from Traxxion/Penske was pretty spot on, the lower preload adjuster (with the Torrington bearing supplied) was wound up to maybe 80% of it's available preload. So I backed the lower adjuster off 3 turns & added 3 turns to the upper adjuster ring; putting the lower adjuster ring more on the soft end of it's adjustment scale. This permitted still being able to go slightly softer and considerably harder for luggage or a passenger (though she never rides two up). I consider the lower adjuster the fine-tuning adjuster and the upper adjuster the course-tuning adjuster.

+ or - 3mm of adjustment?! Wow, someone sure had their head up their A$%.

Anyone have more info on this issue? My '15 started getting noisy at idle with the clutch out. Sounds exactly like my former '07 SV1000S which was a defective clutch basket design that caused rattling at idle.

Noisy clutch when clutch lever is out & oil is warm is pretty normal for Yamaha's. You should hear my '03 FZ-1. Been making the same noise for 33K miles. :-) 

So why did I pick approx. 215-230cc's of fork oil to be replaced with 2.5 wt? The oil volume according to the Service Manual is 431cc's in the right leg. If you remove 230cc's of 5 wt and replace with 230cc's of 2.5 wt you end up with a 3.66 wt oil. Was afraid to go any lighter for fear of compression circuit getting too mushy or running out of rebound adjustment. Could probably remove 250-275cc's of 5 wt and still be OK but the 230cc's works fine.As far as adding oil to reduce front end dive during braking, SM says oil level on right leg is 175mm. Adding 15cc's of oil to a 41mm fork gives pretty damn close to a 10mm rise in oil level. So adding 15cc's brings oil level up to about 165mm. If what Pattonme says that 150mm is a good oil level (with a stock fork spring)? then adding 40cc's of oil per leg would get close to the 150mm level. My question for him... is the 150mm level he recommends for the stock springs, which are not linear/straight weight springs but progressively wound and therefore displace more oil than straight weight springs?BTW, it's very easy to add oil per leg. Loosen top triple clamp pinch bolts, loosen fork caps, raise front wheel off the ground, spin fork  caps loose, put a couple of 2x4's under the front wheel to raise it and get access to the interior of the fork, add Xcc's of fork oil per leg, take out 2x4's, tighten fork caps, tighten top triple clamp bolts, remove jack that raised the front wheel. 20 minutes max. Better to add 10cc's or so at a time til you get the feel you want under braking than put in too much and then have to remove the wheel & forks to drain it out! :-)

 

I got around to making this change yesterday and went riding today. MUCH BETTER! The compression is much more compliant now! No more harshness! There is still significant dive on braking, so I don't see much change there, but for the 2 hrs of work and $10, this is a significant improvment. Thanks Bruce!Glad it worked for you, pretty cheap effective way to improve the front end compliance & feel. Might try 5-10cc more oil per leg to reduce front end dive, or if you raised your forks a couple more turns of preload. Remember a seminar I attended a few years ago with a Factory BMW Tech talking about the S1000RR. An owner said he thought the front end had too much dive for him & the Tech said add 5cc at a time until it felt right! And for those who have asked, no I don't think you can do this properly without removing the right fork leg.

 

Sorry for all the "nothing new" fork posts, don't know what I'm doing wrong. Yes swapping fork oil viscosity is a band aid, but actually works quite well. And the reason for adding 15cc of oil to the left leg (as well as the right leg) is to keep the air gap the same in both forks. Generally a good idea.