nicksta43

On 4/25/2020 at 9:18 AM, texscottyd said:

I got a little over 17k miles out of my OEM chain, but I honestly waited way too long to replace it.  In reality, it was done around 15k miles.  

The DID VX chain I put on feels much more substantial, so we’ll see how this one wears.   

My sentiments exactly.  Just changed mine yesterday at 17.5K but it should have been changed a couple thousand miles. 

Replaced with DID VX. 

8 hours ago, BBB said:

I’m amazed how quickly some people can work. You did all that in an afternoon. It took me an hour just to put the joining link and flare it to the correct specification on my new chain!

I say afternoon, it was like 5 hours or so. 

35 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

Yeah, I'm really curious there.  I got 15,000km/9300 miles on my last set, and they had a lot of room to spare (the rear in particular wasn't at the wear bars in the tread yet), but irritating cupping the front from running with low pressure over the winter.  Now, that was on the MT07, so I'd expect a bit less thanks to the added weight, but...  5000 miles?  Road 5's are praised practically everywhere for their longevity in basically every serious review or comparison.  

Meanwhile, my Tracer came with stock Dunlops that looked terrible at 800km, already sporting a flat spot.  However, stock tires are often not the same as aftermarket ones labelled the same - sure didn't make me want to give another set of Dunlops a go however.

 

That said, I'm riding primarily in Canada and the northern US (Montana, Idaho, etc), and the vast majority of my riding happens in relatively speaking colder weather.   A hothothot summer day here is 30C (86F), and that's just a month of the year.  Most riding is happening from 15-25C (59-77F).  Road 5's are formulated for good grip at lower temperatures - hence excellent rain performance.  Could just be that they're getting too hot in the Texas sun + riding heat, and wearing fast?  Just spitballing.

A lot of Texas asphalt is very much like a cheese grater.  Super gnarly stuff.

17500 miles on the original chain. Front sprocket showed a little wear nothing major. Rear was perfect but replaced them anyway. Oil change, coolant flush and brake fluid flushed as well. About time for a new rear tire. Have a Michelin road 5 ready to go on but the tire machine broke an air line so have to wait on that to get fixed. All in all a productive Saturday afternoon.

I bought mine in Texas.  It was the only one they got at the dealership. It was a 2015 and I bought it as a leftover with a deep discount in 2016. They said they couldn't sell it but the FZ-09's were very big sellers.  Last time I was in there they didn't have a GT yet and said they didn't know if they were going to get one.  

I'm afraid that what we have is an old man's bike 🙄

On 6/20/2019 at 6:05 PM, DavidS said:

I started talking to a fellow rider in the garage under my office, and was amazed at how clean his jacket was. My First Gear yellow reflective jacket is kind of dingy now after 4-5 years of riding/commuting. No matter how I wash it, it just doesn't get as clean as his does.

When I asked what he did to keep his so clean, he said that when it rains, he puts a light wind breaker over the jacket. Curious if others have tried this trick, or if you have another solution that you want to share......

Yeah I use a standard lightweight windbreaker from Columbia. I'm in mesh gear so it serves as my waterproof jacket throughout the summer.  I don't do it to keep my riding jacket clean though.

Got to work and got off the bike to unlock the gate and smelled something burning.

Didn't smell like oil. Didn't smell like coolant. Nothing was smoking. 

Rode over to the shop and looked down at the exhaust and find the burnt remains of a snake tucked into where the pipes come together at the merge collector.

I hope he enjoyed his ride before he burnt up.

The last two times there has been a change of rain in the morning I've decided not to put in the rain gear and both times got caught in a downpour and arrived to work soaked. 

This morning it was raining when I looked outside but by the time I put my gear and rain suit on and got out the door it has stopped and was dry all the way to work. 

Just my luck.

3 hours ago, FB4004 said:

Is this a product meant for chains or simple old liquid wrench? are you able to post a link for it?  Thanks

http://Liquid Wrench L711 Chain & Cable Lube - 11 oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003542HE0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Eda4CbYHNGB61 

I had several cans laying around that I bought mainly for use on bicycles. But reading the back of the can revealed it was compatible with O&X ring chains. So after the gear lube fail I decided to try it. 

It goes on water thin and I can tell the chain has less friction by how easy the rear tire keeps rotating after a spin by hand.  I let it set overnight and I've had almost zero fling from the two times I've used it. I can't tell it's on the chain unless I run my fingers on it then I can feel the slipperiness in between my fingers. And my chain has stayed pretty much spotless especially compared to the wax product I was using previously. 

Edit, that link seems to just bring me back to this page. Let's try this one https://www.liquidwrench.com/product/chain-cable-lube/

On 5/16/2019 at 9:44 AM, FB4004 said:

Gear lube really does fling off all over the place. it got on the swingarm, left sidewall of the tire, center stand and even the engine case. I didn't think I applied a heavy coat of it. if any consolation there is no buildup left on the chain that waxes do and after the first ride and wipedown no more fling off. it's now weighing the inconvenience of cleaning waxes off the chain once per season or alternatively with gear oil having to deal with cleanup once per application time. 

So far I'm extremely impressed with the liquid wrench product. Almost no fling and I can still feel it on the chain after a week or so, even through some wet weather. No rust after two days like the chain lube And absolutely no buildup. 

That's a beautiful area, I used to live in Knoxville and I've worked all over that area. 

Being out here in the land of flat straight roads doesn't lend itself to quick fun rides. There is some fun rides to be had but I'm riding for hours to get to it. 

I'll try to put something together later on.

1 hour ago, nhchris said:

Unfortunate there is no centerline painted on that street.  Looks like a residential loop with a narrower than normal width.

He is well over on your side for sure. Was he trying to avoid a kitten or something?

I have some sympathy for UPS guys who's bosses work them like Mexican mules until 8 PM in many cases. Bad job!

You got the plate number.

cb

I was a little worked up over it for a couple minutes. I'll admit I turned around and followed him to his next stop which was a block over. But in the end I thought better of it and just shook my head and went home. 

He was driving completely on the wrong side of the road, almost against the curb to my right, until he got about a half block away from me. Then he went all the way over to the left curb, which would have been the correct side. At that point I ASSumed he saw me and change my plan from pulling up behind that pickup truck as I was planning to do prior to him getting over to the correct side, to going ahead down the street. But then he started coming back towards the center of the road and I had already committed and didn't have time to dip in behind the truck. But he just kept getting closer. Which is why I think he never saw me. I was going 27 according to the video and I'd estimate his speed about the same. The speed limit is 30. 

To be clear, I accept all the blame for this because I ASSumed he saw me. I should have just stuck to the original plan of pulling up behind the pickup. 

It was just a little too close for my liking. 

But in the end that's all it was, a close call and a lesson learned. 

Had a closer than necessary experience with a UPS truck a half a block from home. 

He was driving completely in the wrong side of the road, then got over like he saw me but swerved back to the middle of the road about the time of the first snapshot. For no reason. I don't think he even saw me because he slammed the brakes on when I went by his open drivers door. 

And it still didn't occur to me to hit the horn. 

Thought about emailing the video to UPS but I couldn't find any contact info and I doubt it would do any good anyway. 

21 minutes ago, DavidS said:

Sunny and 80 degrees today in Seattle, although still too many cars.

 

Misting rain and in the mid fifties here in central Texas, not too many cars though. 

Apparently we have a comedian at the shop. 

Left work in the dry, two minutes later I was in a downpour with drops the size of golf balls. Pulled in under an overpass and put the rain gear on. Five minutes later the sun was out and it was almost 90°.  I should have just got wet. Probably would have dried off by the time I got home. Instead I got home sweaty and wet.

I've got mine too go from a hard eyeball rattling thumping, to a slight tapping on the helmet. But if I tuck down maybe an inch or so it's smooth. 

The way the air comes off the front of these bikes is weird. 

We used Maxima on a machine here at work. The buildup is terrible. I could not stand that on my bike. 

I wish I hadn't lost the liner for my summer mesh jacket. A little cool without it this morning, but it'll be way too hot this afternoon for my winter jacket. 

Anything to report?

I don't know. Mines done it since day one but it's progressively getting worse. I'm still on the stock front tire so that's my best guess. If you notice in my video when my hands comes off the bar I'm probably doing 50 and the vibrations start pretty much exactly at 45. That video is from last year, it's a bit more violent now. I just keep at least a finger on the bars and it prevents it.

Definitely impressively engineered. Still an overly complex answer to a question nobody but some loony locked up in mother Yamaha's basement was asking. It's cool they built the thing and are actually trying to sell it. I hope they sell as many as they need to. 

If something ever happens to my FJ though I'm going back to something much simpler. Probably another Sportster.

On 5/4/2019 at 9:50 AM, chitown said:

Please don't lump Harleys in with trikes unless they're Harley trikes of course. Like dogs there are no bad motorcycles only bad owners. Not that I like Harleys all the much for riding. Do lust after something like a Lawmill XR. Other than that I tell Harley owners "nice paint" cause you know, if you don't have something good to say...  

A motorcycle with a sidecar is a motorcycle. Trikes aren't. 

Trikes will never be motorcycles to me. They go against all that is right with the universe. Like veggie bacon. 

98% of the three wheeled vehicles I see out on the roads roads are Harleys. 

I saw a Niken at the Moto GP race. Not a very good looking thing that struck me as being overly complex for the sake of being overly complex. 

20 hours ago, sirepair said:

Mine sucked as I caged it.  

I had to do that today. Severe thunderstorm all morning and likely this evening too. 

@Tripletrouble

I just bought one. 

It's funny I actually asked the dealer to do the TB sync way back when I took it in for the handlebar riser recall. They kept the bike for a week and then when I picked it up it wasn't on the receipt. I asked why and they said "oh the tech must have missed it on the work order". Said I could leave it. Uh, you've already had it for a week. No thanks, I'll do it myself. I just got around to doing it. 

I've played with angles on mine. Changing helmets completely changed the angle that worked best for me. 

I currently have the top shimmed out 3/8" making the screen more upright. It worked best with the new helmet. 

Previously I had the bottom shimmed out 1/2". 

I'm 6'. 

My advice is get some longer bolts and some cheap nylon spacers and experiment. You can work on making it look good after you find what works best. While there is room for improvement I don't think there is one right answer and some testing and tuning is called for to find it.