angrygirafe

It’s on the baby battery tender now. Unfortunately my meter is just a leftover from sparky days, so it just shows 12v, no decimals. I should have checked it the first time to see if it was 13 or 14. It could be on its way out though; it’s two years old, but two years in Phoenix, especially after last summer is rough.

Can’t clear this Fault 60. Tore down and rechecked electrical connections. I don’t think I disconnected anything other than battery, turn signals, ECU, and tank. Can’t find any spare wires floating around. I checked and ohmed every fuse, including under the right fairing. Going into Diag + Data, 60 shows no data, and 61 scrolls through a half dozen numbers. Flipping the right hand start switch to off doesn’t clear anything. Trying to crank the bike, it makes all the right noises, and the dash stops displaying the Fault code, but it won’t catch. Letting off the starter, the dash goes back to Fault 60. Ugh.

I’ll laugh and cry if that’s the case. But I don’t know yet, because when the wife and I hopped on to go for a spin, the dash displayed a fault code “60” and wouldn’t start. Apparently that’s related to the YCCT. Checked all the fuses and battery voltage, which was fine. And then we said “meh, tomorrow” and hopped on the Zero. Tomorrow I’ll make sure I plugged everything back in

So, I finally had some time to dig into this. Tore the bike down to get the ECU out to send for a reflash, and went to check the hoses from my charcoal canister delete, AND A BROKEN VACUUM CAP FELL OFF IN MY HAND. I stuck a new one one, checked the APS tension, and ran the APS diagnostic. That all looked good, so now it’s time for a test ride. I swear, if I bought a new bike because of a #$&! vacuum cap...

Sorry to hear the pumpkins survived ☹️

😂 It is. I’ve come back from week long trips and it’s taken multiple days to get feeling back in... well, places.

Glad you figured it out. Don’t park that thing on the driving range anymore 😂

Normal on my ‘16. I take advantage of the play to apply grease there

That was my experience as well. If it’s legitimately wet and you ride more than 100 yards, there’s going to be crap everywhere, no matter what you have back there

A little chilly this week, but next week is looking nice

Sorry, tallest I’ve got is a National Cycle Vstream Sport Touring: 20.75 inches.

It's sad, but the time has come. All items off my 2016 FJ-09. Prices DO NOT include shipping. I am located in Phoenix AZ if you would like to pick up. I will not ship internationally. First come, first served, with the caveat that if others are waiting, you have 12 hours to respond to any messages from me. I take Apple Pay and Venmo. You might be able to talk me into Zelle. Paypal only as gift. Givi V47 Monokey Top Case: $150 Some scuffs, inside and out. No cracks or warps, gasket is in good condition. The plastic buckle on the elastic retention straps is broken; I've been using a carabiner. I know someone is going to ask: I cannot fit two of my helmets in it, or my helmet and my wife's. I could probably fit two of my wife's helmets though. I don't know if it's classified as waterproof, but I have been through some absolutely torrential riding on tours, and everything stayed dry. Two keys with the case, for when you inevitably lock one inside it. Givi SR2122 Top Case Rack: $50 ***SOLD*** Obviously compatible with above case. Uses the bikes existing hardware for mounting. In good shape. Givi E22N Monokey 22L Cruiser cases: $100 Love these cases. Bought them in California for lane splitting as they don't increase the width of the bike. A few scuffs inside and out, plastic is not cracked though. Probably not waterproof as they don't really have a gasket, but I have not had problems with them. Three keys included. Givi PLR2122 Rapid Release Side Case Racks: $100 Replaces the stock case rails with low profile mounting points on the subframe and passenger foot pegs. A little rust inside the subframe mounts. Racks are in good shape. They can be tight to fit; I suggest attaching at the foot pegs first, then the subframe. Cross brace for stabilizing cases. Barkbuster Storm S7 Single Side Handgaurd: $60 ***SOLD*** Replaces the stock handgaurds with something that gives you actually weather protection. Great for wind and rain. These DO NOT offer crash protection, as they only attach at the bar ends. FJ-09 specific bar end adapters included. Motion Pro PBR Chain Tool: $50 ***SOLD*** Good condition; disassembled and greased before every use. So... It's a greasy box. Have fun. Probably a few more things to come; a windscreen or two, heated grips if anyone is interested, and flush mount turn signals if I can motivate myself to put the pumpkins back on. If any of those are of interest to you, let me know.

Probably a different model, but I have the version for my 2016. It has the same problem, but if I attach at the footrest first, and then to the subframe, it pulls into place smoothly with just a turn of the mounting key.

A boring ride on the bike is still more fun than an exciting ride in a car 😁

I had to vote urinal cake just for the name. PLEASE ask the shop for that color specifically 😂

I will be the first to agree that is an extremely limited/single purpose machine. It’s great if it matches your purpose, but this thing would be an absolute nightmare for anything other than commuting. It is a fun commute though 😂

So, there’s been some drama with my 2016 FJ-09. That’s detailed elsewhere, and is only relevant here as it served to get me to take the plunge on an electric bike. And it’s a whole ‘nother world over here. I’ve been needing a commuter, as my only personal vehicles since 2015 have been motorcycles. With the FJ down, I was borrowing the wife’s car for my daily commute, and we were both getting tired of that. Since my commute is relatively short, 14 miles of mostly interstate into downtoWn Phoenix, I started to seriously consider electric. There is no “fun” riding nearby Phoenix, not after going to school in Southern California. You’d have to put up with two hours of boredom to get to anything even a fraction as fun as Cali beaches, mountains, or canyons. So I only really ride to commute anymore. I was looking at the Zero FXS, their super moto with a 7.2 kWh battery. On paper, it would have sufficient range for my commute potentially both way, but barely. My budget was 8k, and there were a few used for that price, but nothing closer than Dallas. And it looked fun. But then I got a line on a 2018 Zero S with a 13kWh battery in Tucson, WITH the Charge Tank (uses J1772 quick chargers) installed, and 1200 miles on the odometer. Under budget, with a much better range, and a distance I could actually ride it home. Sort of. Range anxiety is real. I hopped a bus down to Tucson, and met the guy and did the paperwork. On paper, the bike has a range of about 100 miles. It was 98 miles home. I opted to take a 120 mile route home that had quick chargers at the halfway point, and that saved my bacon. The range is entirely dependent on speed. Going faster than 45 mph drains your battery FAST. After hoping on, I was immediately enjoying shiftless acceleration on par or better than the FJ. Huge smile on my face, until I realized I had used 60% of my battery in 20 of the 60 miles to the charger. I slowed down, and took my time getting there. “There” was Florence, Arizona, which is basically a prison, and the free quick chargers were between said prison and courthouse I had 10% battery left. With a quick charger, it’s supposed to take 2 hours to go from 0% to 100%. These chargers were having network problems, and I had to restart every 15 minutes. After 2 hours, I was only up to 60%, and decided I’d head back to Phoenix and hit another charger on the outskirts. I would later learn two prisoners had escaped while I was there. You can read about them in the local news. Cue me riding 45mph on a 65mph road in the dark. Not fun. I pulled off onto the shoulder anytime I saw headlights in the mirrors. But I made it. Not a great (or even reasonable) bike for taking trips. Fast forward 1.5 weeks to today. This is the best commuter ever. I’ve put 300 miles on the bike, and I haven’t even paid for the electricity, never mind gas. I can charge for free at work on a standard outlet, and it’s full when I leave, with plenty of power for the round trip commute. I get back with 25% to 40% charge depending on how traffic was. I ride it just as fast as my FJ whenever the conditions allow. There’s no chain, there’s no gas, there’s no coolant... there no service except air in the tires, break fluid when it needs changed, and a new belt every 24k miles. It’s tiny. All my previous bikes have been the upright adventure/touring style of the FJ. This thing leans you forward quite bit. It’s much shorter, and much more compact. Couple that with it’s noiseless running, and no shifting, it feels like riding a toy; just a toy that will go 0-100mph without a thought. I’m loving it. The seat is fantastic. The airflow is clean, but I’m still getting used to no windscreen. The braking doesn’t look like much with a single front disc, but with the stainless steel lines and regenerative deceleration, the stopping power is way better than the FJ. The FJ is back, and I’m starting to dig into it. I’ll probably part out my extras and sell it. But I’ll miss it. For now though, this little electric fits the bill, and is an absolute blast.

Dude, you have been on a roll questioning people’s work and mods lately. It’s a fender. Deep breath... Let it go 🙂

That seems noisier than my ‘16, but it’s always rattled. Bought it with 4500 miles, has 50k now. It’s gotten a little worse, but not much.

I did do the delete myself, but that was summer 2018 and it’s been fine. Maybe someone knocked a cap loose during the service. I do plan to look at that, and make sure that aps adjustment isn’t loose, and the numbers are still happy.

I’ve at least got paperwork saying a sync was done, but no numbers to back that up

I’m hoping electrical. I think I actually have a chance of tracking that down

The saga continues. The FJ is back together, and ready for pick up, bit there’s been... a plot twist! Dun dun dunnnnn. Previously, it started and ran fine, and after warming up would have a weak idle and sometimes stall. Now, it has a weak idle when cold, and seems to run fine when warm. There’s a couple caveats there though. Occasionally it starts fine, even when ice cold. Occasionally when warm, it seems to run rich. My brain remembers way back in the day, I had the 2wdw flash done, and did the APS adjustment many of us did to smooth things out. I also deleted the charcoal canister, because California model. I’m wondering if any of those could be the culprits. In any case, piston rings are no longer on the suspicious list. He is leaning towards computer or throttle body balance. But I might poke around before throwing more money at it. The ecu I can just send out and have reflashed. Any thoughts?

If everything checks out, a 2018 Zero S. Should be a very different experience. Hopefully a good one. I’ll miss the FJ. It’s been 50k miles of fun.

This is shop number two, that I had check the work of shop number one. So, the first shop apparently reset the clearance, but at the far end of the acceptable range; I’m guessing they didn’t remeasure after tightening things up. So far this guy has been better than the original shop, but if go get a third opinion, I’m going to end up spending more on this bike than it’s worth just for one service interval. I can ask him the procedures about the work he’s done, but I won’t understand my own questions, much less his answers, and I know how much I love it when people do that to me. I’ll bring it home, and poke around as much as my limited knowledge will allow, but it’s getting replaced whether it’s fixed or not. My bike is my only personal vehicle, and after two months of borrowing the wife’s car, she’s over it and so am I. Should have the replacement bike this weekend.