chitown

1 hour ago, daboo said:

why are there the retro models? 

Cause the real thing in decent condition would cost an arm and a leg and the braking distance would suck

Every time I fix a 70s'-80's era bike for somebody and hop on for a shakedown the same dialogue goes thru my head: "This motor feels pretty good. The handling isn't bad. It's like I'm back in high school. Maybe I should think about finding one for myself..."

Then I grab a handful of forty year old brake tech and it all makes sense. 

Otoh my 2005 FJR doesn't feel old to me.

For about 25 years didn't do much more than oil changes. But after a series of poor service experiences finally got fed up and purchased some good quality tools, two shop manuals (mfg and aftermarket) and didn't look back. That was 20ish years ago. Now I trust myself to do nearly all normal maintenance. There are a few areas where my lack of experience is an issue but there are many resources online. At that point youtube howtos were just starting to become available for every job under the sun and it's only improved.

Never trust the information in a manual nor internet boards without some corroboration, even a torque value. There's a lot of bad advice on the internet. Manuals have errata. Everybody makes mistakes. Trust, but verify  

They've enough wear I would replace them. 

However, the rule of "always replace chain and sprockets as a set" for me applies to aluminum and some alloys. With modern steel components of oem quality or similar I'll inspect then decide. 

Haven't seen the range feature if it exists.

As mentioned previous lean angle sensor, yes. 65 degrees. 

ABS not linked. Both from experience and the manuals:

3 hours ago, kilo3 said:

In all seriousness, has anyone had a bad filter experience and what that entails?
I assume based upon oil analysis?

Not me personally but some K&Ns failed at tracks and this lead to banning of all non-oem filters by some tracks, racing bodies etc. That's one of the few I can recall that was actually a filter manufacturing flaw.

The issue more street riders are aware of is that a few years ago many of the inexpensive automotive filters had a design change such that the threads would bottom with only a bit of seal contact when used on a motorcycle. That is not a filter failure but did catch some owners out that bought the same Wally StarTech or whatever for years and all of a sudden it ceased to work without leaking. Somebody on the FJR board went so far as to design and manufacture an adapter because the filters are otherwise as good as they ever were. 

6 hours ago, Bossanova said:

rode a '15 FJ-09 and I'm in love

Consider getting a '15? You can probably find one for a song with some tasty upgrades on it already. Less guilt and depreciation more money for beer and tires! Still loving mine. 

26 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

Also: am I the only one who just stays on the bike when filling?   I don't think in 25 years of riding, I've every gotten off my bike to fill it.  

No. 43 years or so doing it this way and haven't caught on fire despite the dire warnings encountered in some uptight foreign countries about the practice. There's more risk of nasty eye splash than fire IME so keep eye protection on.

Have used the recovery boot retainers but meh. Two gloved fingers and watch the fill. Can get it full without it taking a long time. Lotsa practice with commutes that require filling every two days I guess  

Added a tank ring setup to a smallish strap-on Cortech I'd had for years. Added a small piece of kitchen cutting board in the bottom to help it retain shape.

Mine leans to the right on the center stand... but not enough to notice until I read about it online even tho I use the center stand the majority of the time

Were I to modify it the only caveat might be to not have material of dissimilar friction/traction on the feet. 

25 minutes ago, yamtracergaz said:

Hi,Wondered if anybody can help,i need to know where the A.I.S plug that plugs into the airbox is located,i have just bought a used boosterplug [even though it was listed as a 15/16,i checked with boosterplug that it fitted my 17] their website says the plug is on the left side,not on mine it isn't,i suspect i might have to lift the tank as it might be in the middle of the airbox,if this is the case can you lift up the tank from the front or does it have to be all disconnected,thanks in advance.

The air filter case bottom has the same part number for 2015-17 so doubt it would be different. 

Here's a pic of where the ais hose connects to airbox (not my pic, not even an FJ, but same location). Tank has hard clamp at rear so lifting at front would be tricky. Did my block off at the same as other maintenance tasks so had the tank and airbox off anyway. 

23 hours ago, maximNikenGT said:

Not sure I follow. My understanding of the definition of double jeopardy is: "the prosecution of a person twice for the same offense".  To me, if I paid my out of state ticket along with going to driving school for that violation, then that should not result in me getting my license revoked in my home state (which to me  feels like double prosecution for a singular offense). Would you mind clarifying?

In the US you'd want to add "by the same sovereign" to the definition above. 

There are a few exceptions to double jeopardy in the US.  The main one being that it doesn't apply to multiple sovereigns. Examples of sovereigns: federal gubmint, state gubmint, Native American tribal gubmint etc. 

IANAL but fwiw, double jeopardy doesn't apply when two separate sovereigns (two states, fed and state, etc) bring cases for the same offense. However,  there are other arguments that could be argued; I'd consult with an attorney. 

Country of origin isn't my only measure but fwiw current Yamaha oem and HiFlos on the shelf are all Thailand, Bosch says "assembled" in USA. 

Many tens of thousands of miles on all of the above. 

Will try to get some more pics, gotta pull the exhaust cam regardless so will do so then. The shiny bits aren''t reflections. It's in a few spots on every lobe, intake as well as exhaust, to a varying degree. Intake are all in spec .14 - .16 mm.

In mm: .13 .24 .14 .13 .14 .20

Not sure if this belongs in Tech... Haven't been here in forever but nobody deleted the account

2015 FJ-09, 21,200 miles. Doing first valve check a bit early due to other owner reports and time to work on it due to covid. Bike runs well. 

intake all well in spec. Exhaust all tight and out of spec, some pretty far. More concerning to my untrained eye tho is that most of the exhaust cam lobes show shiny areas like the below pic. Does anybody know if there's a surface treatment I've worn off vs something more cosmetic/normal etc? 

The shop manual mentions inspecting the camshaft for "blue discloration/pitting/scratches" but not sure if what I have is a match for that or not. Checking and adjusting valves is about the extreme of my mechanical knowledge if that wasn't obvious already and the half dozen bikes I've done before haven't had anything of this sort.

Notice a new camshaft is $120ish from partzilla and the like but don't have the experience to know if that's treating problem vs symptom.

Bike is ridden hard but maintained well. Have a YES warranty that is due to expire in a bit but don't know if that would just be getting into a fight that might not be a huge issue. The bike's been reflashed, block offs etc no idea if I might get push back there. Don't even know if it would be considered a qualifying issue or "normal" wear and tear. 

What sayeth the interwebz?

It does... but only through a limited range of the available travel and thus not very effective. 

12 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Thanks @piotrek - I also have a set of Galfer lines (the full 5-line kit) waiting to be installed.   I was going to do it last weekend when I had all the bodywork off, but got a bit overwhelmed and decided it could wait.   Seeing yours complete makes me feel inspired to get back in there soon.  

Did you just follow the detailed instructions with the kit?  I seem to recall there being electronic instructions from Galfer somewhere...  video or online pdf maybe?    

Galfer FJ-09 5 line instructions

https://galferusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/D809-5-Instructions.pdf

Balancing obsession should be informed by riding with no weight, purposely too little or too much weight, etc. It's science you can do yourself rather than take the internet's word for it The bike won't pitch you down the road. You might be surprised. Color matched gaffer tape on all weights.  YMMV.

There's a design choice as to where the physical throttle tube movement is converted into signals sent over the wire. Cost is usually a factor. Think of the cables as part of the input device. Scotty, we need moar power!

Love my Vesrah pads. 

If you don't believe rubber lines should be replaced in four years, don't. While they will improve feel a bit I always wait to upgrade the lines until I'm ready to replace the oem lines. If you don't trust the factory guidelines but trust your ability to inspect/replace when necessary it's all good. 

If you don't wish to replace the hard lines shop for lines that don't. There's no single objective answer to this imo. Hard lines can get damaged, rust, and if they need to be replaced at some point it might be made simpler by going all flex to begin with. Nobody wants to be in the position of having to order stock hard lines and install them and getting custom aftermarket hard lines or making yourself is possible but certainly more of a pita than with flex. I don't always replace hard lines with flex line upgrades but will consider: Do sellers offer kits that retain the stock hard lines? Will it result in fewer line junctions? More real estate for other items or maintenance? Will it be easier to bleed?

EG my Miata has a clutch line in three sections, two hard, one flex. One of the hard lines is near a wheel and more prone to rust, damage, known to cause bleeding issues and takes up a lot of real estate. The other section is on the firewall, nice and tidy, unlikely to ever get damaged, etc. But keeping it means more junctions. The sellers offer options to replace it all with one run or anything in between. Deciding is owner preference.  

As to pulsing if you're certain it's not a disc or pad surface issue I'd check the runout. 

21 hours ago, keithu said:

Any pics of this? I'm intrigued.

None handy but if you search for "dryver" here or on advrider you should find a few threads of folks that have done this on a variety of bags.

Added a $20 ring setup and a piece of cutting board for stiffness to a strap on Cortech in the gear closet. Been using it for four years and works great. After decades of other mounting systems I'm all ring now.   

9 hours ago, johnmark101 said:

Have any of our members purchased the Yamaha Extended Service plan and did you benefit from doing so?  Any issues with filing a claim?  

I received a letter from Yamaha offering the service and it is a bit expensive.  Considering the stellar reliability I have had with Japanese bikes I am reluctant to make a purchase but wanted to hear from those that have used the product.

Extended warranties are far and away rarely worth what folks pay for them. Have only ever considered them for first year models or a vehicle that had a major repair during the standard warranty period.

With my Versys, it had a warranty repair at 6 months that was 50% of the value of the bike so just before the factory warranty ran out went on ebay and bought a Good Times extended warranty from a big box multi brand dealer in Colorado at half what Kawasaki started out asking. Didn't use it. 

My '15 being first model year and some of the valve issues reported here made me think about one the final month of standard warranty. Called the same dealer and they said the manufacturers will no longer allow them to undercut dealers that are in states with regulated insurance rates. Cali is such a state so they wouldn't sell to me. Florida and Washington are similar. At the time I was piling up a lot of miles and decided to get it. My commute situ changed so mileage hasn't been high and with 8 months left on the extended haven't used it. You can be sure I'll be doing a valve check before it runs out regardless of mileage lol. 

Since you're in KY if you really want one consider waiting till it's near out of factory warranty then go shopping on ebay. 

8 hours ago, Willie17FJ-09 said:

don't get the gopro session, its a nice small cube camera. the problem is you can not change the battery so theres no swapping to a fresh battery while your out for the day. When the battery goes bad and won't take a charge, its junk. expensive disposable camera 

 

Definitely has its limitations but I've been happy with mine owned for five years so wouldn't call it disposable nor junk. Five years of ride videos, underwater stuff, and for me it paid for itself with the memories recorded from the first trip with it in Ireland. A lot less bulk to deal with than my friends that ran elaborate setups.

 But I doubt it's appropriate for vlogging. No option for hard power without compromising the weather resistance, no external mic port but I'm not sure what folks do for audio. I generally just put music on my videos that youtube won't flag for copyright. Can't stand spoken vlogging but that's just me

As to mounting, move mine around a lot. On the helmet for commuting or a borrowed bike. Have done some lower mounting positions but have gone through multiple lens covers due to rock strikes. And, have to remember to clean it of bugs.