fr8dog

On 10/3/2022 at 4:12 PM, littlebruv said:

Bermondsey, SE London UK

Nice pic of the king!

I have a tail bag and have to mount cowboy style on sidestand. I dismount by exactly reversing mount. I can mount and dismount normal if no tank bag. I weigh about 220 and believe the sidestand will withstand the rigors of me mounting and dismounting.

I'm 62 and not as agile as I was before.

The only issue I've had is when the ground is wet, mounting can be a challenge.

Can't believe I'm even talking about this stuff. Still think I'm 20. Ha

12 hours ago, 2linby said:

Replaced the stock with a 14” Delkevic. Couldn’t be happier. 

Were you able to retain the center stand?

Used wax for most of the first chain then switched to gear oil. I had a gallon container sitting around. Lifetime supply. 

Clean and apply new oil weekly. Run a bead on top of both sides of o rings and then wipe clean.

Last chain I think I adjusted once or twice. Just installed new chain (3rd) and sprockets. 

Installed sprockets, chain and rebuilt/serviced Nitron shock. Took the swingarm off for access to the shock. Cleaned up and greased everything down there.

Had the parts for about a month. I was waiting for a nut and bolt for the shock. They were on a slow boat from Japan. In the mean time the Yamaha dealer closed up. Not sure what transpired, but we're redirected to another dealer here that sells BMW and Ducati.

Not sure when I'll see those parts. I reused the bolt I was worried about. It was good.

Was never happy with the Nitron. I sent it up to Norwest to get serviced and rebuilt. He rebuilt the OEM shock. Did a good job on that one. May take out tomorrow for an extended test ride.

Avoided a disaster. Applied back brake so I could loosen countershaft sprocket. Thought the brake wasn't holding. Check out sprocket and it's already loose. Don't think I did a good enough job tapping that metal piece so it doesn't move. 

Part of the delay was we had to move. We're building a home. Should be done in September. Landlords want to sell the house. So two moves in four months. Great

Waiting on a nut and bolt for the shock. On a slow boat from Japan. I have the rebuilt Nitron ready to install. Also have chain and sprockets to install. Want to do it all at the same time. I'm still riding. Front tire needs to be replaced. I have one, but Cycle Gear here in Meridian is backed up 5 days. Bummer. Back in Sacramento I could get both tires done before noon. Everybody is shorthanded.

Ordered sprockets and chain from sprocket center. Got ridiculous mileage out of this chain. The oem was good for 15k miles. Didn't replace it until 22k. I've got about 53k miles on the bike and the chain started getting a few tight spots about 1k ago. 

Also sent the Nitron shock up to Terry at Norwest for service. I put a lot of miles on it, but was never really happy with it. He's gonna change the valving in it. Bike handles great in the twisties, but in town a little harsh. The surface streets here in Idaho are in great shape compared to Norcal, so the issue was somewhat minimized.

I've been using the oem shock that Terry rebuilt. I had it sprung for my weight and I think he said he uses the innards from a FZ-8. I got my monies worth out of it. 

Probably grease the swingarm while I'm at it. Then ride. 

I was disappointed when they discontinued this model. Looks like there's a dealer in Oregon that has a few new ones or multiple ads for the same bike. Have to go back and look again. I think it was on Cycle Trader.

I was a Honda guy way back. Had a couple of 750SS. 

Something to be said about 600 lbs., but nimble. The other bike I had was 50 lbs. heavier than my FJ. Was more stable in windy conditions. We get our fair share of wind. Blows me all over the road on the FJ.

Keep the updates coming. 

Replaced the dash on my 2016 under warranty. Started at 0.

9 hours ago, sandman900 said:

I've been less than impressed with my Racetech stuff over the years and am going to try another brand. Always felt that their instructions were intentionally non model specific so that you'd have them install parts correctly. 

Very interested in K-Tech, critical to find a suspension shop that will do it right I think.

Check with 2 and 3 here on the forum. He may offer a helping hand. He's outside of Chicago. Bring him a gallon of frozen custard. 

The Dave Moss video is good. You can rent tools from Stoltec. 

Norwest Suspension is good. He's in Idaho. He rebuilt my stock shock. Innards from a FZ8 and Eico spring for my weight. Pretty good for 300 bucks. I also bought a shock from Nitron. It's great in the twisties, but harsh in town. 

Anyway, the shop I used for the forks didn't assemble them correctly. I don't have all of the rebound available. A common problem if they don't know what they're doing. Kind of surprised since the mechanic there has all 3 models with the CP3 motor. Problem is we moved 500 miles away a few days after completion. Didn't notice for a while cause the bike sat during winter.

I might rent the tools from Stoltec and give it a go. Probably end up sending them up to Norwest. 

35 minutes ago, keithu said:

This one followed me home today.

I'm taking it a bit easy during break in, but it's obvious this is an incredibly capable motorcycle. The riding position is similar to the FJ-09, a good thing. But wind management and highway stability are way, way better. The adaptive cruise works very well, and the heated seat was much appreciated on the 42F ride home. It'll be an interesting project converting the V4S into a touring and LD rally bike.

I ended up not trading in my FJ-09. They wouldn't give me hardly anything for it so I'll sell it private party.

Nice!! My son had a 950 multi. I liked the wind mgmt and the feeling of sitting in it. The ergos were good for me. The fit and finish were awesome. I could stare at it all day. Go eat some miles!!!

23 hours ago, denveryzf said:

Thanks for this, I'm eyeing the k-tech stuff right now.

I had K-Tech piston kit and springs installed. Noticeable difference for the better. 

I'm glad you were able to walk away. Hopefully there won't be any lingering issues. 

A neighbor in my cul de sac almost did the same thing a few weeks back. I wasn't in front of her so I was able to turn into the cul de sac on the wrong side of the road. She did brake eventually when she saw me.  I cringe when I come upon cars at intersections like that. 

Get well and get back on a bike!!

Dan

On 12/28/2021 at 9:30 PM, betoney said:

Ohlins makes quality products for sure but I truly don't believe that Ohlins is better than any other brand.  ANY shock is only as good as the valving configuration on the inside. 

Years ago there was a forum vendor, Forks by Matt, who built fork cartridges in his garage.  He had various shims and valves that he assembled himself for a hell of a bargain price, nothing fancy, no billet aluminum or gold anodizing but they worked fantastic.

Matt disappeared when I was looking to upgrade. I tried contacting him a few times. 

Personally I couldn't go from the FJ to a parallel twin as my only bike. I've test ridden a couple and find them boring. For a second or third bike like the T7 I'm all in. 

My son had a Multistrada 950. It was top heavy. FJ handled better. I could live with the Multi as my only bike. Lots of great things about it. The fit and finish are incredible. I could stare at that bike for days in the garage.

You'll notice a difference. Will it be what you're looking for? Won't know til you ride.

I have K-Tech valve kit and springs up front. Night and day difference for the better.

Nitron shock in the rear. 

in the twisties the bike is more capable than me. It makes me better. Around town kind of harsh. Has lots of adjustment, just haven't been able to dial it in.

I have a lot of miles on the shock. Time for service or maybe ask for different valving. Or try Ohlins.

Currently using the oem shock I had rebuilt. Sprung for my weight and innards from an FZ-8. The ride is more comfortable, but doesn't handle as well.

On a side note, I have 94 BMW R1100RS which has full Ohlins. It handles amazingly well for a 27 year old bike. Maybe Ohlins is the way to go.

First major service exhaust valves were tight. Bike goes in for service Thursday. Runs good. 51k plus. We'll see. 

On 10/19/2021 at 11:46 AM, Clegg78 said:

If you havent been tracking the big thread over in the Tracer channel about fixing the weird forward slope of all the '18-20 Tracers - a slope issue that applies to the FJ-09 as well! 

I wanted to bring attention to it here, as I figure a lot of FJ riders likely don't look at the Tracer 900 channel.   The Instructions and parts for the mod are listed here : https://jk3d.us/product/yamaha-tracer-900-gt-seat-slope-modification/ 

The OG thread is here : 

In the last few weeks I worked up a solution that is easy for this and simple to install, dozens of members have installed it on the Tracers, and recently a few members with the older '15-'17 FJ's installed it as well and verified it fits on those bikes as well.   I am very proud of how this solution has worked and happy to help this community!

(I am also working with some members on a T9 '21 version right now.)

 

 

 

Received mine today. Gonna install in the morning and then ride. 

14 hours ago, bwringer said:

No, it is definitely not.

It is a noise and vibration that happens while in motion, at very low throttle settings. The parts of the clutch basket can move too much relative to one another because of worn-out rubber dampers inside, and at very low throttle settings (like about 30-35mph in third gear) there's not enough load to force the parts all the way to one side or the other. I called it the GRONK.

The noise and vibration follow engine speed, not road speed, and can happen in any gear. It's more perceptible at lower speeds because there's less wind noise.

One of the challenges of diagnosing and fixing the GRONK has been the difficulty of describing the problem accurately. Coupled with the relative rarity of motorcycles using this engine, all we have are inadequate words. Capturing video/audio is extremely difficult since you have to be in motion.

Bear in mind that I live in Indiana, close to the Milwaukee reality distortion field: I've only ever seen four or five bikes with this engine since buying mine, and I've never heard another one run, or ridden one, or even sat on one.

Yes, I bought mine sight unseen based on specs and research comparing it with other bikes I was familiar with, and general long experience with interpreting internet bozo-speak into reality. The bike was exactly what I expected and wanted, better in many ways.

 

 

Some clutch noise when running in neutral with the clutch out is perfectly, completely normal and expected in any motorcycle with a wet clutch. You have several components inside the transmission that are essentially coasting with no load, some propelled by the drag of the oil. Running clearances are needed in order for the clutch to operate correctly. So yeah, they make some noise as things rattle around and it's absolutely nothing to worry about. 

There are many bikes (like some Suzuki V-Strom DL1000s) that have some other noise that worries owners. On the V-Strom, this is called "idle hammer", and it was a clear engine speed knocking noise, probably deriving from side play in the crankshaft. It's proven to be perfectly harmless, but it's something new owners complain about quite a bit. Former owners of dry plate clutch BMWs really tend to panic over normal neutral clutch-out noises, or the normal drag from oil that makes the rear wheel slowly go around while running on the centerstand in neutral.

I think another factor is that light, compact, powerful engines like the CP3 transmit more mechanical noise. There's less metal in the way, basically, (the case walls are much thinner than older design engines, for example) and everything is very tightly packaged so there's less oil or coolant in the way too. Later models even have a noise damper on the clutch cover, perhaps due to noise regs or maybe owner complaints.

How much clutch-out noise is normal, or whether some examples really do have a worrisome amount of clutch-out noise, is really hard to say and very difficult to communicate accurately without direct, in-person comparison. Even though this is a relatively popular engine that's been in production for several different bikes for a relatively long time, these things are still quite rare, at least in the US.

 

Anyway, as far as I can tell, the new clutch basket did not really affect the clutch-out noise on my bike.

It's suddenly getting colder here, so on my first very chilly test ride I thought maybe it did, but as the oil got up to normal temp the engine noises returned to the normal CP3 cacophony. None of these noises concern me. The GRONK is gone. 

FWIW, I do have a manual cam chain tensioner. My original CCT had not failed when I bought the bike and did its first valve check at around 23,000 miles, but I replaced this anyway. There are no unusual noises from the cam chain department.

Thank you for the very robust reply (insert smiley face). I'm good. No vibration here. 

23 hours ago, betoney said:

Mostly for the vibration that develops- but when the basket is replaced most of the clutch noise goes away as well.

No vibration. I'm good. Never worried about the noise. Thanks for the reply!!

On 10/25/2021 at 4:18 PM, betoney said:

Mine is in the shop for the same part replacement, for the 2nd time. First time was around 30k miles and this time at 66k, both times it was covered under the extended warranty.  

Is this for the noise that goes away when you pull the clutch in?

10 hours ago, OnePuddleUnder said:

Resurrecting this topic for a different reason... my dash somehow managed to get water in it. Its really obnoxious as it sits bubbled or streaked across the screen. I have some on both sides of the screen, the main panel as well as the right side. Is it safe to try and open it up and reseal it somehow? 

Had mine replaced under warranty.

I rode it a few years ago. Usually turn left at the bathroom on the left. Decided to go straight one day. Kind of sketchy for 30 minutes, then a great road into Lower Lake. 

I read early models had vibration issues. I think they were sorted out a couple of years later. Maybe BMW came up with a fix.

I've had my eye on them for a while. I like the triple black. Definitely an FJ on steroids.

Anybody know the paint color on black wheels for a 2016. Looking to touch up. Small scratches on both sides of front wheel. Noticed after I had a tire mounted by a local shop.