tktplz

4 hours ago, 1moreroad said:

Small update on the Ozarks. We rode across at the beginning of August. 

1. I was surprised at how little traffic. We had clean runs of most roads including Pig Trail where I'm used to getting stuck behind a train. 

2. I think the last time I went across northern AR west of Jasper was maybe 2017? They have done a LOT of paving. AR DOT really cleaned up 16. So much nicer riding.

3. I had to plan gas stops a little better, though, because some of the little stops went from all octanes 10 years ago to 87 only 5 years ago to closed in 2021.

 

We will be back up, this time in the Mountain Home area the weekend of October 7th - 10th. This will be our last meet of 2021. But we live further south than Arkansas so we ride all winter long. There are some, almost a week long at times, maybe twice a winter where you can't ride but our down time is now. Mid to late July till midway through September. It's just too hot. Feels like temps of 105 to 112 everyday during this time. 

And truth be told, I've never run anything but 87 octane in the ole FJ-09. I ran 87 octane in the Gen 1 VMax. They actually did dyno runs with the same bike, back to back 87 and 93 octane. The Gen 1 VMax has a bolt in the bottom of it's tank. Just that easy to change fuels. The carb bowls are easy to drain too. The 87 Octane pulled better HP than the Premium. Remember 93 and 87 have the same BTUs only 93 is for high compression motors so the gas doesn't detonate. 93 is harder to ignite. Yes there are myths about gas going on out there. Have been for at least 100 years. Headed to NC soon also. We stay at the Deals Gap Resort. Only 79 a night, not bad. 

I haven't run the Roadsmart 3s or 4s. I had a set of Angel GTs on my 2015 FJ and got the most mileage out of any tires yet. I got 3,600 miles out of a set of those. Have been interested in the Michelins but now that I have my own No-Mar Tire Changer I'm on Sport bike tires again just because they give me such confidence. I only get about 1,800 to 2,000 miles out of a set of sport bike tires but that's enough for 1 meet and I change 'em myself. 

17 hours ago, peteinpa said:

Better, but still sucks. So I've got maybe 5k miles left in my chain.

Changed mine at high 12,000s to low 13,000s. Had links kinking. Well cared for chain, lubed religiously. Sprockets still good, no vibration. Up to 17,000 now on the new chain and all is good. 

9 hours ago, Clem Fandango said:

It's way too clean under there.

That's what I thought.  Must be just off the showroom floor.

I could say so many things but my Mother taught me. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all...   

12 minutes ago, Kemp said:

If you like Push, then you'll love the upper section of Highway 123; in my opinion, it's more demanding than Push Mountain by a wide margin!

We call that the mini dragon. I do it both ways but when we have the group we do the tight 1st gear turns going uphill. We lost a few bikes long ago doing it the other way. Big ole heavy Gen1 VMaxes, bias tires and weak brakes was a sure thing on people over cooking it. Going uphill is an advantage for those bikes. That's why I love my FJ09. Light weight and almost stoppies downhill with no problems. I'm in Louisiana just south of Minden so it's 2 to 2/12 hours and I'm in the twisties for 3 day weekends. The Ozarks and the Smokies are the best roads I've found so far. There are other areas in the country but they aren't as plentiful as they are in these 2 places. 

1 hour ago, fjrchuck said:

Thanks for the write-up!  I will be down that way end of September on my FJR and meeting my Texas riding bud, also on an FJR!!

Love riding the area, the scenery, the people and the roads are awesome.....

Get you a Butler Map of the area. I have them for the whole country to plan trips with.  

Kemp also there is Hwy 341, Push Mountain which is worth a ride up and down right outside Norfork, AR by Mountain Home. Well worth your while to ride it. We, The VMax owners assoc have a meet in Mountain Home in early October. Really there are so many roads in that area. Hwy 125 going north out of Buck Creek Marina. There is a ferry there from AR to MO. 125 going north of of the Marina is excellent. Great surface on the road too. 3 to 5 years old. Pic of the Gas stop in Jasper, AR. Riding 74 and 123 the Mini Dragon in that area. Also 103, so many roads so little time. Retirement is around the corner and the roads are mine for the choosing. Me on the far right. 

This is a Gen1 Bored out to a 1327 CC with VGas carbs. Light weight wheels which also convert it to radial tires from the original bias ply. Frame braces. Plus an R1, Gen 2 VMax an FZ1 in the pic. We ride all kinds of bikes. But we are the Vmax Owners Assoc, South Central Divison. 

Heck Yeah and the color of mat grey you used almost matches perfect. Good Job!  

On 5/14/2021 at 7:32 AM, petshark said:

Torque values gave me peace of mind but that's all over. I'll try to go back to developing a "feel", it's what I always did before. But working on a motorcycle is serious business as there's a lot less margin for error so I tried to follow the book.

Yes on frame, oil drain, axle etc. I have developed a "feel" for what is correct. When working inside an engine I use a torque wrench. And have them calibrated every 2 years or so for piece of mind. I've hardly done any internal work on engines since my last 2 bikes were Kawasaki 1100 cc motors. No removing cams to do valves, very simple actually but that's another conversation. Haven't looked in the huge FJ09 factory manual yet to see if a special tool works like on the VMax 1200. Or if I pull the cams. If so it's time to find a place to have my 2 torque wrenches calibrated. But yeah, inside the engine torque values respected, frame exterior can be done mostly by feel. 

On 5/11/2021 at 5:15 PM, getpetey said:

I cut an additional 2” off of my Puig sport screen and found a vast improvement...

Mine looks that style and size. Mines the 34 buck cheapy, 26 bucks when I got it off eBay. Works great and bought a 2nd for replacement it this 1 gets scratched and sand blasted over time. 

Windshield WindScreen For Yamaha FJ09 FJ 09 MT 09 Tracer 15-16 2015 2016 Black

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Windshield Windscreen Wind Shield Protector For Kawasaki...

 

I did just see this for more chest protection and maybe clean air on the helmet for no buffeting. Price is right to try it also;

 

Windshield Windscreen Screen For 2015 2016 2017 Yamaha FJ09 MT09 MT-09 Tracer

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For 2015-2017 Yamaha MT-09 FJ09 Tracer. Color :As Picture.

 

5 hours ago, Dodgy Knees said:

I only use torque wrench on Axles, thats about it. Screwing bolt's into casings, calipers etc is best done by feel,   ime.  👍

That's me. I do mine by feel unless it's motor bolt specs.

On 5/5/2021 at 11:37 AM, texscottyd said:

I'm quite happy to get 5,000 miles out of any tire, so this isn't a complaint at all, but just an observation.   I have local friends that routinely get double the mileage I've typically seen, so it remains one of those curious mysteries to me.      

I seem to get 3,200 to 3,600 out of sport touring tires like an Angel GT and hope to get 2,000 miles out of the S22 rear. And Texas roads are abrasive. We had many corners in The Hill Country that your front end just washed out and back jarring humps on straights. The chip seal there looks like it's crushed grey rock that has sharp edges. Through the corners a lot of the rock is gone and just the black shiny tar is left. The chip seal in Arkansas is like small beige to white small river pebble and is much easier on tires. NC is OK like Arkansas. These S22s should be fun. I love a good responsive tire. I would love to figure out how betoney gets 5,500 to 6,000 miles out of a set of S22s. It's a mystery!

Spooned on a set of Bridgestone Battlax S22s that were recommended by betoney and also editors from motorcycle mags reviewing the 2021 Ninja 1000 that had the S22s as OEM tires. They were raving about them. We'll see...they sure are purdy!  

2 hours ago, petshark said:

A lot of valid points and unlike facebook there's not one on here that I quickly scroll over and ignore. 👍

The shop manual's advice is this:

If I only had this to go on, I would think that the sprocket was still really good because I honestly don't know what I'm looking at. I need to see a new sprocket first. Seeing that most agree that it has to go I'll order a new one. Indeed this bike has problems enough so I'd better play it safe.

I aligned it not long after I got it using the string method and the bike always tracked straight hands-free. But when I noticed the chain sitting to the right on the rear sprocket  (first pic below) I redid the alignment using a caliper in the space beneath the set screw. I got a different result so I may indeed have been a little off, although I really did a meticulous job with the string method, going back and forth numerous times. I just ordered a motion pro alignment tool for the new chain so that it's easier to check.

If the rear sprocket looks bad please let me know because I am about to order the front sprocket only. I still don't know what to look at.. I see some wear but have no idea how bad it is. Thanks!

Man those blue wheels look good! I don't see wear on the rear but I'd change it since you are doing 2 out of 3 things. A rear is less than 50 bucks I think. Make sure you get a new front sprocket bolt and washer too. I believe, and don't worry they will correct me if I'm wrong, LOL! I believe the front bolt and washer are single use. Also ask around. The stock front sprocket has a rubber like bushing thingie. Not sure, the word escapes me. I don't think they make 1 non-oem that has that. They are all solid. Oh well, just opened another can of worms. That's OK, there are plenty of people here with just as much experience or even more than me by far. I've only been riding 55.5 years. 

6 hours ago, texscottyd said:

But, looking closely at your photo, I would be concerned about the sprocket.   There’s obvious wear from the sideplates of the chain, but more importantly, the teeth look to have a significant wear ramp, and aren’t symmetrical.

I'm with texscottyd on this. Mine had no hook to it. I think he had the chain misaligned and also no lubed enough. If you are going to get rid of the vibration I'd change the front. While you're at it since you are changing 2 out of 3 things I'd do the rear too. That way you know with proper care you will get 30,000 miles plus on the new parts. And that's all I've got to say about that!   

17 hours ago, Rick123 said:

Is that snow, I mean SNA-SNA-SAN-SSNNNNNOOOOOOOWWWWWWW on the ground? Says the guy from Louisiana.

1 hour ago, petshark said:

It's going to look really sharp with the gold Ohlins reservoir and preload adjuster that is also coming up. 😎

Ohlins...you lucky dog you!

3 hours ago, petshark said:

As I understand it this is also a place were Yamaha used cheap parts to get to a price point, so even if the chain is not gone bad I might still enjoy a quality replacement.

And with you only having 8,000 miles on the chain and sprockets you will be able to just change the chain. There won't be enough wear on the sprockets to make a difference. I changed mine at just under 13,000 miles, 12,900 and something. Sprockets were just fine and I'm at 17,000 miles now, all is good. Seem a lot of the guys like DID chains. You can get a cool gold link 1 like Betoney for around 120.00. link here;   

D.I.D DID 525 VX3 Xring Drive Chain Gold or Natural with Rivet Master Link

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Make Model Year Chain Pitch x Chain Length(Links). Choose the chain...

I'm sure the natural metal colored ones are 10 bucks or so less but Betoney got the gold 1 and me and Texscottyd both think we should have gotten the gold link 1. Looks sharp. The 2015 FJ-09 stock gearing runs a 525 with 110 links. 

3 hours ago, piotrek said:

Yes, I saw that and was tempted. It is an add-on that can be purcha$ed with the floor mounted kit I believe. The ship has sailed and I am crossing fingers hard. The gizmo comes apart pretty small. I will be super happy if this works out.

 

That does break down small. If you find you want it later you can get the mount/dismount bar with the special end on it from No Mar. And remember, technique, technique, technique! 

12 hours ago, koth442 said:

That might be a thing for me. Getting a back tire mounted recently has been a fiasco of the driving all over town variety... 

For me it got to $110.00 to have the front and rear tires off the bike, mounted and balanced. Started at 40 bucks a tire off the bike and at that point riding the ZRX1100 and using some super sticky Avons. I was getting about 1,800 miles out off a rear and 2 rears to a front. As the last 3-5 years has gone by I do a lot of counter steering. And now am lucky to get a rear and a half out of a front. Been just changing them both at the same time now. Did the best with the Angel GTs on the FJ. Got 3,200 on a rear. BUT, isn't there always a BUT? BUT, now that I have a tire changer I can put a new set of super stickies on for each trip and ride the remains off in between. I love the confidence the sticky tire give you. So I got a set of the Bridgestone S22s for my Eureka Springs, AR trip coming up. We'll see how they do. I'll be looking at Q3s and Q4s soon!

40 minutes ago, piotrek said:

but unfortunately floor spaces (space in general) is a big constraint for me at the moment.

They do have an attachment for the No-Mar that mounts it to the 2 inch receiver on the rear of the truck or car for that matter. Then put it away when done. Just a thought. 

14 hours ago, roy826 said:

By comparison my 2021 GSX-R1000R is $500 comp and $1000 collision and it is a whoping $900 a year 😡

The ole ya have to pay to play. I'm an old VMax guy and I always loved it that the VMax was listed and still is, the Gen1 that is, as a cruiser. That's 1 tire smokin' critter there, LOL!

On 12/24/2016 at 11:48 PM, betoney said:

Ya know, I believe there must be some production variances between bikes.  I have read posts on here of people claiming 6-8mph variance when compared to a GPS, while others (myself included) experience much more accurate results, 1-2 mph variance.  I'm not really certain how or where the speed is detected on this bike, but there seems to be a large margin of error  between bikes. 

Mine is 1-2 mph off from the GPS. 2015, red the fast 1 of course, LOL!   Says 1-2 mph faster than actual.