kmev

There haven't been a lot of rebates this season, and with COVID seemingly not going anywhere I don't expect a lot of rebates next year, either. Rezvilla currently has a decent sale on RS IIIs - $250 for a set delivered. I now have two new sets of tires waiting for next season. If tires become hard to get like some other bike parts are now, I'm good to go!

Not in Oz, but I set mine up to takle the ~1,100 mile round-trip dempster highway which heads into the Arctic Circle to the Arctic Ocean. It was the perfect bike and the perfect set-up with a skid plate, knobbies, and luggage. 

6 hours ago, François Brion said:

I keep this example in mind, it will be an excellent question for the chemistry exam next week.

But...it's a physics problem. 😜

Garmin TPMS tracks pressure in up to four tires. I just added pressure sensors to my two-wheeled bike since I already had the Zumo 395. When I paired the sensors with the Zumo it gave a number of different tire configurations to chose from. Cannot comment on the reliability yet, but I am aware that it goes through batteries rather quickly despite the manual stating sensor batteries last 300 hours. 

If you do get them, keep in mind that the Zumo has to be in motorcycle, not car, mode for it to display tire pressures. It doesn't state this in the manual, and it took some googling before I figured out why I couldn't get mine to display. 

2 hours ago, Buggy Nate said:

Disagree there. Yamaha’s Xvs650 is the worst driveshaft/diff in the world. Constant issues with howling stripped splines etc. Almost impossible to find a second hand shaft drive here.

I'm not familiar with that bike. I know the FJR1300 drive is bulletproof, as was my old Maxim 700's drive back in the day. It seems BMW's entire line was prone to problems. 

1 hour ago, nhchris said:

Not on a Honda!!

Nor a Yamaha - that's why I am here. 

6 hours ago, piotrek said:

Curious to know what you mean by constant maintenance.

With out regular applications of moly to all drive splines, including the transmission input splines (which requires pulling the transmission) the splines self destruct and you're eventually left with a bike that revs but doesn't move. Even with regular maintenance, my K75 was showing wear at 60,000 miles.

BMW cannot make a shaft drive that doesn't self-destruct without constant maintenance, so I'm not holding my breath on their chain. 

I have 9,000 miles on a pair of RSIIIs. I rode the Alcan with them last summer and thought they were great. Wet, dry, chip seal, curves, interstate - no complaints. I, too, purchased these instead of Michelins due to the lower cost, but I'm very happy with them and appear to be getting better mileage from them than what others are reporting from Michelins. RSIIIs will be my go-to tire from now on. 

If you need it for the trip, don't mess with it. You're more likely to break a chunk out than straighten it with a hammer and then you are screwed. I'd ride it if you can't get another wheel then hammer away after the trip. 

As was stated - it is corrosion that began lifting the paint and the impact of rain droplets that finally separated it. The benefits of spending a lot of time near the ocean  outweigh the associated corrosive effects of a salt environment. 

In an era where everyone argues with the cops because that seems to be "in",  being friendly will get you farther than anything else. Also, the drunks and fighters never want to remove their helmet, so having the helmet off before the cop gets to you sends a message. 

If the center stand is swinging down and hitting the road on bumps, the spring is either bad or its installed incorrectly.  The spring shouldn't be bad on a bike this new. 

1 minute ago, mbassani said:

The MCCruise takes up a lot of the space under there unfortunately. 

I have the McCruise box in there, too, and I also carry a Leatherman, tire plug kit, adjustable wrench, screw drivers, Allen wrench set, socket and wrenches for chain adjustment, zip ties, spare clutch cable, and my insurance / registration documents in there as well.

Nice! A lot of your tire repair / tools will fit under the seat. Cut out that little plastic divider and you can fit more stuff in there. 

27 minutes ago, FJ29ER said:

So that I am confused on. I just called the dealer and they said it is a 2015 and I have a month left in my warranty. But the vin, my insurance etc says 2016. I will have to walk to the bike and look at the build date here in a minute.

 

EDIT 01/15. So yes it is a 15 then

 

It seems that most people with this noise have a 2015. 

1 hour ago, FJ29ER said:

Yea my clutch is getting pretty loud. when released in neutral. Def sounds ducati like. But nothing is constant yet.

Is your bike a 2015? 

1 hour ago, betoney said:

FWIW, my clutch was making an abnormally loud chattering noise (but clutch actuation and lever pull was fine), I took it to the dealer and they measured the basket and determined it to be slightly out of round or oblong, they replaced it under warranty.

Good to know. I'm expecting the noise to be dismissed by the dealer. When I transferred the extended warranty to my name I asked them to listen to the clutch  and was told it was normal. 

My clutch operates just fine, too. Although one time at about 1,500 miles the clutch went out of adjustment between stoplights in town. I adjusted the thumb screw at the next stoplight and never had a problem since. 

The clutch noise on my '15 with 19k miles is getting progressively worse. It sounds like your klunk, but I have successive, continuous, various-interval klunking whenever the clutch is out, no matter whether I'm sitting still in neutral or going 85 mph on the interstate. 

My clutch has always been noisy - sounds like a rattling dry clutch - only this bike has a wet clutch and it stops rattling when you pull in the clutch (i.e. release pressure on the clutch disks, the opposite of how my old dry clutches would rattle). 

Last summer on my Arctic trip I began noticing the klunking at speed, which was new. Now, as I depart from a stoplight I get a sound like marbles in the gearbox when I'm taking off. I have the extended YES warranty and will be making an appointment with the dealer in a few weeks. I still need the bike for some work commuting I'm doing for the next couple weeks. 

It's a fantastic long-distance bike with a seat and suspension change - both rather minor changes. If you are taking a passenger you will be much happier with a the larger FJR panniers, too. 

1 hour ago, roadrash83 said:

I would load your bike up with everything you will be taking and your passenger and go for a test ride. So you can get a good idea how the bike is going to handle with the weight change.

Before you do that, lay out everything you plan to take on the living room floor and then throw half of it out. You will want some empty space in the luggage for things you purchase on the trip - like food/beverages for the evenings, a souvenir, etc. 

56 minutes ago, kilo3 said:

Wait, do you measure your chain hot or cold?

Its a crude measurement, it doesn't really matter, IMO. I do lube the chain when it's hot, though.

With bike on center stand and engine cold, remove radiator cap. Start bike and run - bubbles should rise to open radiator cap as it runs. You can also squeeze the coolant hoses at different places to assist while running. Varying the throttle (and water pump speed) occasionally will help to. 

As the coolant temp rises, so too will the coolant level in the radiator. Revving it too much will spill hot coolant all over, as will squeezing hoses if the coolant level is high. When it stops bubbling, you should be good. As it bubbles, coolant level will go down slightly, too.

9 hours ago, piotrek said:

I initially measure from end of adjuster block to end of swing arm using Varnier caliper (depth rod).

I do the same thing, but use an old-fashioned 6" machinist's rule with a sliding depth gauge. The rule takes up zero space when packing for trips, too. 

My other trick is when  you are tightening a loose chain a bit,  turn the adjuster bolts equal amounts by counting how many lands have turned on the bold head. I always have a flat land facing outwards and only turn two or three lands at at time to keep the wheel parallel during adjustment. If you turn each bolt 4 lands, you're good. 

On 6/1/2020 at 6:59 PM, MadisonFJ09 said:

I just picked up a new to me, used low mileage 2015 red FJ 09 (4,300 miles).

I think I saw you on University near the hospital. I did a double-take, thinking "someone stole my bike!"