kmev

When I wanted to install a BMW-type socket in the same location at my K75S, fabricating a bracket was the best solution:

Steel, a welder, and ingenuity?

I guess it depends on where you work. For my job, I take the one-piece suit off with 1.5 zippers at the bike, slip my Combat Lite boots off in 1.2 seconds, and walk into work in shorts and flip-flops as cool and unsweaty as anything you could imagine exactly 2.7 seconds after setting the kickstand. Honestly - you can't go wrong with any of the Aerostich line. Try both on if you can to see what works for you. You won't be disappointed with either.

That is the perfect color if you ride to your deer stand here in the north! Or love Creamsicles, as mentioned. I replaced a 20-year-old classic one piece with a new classic one piece three years ago. The old one made you look like you pissed your pants if you rode in any rainfall (even after pulling up the crotch folds). My new classic, with the new zipper, doesn't let any water through. I have had to replace one or two zipper pulls already. I like the lining on the classic - in Wisconsin it is more often cold than hot when riding, and it is harder to stay warm than to keep cool. I absolutely love the one piece. I considered a two piece as the replacement, but the one piece is so fast and easy - especially important as a commuter suit, IMO. I would never ride with just a top or just a bottom.

Found a pic of when I was working on the lids - I guess it was purple and silver (not blue). I taped off all the trim and reflectors - I did not remove anything. I sanded the chrome trim and sprayed it. It's holding up well, and if it doesn't, its just a cheap and quick respray. These bags are big - you will hit and scuff them, so this is a great alternative to a $$$ paint jobs that would get dinged or scratched eventually.

Sure...One lid was purple, the other blue.

Welcome from Madison! I bought crashed FJR lids off Ebay. I sanded, filled scratches, and sprayed with Rustoleum spray can bed liner. Turned out great and the finish and texture is pretty darn close to the OEM Yamaha cases.

The funny thing is that I had 21 days to do that trip, but I was enjoying the riding and the seat wasn't holding me back like the Sargent had previously, so I just kept on riding. Everybody's seat preference is a bit different, but if you're planning a lot of long days I think Terry's seat is better than the other options. If you're constantly dragging knees through sweepers you'll probably want something narrower.

My butt was sore for a few days after riding my new seat from Terry - but it was 7,775 miles in 11 days. I had a Sargent prior to that, and I walked with a limp after riding 3,000 miles in five days. Terry's seats are like Russell Day-Longs but at a lower cost. Highly recommended.

I have 16,000 miles with one, and I did not know about the long press. Thanks!

I installed an EK screw link with a new chain before I rode from Wisconsin to the Arctic Ocean last summer. Install was super easy and haven't had a problem - including on the Dempster Highway. I'll buy it again.

My 2015 does the same thing. It always had a rather loud chatter since new, but last summer when I was headed for the Dempster it became noticeable at speed, so much that I could feel it through the handlebars. It is louder when cold. I am at just over 16,000 miles. When I changed the oil, I didn't see any unusual debris in the oil. I was going to take it it, but figured the dealer would say "that's normal" like they did when it was new. I have the extended warranty until 2023, so figured I had some time. Maybe I'll take it in this summer to see if they will address it.

I put a couple thousand miles on TKC 80s on the ALCAN and Dempster Highways. I really liked them. They vibrate and howl on asphalt, but I had no concerns even at speeds to 85 mph. They got the job done in dirt and light mud, and I didn't crash when hitting deep, loose gravel at too high of a speed - although I came close a few times. I would expect about 4,000 miles out them based on my experience.

It will carry 3 dozen ears of corn, though.

I have the Yamaha 50 liter and love it. It will *maybe* fit two helmets - depending on the size. If you and your other have smaller heads it will work. If you have larger heads, it won't. I cannot fit an X-Large Schuberth and an Large HJC into my 50L at the same time.

I got mine on closeout, too. They are nice helmets, but not worth $800. I agree they are hot, and the ventilation is not great. But, I guess that is always a trade off for quiet. The one thing that I hate about the helmet is that for what it costs, you think they would make a visor that will stay up when you want it to - that is my one complaint about Schuberth.

Earplugs are essential for serious long-distance riding no matter what helmet you're wearing. Besides protecting hearing, it really cuts down on fatigue - listening to wind blast droning on for hours is fatiguing. I have about 50,000 miles on a Schubert C3 Pro. It is a quite helmet in some wind/windshield conditions, but it can also throw a lot of noise with the chin vent open and a cross wind. Do a 700 mile day without earplugs, and then one with - you will notice a big difference. I always ran cheap helmets before the C3 Pro, thinking cheap helmets were just as good. Boy, was I wrong. Spend a bit more on a good helmet that fits and is comfortable - especially if you plan long distance riding.

Mine is the same after this summer's trip. I thought it was because of the Dempster Highway and an anomaly, but it seems not. I'm running a SW Motech skid plate - do have anything under the oil pan? My plan was to give it a wipe with oil whenever I lubed the chain to keep it from rusting too badly. I think the best solution would be to have the cross bar professionally coated in a truck bed liner like Line-X. You could try using bicycle handlebar wrap - comes in black, easy to apply, and cushions the impacts.

That's terrible. I got more than that on my OEM Dunlop.

I told the tire guy to do whatever he wanted with them - preferably give them to someone else to finish off. I had 1,900 miles on them, and I estimate they were about half finished. I don't ride any dirt back home, and they were weren't worth the hassle to haul back nor the expense to ship.

That is the SW-Motech skid plate that I am running. I also ground the rib off the oil pan and am using a flat, allen head drain plug. The skid plate will bend if you ground the bike hard, but on more than one occasion I heard a rock banging off of it. When I removed it to change the oil when I got home I was impressed by the number of rock gouges the skid plate sustained and my oil pan / headers did not. It did it's job. To change the oil you just remove six allen head screws and pull the plate off the mounts. I add a dab of blue thread locker when I replace it. Very easy. The seat is a Terry Adcox, which I learned about here and gets great reviews. I had a Sergeant seat but hated it. This seat did it's job as well as any seat could have averaging 700 miles a day for 11 days. It felt almost as good as the Russell Daylong I had on my BMW K75. I love the Aerostich Roadcrafter one-piece - this is my second. I also love their Combat Touring Lite boots. They don't come cheap, but like their advertising states, you WILL ride more.

I'll second yocracing.com. I have the same problem with my local dealer, so for the last two years I have ordered all my Yamaha parts through Cucamonga - I get my parts faster and cheaper (shipping included) than my local dealer.

Just returned from an excellent ride from southern Wisconsin to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada, on the Arctic Ocean and back. I wasn't planning on doing the round trip in 11 days, but I was enjoying the ride and found it hard to stop. I later learned that it if I had taken longer on the Dempster Highway I would have been stuck in snow and mud. I spent a total of three nights on the Dempster. The FJ-09 is the perfect compromise between an BMW GS and a FJR1300 - it can eat miles for day after day, yet perform in the dirt with the best of them. The bike was phenomenal on this ride. I tented it the whole way. The trip was unseasonably cold - temps from below freezing to low 50s Fahrenheit every day. Lots of rain, but no all-day-long downpours that I often encounter on my trips. The cold temps did keep the mosquitoes at bay. I installed TKC80s in Whitehorse, Yukon, and swapped them back to my Dunlop Roadsmart 3s for the return home. Both tires where flawless. Yamaha's traction control saved my ass on the ALCAN. I was running 70 mph when I hit a storm and it started hailing marble-sized hail. All of a sudden there was a LOT of hail and before I knew it I was running 70 mph into 1.5 inches of marble-sized hail covering the roadway. My rear wheel suddenly slid out from under me, but before I could even react the traction control engaged, the bike uprighted itself, and I ran neutral throttle the rest of the way through the ice. If I had been on my K75 I would have crashed. Thank you Yamaha. After that random collection of thoughts, here's some random photos:

I had a Sargent, but it dug into my legs and became unbearable on a multi-day trip. After six days and 3,600 miles I was literally limping. I sold that and purchased a Terry Adcox seat. I have not yet been able to test it for more than a few hundred miles at a time, but that will change come Friday. It feels just like the Russell Daylong I had on my K75 and loved, so I am hopeful. I will know be early next week.