rodb47

Today I looked at pictures of my bike. I'm on a contract in Saudi Arabia and my FJ is in storage. I miss it. Will be home in September and will take it out. 😔

On 3/20/2022 at 11:33 PM, dazzler24 said:

 

Here's a cheapie I bought a couple of years ago, for the same reason, that you may like to have a look at.  Not the quality of the sargent one but for the price you may care to give it a go?

 

 

How do your passengers like it?

1 hour ago, nhchris said:

Can you please give me the details on the backrest?  It  looks nice and my gal would love one.

DIY or commercial?

Very expensive but worth it for her. She hasn't ridden with me in over 20 years. Now she loves it with the backrest.

https://www.sargentcycle.com/Seats-Accessories/EM-5-Yamaha-FJ09-Rear/

Added stuff to the bike recently: rear tire adjusters, an SW-Motech skid plate, new bar ends to replace the homemade ones the previous owner had, a new Givi windscreen, and a backrest for the wife. She digs the backrest and two up is much more relaxing for the both of us. I live on dirt roads in the country. disregard the dirty bike.

15 hours ago, Skidood said:

I personally disagree, I find A mode way too touchy, I'd rather not be constantly hyper-focussed on my wrist movement.  Makes for a better ride where you can focus on what you''re supposed to be focussing on.  I bet a lot of people (unlike me) aren't publicly willing to admit they dont like A mode.

I hated A mode. Even after flashing. Took me over a year to get comfortable with it. Now I use it all of the time. This is the most powerful bike I've ever owned so that may have something to do with it.

I made a video. My first ever vlog. Kind of a test. 

14 hours ago, Yamajank said:

Is this kind of oily residue in the air box normal?

Normal. Crank case venting.

Insert "Do it" meme here

On 3/16/2020 at 9:15 PM, keithu said:

I received my parts for the fuel cell rack. I decided to make the rack using T-slot aluminum tubing from 80/20. We use this stuff a lot at work, and it has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. I can also make a complex structure without any welding.

Here is the rack mocked up. I'm using the mount points for the OEM grab handles.

Nice rack! No pun intended.

Put on the replacement stock exhaust. Flutter is gone at 4500rpm. So I believe I was right about the dent making the noise. Bike runs great. Also added a voltmeter and the SW Motech skid plate. Back to riding again. 

On 4/5/2021 at 12:14 AM, knyte said:

Engine Masters did a bunch of dyno runs and found in some cases that dented headers can actually increase performance - not that this is at all scientific or even an expected outcome:

 

Skip to about 4:45

Interesting. Thanks.

When I was in the National Guard, my flight helmet would get so nasty smelling from sweat that I started spraying it with Lysol after every flight. This probably not something you want to do but it is a suggestion. Also, there are specifics products for this as mentioned previously. You might have to deal with a chemical smell if it's better than stank smell. Good luck.

I did this exact thing. What I noticed was a strong flutter or pulsating of the engine at 4500rpm. I'm in the process of installing a second hand OEM exhaust ($90 from FB Marketplace). Waiting on the new gaskets and nuts. I just got the SW Motech skid plate to prevent anymore stupid stuff.

Following

10 hours ago, Salish900 said:

Sure better it being an exhaust issue than an engine issue. That sort of sound on an Aprilia means the engine is toast! 

The engine pulls great. No other noises or issues.

22 minutes ago, NormR said:

I'm surprised to hear a dent could cause this pulsating. They way people play (i.e. shortening their mufflers, putting/taking out the db inserts play with a motors back pressure) with their exhaust these days would cause horror scenarios if that was the case....of course if the dent is huge that might be different...

Did a throttle body sync check. They were perfect. I figure that a dent in one is causing a pressure differential between the three at that rpm and making the pulsing.

1 hour ago, peteinpa said:

Was it a dent down low on one of the headers? Got a pic?

Yes. Lowest header, middle I believe. Don't have a pic right now. I caught the edge of the woodshed floor driving it in. Ramp was too steep. Did a quick check but didn't notice the dent. It's a pretty good dent.

To close out this post, seems that if you put a golf ball size dent in an exhaust pipe it will cause the motor to pulse at the above mentioned rpm. Found a used exhaust for pretty cheap and will swap it out. I looked at the exhausts available for the bike and they are way too expensive for me.

I searched through topics and didn't find anything like this problem. I took my 2017 out yesterday after changing the sprockets and chain (Florida was in the 80s yesterday). I noticed, in 4th gear, while accelerating between 4500 and 5000 rpm the engine would make a fluttering or pulsating noise. It reminded me of Chris Farley saying "Luke, I am your father" into the metal fan in Tommy Boy. Had that type of modulation. It was very prominent and noticeable. I've got almost 17,000 miles on it and have never heard this before. It only happens in 4th gear. Very strange. I'm going to pull off the tank and check the airbox and filter. I synced the throttle bodies about a thousand miles ago. Anyone ever heard this before? Thanks.

Damn. I just put a pair on my bike. What the hell.

On 1/23/2021 at 6:09 PM, nhchris said:

Big benefit of my shaft drive ST was it was QUIET at speed.  FJ chain, sprocket and xmission noise not good!

I wear earplugs and for some reason it blocks everything but the transmission noise. Almost seems to amplify it. The few times I drive without plugs, never noticed it.

9 minutes ago, betoney said:

Wow, the teeth on that sprocket are really hooked, how many miles on it?

16,000. Rear sprocket still looks good. I'll be checking this more often. I figured the rear would go before the front. I was wrong.

Got the Lightechs installed. Look good. Hopefully they are a quality product and do their job. Waiting for the new axle and nut to arrive. Pulled the cover off the front sprocket to clean and saw the teeth were toast. Now I have to order new sprockets and chains. I miss my shaft drive. 

15 hours ago, betoney said:

Yikes! - Glad you got it off.  The factory torque spec is ridiculous.

I was normally torquing it to 90 ft lbs which I thought was high. The first time I torqued to the spec in the manual, I said no way. I'm a helicopter mechanic. I've been torquing bolts for 35 years. It felt like I was going to destroy the threads. There was some slight galling on the axle threads.

Took way to long to do this.  Dremel and a chisel. Nut was corroded onto axle. Will use either grease or antiseize and lower the torque as required.  Parts are ordered.