fj09viking

Thanks for edumecating me!... and leaving kill/start switch in run seems to have solved the issue. That said, is it 100% certain that battery voltage does not have anything to do with it? I am a severe creature of habit, for better or for worse, and in the first summer of owning my 2017 FJ-09 (picked it up in July 2018 with 1,000 miles on it) this issue only happened once, or twice at the most and I always waited for Yamaha display to run its ordeal before switching switch from off to run l, and never had any issues. last summer I rode it to work all summer 4-5 days a week plus lot of other trips and never had this issue. The bike sat all winter (on trickle charger), but then got parked in the spring shortly after getting it on the road due to needing a part from Japan.. that took two and a half months. Because of summer temps I never hooked up battery charger, but when I finally got my part it took a bit of effort getting it started the firsts few times, even after putting some time in the saddle charging battery. Now the battery seem to turn engine over ok, but when bike has been parked for 24 hours or more the prime don’t kick in when I go from stop to run. Once I’ve warmed it up and put in a few miles it is not an issue. Not suggesting you are wrong, but am I missing something?

Maybe this is why mine is so stable!😉

Interesting about compression/rebound. As mentioned, the upgraded springs front and rear along with gold valve kit made a big difference for me, both ride quality in general and stability wise. Not a surprise I suppose, considering the factory springs are likely rated for someone 160-180 lbs and I am at least 240 lbs. I had a few embarrassing moments on the 6 lane hwy I commute on for work when bike was stock. With bags installed in a crosswind (windy most of the time here in the Alberta foothills), there was more than one occasion where I pulled out to pass someone going 65 mph, and would have to back off on throttle when handle bars started dancing around 75 mph. Interestingly I also discovered that the quality of the pavement made a difference. The handle bar dance would present itself at a much lower speed on back roads I frequent where there are ruts an cracks vs nice smooth asphalt. As mentioned I don't have any issues any more, between suspension upgrades along with Givi hand guards/windshield, and have had it up to 110-120 mph on a number of occasions, accelerating hard the whole way there, that is with bags installed as well btw. And I should clarify. The biggest benefit I seen from Installing Givi hand guard (extenders) was the bike became much less susceptible to turbulence on hwy around other vehicles and trucks. It did help with handle bar dance during hard acceleration and/or higher speeds, but the big improvement there came with the couple of suspension upgrades I made.

Lots of comments here that resonates with my own experience. I found the instability around trucks on hwy or while accelerating hard above 55-60 mph very frustrating on my '17 FJ-09 (stock). Add my Givi Trekker 33L bags and/or some gusty crosswind and the instability and wobble would show up at even lower speeds. I also found that tightening pre-load on the front and raising forks 5 mm helped quite a bit, at least for hard acceleration. I then went to a cleaner bike with a Puig Sport Screen and replaced hand guards with bar end weights. This also helped but did not completely get rid of problem. Last fall rolled around and I added the Givi 2122DT windshield which actually seem to help a bit. Too my surprise the biggest difference so far came when I installed the Givi Handguards, especially around large vehicles. I don't know how much of a difference the fact that I have the Givi winshield makes. This spring I got fork springs and rear spring from RaceTech rated for my weight (240lbs), as well as a RaceTech Gold Valve Kit for the forks. The stiffer rear spring has raised the rear end a bit and my forks are back to factory height. I now only have very minimal flutter (nothing disconcerting) in bars when accelerating really hard in 1st and 2nd where there is little or no weight on front wheel. I could do 100-110 mph all day long with the bags installed now. My conclusion? I believe it is a combination of aerodynamics, suspension and weight distribution rather than a single issue. I also wonder if the fact that there is only dampening in one fork on the FJ aggrevates the instability tendency?

I just installed a $40CDN mono clamp deflector off Amazon. I am 6’4” and have the Givi 2122DT windshield. Even with the windshield in the highest position I was getting minor buffeting on top of helmet above 65-70mph. This $40 clip on works great. Not only is buffeting gone (had it up to 100mph), but wind noise has been reduced 75-80%, easily. I was concerned the clamp would be an annoying distraction, but with the deflector adjusted so I am seeing over it, it did not take long to get used to. The mounting mechanism is sturdy, and with right amount of tightening you can adjust and play with angle while riding. As others have mentioned already I found having deflector more or less flush with windshield works best. That said you could angle with airflow on a hot day or remove the spoiler itself in mere seconds. My only two complaints are that there is nothing between metal mounting brackets on front or back of plexiglass the way it is delivered. I questioned this when assembling it, but did not see any complaints or cautions amongst the reviews I read. The 2nd is that the plexiglass is simply cut (cleanly cut mind you) and not sanded or polished on the edges. This caused reflection of light and glare so I removed plexiglass and sanded edges with 320 grit followed by 1200 grit, and that problem is solved. However, when I removed the plexiglas I noticed spiderweb cracking in multiple directions around screw holes extending 1/8-1/4”. This after about 8-10 hours of riding since install. Not overly surprised as there is no rubber in between metal mounts and plexiglass as mentioned, although I used blue locktite and was careful not to over tighten screws (enough to avoid it moving in mount of course). I happen to have some clear Teflon tape and have that cut to fit metal brackets/mounts, so will see if it too late or not to stop cracks from spreading (I suspect that is the case). In hindsight I should have added Teflon tape when assembling the deflector. Cracks are not visible, but if they keep spreading I will probably buy another one and use Teflon tape from the get go.

....and because I simply wasn’t willing to go 2.5 months without riding in an already short season around here, I picked up this. 1983 CB1000C

Hi everyone, hope you are all safe and well! Been absent for reasons I won’t bore you with, but have made some changes to the bike (not today... disclaimer). Added Cobrra chain oiler this spring, but as I had to wait 2.5 months for a part from Japan I only got to really try it out over two full days of riding this past weekend. Very happy with it. Relatively easy install and completely independent. Made a mess on driveway figuring it all out lol.. but par for the course. The gist of it is that it works by compression. You fill up reservoir and every 200-300km (unless on dirt roads) you turn lid 1/4 turn, and chain gets trickle lubed for about 5 minutes. I wasn’t 100% sure about switching from wax and cleaning to permanent install, so this was a great compromise for me to try out the chain oiler option. Final judgement: I am keeping it.

A little cheaper here. $650 CDN with tax. I found some used ones on eBay, but really beat up and/or corroded. I am guessing that because it is same wheel as FZ-09, they are hard to find used in good condition. As mentioned it is an expensive lesson, but I am planning on keeping the bike for years to come, which eases the pain of this unscheduled investment a little it.

Thanks Betoney. That was the conclusion I came to after looking at what was probably some of the same sites. Good news is that the local shop says they can get aftermarket bearing kits with next day delivery, and I will not have to wait three weeks for Yamaha bearings. I made a rookie mistake. Have had rear wheel and brake caliper off lots of times and probably became a little complacent. I replaced brake pads and made sure brake pads where seated properly initially after sliding pads and caliper back in place. Inner pad came unseated when I wiggled caliper around ever so slightly to line up bolt holes and I failed to notice. In the past I had found that if pads were not seated properly, the bolt holes will not line up. Turned out to be an expensive assumption. I did not hear any grinding noises or anything unusual, so I rode about 100 miles before pulling over, and noticed brake rotor looked hot and figured it must be the new pads. I bent down to have a look and noticed damage to the wheel and the fact that the brake pad was not seated and rather dragging on wheel. Between mine and my friends tools we got the brake pad back in it's position and I was able to ride home. The pad left a track about 1/4" wide and 1/16' deep. That is close to half the thickness of the wheel I am guestimating. I contacted a wheel repair place, sent pictures. The manager said he can have it welded and sanded, but was honest enough to tell me that he could not guarantee integrity of wheel, or that it would be straight when finished, plus the repair would have been expensive as well. So I decided not to take any chances and ordered a new wheel. Sucks, but only have myself to blame. Since then I had the bike up on centerstand with bike idling in first while trying out my new Cobrra chain oiler and noticed rear wheel is warped about 1/4', and confirmed my decision to get a new wheel.

Hope everyone are well and safe. Have to replace my rear wheel on my '17 FJ-09. Does anyone know if the rear wheel comes with a bearing kit, or does it need to be ordered separately? It is a three week wait for Yamaha part here at the moment, and would like to know. The local shop where I ordered it says some wheels come with bearings and some don't, which does not help me obviously.

As per iamthedruman's comment the pads are shorter. I am sure Heat Demon would be happy to share exact measurements if you haven't contacted them directly already. I don't want to guess how much extra length/space there is. On the throttle side you have options. I routed mine to exit grip at about the 4 o'clock position when looking at bike from right side with lots of play to allow for throttle movement and routing along throttle cables.

Had a chance to ride with some lighter, thinner gloves and the uneven heat is definitely noticeable, but not enough for me to consider it an issue. Besides, my throttle hand tends to get colder than my clutch hand anyway so it all works out!

Sounds correct, except I had no blue/yellow wire, it is red/yellow. Duke also kindly posted written instructions in the 1st post on page 3 of this thread in case you did not see it.

Yes it is the yellow and red. Scratched my head for about 30 seconds as well and apologize for not mentioning in my earlier post. Different wire colors for different years maybe? Mine is a '17.

Update and caveat. I rode to work in 32F temp today. Only a 20 min ride doing 75-80mph mostly on hwy, and my hands stayed nice and toasty using medium heat setting (with crappy gloves). Very happy, because my hands were cold by the time I got to work last week in in 45-47F temperatures. Caveat is that this my first experience with heated grips so I do not have anything to compare too. What I can say with a fair amount of certainty certainty albeit minimal exposure, is that I will not own a bike without heated grips again in the foreseeable future!