Hyena

I ended up picking it up and it works great. Dude even got the spring swapped out for me, too.

Man, that sounds spooky, @skipperT. I guess I could just remove my slip on, reinstall my center stand and then do it the way Yamaha-God intended....

So, dumb question. I got the Razor R myself but I'm struggling with figuring out how to safely lift the rear so I can replace it since I no longer have a center stand. Some say that the swingarm spools are sufficient and stable but others say that once I undo the rear shock, it will fall if it's on the swingarm spools, which makes sense. Other options look like using an engine hoist and a load leveller with some ratchet straps around the rear passenger foot-peg brackets. I've also seen people reverse the main foot pegs but the shifter side peg has to be drilled out from what I'm reading, which sounds like I have to replace it which I'm not keen on. I have a motorcycle jack but it's built for more cruisers with rails as the lowest point and not bikes like ours that has the oil pan as the lowest point. What methods do you guys use, @betoney @dazzler24?

This helps a lot. Thanks for the help, I'll talk to him.

So, you learn a lot about a bike after a 1100 miles in 2 day period. I rode to Atlanta last Thursday and came back Sunday. Surprisingly not as bad as I anticipated and I just about made regular cager time (I can be a stupid pedant now that I'm back on two wheels and refer to people who drive cars as "cagers" heh). My gear held up well, and suprisingly my Sena 20s unit didn't require a recharge on the 9 hour trip down. BUT that seat was feeling real rough and my right hand cramped up something awful by the time I made it to South Carolina. Still, I'm able to ride for about 2.5 hours without really needed to stop when I'm just super slabbing it, which I think is pretty good for a middle-weight Japanese bike built on a sportier chassis. I was expecting to be in agony after about the first hour due to discomfort but I was able to push through.Top and side cases worked well and I could fit everything, including my laptop in them without having to wear a backpack. I do want to figure out a better hydration system since I can be on the bike for so long. I already have a camelbak but I don't want to wear a backpack. Maybe a small kriega strapped to my passenger seat or something like that.Heated grips worked well and I got extended wind deflectors for the stock handguards from Givi that really helped deflecting wind (and I think looks pretty cool).Cruise control system will be this week. It's a pretty lengthy installation. I also put a deposit down on a custom molded seat from Terry but it won't be here til August. I purchased a lightly used rear shock (K Tech Razor R) and I"m getting it adjusted to my weight by a suspension guy (it looks freaking sweet and has an external reservoir which I'm a sucker for) Then, I'm saving up for new front fork cartridges. After that, the bike will be pretty much sorted and will have a fully adjustable suspension, heated grips, cruise control and be much more comfortable. Pair that with just about the perfect motor and I'm not really sure I could ask for another bike that is such a good all-arounder. Funny thing about the K-tech. I talked to them in regards to what spring I should have for the rear. They recommended a 93nm spring but when I talked to a suspension guy he said that was way too light for my riding purposes and recommended I go to something higher. Any ideas @betoney or other suspension gurus? I'm buying the Razor-R off of a forum member and it currently has a 105nm spring on it which, per K Tech sales rep would be too heavy.

why do people get their jimmies rustled so easily? FFS

Shew, I thought I missed something important in my upgrade research. 😬

Wait, what? Why couldn't you install both? I just put on OEM heated grips have MCCruise on the way.....

i should pick your brain about getting on the track. I've been wanting to do so for years.

Rode her to work and tried out the heated grips. That install took way longer than anticipated because I didn't read the directions before hand like a dummy. Works great! the right side definitely gets hotter than the left like everyone said.

Resurrecting this from the dead but I'm in Harrisonburg which is a little city that's off of 81. I'm about 2 hours away from NOVA and about an hour away from WVA and decent riding via 33. let me know if anyone wants to come down for a weekend and we can do find some new routes and do some camping.

Yup, that sounds exactly like the stereotype I have of that community. Thanks for confirming it a bit, 😅

I cross shopped FJR'S when looking for my FJ. Is the community seriously that bad? I feel like it's a bunch of dudes in aerostitches and modulars but maybe I'm just profiling.

i need more enablers like you around. i think I just might. Got my goretex A* boots in so i'm ready gear wise!

I'm strongly considering going to Atlanta on Thursday of next week to visit some friends since work is closed. I specifically got the FJ for some longer touring but this would be my longest trip by a large margin. It's about 8.5 hours by car and 500 miles one way. I'd return on Sunday. I think i just need someone to tell me to go but it's going to be a long trip. After that, a small weekend trip through WVA in April with some camping. I'm a hammock camper and lightweight backpacker so hopefully I can combine my two hobbies and they complement each other well. I'd like to do a longer trip but I'm thinking of becoming a MSF Ridercoach and would use my weeks vacation to get certified for that instead. ALSO want to do the BMW off road course weekend in North Carolina this year. Too many options!

Thanks for the help. I had time to email K-tech today, the sales rep recommended an 8.5nm spring for the front forks and setting up the rear razor shock to a 95nm spring. I'll talk to Stoltec and Traxxion next.

those ak-20's look great but 1100 for just forks is a lot. I think I might do K-tech for the forks and perhaps splurge for the ohlins for adjustability. A forum member has a Razor R for sale but it's valved for his 240 lbs so I'm not sure if that will work for me, unfortunately. Front fork install looks to be pretty involved and I'd need to get a few tools I don't have.... or just get a local shop to do it.

What would you do now if you could do it again with Matt out of the picture?

Razor R. Betoney you have been insanely helpful and I appreciate it. I'll make a few calls this week. Everyone seems to like Stoltec, KTech and Traxxion. I want this to be a suspension that I can learn on so I'd like more adjustability rather than less and will pay for it. I'm definitely NOT ricky racer on this bike, I'm overly cautious on the street.

Shopping for suspension now and I'm starting to get an idea of what I want. I like the Ohlins 335 unit. The 535 is nice but out of my price range, I think. The K-Tech Razor R seems nice, too and I like the idea of matching that with K-Tech forks. Now I need to figure out what spring rate I'd want to get for casual mountain riding and super-slab commuting.

i really need to do better in understanding the electrical side of this bike. I usually get lost in wiring diagrams. appreciate the response though, you've done a few upgrades I'm strongly considering after suspension is done.

that's pretty handy. how much stuff can you plug in before it becomes too much of a power draw? i'm installing heated grips and interested in doing some other stuff like MCCruise too but not sure what the limit is.

Move this over to the tech thread! I definitely want to do this later. Seems like a simple project.

Are you pulling this out of the owner's manual or someplace else? I need to do better keeping up with regular greasing.

Just ordered a version of this myself. Looks clean.