Hyena

25 minutes ago, NotVeryCreative16 said:

I realize that this post was months ago but who was selling the Razor R? I weigh 240 also so I'd be interested if he still happened to have it for sale.

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

2 minutes ago, betoney said:

They all work together just fine, I have had the oem heated grips and MCCruise on my '15 for 3 years now, zero issues.

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

On 2/16/2020 at 2:04 PM, DavidS said:

Grip Warmers and Cruise control are standard on the Tracer, I could only install one or the other on the FJ.

Wait, what? Why couldn't you install both? 

I just put on OEM heated grips have MCCruise on the way.....

On 3/7/2020 at 2:25 PM, texscottyd said:

It was actually thirty years ago, which I personally have a hard time believing and/or acknowledging.   

I had a Suzuki GS1150E and a Ducati 750 Paso at the time...  on the ride I mentioned above, it was definitely the Paso.

I bought a wrecked Honda NT650 Hawk GT as my first race bike, and was on the track a few months later.   Good times. 

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, 😅

5 hours ago, betoney said:

The only thing that would suck is having to join one of the FJR forums.  👎

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. 

4 hours ago, donk said:

Check the weathers, get on the bike and go.  Dress warm if you’re going to be in the Blue Ridge mornings are still chilly. It will be a great trip  Just Go!

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. 

16 minutes ago, betoney said:

Bang for the buck would probably be K-Tech, many members here have upgraded to K-Tech and I have not heard one negative review, high quality, fully adjustable and they are red...😎

I had Traxxion build me a Penske 8983 which I am very happy with and their AK-20 fork cartridges are very highly praised, so someday, I might try them on a future bike.  (More expensive option than K-Tech though)

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. 

1 minute ago, betoney said:

Nothing against Nick at Stoltec Moto, great guy, very supportive and helpful but his fork cartridge upgrade is a single leg only, the other leg remains a dead leg with just a different spring.  My buddy has the Stoltec Moto cartridge upgrade and while it is a definite step up from stock it still doesn't have compression adjustability. 

We have gone on several road trips together and I have ridden his back-to-back many times with mine and we both agree that there simply is no comparison to having full adjustability.  He never wants to give my bike back.😎

There used to be a forum vendor here called Matt who built his own cartridges, both legs had custom compression and rebound pistons with full adjustability for ridiculously cheap prices, I was fortunate enough to have a set built before he faded into oblivion.  They work fantastic.!

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.  

6 minutes ago, betoney said:

Neither the heated grips or MCCruise would wire into that circuit so not to worry.  Its a 2A circuit so you wouldn't want to wire in heated gear but lights and a GPS are fine.

I have my heated gear ran through my battery tender SAE lead which is direct wired to the battery.  The heated grips are on their own circuit and the auxiliary plugs are on a separate circuit, I have the 12v outlet plug, Denali running lights and a GPS all on the switched auxiliary circuit without issues.

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.

22 minutes ago, betoney said:

@Hyena - In case you weren't aware, behind the screen there are spare power plugs that are switched to power, perfect for wiring in auxiliary lights or a GPS.  If you don't want to buy the parts to build a plug for your device, go to your bike shop and ask if they have a salvaged wiring harness.  My local shop cut off a few plugs for me and then I just spliced on my devices.

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.

11 hours ago, Patch Kit said:

Today I installed my Denali Micro LED lights and a USB for my phone/gps. Pictures attached, as I know we all love pics!

For those who have been nervous about using the accessory plugs behind the windscreen for lights/chargers/heated grips, etc, let me tell you, it's very easy. Some of the posts on here regarding using these ports refer to the "dummy" connector that is snapped in to these accessory ports. These should be thought of less as "dummy" connectors, and more as empty connectors. All they need to become fully-functioning is the male terminals available at cycleterminal.com. See pic below. Crimp these on the end of your wire along with one of the rubber boots, and these snap right in to the empty connector attached to the accessory port connector behind the windscreen.

Luckily, I had some leftovers of these terminals from this same LED install on my previous bike, a Honda.

As for mounting the lights themselves, I'm a big fan of the K.I.S.S. principle, and I simply remove a fender bolt, grab a longer bolt and some spacers (white plastic in the picture), and attach the light right next to the fender. These were mounted in this way on my previous bike for over 20,000 miles. Worked great. I think it also gives it an almost OE look. I could probably improve on that more by using a single, wider black spacer in place of the two white ones. But, meh.

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

On 11/14/2019 at 9:25 PM, betoney said:

Next week I have an appointment for valve check/adjust, spark plug replacement and TB sync.

I also need to do the annual greasing of the swingarm and linkage bearings as well as shifter and brake pedal pivots.

The suspension isn't due for servicing until next year.

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

2 hours ago, Alistair said:

Yes, its the NanoGlass. 👍

Just ordered a version of this myself. Looks clean.