tedski

On 9/14/2021 at 8:09 PM, Buggy Nate said:

Yep as 👆. It probably stems from the days of motors having those god awful champion spark plugs. What an absolute pile of crap they are. I reckon I’ve drilled out about 30 of those bastards. 🤬

I think it's partly that and partly the newer coatings they put on the plug threads.  Simple advances in science and manufacturing.

A similar thing used to happen to my Google Pixel 2.  Went through about 3 warranty replacements before I realized the phone mounted in an x-grip was rattling the camera module loose.  You'd go to open the camera app and the phone would crash and reboot.  

7 hours ago, phpaul said:

Just got back from having a fresh set of Michelin Road 4's installed.  This is the third set of sneakers for my '16 FJ with 18,500 miles on it.  The OEM Dunlops were trashed at 6K miles IIRC, the first set of Michelins lasted 12K and were a MUCH better choice in every respect.  Looking at the new rear vs. the old one, I might have pushed things a bit, mileage wise.

We looked over the chain and rear sprocket (which are the originals) and while they look good visually  with no excessive wear, saw-toothing or play in the side plates of the chain, I'm of the opinion that 18K miles is quite a lot and they don't owe me a thing.  Replacing on mileage vs. observed wear just seems prudent.

Having said that, who do we like (brand and source) for new chain and front and rear sprockets?  I'm perfectly happy with the existing ratio, not looking to change that.

I prefer JT sprockets, personally.  They seem to be of high-quality/craftsmanship machining and I've been running them on all bikes for years now.  As for chain, I am personally fine with any of the top brands o-ring or better chains that meet the spec (EK, RK, DID if they're on sale).  As for sources, I price shop between Revzilla, BikeBandit, etc.

It's a coolant temperature sensor, not an engine temperature sensor.  The coolant does change temperature that fast, of course.  As to where it is, it's in the back of the head on the right hand side of the bike.

See:

and

Put it on the centerstand and spin each wheel independently (have someone push down on the rear of the bike to lift the front).  It may be the rotors dragging in certain spots of the rotation.

12 minutes ago, Skidood said:

Yes.... on a normally closed switch, holding the shifter up will open the switch contacts...and with an open circuit on powerup, the ECU will deem this a fault and disable the QS, or assume no QS is installed.   

But when you install the QS for the first time, you have to enable it.  The enabling procedure is to hold the shifter up.  That's why I think it's normally open.  There's probably a logic check in the boot process of the ECU that checks if that circuit is closed (shifter up) and then flips the "QS Installed" bit.

13 minutes ago, Skidood said:

Tedski, that's what my intent was, and always is.  Unfortunately the test was somewhat inconclusive.  I couldn't access the connector, didn't want to start taking the bike apart to look for it, so I tried the procedure where you disable the QS by holding the switch in  and turning the power on ...wedged  a block of wood under the shift lever just enough to  push the switch rod inwards about 1 or 2 mm.  Takes a large amount of force to do this....Switch did not appear to have changed state (QS light stayed on)...then adjusted the block of wood to apply plenty of pressure to keep the switch rod fully depressed hard into the switch housing...QS light stayed on indicating switch still didn't change state..so until I can access the wiring from the switch and get my meter on them, no answers.  From an engineering point of view which includes fault detection,  (bad contacts or cut wire) I bet this switch is normally closed and the contacts open as soon as the rod has moved just a wee bit inwards.

I couldn't find the QS switch on the wiring diagrams in the FSM.  I was hoping we could get the switch spec from there.  But, thinking through the installation process... the way you enable the QS is to also hold the shifter up, so that leads me to believe it's normally open.  My thinking is that when the connector is bare (bike without QS installed), the circuit is obviously open.  If it were a normally closed switch, then holding the shifter up (engaging the switch) would not be a different state from the absence of a QS.  

11 minutes ago, Skidood said:

Wait...first you say its a guess on your part and then you say I'm just wrong?  Got anything to back up your statement?  Did I say you were wrong??   I could tell you what I just discovered when I went to check it out in my garage just now but won't bother now.  Nicely done.

Hey, for the rest of us who actually want to have constructive conversation and learn from each other... please share your findings.

From experience with clutchless upshifts on all of my bikes (none have quickshifters), you learn that you can weight the shift lever and then decide when to blip the throttle to shift.  With the engine load on the gears, the shift fork can't move things until the throttle is blipped and that pressure is relieved.  This translates to the quickshifter mechanism so that the power cut is as near as the point of the shift fork being ready to move things.  Hope that helps explain it.

Welcome!  I also had a V-Strom 1k a few bikes back.  I can easily see why the FJ-09 is a natural progression for many.

11 minutes ago, PeterL said:

If you have the option to do a personal visit to the seat maker of your choice for customisation, I recommend it heartily.

Huge +1 to this.  I've done the custom Corbin thing and it's a great experience (they have a cafe on site with good WiFi so you can occupy time while waiting between iterations).  I'll be headed to Ventura for a Bill Mayer Saddle for my '17 here soon, but they are not cheap.

I carry a MotoPort rain suit that I put over my 'stich if it's going to be heavy rain all day.  Even if the 'stich is water tight, wet gear sucks in the hotel room each night.  Rain gear wipes dry.  I consider the 'stitch (and any cordura laminated gore-tex) good for what I call "commute rain" but if it's going to be heavy rain all day or multiple days... I'll take a rain suit.

24 minutes ago, nhchris said:

And if there’s no HP difference between A and B, what’s the advantage of A?

Smooth is always faster in my experience .

The difference (advantage is subjective) is the power curve.  I find all 3 modes to be smooth, but that's also subjective.  I, personally, enjoy the power application of A-mode in the twisty stuff.  I trail brake and I enjoy getting on the throttle through the apex and exit.  A-mode allows me to do that with the most... "umph?"

13 minutes ago, micah2074 said:

I rode across Death valley 2 years ago in my 1 piece. 108 at 8am. It was hot but i unzipped down to my belly button and it wasn't that bad. We're riding back through there next month.

I live in SE TN and have 80K+ miles with the suit. It works and I wear it every time I ride. When i replace it it will be with the 2 piece. I have experienced the wet crotch in monsoon conditions and folks say the 2 piece is more waterproof.

My 'stich has also seen lots and lots of Death Valley and other hot weather riding.  I never close the back vent.  I open and close the underarm vents as desired while riding.  With the underarm vents open, I lift my elbows (think dirt bike riding position) and the air flows right through.  Is it perfect? Absolutely not.  Is it adequate?  Yes.

20 minutes ago, nhchris said:

Forget about lighting to improve daytime visibility.  It is a marginal fix at best.

wearing hi-viz clothing is much more effective way to be seen.

BILT Techno Hi-Viz Jacket | 22% ($40.00) Off!

---

Tackle hot weather riding in a mesh jacket that provides both...

You literally pop out of the background a long way off.  Sadly it is not cool image wise.

Forget about lighting, forget about hi-viz.  Find a way to appear on their phone screen and they'll see you.  Until then, ride as if every cage is out to kill you.

40 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Sweet but the RS have gotten as pricy as the PR5

Us low rent types spring for the T32s... 🤤

Are the T32s any easier to spoon on than the T30s and T31s were?  Those previous gens were a bear to spoon on.  I spoiled myself with PR5s this time around and not only were they super easy to spoon on, they are dreamy to ride.  Boy does that pricetag sting.  Maybe I'll go T32s next time and use the zip tie method.

21 minutes ago, bwringer said:

This is one reason every street rider should have a dual-sport bike in the stable. You get used to sliding around a little.

Could not agree more!

5 minutes ago, Salish900 said:

Not mentioned is that there are tar snakes, and then in heat we are having out West, there are tar RIVERS! That stuff liquifies at asphalt temperatures of over 100. It was just normal tar snakes that prompted to swap out the OEM front tire so soon. That thing was just like riding a glass wheel on an olive oil fry pan. 

So true!  We have one goat trail here in the SF Bay Area where they laid down 2' wide puddles of tar snake stuff.  The road gets full sun during the day and turns into puddles.  You need to change your shorts after riding that section.

2 hours ago, joe72t said:

Honestly I'm ok with the seat on daily or weekend trips as long as we stop every few hours to give my but a break.  I would like to have a solution for longer trips when the timing will allow.

Has anyone tried an Airhawk, gel or sheepskin pad on top of the stock seat?

ty

I would advise against gel.  You want one of (or both) things out of seat improvement: air flow and/or firmness.  The reason you want firmness is you want to sit on your sit bones.  If the seat is squishy, then the soft tissue around your sit bones is compressed and that's where soreness comes from.  If the seat is firm (shop for seats with your butt, not your thumb), then you sit on your sit bones and blood flow is not impeded.  Air flow keeps the skin happy.  Airhawk, beaded seats, sheepskin all help improve air flow while aftermarket seats like the Sargent and Corbin allow you to sit on your sit bones.

To answer your actual question... I haven't tried them on the stock seat, but for me personally... the issue is equally seat shape and seat material.  I can't sit on my sit bones and the squishy part of the seat suffocates my butt, but also the cut of the seat creates two ridges that hit on the wrong sides of my sit bones.  So, while I have not tried them, I don't think they'd solve enough of the problem.  

Tar snakes are a great reminder to stay loose on the bars, weight the outside peg and let the bike do its shimmy under you without consequence.  Obviously keep an eye out for puddles of tar snake and larger groups that could turn an extended shimmy into a full on slide.

1 hour ago, Salish900 said:

Question: I'm trying to figure out how wiring a fuse block would let you choose which things are on with ignition and which are always on? Can someone clarify? That would be one of my main reasons for doing this. I know you can put a relay into the system somewhere, though I don't know how or where. 

The Fuze Block brand takes both a constant hot and switched power and has a relay on board.  There are two distinct "buses" that you can choose from when inserting your fuse (to make the connection for that terminal.  One is constant hot and the other is switched.  So, you choose by inserting the fuse into different "sockets."  Hopefully this diagram helps:

On 6/19/2021 at 9:50 PM, Rick123 said:

My 2017 starts with whatever mode I left it in. A in my case.

Same here!  I was out riding with a friend who has a '16 this weekend and I noticed my '17 stayed in A-mode.  He was full of envy.

Welcome aboard!  Congrats on the new ride.

Funny thing about the color.  I don't really care what color a motorcycle is, never have.  I just ride the things.  But, this is the 4th white bike in a row I've bought... completely coincidental ('93 VFR, '09 DR650, '16 Duke 390).  I plan most of my friend group's sport touring trips and the moniker has become "follow the white bike."  All that said... I'm falling in love with the white of the FJ.  Maybe not as much as the flying fridge VFR, but give it time.

12 hours ago, Heli ATP said:

The stock seat caused all kinds of discomfort. I tried different pants, underwear etc to no avail.

You raise a good point.  Here we are nitpicking aftermarket seat brands and you hit it right on the head:  anything past the stock seat is such a huge improvement.  Every single one of my bikes always gets the seat replaced with an aftermarket seat.  So, Sargent, Corbin, Rocky Mayer, Bill Mayer, etc... it doesn't matter... as long as it's firm and wider than your sit bones and your seat endurance goes way up.