rodan

So, I took my FJ to the dealer today to confirm it's cam chain noise, and it was making more noise than the last time I rode it. Dealer was aware of the issue and helpful, but I decided to go with the APE cct and ordered one. I have a trip coming up in a couple weeks, and want to be sure it's ready. Also want a permanent fix.

Good timing, as mine just started making noise... And I'm in the affected VIN range...

Top cases are very functional. I have a small Coocase top case and run it almost full time with the factor side cases. I keep stuff that I'm into at stops in the top case (hat, wallet, shield cleaning rag, etc.), and the side cases hold rain gear, jacket liner when it comes out, etc. Everything's lockable, so no worries when I have to leave the bike unattended. I never run a tank bag unless I'm on a trip, and need the additional capacity. Top cases are ugly, but I love having it on the bike for the utility. Plus, it really twists the knife when you pass some toad on a Harley or even a sport bike in the twisties...

Nice ride! A few years ago (well, maybe 10 years ago!) I rode it with a local internet group 'Fastour'. We started in Springerville, and rode the 180 south through New Mexico, back into AZ and started at the bottom of 191 (Morenci). Our plan was to do 191 5 times (between Morenci and Alpine), but we were wiped out after 3. Ended up with 502 miles when we got back to Springerville. 191 is a fantastic road. If it were just a little closer, I'd probably ride it a lot more. My old school street pilot after that ride... I rode mine back from CA yesterday, a little under 400 miles. Really impressed with how the FJ9 handles superslab. Just gotta watch the fuel mileage... I saw mine drop into the high 30's running 80+ with a good headwind. Sure wish it had cruise, though... Got home just in time... woke up to 3" of snow on the ground this morning!

Rode it to OC Cars & Coffee in Costa Mesa, a ritual performed whenever I'm in SoCal. Not as good as it was when C&C was in Irvine but still some nice cars. I was the only bike there, except for a couple of vendor bikes. I did talk to another FJ9 owner, though. Packing up tonight and riding home to AZ in the morning...

Packed it for a quick run to CA for the weekend to see family. 28*F outside at the moment so the first hour will be a bit chilly. Once I drop down to the desert it should be a nice ride...

What did you not like about that setup? My plan is to run Power 3CT (or whatever the latest is) on the front and PR4 on the rear. I ran PP 2CT front/ PR2 rear on my 'Busa for years and was quite happy with the combo. The stock Dunlops on the FJ9 just never felt as planted, and I really don't like the Dunlops in the rain...

Pulled the rear wheel... new tire should arrive today. Wheel removal is nice and easy! 4261 miles on the stock Dunlop, down to the wear bars, but worn evenly, edge to edge. Replacing with another Dunlop Roadsmart, as the front is ~50% or better. I plan to switch to Michelins, but too cheap to throw away a good front right now...

I thought I posted it earlier, but apparently not... my modified version was the same weight as the stocker.

Nice! I had the Quick-Lock setup on my 'Busa and really liked it. Good to see it's available now. I went with the factory bags on the FJ9, as I like the narrow profile, and I don't ever expect to run without them.

This has gone waay on the back burner for me, so it would be nice to see someone make some progress...

I would be curious as to when you ordered yours? It seems there's no correlation between order dates and delivery, i.e. backorders may not be filled in order. I was fortunate that my dealer had the bags and mounts in stock when I bought my FJ9. I would be seriously pissed if I were still waiting for bags or mounts.

I finally cancelled my order for the factory heated grips. Ordered and paid for them when I bought the bike in April. On Friday, they told me the 'new' due date was November... Ridiculous. I'm not sure if the Dealer was the problem (as it seems a few sets had shown up here and there), or Yamaha, but I'm done waiting. I'll just get aftermarket for a lot less $$.

At *least* 2 months. I'm more than three and a half months into my wait for the things to show up. It was a joke that I might not have them by fall when the first two backorder dates passed without any grips. Now it's not a joke anymore, it's ridiculous. I don't know how much longer I'm willing to wait before I order a non-Yamaha set (which would be about 70% less expensive!). I would really like them now, please. [span] I'm still waiting for mine as well... since April. Seeing these come in and out of stock other places is starting to irritate me. I think I'll go have a talk with my dealer this week.[/span]

Washed it after returning home from a week in Colorado. It was a mess! I'm not really a fan of all the nooks/crannies of modern bike design. PITA to clean...

I like that much better than the rider/passenger seat previously posted. Are you able to move around on it, or is your butt stuck in the 'bucket'?

Oil/filter change, chain clean/lube, finished the install of my Vista Cruise and Givi tankbag. Ready for it's first trip next week...

Installed my radar detector and LED warning lights. Just need to get the Vista Cruise installed and the oil changed and I'll be ready for my trip to the Rockies week after next...

Yup, the low profile drain plug would have made the difference on removal with the centerstand. Good to know!

Well, today I swapped out the mufflers. And the first attempt is a bust. Those of you who have been following for a while will remember that I sourced an FZ-09 exhaust for this project, making some assumptions that it would be identical to the FJ-09 piece, with the exception of the outlet and outlet garnish. Well, that assumption was wrong. The brackets on top of the muffler, while identical on both mufflers, are around 1/2" further to the rear on the FJ version. So it wouldn't bolt up to the chassis. Here's the two for comparison: I also goofed on the outlet, and it's not positioned correctly. Next step is to move the brackets rearward, fix the outlet, and try again... Oh, FYI, the centerstand needs to come off to remove the stock muffler. I thought I could get away with not taking it off, but learned differently.

I'm not worried about the strength of the welds, and they won't be visible when mounted on the bike, so I'm not that concerned with the appearance. If I'm overjoyed with the result, I may pull it off and make it pretty...

Please excuse the ugly welds... it was a PITA stitching it back up with the gaps left by the cutting wheel, very easy to blow through.

More progress... Started packing the muffler: Layer 1, fiberglass mat packing material - Layer 2, stainless steel wool mat packing material - Layer 3, coarse stainless steel wool (food service scrubbing sponges) - Obviously, these layers will be repeated on top, under the 'lid' as it gets welded back on. My hope is that the coarse stainless wool will take most of the sound energy out of the exhaust pulses before it gets to the fiberglass, making it both reasonably quiet, and durable. There's lots of room in the muffler, and I'm packing it tightly, except where things are pretty narrow on the right side, so there's not a lot of material there. Hope to get the top welded on later today.

Again, sorry for the slow progress... life gets in the way. This morning I fixed up the brackets for the outlet garnish. I used the stock brackets cut off the outlet I removed. I tried to make sure everything was in about the same place as stock... we'll see how I did when I get around to bolting it up to the bike! All that's left is packing it and welding the top back on.

Sorry, meant to reply to this the other day... No progress over the holiday weekend, too much going on. Hope to get some time in on it next week.