arthur Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Hello! I am a new 2015 owner from Canada's west coast. Cortes Island. First impressions: with a full tank of gas it does not carry it's weight well. The engine is powerful though. There are no long straights around the island I live on, but I had it up to 6000rpm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZVFR Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 1 hour ago, arthur said: Hello! I am a new 2015 owner from Canada's west coast. Cortes Island. First impressions: with a full tank of gas it does not carry it's weight well. The engine is powerful though. There are no long straights around the island I live on, but I had it up to 6000rpm Hi and congratulations. That is strange, I find the Tracer to be the first bike I've ever owned that handles better with a full tank of juice. Is your suspension stock? have you adjusted it to suit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Welcome fellow Canuck ... Cortes Island? You're going to have to get on a ferry to ride that new machine. 😉 3 There is never enough time or money to do it right the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted June 29, 2023 Supporting Member Share Posted June 29, 2023 8 hours ago, arthur said: First impressions: with a full tank of gas it does not carry it's weight well. Can you elaborate a bit on what you are experiencing? The first generation FJ wasn't known for having stellar suspension (maybe slightly better than the original FZ09) but I knew that when buying the bike. After upgrading the suspension the bike handles like a dream, it is both comfortable for long road trips and controlled and compliant when riding the twistier roads. 2 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted June 29, 2023 Author Share Posted June 29, 2023 Thank you for the welcome - I have not adjusted the suspension yet - I have only had it 24hrs! I need to be a bit careful where I spend my money - It still has the factory tires on from 2015 - It was kept inside the whole time out of the sun, but I still feel they should probably be changed (I am open to listening to other people's opinions though) I'm guessing new tires will be around $600...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 3 hours ago, arthur said: Thank you for the welcome - I have not adjusted the suspension yet - I have only had it 24hrs! I need to be a bit careful where I spend my money - It still has the factory tires on from 2015 - It was kept inside the whole time out of the sun, but I still feel they should probably be changed (I am open to listening to other people's opinions though) I'm guessing new tires will be around $600...... Check fortnine.ca for tires. I got a set of the Dunlop Roadsport II for my 2020. They were recommended to me and the pricing was a lot more reasonable than many. I'm certainly happy with them in the 3,000 kms I've put on them so far. Apparently the Dunlop Mutants are a great option as well. Dunlop Roadsport II Rear Tire | FortNine Canada 2 There is never enough time or money to do it right the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoAl Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Welcome, adjusting the suspension does make a difference. Old tires certainly don't help. Better if they are kept out of sunlight and ozone. If you are handy there are a lot of things you can do that are not super hard and can make a difference. You don't mention mileage or maintenance history but presume it has been garaged or similar. Of course the very first thing you need to do is take some photos and post here so we can all admire your new bike 🙂 If you don't know the maintenance history or don't trust it then changing all fluids is a good idea. Brake fluid is easy to overlook. Amazon sells a brake fluid moisture detector that does a good job and is inexpensive. Check and grease steering head bearings, check and lube swingarm bearings, replace the fork oil in the front forks. Dave Moss has a good tutorial on doing a "pump and dump" which is not as good as a full teardown and cleaning but a quick, easy and inexpensive way to get fresh fork oil in and perhaps make a slight change is fork oil weight for a bit better damping. Also change the air filter and possible the spark plugs. Oh and coolant should not be neglected. Tires, lots of choices depending on your budget and type of riding. I'm partial to the Michelin Road 6s because I have done a lot of long trips in varying weather and on varying road conditions. I wanted a solid tire that was good in wet or dry and varying temperatures and road surfaces. LOL i'm an on pavement rider but every long trip has had some road construction which ranged from dirt to loose gravel with occasional dirty pavement thrown in oh and rocks of various sizes. Shinko makes good solid tires that are inexpensive but do well on a budget. Shop around and find a good place to mount and balance your tires. You can also mount and balance your own tires. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member knyte Posted June 30, 2023 Supporting Member Share Posted June 30, 2023 Another BC boy? Let's see some pics of that low km FJ! 2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts: Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 ok - pictures 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 Thats the best I can do for now - I'm sorry. Nearly all the pictures I have are over 1 MB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZVFR Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Them tyres are 8 years old. They would feel like plastic considering they weren't a good tyre to start with. Even a new cheaper tyre would be better than what you have. Easy enough to adjust the suspension with a helper, that front looks like the stock setting. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 thank you ozvfr - i was toying with the idea of putting some road 5's on there. incidently, how am i supposed to inflate the tires? special tool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilo3 Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 12 minutes ago, arthur said: incidently, how am i supposed to inflate the tires? special tool? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 1, 2023 Supporting Member Share Posted July 1, 2023 16 minutes ago, arthur said: how am i supposed to inflate the tires? special tool? Change out the valve stems for right angle stems. They make your life SO much easier, especially on the front wheel. https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/bike-master-90-degree-valve-stems?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnf-kBhCnARIsAFlg490NGjrtdzeKW-1XGAL1hLbOv9fvdtVkLAxu6GMHwXs8X3fRyJpLfzoaAigwEALw_wcB 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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