What did you do to your FJ-tracer-gt today?

[ugatha]

Changed oil & filter and flushed brake fluid. Cleaned and lube the chain.

[Yamajank]

On 10/29/2020 at 1:48 PM, redfjniner said:

Last weekend I was riding in Northern California and turned over 100,000 miles.  I thought that this might be a good time to share my maintenance records.  I have attached two jpg files, open if you can to read them.

Today I will take the FJ out to do a Yamalube Ring Free Shock Treatment, just to clean out all the carbon that may have built up over the last 40K miles since my last Valve Check.

 

How about a quick analysis of the tires you've had experience with?

[redfjniner]

Tires.  Whew.  I'm coming off a FJR with 220K miles.  My conclusion after all that was:  I liked Michelins, and preferred the PR-3s for overall riding: wet, dry, and longevity.  The FJ is different, but I continue to buy the PR2s and other brands.  As you can see in the schedule above, I have run: Roadsmart 2s, PR3s,  StonesT30 EVOs,  PR4s, PR4 GTs,  PR2s, Road5s and Avon Trail Riders.  The FJ is different than the FJR.  What felt best on the FJR doesn't feel best on the FJ.  Now remember, what feels best to me, may not feel good to anyone else, so what I say is worth nothing more than gossip.  I like the Avon Trail Riders the best for use in the twisties.  I just like the feel, therefore I feel more confidence, therefore safer, more lean with less work, faster.  I still have a set of PR2s on the shelf that will be mounted next, only because I have them, but my next purchase will be the Avons.

[redfjniner]

On 10/29/2020 at 1:21 PM, peteinpa said:

I LIKE it.

Can you elaborate on the valve checks/adjustments? What they were each time?

Here is the first valve check at 26K, bike is 13 mo old.  The next chk was at 64K and I haven't done the 3rd one yet.  No records on #2, or I just can't find them.  I can't remember how to read the first one either, been too long.

[texscottyd]

I rode the FJ to perform my civic duty, and got my early voting done in the late afternoon.   

I then proceeded to use the same FJ to semi-flagrantly violate a few of the laws that I expect my elected officials to uphold and impartially administer.   Last time I checked, power wheelies were non-partisan social statements...  😇  

[whisperquiet]

I rode my recently purchased Tracer GT, kicked it up to 95 mph, and noticed severe wheel hop from an unbalanced front tire.  I purchased the bike used with 4400 miles on it and it came with a new set of Michelin tires installed........but, obviously not balanced properly by whoever mounted it.   

So, I removed the front wheel, removed the factory 30 gram weight, and found that the wheel/tire required 70 grams at a different location on the wheel to balance properly.  I'll give it a spin tomorrow at a higher speed and see if things smooth out.  The rear wheel does have stick on weights and has the appearance that it was balanced when the tire was installed.

I am not exactly happy as 70 grams is a lot of weight to balance a wheel and for the record Michelin Pilot Power 2CT tires are installed.  I've read the previous, recent tire balance posts which indicated the excessive amount of weight used on another Michelin tire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2020 by whisperquiet

[betoney]

18 minutes ago, whisperquiet said:

I am not exactly happy as 70 grams is a lot of weight to balance a wheel and for the record Michelin Pilot Power 2CT tires are installed.  I've read the previous, recent tire balance posts which indicated the excessive amount of weight used on another Michelin tire.

Hmmm, interesting.  I wonder what is going on with Michelin lately? 🤷‍♀️

[whisperquiet]

Just now, betoney said:

Hmmm, interesting.  I wonder what is going on with Michelin lately? 🤷‍♀️

For reference, I installed a new rear Bridgestone Battle Wing on my Super Tenere a month ago and needed 1/4 oz to balance.

[Stew]

70 gr ?   I'd be deliriously happy if that was all my front wheel needed with the Michelin on it

any advances on 110g ? Anyone?

Michelin are deafening in their silence responding to my enquiries regarding this.

 

[peteinpa]

This is what I'd do. Remove the tire and all weights, balance the bare rim and find the heavy spot. It's never been at the valve stem for me. Mark that spot with a Sharpie on the inside of the rim, it will never change.

Hopefully you can still see the light spot paint mark on the tire. Line that up with the heavy spot on the rim and balance and see what you get. I'm having a hard time coming up with an amount that is too much weight but the front # will be less than the rear.

70 grams is a lot for a front. 110 grams is too much for either wheel. 

[1moreroad]

Changed oil and new front tire.

Every mechanic who has mounted front tires on this bike has asked about the qty of wheel weights it needs. 

Dunlop - 50 grams front 10 grams rear. Either Dunlop Roadsmarts are just better tires than Michelin, or...

Maybe Yamaha figured out that Dunlop imbalances cancel out Yamaha imbalances. 

13 hours ago, texscottyd said:

I rode the FJ to perform my civic duty, and got my early voting done in the late afternoon

I rode mine to vote last month! 

[mellow]

Added some reflective rim stripes.

 

[Salish900]

In the last 24 or so hours I've replaced my stock fork springs with KTech 9.5nm and switched to Motul 7.5W full synthetic fork oil. I added mirror extensions from adventure tech that work beautifully. Balanced and installed my new Michelin Road 5 front tire. Now I go ride with my upgrades! 

[2and3cylinders]

1 hour ago, Salish900 said:

In the last 24 or so hours I've replaced my stock fork springs with KTech 9.5nm and switched to Motul 7.5W full synthetic fork oil. I added mirror extensions from adventure tech that work beautifully. Balanced and installed my new Michelin Road 5 front tire. Now I go ride with my upgrades! 

How much wt did the tire require, as that's very topical?

[Salish900]

1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said:

How much wt did the tire require, as that's very topical?

Stock the wheel had a 30 and 20 for 50 grams. When I mounted my Road 5's I popped these off and marked the spot just to see what happened and the wheel was so out of balance it wasn't funny. So I put the 30 and 20 back on and had to keep adding my own weights until I got to 78 grams. I wish now I had done that step of balancing the rim alone, to distinguish between the rim and tire and such. But there I am. Rode today and got up, let's just imagine for hypothetical purposes, triple digits, and didn't notice any wobble or shimmy. What I did notice was how much difference my new springs and fork oil made. My Buddha. The front end doesn't nose dive when I touch the brakes now, and I feel more planted in corners. Less jittery. And those mirror extenders? Everyone is right when they say they are the best farkle for the money!