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

[gerrychuck]

I'm not crazy about groups either.  Did several days of riding in Colorado with fellow XR1200 riders in 2016; 23 showed up, which is sensory overload considering I have never seen another XR on the road, before or since, other than on that trip.  Overall, it was great fun, but my favourite rides were when I decided I'd had enough and road back to the campground by myself.  Really, really enjoyed the apres-ride socializing with the group, but was so much more relaxed when riding by myself. Those are some great roads Wintersdark was on, would totally suck to have a ride on those highways screwed up by being in the middle of a big group.

Edited July 19, 2021 by gerrychuck

[tedski]

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.

[2and3cylinders]

8 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.

JT & DID, or Sprocket Center has kits with their steel black Superlite rear and a front with a choice of chains (gold is sharp).  I went with 520 conversion with +2 on the rear the last 2 sets, really like it.

Had to cut yesterday's ride a bit short due to vaporizing the rear in 80 miles my 5th set of doughnuts.  Bridgestone T31 gave 8,600+ miles butter wear bars were still down 1/16" when I took off!

A pair of T32s will be on my stoop Wednesday.  $250 with tax and shipping from RockymountainAtvMc.com.   No $50 debit card rebate available this set. The S22s only give up 1k miles vs the T31s.  Front has a few thousands more so may just swap the rear as after my back surgery on the 18th I may be done for the season 😞

[2and3cylinders]

20 hours ago, texscottyd said:

Me either.   As the years have moved along, I’ve become more & more of a lone eagle.   I will occasionally ride with one or two very carefully vetted friends, but I just can’t deal with the stress of a large group event.   

Same here!

But like swimming, having a buddy along gives a bit of peace of mind.

If they don't mind stopping frequently when my Prostate is acting up...

[betoney]

9 hours ago, phpaul said:

Having said that, who do we like (brand and source) for new chain and front and rear sprockets?

https://sprocketcenter.com/

Their Sprocket Center and Superlite RSX sprockets are excellent, they wear like iron and even after the chain is shot, you really have to inspect carefully to detect any noticeable wear.

And you cant go wrong with the DID VX3 chain.

I just got these delivered last week.

[dazzler24]

6 hours ago, betoney said:

And you cant go wrong with the DID VX3 chain.

+1 for the DID 525 VX3.

[petshark]

1 hour ago, dazzler24 said:

+1 for the DID 525 VX3.

+1 for the DID. I used a JT dampened front and supersprox stealth for the rear.

[BBB]

Fine looking rear sprocket @petshark 

[Butrzrulz]

In installed the Yamaha 14mm lowering links.   While the instructions want you to drop the exhaust and remove the rear wheel, if you have the right tools you can just drop the exhaust (which is what I did).  I did this by myself and had no issues, I used a ratchet strap to lift the rear wheel, which makes things very easy. I also dropped the front forks 14mm.

 

I'm 5'-7" with a 30" inseam (pant measurement) and I am much more comfortable.  While I cannot flat foot both feet, I can now flat foot one and the ball of my foot on the other (I could only do the balls of my feet prior).  

Edited July 22, 2021 by Butrzrulz

[Clegg78]

27 minutes ago, Butrzrulz said:

In installed the Yamaha 14mm lowering links.   While the instructions want you to drop the exhaust and remove the rear wheel, if you have the right tools you can just drop the exhaust (which is what I did).  I did this by myself and had no issues, I used a ratchet strap to lift the rear wheel, which makes things very easy.

 

I'm 5'-7" with a 30" inseam (pant measurement) and I am much more comfortable.  While I cannot flat foot both feet, I can now flat foot one and the ball of my foot on the other (I could only do the balls of my feet prior).  

you also drop the front forks ~ 14mm or so?    I've been pondering picking up a set of the lowering brackets to just test.  I am 5'9" and generally wear a 28 -30" inseam.  The bike is tall, for me, but not anything I cant plan for or handle.    But a slightly shorter bike could be nice    Not sure I want to give up the ground clearance though. 

[Butrzrulz]

10 minutes ago, Clegg78 said:

you also drop the front forks ~ 14mm or so?    I've been pondering picking up a set of the lowering brackets to just test.  I am 5'9" and generally wear a 28 -30" inseam.  The bike is tall, for me, but not anything I cant plan for or handle.    But a slightly shorter bike could be nice    Not sure I want to give up the ground clearance though. 

I did drop the forks as well (I have updated my post to say so).    I chose these as they are the only ones sold by Yamaha and that do not require changing the sidestand.   I read tons of threads on all the other brands and the issues that come with them (parts scraping due to clearance issues, sidestand issues, etc) and did not want to deal with any of those things. While 14mm doesn't sound like much, it does make a noticeable difference.

[roadwarrior]

On 7/15/2021 at 2:21 AM, BBB said:

Plastidip spray. A pretty good match if you feather the sprayed edges. I only used that because I had it though, laziness and expedience won through and I’m sure there will be better options out there.

You okay from the drop?

Thanks for the reply and concern. It was a slow speed drop so both my passenger and I bailed without harm. Making a tight u-turn, on a hill, with a passenger. The biked started going over and with the extra weight and top heaviness of the passenger I couldn't stop the momentum. It was all rather slow motion with a no no no No No No NO NO NO ... drop

I picked up a can of flat black Plastidip at the hardware store but have yet to apply it.

 

[2and3cylinders]

Fresh buns, cleaned the brakes and pads front and rear, very anal, takes a lot of time, clean the chain, fenders, everything.

 For the 1st time for me I decided to flip the front pads to compensate for wear top to bottom; don't know if it's the proper thing to do but I'll find out!

 Got about 8600 or so out of the T31s, slipped on some T32s...

 Gotta take it easy on the new donuts but but the brakes should be one finger with the cleaned rotors and pads.  Years ago I swapped out for the R1 rotors and radial master cylinder, much better feel and with HH+ pads definitely the way to go along with the Speigler lines.

[micah2074]

We started Odyssey 2021. 2 weeks, 7k miles of America!  
 

[kilo3]

Just rolled over 12k on my 2020. My road 5's are at the wear bars and are really going south fast. My tire guy can't get the front in. Might have to order online before the end of the month to get that rebate.