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

[keithu]

3 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

2 She's going to need a lot of gear, training, and input from you...

 

Yeah, if she really decides she wants to ride again she'll go through a formal riding course like she's a new rider. When she first got her license in the early '90s I was an MSF instructor and basically taught her the course 1:1. But it's been a long time and I think formal training is really valuable.

She has ridden various dirt bikes, an Interceptor 700, a BMW R65, and the main bike that was hers for a while was a Katana 600.

The FJ-09 may not be the perfect re-entry bike after such a long gap, but it's about the same weight as her old Katana and probably a lot easier to ride. I think if she keeps it in B-mode for a while she'll be fine.

And yeah, she'll need all new riding gear. Luckily, my favorite local bike gear shop is woman owned and has a huge selection of quality women's riding gear.

[betoney]

That’s a perfect new use for the old bike. 👍🏻

[Wintersdark]

6 hours ago, keithu said:

Yeah, if she really decides she wants to ride again she'll go through a formal riding course like she's a new rider. When she first got her license in the early '90s I was an MSF instructor and basically taught her the course 1:1. But it's been a long time and I think formal training is really valuable.

She has ridden various dirt bikes, an Interceptor 700, a BMW R65, and the main bike that was hers for a while was a Katana 600.

The FJ-09 may not be the perfect re-entry bike after such a long gap, but it's about the same weight as her old Katana and probably a lot easier to ride. I think if she keeps it in B-mode for a while she'll be fine.

And yeah, she'll need all new riding gear. Luckily, my favorite local bike gear shop is woman owned and has a huge selection of quality women's riding gear.

I dunno; the FJ may not be the perfect re-entry bike, but it's not a bad one. Really easy to ride, and as long as you're reasonable and responsible with your right wrist, it's got a pretty controlled powerband.  I definitely wouldn't recommend on as a first bike, but for someone who knows how to ride already and just needs to get back into things, it's not bad at all. 

And yeah, a quick run though the MSF on one of their little bikes would be great as a refresher.

Sounds like a great way to go, and who wouldn't want their wife riding too?  Live in riding buddy!

[petshark]

and best of all @keithu.. this will keep you on the forum. 😀

[peteinpa]

As long as she has long legs.  FJ is light, but not short.

[Wintersdark]

2 hours ago, peteinpa said:

As long as she has long legs.  FJ is light, but not short.

hah this is true; I often forget about that, as motorcycles don't come in "too tall" for me! 

 

...and then I go back to looking at suspension lift kits and a tall rally seat for my Tenere 700.  What's another 3" on a 34.6" seat height?

[piotrek]

On 1/12/2022 at 6:02 PM, david323 said:

Both the carts and rear shock are sprung for my weight. I ordered them the Wed. before Black Friday and they didn't appear until last Tuesday. So almost 2 months for shipping. I won't have time to put the bike through its paces until this weekend, but fingers crossed...

...and the verdict is?

[david323]

On 2/14/2022 at 4:27 PM, piotrek said:

...and the verdict is?

Like night and day. I've put in a few hundred miles over the last couple of weekends and it has made such an improvement. The squat on acceleration is gone, the dive in the front on braking is gone, the bumps are soaked up like they're not even there and the bike is 1000% more stable when cornering. I hit a pothole on the freeway at night and instantly puckered up HARD expecting to be bounced out of the seat and into the air (based on prior experience with the stock suspension.) I went over the hole and did not even feel it, not even a little bit. I have been playing with the rebound and compression settings some but feel like it is close to being dialed. I am still debating on a steering stabilizer, though. The front end is still light at higher speeds (70+ mph) and if the cross winds hit just right the input goes right down my shoulders into my arms and hands and makes the front end wobble. Typically I can relax my grip (and I have to remind myself to use my core and not lean on my arms) but I think a stabilizer would help control some of that unwanted steering input.

[piotrek]

3 hours ago, david323 said:

Like night and day. I've put in a few hundred miles over the last couple of weekends and it has made such an improvement. The squat on acceleration is gone, the dive in the front on braking is gone, the bumps are soaked up like they're not even there and the bike is 1000% more stable when cornering.

That is great to hear 👍. May I ask what fork fluid you used? I know Andreani recommends one, but wondering if you stayed with that or switched it up for something else. These forks had a reputation for being a bit harsh on the compression side, but looking at the description they might have fixed that a bit. A common thing to do was to run a thinner oil in the compression leg.

[david323]

2 minutes ago, piotrek said:

That is great to hear 👍. May I ask what fork fluid you used? I know Andreani recommends one, but wondering if you stayed with that or switched it up for something else. These forks had a reputation for being a bit harsh on the compression side, but looking at the description they might have fixed that a bit. A common thing to do was to run a thinner oil in the compression leg.

Ohlins 1309 (which I believe is what is recommended.) I haven't noticed any harshness but to be fair I am not pushing the forks to their limits (at least not yet.)

[lolocastsb]

after spoiling my DR650 (carb, shock, forks, steel braided lines in the past 2 months), I decided to pull the trigger on an ohlins shock for the FJ09. I met an awesome guy in town who used to race motorcycles and now operates his own shop out of his garage. He's going to pull the internals out of a GSXR fork and make them fit in the FJ09 fork for an awesome suspension set up here in the next couple of weeks.

[2and3cylinders]

3 hours ago, lolocastsb said:

after spoiling my DR650 (carb, shock, forks, steel braided lines in the past 2 months), I decided to pull the trigger on an ohlins shock for the FJ09. I met an awesome guy in town who used to race motorcycles and now operates his own shop out of his garage. He's going to pull the internals out of a GSXR fork and make them fit in the FJ09 fork for an awesome suspension set up here in the next couple of weeks.

 I've never heard of retrofitting Gsxr fork internals to an FJ

 Have you done any research in that regard?

[Peddler]

I installed the Magstad windshield. 

[BirBill]

I installed a tail tidy and new sequencer flowing turn signal indicators.  Really cleans up the rear.

[lolocastsb]

On 2/19/2022 at 12:09 PM, 2and3cylinders said:

 I've never heard of retrofitting Gsxr fork internals to an FJ

 Have you done any research in that regard?

he's an ex-racer who mostly works on race bikes but has done a couple of MT09's. I'll update you all after it's done