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

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, nhchris said:

IF YA REALLY WANNA BE FAST...

I firmly believe the $$ spent on most performance-related farkles would yield much greater return  invested in track days and racing schools.

We riders are usually the lowest performance component on our modern motorcycles! 

Training for sure; but if you're not going to training (it's often simply not an option for people - god knows, I'd give my right nut to take formal advanced rider training!) ... If you've got money and want to go faster, it's pretty much always cheaper to just buy a faster bike.  Money spent on go-fast farkles is *never* an efficient way to go.

Not that it's bad, sometimes we just want to throw money at our babies and make them pretty.  But you can pretty much always go faster, cheaper, and more reliably by simply getting a faster bike instead.  Still, I'd be lying if I denied secretly lusting after a turbo 😃

[trevinator]

installed 2019 swingarm on my 2017 fj-09 with gold chain and rear sprocket with blue accent. about 2.5" longer than stock, and WAY more stable at speed.

[2and3cylinders]

On 5/28/2022 at 9:51 PM, Wintersdark said:

Training for sure; but if you're not going to training (it's often simply not an option for people - god knows, I'd give my right nut to take formal advanced rider training!) ... If you've got money and want to go faster, it's pretty much always cheaper to just buy a faster bike.  Money spent on go-fast farkles is *never* an efficient way to go.

Not that it's bad, sometimes we just want to throw money at our babies and make them pretty.  But you can pretty much always go faster, cheaper, and more reliably by simply getting a faster bike instead.  Still, I'd be lying if I denied secretly lusting after a turbo 😃

I disagree generally especially if you get a decent bike like a FJ09 well moded used... or even new cheap like a 15 leftover in 16 for 8500.  Even then a used 15 XR was 14k plus tax ad double for insurance.   I know I checked before getting my 15.

[2and3cylinders]

6 hours ago, trevinator said:

installed 2019 swingarm on my 2017 fj-09 with gold chain and rear sprocket with blue accent. about 2.5" longer than stock, and WAY more stable at speed.

How much total $ + your labor?

[trevinator]

9 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

How much total $ + your labor?

right around $500 for all the parts. used (new take off) swingarm-$286 shipped, rear brake line-$75 shipped, chain-$52, chain guard and fender-$49, rear sprocket-$60ish. took about 5 hours taking my time with breaks every now and then from the heat.

[Wintersdark]

49 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I disagree generally especially if you get a decent bike like a FJ09 well moded used... or even new cheap like a 15 leftover in 16 for 8500.  Even then a used 15 XR was 14k plus tax ad double for insurance.   I know I checked before getting my 15.

My point is that if you want to go faster, $ per zoom, you're way better off spending $ on a faster bike.  New vs used is irrelevant as it applies either way.  Sure, a BMW costs a lot more, but are you seriously arguing that the XR is the only similar but faster bike?  I mean, you can get a new GSXS1000 cheaper than a new old stock Tracer 900, and it's significantly faster.  The Ninja 1000SX as well.  

In 2016, there were few low-cost competitors for the FJ, so in the context of specifically this type of bike you'd get some mileage there, but that's very much changed these days.  If you're expanding the bike type bracket a bit, it gets very crowded very quickly.  For instance, Yamaha's MT line.  The price difference between a MT07 and MT09 is (Canadian Maple Syrup Bucks) $2000 and that gets you a LOT of extra speed.  

Put another way: What go-faster mods can you do, that meaningfully increased the performance of your bike?

My experience is that people talk a big talk about how much typical stage one mods impact things, but in practice it's rarely more than 5-8hp (and that's very optimistic with modern bikes), and that's really not terribly noticeable on a 120hp bike.  Intake, exhaust and tune is realistically going to start at about a thousand dollars, likely ending up a fair bit more if you don't go very budget exhaust.  Going beyond stage one mods is extremely expensive, whereas generally speaking there's a range of bike options at basically every sort of power level with pretty granular pricing differences between them.

[trevinator]

5 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

Put another way: What go-faster mods can you do, that meaningfully increased the performance of your bike?

you could do this.....

[Dpl900]

12 hours ago, trevinator said:

installed 2019 swingarm on my 2017 fj-09 with gold chain and rear sprocket with blue accent. about 2.5" longer than stock, and WAY more stable at speed.

the security link should be inside I think 

[peteinpa]

2 hours ago, Dpl900 said:

the security link should be inside I think 

 

I didn't see that. 

No, just no. please don't use a clip type master link on anything.  At the very least you'll blow a hole through your engine case. Worst, a bad wreck.

At the very least check it before, during, and after every ride.

[2and3cylinders]

6 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

My point is that if you want to go faster, $ per zoom, you're way better off spending $ on a faster bike.  New vs used is irrelevant as it applies either way.  Sure, a BMW costs a lot more, but are you seriously arguing that the XR is the only similar but faster bike?  I mean, you can get a new GSXS1000 cheaper than a new old stock Tracer 900, and it's significantly faster.  The Ninja 1000SX as well.  

In 2016, there were few low-cost competitors for the FJ, so in the context of specifically this type of bike you'd get some mileage there, but that's very much changed these days.  If you're expanding the bike type bracket a bit, it gets very crowded very quickly.  For instance, Yamaha's MT line.  The price difference between a MT07 and MT09 is (Canadian Maple Syrup Bucks) $2000 and that gets you a LOT of extra speed.  

Put another way: What go-faster mods can you do, that meaningfully increased the performance of your bike?

My experience is that people talk a big talk about how much typical stage one mods impact things, but in practice it's rarely more than 5-8hp (and that's very optimistic with modern bikes), and that's really not terribly noticeable on a 120hp bike.  Intake, exhaust and tune is realistically going to start at about a thousand dollars, likely ending up a fair bit more if you don't go very budget exhaust.  Going beyond stage one mods is extremely expensive, whereas generally speaking there's a range of bike options at basically every sort of power level with pretty granular pricing differences between them.

I wasn't talking hp but comfort and especially handling and brakes.

A FJ back then was a poor man's XR which is a rocketship but other than a QS and CC didn't have a lot I wanted for the complication and shekels. 

The GSX1K back then had worse fueling issues no one seemed could cure and was definitely NOT a sport tourer or could readily or cheaply converted to one.  The Ninja was an is an excellent ST at a great price but for me was heavy and had too sport committed ergos. Ditto for a VFR.  I not only rode both enough to know they didn't fit me but working on them is a shit show due the fairings, and the V4 also doubles the # of cams and working in the V is a PITA..  Plus I didn't want more that 3 pots and short of a Duc MS twin then, which were and are primo lira and non too reliable, offer limited and pricy dealer coverage and parts availability. 

I don't regret the money and more so the time I've spent to make my FJ my own, as it's the journey not the destination I enjoyed.  And I knew going in 105 HP at 470# was adequate, though 10 more #' would be nice and match my VTR.

Pure HP is fun occasionally but as long as it can easily crack a ton and still get me 500++ miles a day in comfort I'm a happy camper (or used to be when I didn't need a bed and bathroom LOL).  Don't the XR and KTM SDgt get like 33 mpg too?  A Triumph ST/Tiger and BMW RT had / have the same foibles as the Duc MS.

[trevinator]

2 hours ago, peteinpa said:

I didn't see that. 

No, just no. please don't use a clip type master link on anything.  At the very least you'll blow a hole through your engine case. Worst, a bad wreck.

At the very least check it before, during, and after every ride.

i have never had an issue with them. if installed correctly (open end of slip facing back) then there should be no way for it to come off in normal use.

[trevinator]

5 hours ago, Dpl900 said:

the security link should be inside I think 

that just makes it a pain to install and a pain to undo if you ever need to. there is plenty of clearance on either side of the chain.

[Jfundo]

On 5/28/2022 at 10:51 PM, Wintersdark said:

 If you've got money and want to go faster, it's pretty much always cheaper to just buy a faster bike.  Money spent on go-fast farkles is *never* an efficient way to go

Hey, wait.  This is how I ended up the the Tracer in the first place.  I had a V strom 650.  This was a huge performance upgrade.  

[trevinator]

28 minutes ago, Jfundo said:

Hey, wait.  This is how I ended up the the Tracer in the first place.  I had a V strom 650.  This was a huge performance upgrade.  

same here. i had a versys 650.

[Wintersdark]

11 hours ago, trevinator said:

you could do this.....

Well, yeah, but that's exactly what I was talking about:  You spend a LOT of money to do that, where you could have just bought a faster bike in the first place   I mean, it's like $6750aud shipped before any addons.  Tracer money + ~$5000usd gets you a lot of motorcycle!

 

NGL though, I've spent a lot of time looking at websites for turbo kits.  

Edited May 31, 2022 by Wintersdark