wordsmith Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 ...If you take to heart everything you read here, you'll be convinced you immediately need: new front and rear suspension, an ECU flash, after market exhaust system, R1 brakes, different seats, a new windscreen, different hand guards (or none), a cut down oil pan, crash bars, a manual timing chain tensioner and, that your FJ might be making strange sounds or smells!... Very true... and not to mention that most of these items don't actually speak to reliability of the bike. I recall reading some time ago a summary of the relative reliability of major m/cycle brands (not individual models). Could it have been from JD Power? Anyway, Yamaha came in at #1 for reliability, BMW nowhere (which hurt me at the time as I had long been a rusted-on BMWer!). But looking again on Google at the subject, there seem to be many surveys with differing conclusions! Fact is, if a newbie, researching which bike to buy, read nothing but bike Forums such as this one, he/ she would probably shy away from buying any motorcycle at all! My three Tracers gave me 100% reliability on the road, which was all I required. But the three-year warranty with new BMWs, plus same length of Roadside Assist, did give great peace of mind, especially when touring far from home and civilisation.. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member micah2074 Posted November 17, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted November 17, 2018 I’ve got warranty till 2021 on my 2105. Roadside too. It cost a grand but I still came out a heck of a lot cheaper than if I bought bmw. I bought the YES because I ride this thing as much as I can and a few times a year stay gone for days and weeks at a time. Let’s go Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellow Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 You know the one the forums say will snap if you look at it sideways.Note to self: don't look at the chain sideways... don't look at the chain sideways.... aw crap, I'm screwed. ST-Owners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member micah2074 Posted November 17, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted November 17, 2018 You know the one the forums say will snap if you look at it sideways.Note to self: don't look at the chain sideways... don't look at the chain sideways.... aw crap, I'm screwed. The chain is tough. It’ll be ok. It’s that sneaky clutch cable made from wet noodles by child labor in the super continent of Gondwana that will bite you. Let’s go Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex929rr Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 While I've no major issues with my FJ, I don't view Yamaha's as being the most reliable Japanese brand. I do however, think Yamaha is more reliable than European brands. I didn't buy my bike for reliability, just fun. On the surface that seems an odd claim. Based on what? I’ve owned bikes from all the Japanese big four, and the only long term issues I have ever had were one Honda and one Kawasaki having gearbox problems. All three Yamahas have been bulletproof, as have all the Suzuki’s and most of the Hondas. Total of 16 Japanese bikes and one Aprilia. The Aprilia had a lot of little issues but it was sort of a garage queen anyway (Rotax motor). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 On the surface that seems an odd claim. Based on what? I’ve owned bikes from all the Japanese big four, and the only long term issues I have ever had were one Honda and one Kawasaki having gearbox problems. All three Yamahas have been bulletproof, as have all the Suzuki’s and most of the Hondas. Total of 16 Japanese bikes and one Aprilia. The Aprilia had a lot of little issues but it was sort of a garage queen anyway (Rotax motor).The R1's are currently having awful crankshaft and main bearing failures. Just a current example. Every brand has some luggage I get that. Seems I see a lot more people beating on their R6's and R1's at the track than I do other manufacturers. Could also be there's simply more R6's and R1's trackside too. I haven't done a rigorous study or anything. '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member joeszup Posted November 21, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted November 21, 2018 No issues to date. I ride ~4k a year, definitely not as much as some of the peeps on the forums. I have the 2015 model and just did my 12k maintenance a week ago. Cam Chain tensioner hasn't made any noises, no serious issues with the chain, but I did replace it during this last maintenance as it had a single binding link. Had to adjust the throttle bodies for 8k and 12k (4k were fine). OEM tire sucks, swapped it out with some PR4's. I have NOT done any suspension work, and to be quite frank, I'm still on the fence about it. Maybe at 16k/20k maint. I bought the bike for $8.5k (OTD price) and put about $2k in farkles, new heated seat, givi luggage, heated grips, etc... Couldn't be happier with my bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vhenson Posted November 22, 2018 Author Share Posted November 22, 2018 Concerning FJ09 reliability, do owners responding to this and/or other simular threads believe specific actoions performed has actually lead to increased or decreased reliability, for example brand of oil, oil and air filters, timing/mileage for throttle body syncs, oil changes, valve adjustments, other specific maintenance, or upgrades such as ECU flashes and non OEM parts replacements (cam chain tensioners, etc.). I’m looking for senseable, reasonable and affordable means and methods to increase the reliability and longevity of my 2015 FJ09. Performance maters, however at this point I’m looking for things that can be done to increase longevity and reliability. Thanks and I will wait your response. Regards VJH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipperT Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 It’s like any other machine IMHO. Regular oil changes with good oil and filter. Quality fuel. Ride it like you stole it. Maint things to be aware of include (Just like any other bike) -chain cleaning, adjustment , replacement. -tires, air pressure, brakes, etc The only maint concern specific to these engines is: -valve clearance inspect and adjust, I’d personally recommend around 20-22k instead of waiting until 26k. At that point you can evaluate how your engine is wearing and if you need to stick to factory recommendation or continue to check the clearances earlier. -TB sync probably doesn’t need to be done every 4K as outlined in the book, but should still be performed for best performance and smooth operation. Spark plugs could probably also be bumped out to 12-16k replacement interval. To answer your question more directly: best preventative maint/mods for longevity are oil, fuel, clean air and valve clearance inspection. If you change the pipe, get it flashed or dyno tuned. -Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member joeszup Posted November 22, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted November 22, 2018 Concerning FJ09 reliability, do owners responding to this and/or other simular threads believe specific actoions performed has actually lead to increased or decreased reliability, for example brand of oil, oil and air filters, timing/mileage for throttle body syncs, oil changes, valve adjustments, other specific maintenance, or upgrades such as ECU flashes and non OEM parts replacements (cam chain tensioners, etc.). I’m looking for senseable, reasonable and affordable means and methods to increase the reliability and longevity of my 2015 FJ09. Performance maters, however at this point I’m looking for things that can be done to increase longevity and reliability. Thanks and I will wait your response. Regards VJH I firmly believe in doing the scheduled maintenance on my vehicles at the correct time. I didn't add any "performance" parts after getting the bike, however I have replaced some OEM stuff, with better quality stuff (i.e. tires, chain, seat). I've done the recalls as soon as I find out about them. I always let my bike warm up to 104F before riding. Do I believe that has prolonged the life of the bike? Yes, without a doubt. I also realize that this forum is a small sampling of the entire FJ-09 community worldwide and there are bound to be manufacturer defects, even if everything is built to spec. Case in point, you can read about people having issues with the cam chain tensioner, while I haven't had any (yet), but that is just me, a single point of data in a larger data pool. Same for the clutch cable. When doing my 12k maint recently, I lubed and inspected the cable, and it was fine. Will it break? Maybe, I can't see inside the cable itself, but it seemed fine. I guess what I'm trying to say is; Take care of your vehicle, do the maintenance, don't beat it up, use quality parts, and it will be fine. There will be lemons, happens for everything, but if you constantly fear getting a lemon, you'll always wonder/worry/fret over the bike and won't enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted November 22, 2018 Supporting Member Share Posted November 22, 2018 There will be lemons, happens for everything, but if you constantly fear getting a lemon, you'll always wonder/worry/fret over the bike and won't enjoy it. This is a great point. Perform your periodic maintenance and take care of your bike, ride more, worry less. Enjoy!! ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 I always let my bike warm up to 104F before riding. Do I believe that has prolonged the life of the bike? Yes, without a doubt.Honestly, life’s too short for this and simply riding your bike will warm it up quicker than leaving it to idle. Not banging it off the limiter until warm I agree with though. Red 2015 Tracer, UK spec (well, it was until I started messing with it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member joeszup Posted November 22, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted November 22, 2018 I always let my bike warm up to 104F before riding. Do I believe that has prolonged the life of the bike? Yes, without a doubt.Honestly, life’s too short for this and simply riding your bike will warm it up quicker than leaving it to idle. Not banging it off the limiter until warm I agree with though.It's not about how fast you warm it up, it's about letting the oil get pulled up through the engine and warm up to a nice viscosity. I've done this with all my vehicles and it's served me well. My Kia Soul (2010) has never had an issue, only did regularly scheduled maintenance on it, and it's at 115K and running strong. Honestly, I prefer to live my life a little slower and that two minute warmup (in winter) is not going to make me late for anything. And if I start the bike as I'm getting my helmet on, my GoPro on, my gloves, the bike is warm before I even throw a leg over it. Summer time it's less than a minute. I'm not knocking your "too short" statement, because life is indeed too short, but I don't live at 150MPH. Those days are far behind me. Heh, I remember reading someones quote about 10 years ago, when I still had my gixxer; "The older I get, the faster I used to be". I understand that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olddawg Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Bought new April 2015 137,000 miles . I would buy another one . New fuel pump 53,000, manual cct after 3 factory ones, no problem after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Bought new April 2015 137,000 miles . I would buy another one . New fuel pump 53,000, manual cct after 3 factory ones, no problem after that.That's a lotta miles, olddawg! How are YOU holding-up? Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.