Looking to pick up a 2015 FJ 09!

[Jeodude]

Pretty excited about the bike and price, but before I get too hyped want to see if I need a reality check.

 

First, the bike is about four hours away from me and I'm gonna bring a buddy to pick it up. The reason I'm doing this is that it's listed at 4.8k where in my area the lowest I see is 6.5k. He said he will go down to 4.6k.

 

The bike has 17k miles and I won't be able to do a PPI. Is there anything I should look for when checking out the bike? Is the mileage too high and not doing a PPI may be a big mistake? I have basic mechanical knowledge and going to ask to test ride it. I plan on calling him the night before and asking questions about the title and etc. Price seems too low.

Gonna use the bike to ride some distance and ride with buddies who have things like FZ1 and FZ09s.

 

Anyway, looking for advice and opinions. First time out of a cruiser and first time purchasing this far away.

 

 

[estell]

I see some valuable farkles in those photos. I see factory luggage and other add-ons like crash bars and extra lights and radiator guard and larger windscreen. I would expect to see such things from someone who takes care of their bike.

The only thing that you may want to check is the sound of the cam chain tensioner. Sometimes they rattle and need to be replaced. I would expect the owner of this bike to know about it and whether it has been replaced already. Your FZ09 buddy may know about it too.

Mileage too high? No, 17K is not high. You think the price is low and yet you talked him down from that? I'd be more concerned about someone beating me to it with a full price offer. It is riding season after all.

[Jeodude]

Awesome news to here, I'm pretty excited about the bike.

 

Yes, I am actually worried about that, and you made me realize I'm super cheap and need to learn when not to try and haggle.

 

I'm gonna drive down there on Thursday, hopefully, it doesn't get snatched up!

Edited May 13, 2019 by Jeodude

[nsmiller]

Check the condition of the clutch cable. They 2015's and '16s are known to fray and break. Yamaha has an updated part number which mostly solves the issue.

Also, at 17K miles, I would be planning on doing a valve check soon. Yamaha says its not needed until 26K, but many have found that the exhaust valves are tight well before the first scheduled check (including myself). Otherwise, it should be a great machine.

[Gregorius T]

I had my cam chain tensioner replaced, due to it making noise.  Yamaha covered the cost of that.  I also swapped out my clutch cable, for the updated version.  As for miliage, 17K is not much.  There is a dude on this site, pushing 150K miles on his Fudge 9, I believe.  

I wrote the words below, on a similar post:

I've had my 2015 FJ-09 for almost 4 years.  I've got 35K on the odo, and plan to tack on buttloads more.  

I absolutely love this bike!  

I'm 6'3", 195 lbs.  It fits me perfect.  It's a bit of a tall bike.  Be sure to sit on it, and test ride, if you can.  Keep in mind, the seat has both a low, and high, setting.

It has more than enough power for me.  Actually, probably more than I need, most of the time.  It is wickedly fun on the twisty backroads.  I often ride in standard mode, but when I get into the twisties, I flip it over to A mode.  Wooo hoooo.  A slight twitch of the throttle, and that bike is shooting out of the corners.  So fricken fun!  

I've done quite a bit of customization.  Renthal handlebars, re-programmed ECU, custom seat, new windscreen, and so forth.  I also rebuilt the front suspension, and installed a Penske rear shock.  The stock suspension is ok, but if you're going to really get crazy in the twisties, you're gonna want to upgrade the suspension.  

I often will do 500-mile days, easy.  This bike has never failed me.  It's reliability has been great.  As for the brakes, I've had no problem with them.  Some say that the brakes are too small, for a bike pushing 500 lbs.  Like I said, I've never had a problem, and I don't plan to upgrade the brakes.  They work just fine, for me.

I LOVE my Fudge 9!!!  Heh heh.  Cheers.

[superfist]

It sounds like he got a lowball trade-in value at a dealer and decided to sell for a little above that.   Recently two different dealers offered 4,400 and 4,900 for my 2015 FJ-09 which had 18k miles on it at the time.  I just did the 20k mile service and it continues to run strong.

 

Adding to what others have said, if it runs well then that's a great deal.

[texscottyd]

@Jeodude - Welcome!  That looks to be a smoking deal, especially with the extra equipment that’s already on the bike.   

Don't let that one get away...  you won’t ever regret owning an FJ/Tracer.   

[Jeodude]

1 hour ago, texscottyd said:

@Jeodude - Welcome!  That looks to be a smoking deal, especially with the extra equipment that’s already on the bike.   

Don't let that one get away...  you won’t ever regret owning an FJ/Tracer.   

Hey, thanks!

Is the wobble and speed limiter that bad?

A big reason I want this bike is to be able to tour on my own and maybe every now and then go a little "quick" with some buddies. Even if I don't go fast, I like knowing I can.

 

I see I can flash the ECU, but is the wobble really a deal breaker like I read a lot?

[clint]

Can you get better pictures? Looking closely at those, it appears that both of the hard bags are scuffed and the right engine guard. The CCT is nothing. Just replace with an APE unit. Clutch cable, cheap. 

Price is SPANKING good, but it may have lived a hard life being dropped on both sides.

[Jeodude]

58 minutes ago, clint said:

Can you get better pictures? Looking closely at those, it appears that both of the hard bags are scuffed and the right engine guard. The CCT is nothing. Just replace with an APE unit. Clutch cable, cheap. 

Price is SPANKING good, but it may have lived a hard life being dropped on both sides.

Hmmm, didn't notice and you're right. All the owner said was it's in good shape. Not much communication which makes me nervous to drive four hours to be disappointed. 

 

CCT, APE UNIT?

[nsmiller]

CCT= cam chain tensioner

APE is a brand of manual CCT that some choose to use instead of the factory automatic CCT.

I'm not sure its been down on both sides. I think some of what is in the pictures may just be shadows. And I don't see a bunch of damage on the bar ends, etc. But if it does have some scuffs that's just a tool to use to negotiate the price.

The speed limiter is only a problem if you want to go faster than 114 mph. If you want to do that, flash the ECU. Our 2015 Tracer has never, ever had a wobble, so I'd say that its not a big deal from my perspective. If you do experience wobble, make sure your tires are in good condition, your tire pressure is correct, and your stem bearings are properly torqued. Also make sure the suspension is properly setup for your weight. If you do those things I doubt you'll ever have a wobble problem.

 

[koth442]

The wobble seems to be pretty hit or miss. Mine hasn't had any, others seem to. There's a solution burried somewhere in this forum...

I too would ask for more photos. "Trust but verify" is my thought!

[superfist]

I've never experienced the wobble on my 2015.  Though, I once had a little shimmy on deceleration which was really just an old front tire that had begun to wear unevenly.

 

The vast majority of instability issues I've seen here has been resolved by one or more of the following:

• Raise preload in the rear shock and make sure the suspension settings are correct for your weight + load
• Raise the fork tubes in the triple trees by 5-15mm
• remove the stock hand guards

 

The speed limiter has not been an issue for me at all.  well...  there were a few times I sat on the limiter for a while, but I'm not sure I'd tell much of a difference from 115 or 125.  You might want to get the ECU flashed anyhow, since it helps smooth the throttle and a bunch of other minor options.