Virginian FJ-09

[Hyena]

Tax return season is here, so that means parts for the FJ. I've read a lot of common upgrades on the forums so far and I'll follow suit for what I want to do in the next month. 

What's already been done/added by PO: 

• Quickshifter and ECU flash. 
• Puig frame sliders.
• Puig double bubble windscreen.
• Shorty adjustable levers. 
• Givi rack and top case, two side cases
• M4 Carbon slip on exhaust

Things I'm going to do in the next month: 

• Heated grips (went with the OEM option from Yamaha Plaza)
• Skid plate and cage. Higdonian or T-Rex for this. Hig's design is good and I really like the Gen 2 but the T-Rex has a door you can pop off for oil changes and the cage covers more real estate. Hig no longer offers his higher bars. Unfortunately, I don't see anyone on this forum running T-Rex's skid plate or their cage and I don't see much else about it online either. They offered to send it to me to see if it fit, as the M4 exhaust may cause fitment issues... the Gen 2 one from Higdonion shouldn't have a problem.
• Cruise Control from MCCruise
• Radiator Guard
• Remove throttle lock
• Screen protectors for HUD.

Long Term: 

• New seat. 
• Additional lighting
• New windscreen. 
• Suspension update
• Various cosmetic items, like the aluminum chain guard. 
• Fender extender
• Power commander? Do you guys do those for this bike? 

So that's that for upgrades. Maintenance wise, I just rolled over 12k. The bike has the YES warranty til June of this year and I have to get the Shift Cam segment stopper recall done (NHTSA 15V176000). The one for the handlebars recall was done by the PO from what I can tell in his records.     

Maintenance Items: 

• Chain tension and lube. May need to replace
• Oil change
• Radiator flush
• Suspension adjustment for height and weight
• Brake bleed
• Modify center stand so I can remount it (taken off due to M4 exhaust). 

That's it for now. If you have any recommendations on the skid plate, let me know. I know skid plate have been talked about to death but the T-Rex option intrigues me just for the convenience of the door. 

 

[Trambo]

Might I humbly suggest moving the suspension upgrades higher up the list?

Take my word on this, it's the best money you can spend on the FJ... It will transform the bike and make it so much more fun to ride. 🙂

[norcal616]

No need for PowerCommander if ECU is flashed... 

Trex stuff is so-so... 

Suspension is very worthy upgrade that should be done fairly early in ownership...

Dont really need a rad guard or front fender extension if going with Higs cage, I have his 1st gen with upper bars and the skid plate really stops alot of sandblasting from tire, rocks/pebbles... 

[betoney]

1 hour ago, Trambo said:

Might I humbly suggest moving the suspension upgrades higher up the list?

Take my word on this, it's the best money you can spend on the FJ... It will transform the bike and make it so much more fun to ride. 🙂

😎👍  Suspension to the top of the list. 

[Hyena]

Suspension to the top of the list then, thanks for the feedback. It looks like the Higdonion is the way to go then, is there any issue with cornering clearance? He also doesn't so the uppers anymore which is  bummer.

[betoney]

1 hour ago, Hyena said:

Suspension to the top of the list then, thanks for the feedback.

There are a lot of high quality suspension options available.  Tell us what you need and/or want and we can steer you in the right direction.

[Hyena]

16 minutes ago, betoney said:

There are a lot of high quality suspension options available.  Tell us what you need and/or want and we can steer you in the right direction.

I've been spending the last few hours looking at a few of your options. I'm the sort of person that will want to go a higher end route that offers me a lot of adjustability even though I probably don't really need it for my riding style, but would like to have it for the future. I'm 6'0 and probably weigh around 210 with gear, but my weight fluctuates down to about 185 in the spring time (cardio, heh).  I like the look of the Ohlins kit with the external reservoir but have pretty much 0 idea of what I want to do fork wise.  Most miles are commuting miles but I do spend a lot of time doing mountain runs and that's where I want to focus: Predictability and stability in corners. It does dive on hard breaking (not as bad as my sv650 or my 919 though!) and it lists through corners pretty poorly, too. I really haven't had much time on a bike with a great set up though so I'm not really sure what I'm missing. 

[betoney]

48 minutes ago, Hyena said:

 I like the look of the Ohlins kit with the external reservoir but have pretty much 0 idea of what I want to do fork wise.

Many companies offer very high quality drop-in fork cartridges.  Traxxion Dynamics AK-20   GP Suspension 25mm   K-Tech 20IDS   Ohlins NIX 30

[Hyena]

30 minutes ago, betoney said:

Many companies offer very high quality drop-in fork cartridges.  Traxxion Dynamics AK-20   GP Suspension 25mm   K-Tech 20IDS   Ohlins NIX 30

awesome list, thank you. I'll need to start focusing and saving for what I'm going for. 

things are slow at work, so I've been shopping. Hand grips are on the way, which I've said. I also have the Givi crash bars (I found them for 167 on amazon!) and the sw-motech skid plate on the way now, too. The Hig looks great, his service has been awesome. But... with the $50 shipping, I just didn't see where the $200 value came from and I haven't seen many people with the gen 2. The givi also extends up to the upper fairing which is ideal for me..  I'll probably regret this after reading how bad the Givi instructions are but I'm a fairly competent wrencher and have put together a while Ikea bookshelf in a matter of weeks 😉

McCruise and suspension are next. 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Hyena

[Hyena]

Givi crash bars and SW Motech Skid plate installed this morning.  Not bringing pics over from imgur for whatever reason.

I heard the Givi install was tough but I had no issues really. Key thing in lining it up is using the center mounting point as the guide to line the bars up and get everything hand threaded first before tightening down. The engine bolt that goes all the way across was a little tough, almost broke my clutch lever when hammering it out.  If you use a strap to pull the lever down and lightly hammer the bolt out from the other side with a screwdriver and rubber mallet, it's no doable. Relubricate before reinstall and it will help for future removal.

[Hyena]

Shopping for suspension now and I'm starting to get an idea of what I want. I like the Ohlins 335 unit. The 535 is nice but out of my price range, I think. The K-Tech Razor R seems nice, too and I like the idea of matching that with K-Tech forks. Now I need to figure out what spring rate I'd want to get for casual mountain riding and super-slab commuting.  

[betoney]

1 hour ago, Hyena said:

Shopping for suspension now and I'm starting to get an idea of what I want. I like the Ohlins 335 unit. The 535 is nice but out of my price range, I think. The K-Tech Razor R seems nice, too and I like the idea of matching that with K-Tech forks. Now I need to figure out what spring rate I'd want to get for casual mountain riding and super-slab commuting.  

Are you referring to the K-Tech Razor R or Razor R Lite?  The Lite version is more directly comparable with the Ohlins 335 (emulsion shock with no compression adjustability)    The Lite version is cheaper than the Ohlins and offers ride height adjustment.

When ordering ANY suspension component the most important factor is calling the manufacturer and discussing your wants and needs, and BE HONEST about your abilities.  If you are a newer or more casual rider, don't tell them you are Ricky Racer because they will build your parts accordingly and you wont necessarily like it.  Any time you talk to a suspension shop, they will ALWAYS recommend a specific spring rate for you.

[Hyena]

Razor R. Betoney you have been insanely helpful and I appreciate it.

I'll make a few calls this week. Everyone seems to like Stoltec, KTech and Traxxion. I want this to be a suspension that I can learn on so I'd like more adjustability rather than less and will pay for it. I'm definitely NOT ricky racer on this bike, I'm overly cautious on the street. 

[betoney]

2 minutes ago, Hyena said:

Razor R. Betoney you have been insanely helpful and I appreciate it.

I love talking suspension!  😎👍

[betoney]

15 minutes ago, Hyena said:

Everyone seems to like Stoltec, KTech and Traxxion. I want this to be a suspension that I can learn on so I'd like more adjustability rather than less and will pay for it.

Nothing against Nick at Stoltec Moto, great guy, very supportive and helpful but his fork cartridge upgrade is a single leg only, the other leg remains a dead leg with just a different spring.  My buddy has the Stoltec Moto cartridge upgrade and while it is a definite step up from stock it still doesn't have compression adjustability. 

We have gone on several road trips together and I have ridden his back-to-back many times with mine and we both agree that there simply is no comparison to having full adjustability.  He never wants to give my bike back.😎

There used to be a forum vendor here called Matt who built his own cartridges, both legs had custom compression and rebound pistons with full adjustability for ridiculously cheap prices, I was fortunate enough to have a set built before he faded into oblivion.  They work fantastic.!