How smooth is your engine?

[texscottyd]

@petshark - How many miles on your bike now?   I know this sounds like a really basic question, but what kind of condition is the chain in?   I was shocked at all the little things that suddenly were ‘fixed’ when I replaced a worn chain & sprockets on my FJ.   

Considering other issues like the dry bearings, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a prematurely worn chain, especially if it has a few kinked/stuck links.   That will cause increased vibrations that resonate through the entire bike...  What I though might be a slightly warped brake rotor ended up being a non-issue with a new high-quality chain.  

Apologies if you’ve already addressed this, but I don’t recall seeing anything in your discussion.  

Oh, and for what it’s worth, my 2015 FJ has just enough ‘mechanical activity’ to be noticeable, but for me that’s the entertaining character of this motor.   It’s not intrusive, and I wouldn’t classify it a vibration.  

[betoney]

34 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Considering other issues like the dry bearings, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a prematurely worn chain, especially if it has a few kinked/stuck links.   That will cause increased vibrations that resonate through the entire bike...  What I though might be a slightly warped brake rotor ended up being a non-issue with a new high-quality chain

I will agree with this suggestion, a worn or kinked chain can make for a miserable riding experience.  Proper tension and free moving links make a world of difference in feel.

[angrygirafe]

1 hour ago, texscottyd said:

So still no resolution on this?   That has to be incredibly frustrating...  

I still need to disassemble the ECU connector. At this point its a loose connection (likely) or a bad sensor. But with temps close 100, and a list of other home projects, my willingness to sweat in the garage is lacking. 

[petshark]

1 hour ago, texscottyd said:

@petshark - How many miles on your bike now?   I know this sounds like a really basic question, but what kind of condition is the chain in?   I was shocked at all the little things that suddenly were ‘fixed’ when I replaced a worn chain & sprockets on my FJ.   

Considering other issues like the dry bearings, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a prematurely worn chain, especially if it has a few kinked/stuck links.   That will cause increased vibrations that resonate through the entire bike...  What I though might be a slightly warped brake rotor ended up being a non-issue with a new high-quality chain.  

Apologies if you’ve already addressed this, but I don’t recall seeing anything in your discussion.  

Oh, and for what it’s worth, my 2015 FJ has just enough ‘mechanical activity’ to be noticeable, but for me that’s the entertaining character of this motor.   It’s not intrusive, and I wouldn’t classify it a vibration.  

I'm at +8000 miles now and bought the bike with -5000 miles in December. Seeing that the brake pistons, the wheel bearing, the turn switch, the thumb wheel and the ignition lock had issues that could be explained by overly degreasing in some way, I take your suggestion very seriously. After relatively few miles one would expect the chain to fail sooner than a wheel bearing in a hypothetical degreasing fiasco.

I did check every link a while ago and have not missed a 500 km chain lubing yet. I'm going to check again right now. The chain is at 40mm which feels good and is exactly in the middle of the shop manual spec. I have had advise in both directions on this forum and facebook; too loose, too tight, everyone has an opinion so I keep to the advice of the Yamaha engineers and my dealer for now but am certainly willing to experiment if good arguments are presented. A new chain and sprockets is definitely next on the list if the bearing, TBS and spark plugs don't fix anything. As I understand it this is also a place were Yamaha used cheap parts to get to a price point, so even if the chain is not gone bad I might still enjoy a quality replacement. If I can fix it I'm certain that I will keep this bike for a long time so I'm willing to spend money to fix the weak links (see what I did there? 🙂 )

Again thank you all for you help, love this community.

Edited May 1, 2021 by petshark

[PhotoAl]

I'm at 6,000 miles and cleaned and lubed the chain the other day.  It still looks very good although I haven't checked it.  Dont clean and lube it often enough - three weeks ago I took a 1,800 mile 5 day trip.  Cleaned and lubed chain when I left but forgot my chain lube so skipped it!  Chain was dirty but not too bad, rode thru a little rain but not much.  When riding locally I clean and lube much more frequently though but have somewhat neglected my chain and it still looks very good.

On a completely different topic I have a Chevy BoltEV I bought in January for the days I can't ride the bike - it was cheap.  Sometimes when I put it in park and if it is not completely stopped it makes a terrible grinding noise.  I'm thinking am i causing great harm to something mechanical.  Looked up on the Bolt form and turn out what is happening is the EBS (emergency braking system) is activating and making the car completely stop before it engages park!  EBS is different from ABS and automatically puts the brakes on the keep from hitting a vehicle or person in front of the Bolt.  

[tktplz]

3 hours ago, petshark said:

As I understand it this is also a place were Yamaha used cheap parts to get to a price point, so even if the chain is not gone bad I might still enjoy a quality replacement.

And with you only having 8,000 miles on the chain and sprockets you will be able to just change the chain. There won't be enough wear on the sprockets to make a difference. I changed mine at just under 13,000 miles, 12,900 and something. Sprockets were just fine and I'm at 17,000 miles now, all is good. Seem a lot of the guys like DID chains. You can get a cool gold link 1 like Betoney for around 120.00. link here;   

D.I.D DID 525 VX3 Xring Drive Chain Gold or Natural with Rivet Master Link

---

Make Model Year Chain Pitch x Chain Length(Links). Choose the chain...

I'm sure the natural metal colored ones are 10 bucks or so less but Betoney got the gold 1 and me and Texscottyd both think we should have gotten the gold link 1. Looks sharp. The 2015 FJ-09 stock gearing runs a 525 with 110 links. 

[petshark]

13 hours ago, tktplz said:

And with you only having 8,000 miles on the chain and sprockets you will be able to just change the chain. There won't be enough wear on the sprockets to make a difference. I changed mine at just under 13,000 miles, 12,900 and something. Sprockets were just fine and I'm at 17,000 miles now, all is good. Seem a lot of the guys like DID chains. You can get a cool gold link 1 like Betoney for around 120.00. link here;   

D.I.D DID 525 VX3 Xring Drive Chain Gold or Natural with Rivet Master Link

---

Make Model Year Chain Pitch x Chain Length(Links). Choose the chain...

I'm sure the natural metal colored ones are 10 bucks or so less but Betoney got the gold 1 and me and Texscottyd both think we should have gotten the gold link 1. Looks sharp. The 2015 FJ-09 stock gearing runs a 525 with 110 links. 

Thanks for the tip! I was already looking at this model but had not yet considered the color. Just ordered it in gold and also a breaker and rivet tool. It's going to look really sharp with the gold Ohlins reservoir and preload adjuster that is also coming up. 😎

[tktplz]

1 hour ago, petshark said:

It's going to look really sharp with the gold Ohlins reservoir and preload adjuster that is also coming up. 😎

Ohlins...you lucky dog you!

[petshark]

23 hours ago, texscottyd said:

Considering other issues like the dry bearings, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a prematurely worn chain, especially if it has a few kinked/stuck links.   That will cause increased vibrations that resonate through the entire bike...

 

22 hours ago, betoney said:

I will agree with this suggestion, a worn or kinked chain can make for a miserable riding experience.  Proper tension and free moving links make a world of difference in feel.

This!!!

I spent 2 hours cleaning my chain (even though I've ordered a new one) until all the links were moving pretty good and lessened the tension a little and it's already a world of difference.

I really did check this before but not good enough it seems. You have solved this issue! Thank you so much.

[betoney]

10 minutes ago, petshark said:

 

This!!!

I spent 2 hours cleaning my chain (even though I've ordered a new one) until all the links were moving pretty good and lessened the tension a little and it's already a world of difference.

I really did check this before but not good enough it seems. You have solved this issue! Thank you so much.

That is great to hear, now get out and enjoy the bike!!  👍🏻

[peteinpa]

Yay! can we close out this problem now?

[petshark]

1 hour ago, betoney said:

That is great to hear, now get out and enjoy the bike!!  👍🏻

Believe me I did! I had a great time 🙂

Just like with the seizing turn indicator I am amazed at how big the difference actually is when it finally is fixed. The whole bike seems different. I had no idea that a chain problem can have so many layers.

2 minutes ago, peteinpa said:

Yay! can we close out this problem now?

Yes we can! There is still room for improvement but this was the main issue that was making my rides no fun.

I still have these other jobs lined up when I get the parts:

replace the bearing that is making noise (still waiting for the bearings and seals)
Throttle body sync (got the tool)
New spark plugs (still waiting)
Suspension upgrade (waiting for the correct ohlins spring for the shock)

So it's going to get a lot better still. I am so excited.

[Southsidestl]

This is as smooth as it gets.  Glass of beer on the tank no bubbles and I red lined the bike.

Full woolich race tools