Short long story

Welldunn · Mar 22, 2011

The short story.

2004 fjr1300 105786 miles starts running a little rough.

Throttle body sync and #4 cylinder is not pulling even close to the other 3.

Compression check shows 175 psi on #3 cylinder 25 psi on #4.

pull heads broken exhaust valve #4 cylinder. (outer valve for those who care)

All exhaust guides are very worn.

Cost of repair OUCH!!

May be time for a 2011.

scubatech · Mar 22, 2011

Welldunn said:
The short story.

2004 fjr1300 105786 miles starts running a little rough.

Throttle body sync and #4 cylinder is not pulling even close to the other 3.

Compression check shows 175 psi on #3 cylinder 25 psi on #4.

pull heads broken exhaust valve #4 cylinder. (outer valve for those who care)

All exhaust guides are very worn.

Cost of repair OUCH!!

May be time for a 2011.

That makes sense to me. I hate to dump a pile of money in an older machine with questionable value. It always feels good to get a new bike. You have gotten pretty good service from that 2004. Good luck on your decicision.

BikerGeek99 · Mar 22, 2011

There's a dude parting out some remains from his '04 down in the Classifieds.

Seems like a good price, the engine is included, and only has ~ 29K on the clock.

If you're mechanically inclined enough to do an engine swap ... well, just letting you know about it.

kolonial72 · Mar 22, 2011

BikerGeek99 said:
There's a dude parting out some remains from his '04 down in the Classifieds.

Seems like a good price, the engine is included, and only has ~ 29K on the clock.

If you're mechanically inclined enough to do an engine swap ... well, just letting you know about it.

+1, check it out. You could save hundreds to thousands on repair, or thousands to millions on a new bike. (Okay, maybe not millions. But close.) Would probably take some patience.

Welldunn · Mar 22, 2011

BikerGeek99 said:
There's a dude parting out some remains from his '04 down in the Classifieds.

Seems like a good price, the engine is included, and only has ~ 29K on the clock.

If you're mechanically inclined enough to do an engine swap ... well, just letting you know about it.

I did check it out and sent him a note thinking that I wanted it. Then I did the math. 1600 miles round trip

in my 10 mpg truck plus the cost of repair would put me around 2.5-3k. Thats a lot of money for a bike

that is worth an honest 3.5k.

I pick up my new 2010 FJR at D&H on Saturday.

Anybody want a 2004 FJR bike in a box? I'll make you a deal!

SkooterG · Mar 23, 2011

That's a bummer man. A couple years ago I checked the price for a complete head job and it was about $2500. Most of that was parts, and I bet they have got more expensive since then.

If your top end is tired, the smart money is on obtaining a replacement engine cheaply and putting that in. Especially if you can do the work yourself. For example, there is an 04 FJR engine with 13k miles on ebay right now for $700 shipped.

If I had a big enough garage I would almost be tempted to get your bike and do that myself. But I guess the two 04 FJRs iI have are enough for me.

If you don't mind my asking, how much was the 2010 FJR from D&H?

Congrats on the new FJR!

JamesK · Mar 23, 2011

Welldunn said:
The short story.

2004 fjr1300 105786 miles starts running a little rough.

Throttle body sync and #4 cylinder is not pulling even close to the other 3.

Compression check shows 175 psi on #3 cylinder 25 psi on #4.

pull heads broken exhaust valve #4 cylinder. (outer valve for those who care)

All exhaust guides are very worn.

Cost of repair OUCH!!

May be time for a 2011.

I am just wondering can you think of any reason for this kind of premature failure? These engines are built very well, and many folks have gotten much more mileage out of their FJRs, even my '07 with 108k miles is still purring like a kitten (he says touching every wooden item within reach

)

Congrats on the new FJR.

SkooterG · Mar 23, 2011

JamesK said:
I am just wondering can you think of any reason for this kind of premature failure?

GenI FJRs are subject to worn valve guides. (Tickers) I believe they can happen at any time. Though it wasn't verified, it looked like it was slowly happening to the #1 cylinder on my 226k FJR. Of course, after 226k miles, many of them pretty hard, I wasn't very upset.

What we don't know is maintenance history. I do know of an 04 FJR that's engine was pretty much dead (all cylinders) at 75k miles. Owner had never done a valve check, and the rest of the maintenance history (oil changes and whatnot) was suspect too.

Welldunn - how often did you have a valve check done? What kind of oil did you use? Regular maintenace performed?

Welldunn · Mar 23, 2011

SkooterG said:
JamesK said:

I am just wondering can you think of any reason for this kind of premature failure?

Click to expand...

GenI FJRs are subject to worn valve guides. (Tickers) I believe they can happen at any time. Though it wasn't verified, it looked like it was slowly happening to the #1 cylinder on my 226k FJR. Of course, after 226k miles, many of them pretty hard, I wasn't very upset.

What we don't know is maintenance history. I do know of an 04 FJR that's engine was pretty much dead (all cylinders) at 75k miles. Owner had never done a valve check, and the rest of the maintenance history (oil changes and whatnot) was suspect too.

Welldunn - how often did you have a valve check done? What kind of oil did you use? Regular maintenace performed?

The valve checks were done at 28k, 60k, 83k. All by the same dealer all came back no adjustment needed. I knew that was suspect and should have taken it someplace else but never got around to it.

We are 90% sure the valve burned then broke because the clearance was too tight.

The rest of the maintenance was done by myself. The only oil to run in the bike was yamalube and changed around every 3k - 4k. The head is very clean

No oil varnish, very little carbon. My new mechanic was real impressed with how clean the head looked. If the valves had been adjusted properly I believe the motor would have had many more miles. At the time of failure my oil use was near zero. If I just had to replace the valves and lap the seat I was looking at a $1500 bill. The worn valve guides and all the work needed to replace them was the deal breaker. $2500 to $3000 was the estimate. I did find a new head assembly on line for $1300.

Welldunn · Mar 23, 2011

SkooterG said:
That's a bummer man. A couple years ago I checked the price for a complete head job and it was about $2500. Most of that was parts, and I bet they have got more expensive since then.

If your top end is tired, the smart money is on obtaining a replacement engine cheaply and putting that in. Especially if you can do the work yourself. For example, there is an 04 FJR engine with 13k miles on ebay right now for $700 shipped.

If I had a big enough garage I would almost be tempted to get your bike and do that myself. But I guess the two 04 FJRs iI have are enough for me.

If you don't mind my asking, how much was the 2010 FJR from D&H?

Congrats on the new FJR!

D&H put me out the door with the 4 year yes for under 13k. :yahoo: The bike was still in its box.

BikerGeek99 · Mar 23, 2011

Welldunn said:
D&H put me out the door with the 4 year yes for under 13k. :yahoo: The bike was still in its box.

Can't blame ya, but you DO realize that you're going to have some serious buyers remorse once you spend some time on that slow-*** GenII, don't you?

Any good farkles on that dead '04??

Bungie · Mar 23, 2011

BikerGeek99 said:
Any good farkles on that dead '04??

[CAW!][CAW!]

.. and the scavengers begin to circle

Actually, good question.

BikerGeek99 · Mar 23, 2011

Bungie said:
[CAW!][CAW!]

.. and the scavengers begin to circle

Actually, good question.

What can I say? It's been a looooong winter.

Though, I did ride to work today.

Naknek · Mar 23, 2011

PM sent on the wheels.

Bungie · Mar 23, 2011

BikerGeek99 said:
What can I say? It's been a looooong winter.

Though, I did ride to work today.

Isn't that the truth. -30C with the windchill this morning. But it was +13C (about 56F) a few days ago. Winter is still lingering here in the North Country. Won't be long now. A few weeks and I'll get the scoot out of storage.

snikr · Mar 23, 2011

So what do you have for sale from the 04?

Welldunn · Mar 23, 2011

Naknek said:
PM sent on the wheels.

Got you pm. If I decide to part it out you will get first chance at them.

David

Welldunn · Mar 23, 2011

BikerGeek99 said:
Can't blame ya, but you DO realize that you're going to have some serious buyers remorse once you spend some time on that slow-*** GenII, don't you?

Any good farkles on that dead '04??

As I understand it my time spent on 1 wheel will be greatly reduced. I don't see that as a good thing. My wife on the other hand...

Not really most of the stuff will move over to the new bike. Anybody know if the givi mounting rack is compatable between gen 1 and 2?

snikr said:
So what do you have for sale from the 04?

I would like to sell it as a whole package for around $1000.00 If not then I'll part out wheels, plastic, gas tank, radiator, headers, cans, and what ever else folks are interested in.

Zorlac · Mar 23, 2011

"I pick up my new 2010 FJR at D&H on Saturday."

Now that's what I call problem solving skills! :thumbsup:

Enjoy!

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