'06 excessive driveline lash

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Just a question... How many bars showing on your front pre-load adjusters?

 
You need to learn how to use the rear brake in decelerating/accelerating situations. When decelerating around a curve, etc. don't cut the throttle to zero. Keep tension on the throttle cable. Use the rear brake to absorb the decelerating slack in the drivetrain. Brake pads are cheap. You should strive for a coasting situation without cutting the throttle to zero. But, use the rear brake to keep the drivetrain taut.

And, if you're changing gears you can obviously slip the clutch in a controlled manner so that the engine picks up load on a taut drivetrain. The clutch is an analog device -- not binary. The '06 AE will slip the clutch in a controlled manner in many situations. We non-AE riders can too.

 
You need to learn how to use the rear brake in decelerating/accelerating situations. When decelerating around a curve, etc. don't cut the throttle to zero. Keep tension on the throttle cable. Use the rear brake to absorb the decelerating slack in the drivetrain. Brake pads are cheap. You should strive for a coasting situation without cutting the throttle to zero. But, use the rear brake to keep the drivetrain taut.
And, if you're changing gears you can obviously slip the clutch in a controlled manner so that the engine picks up load on a taut drivetrain. The clutch is an analog device -- not binary. The '06 AE will slip the clutch in a controlled manner in many situations. We non-AE riders can too.

This is NOT my first motorcycle... I've been riding road bikes for 25 years. Nothing about this Yamaha is unique enough to require the rider to relearn anything, and I didn't buy it for that purpose. Nor did I buy an AE. I know how to shift- both up and down thru the gears! The fact is that it's got an unusually high degree of driveline lash at the moment. It's not the operator- all three people that have ridden this 10 day old motorcycle have commented on the fact that the driveline lash makes rideability suffer. On some corners it is nice to have the throttle off- every other damned bike allows this, except the FJR??? Don't think so.

 
No clue- how could this possibly have an effect on the driveline?

The reason I ask is a recent trip I took. I was hauling a trailer behind the feej, so I thought it a good idea to crank up the front pre-load. I had the pre-load set with 3 bars showing. I adjusted to only one bar showing. Not being a suspension expert by any means, I thought this would help prevent nose dive should I have to get into the brakes hard with the 350 lb. trailer behind me. To my surprise, all it did was MAJORLY screw up my handling going into and coming out of corners. And I mean big-time! It was very unruly and squirelly. At some points, scared the *(($&^%^ out of me. The handling was COMPLETELY different. And this was with or without the trailer - with one bar showing. I reset to 3, all was right with the world again.

I don't know what this did. I don't know why. But, one bar showing = crappy handling.

 
My '03 with 15,400 miles shows 2 1/8th inches with the ruler test.

Hmmmm, my '57 with 2,870,500 miles (mostly short, fast trips) on it, shows 10". Is that good? :blink:

TWN, I think everyone missed it ....... but good try !! :clapping:
Nope didn't miss it but (reference to another thread) would you expect anything less than a short, fast trip with gerbils? :derisive:
Oh, okay, Mr. Pierce. :D :****:

 
i noticed the slack in the drive train when loading it into a trailer. it would back out of the chaulks more than anticipated. 2.5" sound about right ('03) for the amount of movement i saw. the hp/torque of the motor, the weight of the bike, and the efi all work together to create an oportunity to have some lash when when getting on or off the power. getting familiar with the personality of the bike goes a long way to mitigating that personality.

as for the "i've been riding a bazzilion years" gang: chill folks. no one knows your background. you posted an issue of concern. people responded with possibilities. it's called "brainstorming" in some circles. quite helpful in getting possibilities out on the table. each of those possibilities may or may not have been considered. none are presented to offend. eventually people will quit bothering to put forth the effort to help if, any time they try, someone gets snippy. if you want concrete answers, pay an expert to do a hands-on inspection. the internet may make info easy to share but it sure as hell isn't the same as being able to do it in person.

 
Offering up the idea that the FJR requires an entirely new set of skills compared to any other motorcycle in order to be ridden properly is not exactly an appropriate answer (or an accurate one) in a tech thread- would you agree? Proper technique for cornering frequently requires throttle off in order to achieve the proper entry speed. This is not a unique machine in that respect, it should tolerate throttle off and throttle on with reasonable stability just like any other motorcycle...and for that reason I found the answer to be condescending. In a riding skills thread I would welcome input of that nature, but not in a thread that is clearly designed to address the design of the bike and the normal performance to be expected.

 
I have developed an excessive driveline lash that makes the bike a real handful in the twisties. I have adjusted the throttle cable tension three times with little effect- Has anybody else experienced SERIOUS driveline lash- and what have you done about it???
Jabba,

For what it's worth when I installed the PCIIIusb and the Wally Kilberg (sp) smoothness map on my '05, it made a big difference in the drivability and throttle response in the lower gears. Don't know if it will work on an '06 but it made a big difference with the heat issue as well.

Good Luck

FtLFjr ;)

 
Well I'll chime in here. The FJR does have a lot of drive line lash, compared to a chain drive. It's anoying, but you get used to it. My first street bike was an XS750. Drive lash in that bike was almost identical to the FJR so the FJR is nothing new. It was also similar to the Virago I had so it may just be a Yamaha thing.

I'll also say that I think the play is in the middle gear not the ring and pinion. It's always possible that you have a bad universal joint so if you think there is a problem take it in and have it checked out.

This subject has been hammered in the past, which is why you got the riding lesson. It's a typical ***** point that people end up developing technique to deal with. As stated earlier, the only other way to deal with it is to add/remove shims at several places along the drive line. I've read up on the process and it is fairly involved.

The fuel injection does maginify the problem because off-on transition is so abrupt. A power commander can help here. Another less technical aid would be a dashpot for the throttle. That for those who don't know what it is , is a small vacuum diaphram that the throttle would hit up against when closing and slow it the last few degrees and keep it from acting like a light switch. Of course with a push pull throttle it may not work.

 
Oh no.......I got it, just had to change my shorts, I pissed all over myself. But if it shows 10", shouldn't you be in another industry, or at the very least, another forum?

My '03 with 15,400 miles shows 2 1/8th inches with the ruler test.

Hmmmm, my '57 with 2,870,500 miles (mostly short, fast trips) on it, shows 10". Is that good? :blink:

TWN, I think everyone missed it ....... but good try !! :clapping:
 
Don't get your panties up in a bunch. I experienced the same thing on my new FJR...especially coming from a twin. The bike has a lot of torque. Try keeping it in higher gears and the driveline lash goes away. I've noticed it in 1st and 2nd gear. 3rd still has some drive line lash. 4th was pretty smooth. 5th is geared a little too high for rolling on/off the throttle.

 
Gee, new owner, 12 posts and you are snipping at people trying to help you. Next time go somewhere else for help. I have been an FJR owner for almost 4 years now and have nothing but praise for the efforts of the people on these sites to help and assist. I was an avid rider since the mid 60's but not until I bought the FJR and experience these sites did I feel comfortable working on a bike like I have the FJR. Sorry you feel slighted. No one attacted your riding ability just tried to help. If you feel you got no help take it to your dealer. Thats what the warranty is for.

 
My 05 had a PC3 and was dyno mapped by Brian Dady in Kissimmee (Orlando) He smoothed out the power curve, and then richened the mixture to assist with cooling. It helped tremendously in smoothness and assisted in getting the bike to run cooler. I will be the first one on his dyno when PC offers their 06 version.

Ride Safe,

Ron

 
I'm supprised no one talked about bumping up the CO #'s. I had good results getting better throttle response and less of the abrupt throttle in low gears.

:)

 
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