Bike running one bar lower on temp gauge

[jpcfjr]

The Thermostat appears to be the culprit. I pulled out the old one last night and while not stuck open it has a significant scraped portion on the brass inner cylinder that moves inside the spring. This shaft has been scraping against the outer bracket of the thermostat for some time.
There is no indication that this thermostat has any sort of mechanism to fail in the open position. And as I’ve mentioned, I’ve never seen or heard of such a thing. The dozen or so thermostats I’ve replaced in the last 35 years have all failed closed or failed to open fully. This one it seems failed in such a way as to scrape against the bracket when heated up and open thus closing very slowly. Just luck of the draw I guess.

Funny that I posited this scenario in my first post…then discounted it because I’d never seen this happen before. Should always go with your first answer on the test?

Based on what I saw on the dash this morning I suspect that the original thermostat was bad from day one. The temp reading on the dash went up to 4 bars and stayed there, rock steady, until I sat at a light for a while. As previously mentioned, the bike used to sit at 6 to 7 bars and hit 8 at long stops. I’m thinking it should have been at 4 all along (as the guy from England mentioned). It felt as if the bike was running smoother now too…too early to tell if that is just euphoria from fixing this issue.

Finally, please don’t ignore a change in your bike no matter what people may suggest. A change is an indicator that something is potentially wrong. If I had ignored this change, eventually the thermostat would have stuck closed and probably not at an opportune moment. And bonus, since my bike is still under warranty, I should be able to get the $42 back once I bring in the defective part.

So, what was the cause of the driveability issues that you claimed began coincidentally with the start of the more normal temp readings?

Probably coincidence.

In the last few days my '09 FJR has been at 5 bars on the temp gauge and topping out at 7 bars when idling at red lights. This is one bar lower than normal especially for mid 90's temps. I'm thinking the thermostat is shot but thought I'd ask here before I started replacing things. I've also experienced some stumbling and roughness at higher revs...I'm thinking the computer is thinking the bike isn't heated up and is enriching the mixture.
Anyway, anyone have thoughts or experience with this problem? The bike has 56,350 miles.

Thanks.

A ) You stated you have a problem.

B ) In the same paragraph you gave your own solutions and ideas to your problem.

C ) You open yourself up at the end for suggestions. (ANY THOUGHTS)

You then go on to diagnose your situation still without listening to what some folks say to try and help you. You may have guessed right in the end but you lost a lot of respect in the interum. There are better ways to discuss things here and be more open minded. You won't always get the answers you would like to hear. When you open yourself up to ANY THOUGHTS you need to respect those comments also even if you don't agree.

Nuff said,

Dave

Um, the only advice I didn't take was "Don't worry about it".

 

[jpcfjr]

Good luck with getting a refund on that part. You may find that if they don't do the work, it ain't warranty service.
I don't mean "good luck with that" sarcastically. I just wonder if you have any hope of it.

Already got the refund. I have a very good relationship with the shop where I bought the bike so that probably helps.

OP, I assume you can use Google? Try searching on "thermostat stuck open", it is very common. Please stop insisting it isn't. It is not so much they are designed to fail wide open, they just often fail in a way that does not close & seal completely. For a lot of reasons. Metal fails, spring fails, bad seal, internal wax doesn't soften/harden correctly anymore. Or something as simple a blockage preventing a good seal. You name it, it happens.

What's a Google?

 

[jpcfjr]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

 

[winewhisperer]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

Could this be a case of bad Karma at work?

 

[jpcfjr]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

Could this be a case of bad Karma at work?

That's not all that funny...even if you try to make it so by adding a smiley face.

No, it was a bad 19 year old driver in his dad's car. Luckily I walked away without a scratch. Luckily.

 

[Donal]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

Could this be a case of bad Karma at work?

I agree with the OP, this is not the way we should be behaving here! If this had happened to one of the regular 'in' crowd, then everybody would have been falling over themselves with messages of consolation.........

Really sorry to hear this just after you solved your heating problem and really, really glad you walked away.

Now I guess it's decision time - rebuild or replace?

Just a note on the overheating thing - one way to check if your thermostat is working is to 'feel' the radiator at the top left hand side (best done at start-up) and notice when the hot water starts to flow. Should be just on 4 bars for a Gen 2.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

Could this be a case of bad Karma at work?

That's not all that funny...even if you try to make it so by adding a smiley face.

No, it was a bad 19 year old driver in his dad's car. Luckily I walked away without a scratch. Luckily.

Glad your ok, could have been alot worse...

As damaged as the bike is, it can be repaired or replaced, it was indeed your lucky day when you can walk away from a crash..

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

Could this be a case of bad Karma at work?

Getting squashed in between two cars, which is a NO WIN situation, "bad Karma"? NO COMMENT

 

[LAF]

Glad you are OK. Bikes can be replaced, human body parts are hard to come by.

And just remember "karma guy" what goes around comes around.

 

[Fred W]

Lol, all for not anyway quite frankly. Got sandwiched between an Infinity G37 and a Ford Expedition this morning. $5,500 estimate with a lot of Tupperware to replace. Somehow I landed on my feet. Oh well, at least the engine is running at the right temp...

Wow, glad that you can laugh about it. That sounds like it could have come out much worse.

Even though we disagreed about diagnosing your "observed problem," I'm very sorry to hear about your bike. Also glad you came out unscathed (other than perhaps in your pocketbook). I know from first hand experience it doesn't take all that much crunching to add up to $5500 on these tupperware laden machines. I'm sure they will fix it rather than total it with that sort of an estimate. Good luck on the repairs.

 

[jpcfjr]

Huh, didn't realize there was an "in" crowd here. How do you get "in"?

As for the wreck, yeah, pretty fucked up morning all in all. Here is what happened.

I was traveling north on Clifton Road (Clifton, VA) in a line of traffic. The road was damp as there had been some precip earlier. Someone a few cars up from me slowed to make a left on Compton Road. We all came to a quicker-than-usual stop. I stopped about two feet from the Ford Expedition (otherwise known as a brick wall) in front of me. Instinctually I looked at my mirrors to see what was happening behind me. I saw the Infinity G37 coming but I thought it would stop in time. Next thing I know, BAM! And I land on my feet looking down at the bike as it lay on it's left side. I remember the engine shut off took longer than I expected because the motor was still running for a few seconds while the bike was down. It did shut off by itself as advertised. After getting my gloves and helmet off, I had the kid help me lift the bike and get it on it's side stand. I was really expecting to see bent/mangled forks but all I saw was busted plastic.

The kid in the Infinity totally target fixated on the back of my bike. He hit the license plate so squarely...never moved the wheel a mm. A more experienced driver would have gone to the right of me where there was plenty of room. So there is no damage to the back at all. The rear fender just bent in and probably contacted the tire then sprung back out into normal position. The real damage is on the front. But, fortunately, the bumper is so high on the Ford that the bike struck it with the front fender rather than the wheel. Hence no fork damage or so it currently seems. The fender moved under the bumper and shattered and then the headlight assembly struck the bumper and destroyed much of that plastic. Mechanically the bike seems fine. I rode it directly to the dealer and they did the estimate while I filed the claim with the kid's insurance company.

I asked if they would send out an adjuster and they said no, have the shop email the estimate and photos. They have done that. Now we wait for the insurance company to cut a check or bitch about the price. Since my bike is worth over $9k they should not get too bent about the cost. We'll see. Since the kid was cited for not properly controlling his vehicle and he completely admitted fault (rookie mistake or stand up guy, not sure), this should be a slam dunk case.

Thanks for the kind words everybody. I mentioned to a fellow FJR rider yesterday that I thought it was sort of ironic that given that I wear ATGATT, not any of it came into play in my first multi-vehicle accident on a motorcycle, other than the soles of my SIDI boots. This will not in any way change my gear behavior but thought it interesting. Of course I continue to run this through my head, my actions, what could I have done differently, etc. I take full responsibility for my riding so I know I could have probably affected this in some way...maybe I wasn't paying as much attention to what was going on in front of me...too close to the Expedition so I couldn't see the cars slowing sooner, who knows.

Please everybody, think about it, be careful out there. My motto is, keep your head on a swivel!

 

[Donal]

In a situation like this the normal recommendation is never to stop dead centre and close to the vehicle in front, you don't have an exit route...........

This starts with following in the correct position - if an overtake is not on, take up an extended following position, i.e. far enough back and to one side.

If you have to stop, make sure there is an exit route. Stay in gear and be ready to take evasive action. YMMV

 

[08FJR4ME]

Glad you got out of it unscathed. Good luck with the repairs and let us know how that goes as well. One thing you want to make sure of is to mention that you were stopped when you were hit from behind and then pushed into the ford explorer. Otherwise you will get blamed for the damage to the explorer.

Good luck,

Dave

 

[jpcfjr]

In a situation like this the normal recommendation is never to stop dead centre and close to the vehicle in front, you don't have an exit route...........
This starts with following in the correct position - if an overtake is not on, take up an extended following position, i.e. far enough back and to one side.

If you have to stop, make sure there is an exit route. Stay in gear and be ready to take evasive action. YMMV

Good advice. I was off center to the left but in this case it would have been better to be on the right given this particular driver and his behavior. I will definitely be altering my strategy as a result of this incident.

 

[jcyuhn]

Yeah, there's an in crowd. I think you have to make sheep jokes or something to be admitted.

Glad you're OK - perhaps a bit sore today? I get the same pushback on half the things I post. Sometimes the responder has a point, sometimes not so much...

On the escape route thing, how does one decide whether to line up to escape right or escape left? Seems one would need ESP to predict whether the following car will come in left, right, or center. In JCP's case he states most cars go off to the right, so trying an escape to the right seems like it would make things much worse, not better. Perhaps this should be a new thread?

 

[Geezer]

Yeah, there's an in crowd. I think you have to make sheep jokes or something to be admitted.

Some folks provide a lot of useful information and are respected for it. Others are good at making jokes. For the most part, people are recognized because they have been here for a long time and have make friends with others both through posting here and in person at the many gatherings that are organized in this forum. It is unfortunate that some people feel left out, but that is human nature. We each have our unique personalities. It is very rare that someone is intentionally shunned, or dog-piled in this forum and when it happens it is well deserved. All others should feel welcome.

 

[Fred W]

I would say to be included in the "in crowd" all you have to do is try to not alienate yourself to people.

Everyone is "in" by default. What happens from there is pretty much up to you, if you catch my drift.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I have been with this forum since I bought my 2004 FJR (almost 10 years). I'd like to think I contribute a bit by making helmet lock brackets available for all those who would like them (this is NOT intended as plug) as you all know there are no helmet locks on the bike. I have also contributed to several official FJR gatherings, donating brackets (most recently the Canadian gathering) for other FJR riders..

I have posted previously about bleeding the brakes on the 2013 model as I was contemplating buying one (I did NOT own one at the time). The answer I got was a smart ass one that I should buy the manual for I bike I don't even own. WTF???

Of course some others jumped on that and NO ONE was able to answer the question.

That's fine if you don't know the answer, I still don't, but that posted answer was absolutly unnecessary and uncalled for.

With that said, this forum is about the wealthiest with knowledge re the FJR and Yamaha's in general. I have been helped many times from others experiance and often post threads, from THIS FORUM, to another Yamaha (FZ6) forum I frequent.

Scott

 

[Fred W]

I have posted previously about bleeding the brakes on the 2013 model as I was contemplating buying one (I did NOT own one at the time). The answer I got was a smart ass one that I should buy the manual for I bike I don't even own. WTF???

Of course some others jumped on that and NO ONE was able to answer the question.

That's fine if you don't know the answer, I still don't, but that posted answer was absolutly unnecessary and uncalled for.

Scott,

You peeked my curiosity, and I did not recall the thread that you bring up, so I had to delve into your old posts to go find this.

Worth noting is that the person (admin) in that thread who was the most abrasive is not even participating in this forum anymore.

Of course, this is still the interwebs, and you do have to maintain a little skin thickness to play here.

PS - You are definitely an "in" guy, IMO. Anyone who contributes as much as you have over the years is inner than in.

 

[jcyuhn]

Some folks provide a lot of useful information and are respected for it. Others are good at making jokes. For the most part, people are recognized because they have been here for a long time and have make friends with others both through posting here and in person at the many gatherings that are organized in this forum. It is unfortunate that some people feel left out, but that is human nature. We each have our unique personalities. It is very rare that someone is intentionally shunned, or dog-piled in this forum and when it happens it is well deserved. All others should feel welcome.

I was being facetious with that opening line, should have included a smiley to provide context. Dang internet.