Afast03nNJ
Well-known member
Finally got the chance to pull the bike out of winter storage today. This morning temps were in the mid 30's, but I had a mission. My 03 has 20K on it so I figured it was time to tune it up. Thanks to this site and FJRTech everything went very well.
I went to the dealer this morning to get plugs and an air filter. They had the air filter, but I was told that the gentleman before me just baught the last "box" of the plugs I needed. Who buys a whole box of spark plugs from the dealer? I thought that was strange, so did the parts guy, oh well. The next closest dealer is 40 min. away, so off I go. Stopped at Wally World (Wal-Mart) for some Rotella T 15-40 and an oil filter.
When I finally got home with everything, I started the bike and let it warm up a bit. It started right up after 3 months of storage in my unheated garage without ever charging the original, now 5 year old battery.
I let it run until I had 2 bars on the temp gauge. The oil drains nicely when it's warm and I like working on a warm engine. The rubber components, hoses and spark plug boots are easier to work with when they are warm. I also believe that the spark plugs come out easier when the head is warm. It was also nice working on a warm engine in the mid 30's temperature I had this morning. Kept my hands warm.
First up was the oil change, the Wal-Mart filter fit nicely with no leaks. That was the first time I used the ST7317, I was a bit nervous because most aftermarket filters don't seal well on my bike. The threads bottom out before the rubber seal is set and most of the time I just spring for the Yamaha filter.
Next up was the spark plugs. They are easy to get to, prop the tank up, remove the T bar and you've got access. The plug wires came off by hand, I credit that to them being warm. The plugs were nice and lose too, almost to lose, I was suprised. Someone at the factory torqued them correctly. All 4 plugs looked the same with a nice dark gray color to them. A good sign of a well balanced fuel mixture from cylinder to cylinder. I do run a power commander with the smoothness map and my CO settings are bumped up about 10 points. Actually I rounded up the CO numbers when I changed them to be in increments of 10 so some may be more.
The air filter is easy to get to, but why is that second cover over the intake tube? I was tempted to leave it off, any comments from others would be appreciated. The filter didn't look that dirty, until I took the new one out of the box. It sure was a lot whiter then the old one.
My idle has been dead smooth, like a sewing machine, so I decided to skip the TB sync for now. The brake, clutch and fork oil was changed just before my trip to the dragon this past fall. I am planning on changing the fork springs to the 04 units soon. I only ride 1 up and think the rear is just fine as it is, but I will lube the pivot points at the same time I change the front springs.
I took a look at the brake pads, they seem a bit low so a new set, both front and rear are in the near future. Comments on brake pads are welcome, I was thinking OEM, but if anybody has tried a pad they like, please chime in.
Finally got the bike back together with no left over parts. :yahoo: A quick check of the tire pressure and I fired it up once again. Seems to run the same, OK, thats a good thing right? Now it's time for a test ride.
Now it's been a few months since I've been out on the bike, but damn, this thing seems so smooth and powerfull. I got to the highway and cracked 2nd gear open a bit and almost lifted the front wheel off the ground. WaaHooooo the riding season has begun.
My overall impression is that the 03 model year is definately the fastest FJR ever built, this thing hauls ass...... :yahoo:
I went to the dealer this morning to get plugs and an air filter. They had the air filter, but I was told that the gentleman before me just baught the last "box" of the plugs I needed. Who buys a whole box of spark plugs from the dealer? I thought that was strange, so did the parts guy, oh well. The next closest dealer is 40 min. away, so off I go. Stopped at Wally World (Wal-Mart) for some Rotella T 15-40 and an oil filter.
When I finally got home with everything, I started the bike and let it warm up a bit. It started right up after 3 months of storage in my unheated garage without ever charging the original, now 5 year old battery.
I let it run until I had 2 bars on the temp gauge. The oil drains nicely when it's warm and I like working on a warm engine. The rubber components, hoses and spark plug boots are easier to work with when they are warm. I also believe that the spark plugs come out easier when the head is warm. It was also nice working on a warm engine in the mid 30's temperature I had this morning. Kept my hands warm.First up was the oil change, the Wal-Mart filter fit nicely with no leaks. That was the first time I used the ST7317, I was a bit nervous because most aftermarket filters don't seal well on my bike. The threads bottom out before the rubber seal is set and most of the time I just spring for the Yamaha filter.
Next up was the spark plugs. They are easy to get to, prop the tank up, remove the T bar and you've got access. The plug wires came off by hand, I credit that to them being warm. The plugs were nice and lose too, almost to lose, I was suprised. Someone at the factory torqued them correctly. All 4 plugs looked the same with a nice dark gray color to them. A good sign of a well balanced fuel mixture from cylinder to cylinder. I do run a power commander with the smoothness map and my CO settings are bumped up about 10 points. Actually I rounded up the CO numbers when I changed them to be in increments of 10 so some may be more.
The air filter is easy to get to, but why is that second cover over the intake tube? I was tempted to leave it off, any comments from others would be appreciated. The filter didn't look that dirty, until I took the new one out of the box. It sure was a lot whiter then the old one.
My idle has been dead smooth, like a sewing machine, so I decided to skip the TB sync for now. The brake, clutch and fork oil was changed just before my trip to the dragon this past fall. I am planning on changing the fork springs to the 04 units soon. I only ride 1 up and think the rear is just fine as it is, but I will lube the pivot points at the same time I change the front springs.
I took a look at the brake pads, they seem a bit low so a new set, both front and rear are in the near future. Comments on brake pads are welcome, I was thinking OEM, but if anybody has tried a pad they like, please chime in.
Finally got the bike back together with no left over parts. :yahoo: A quick check of the tire pressure and I fired it up once again. Seems to run the same, OK, thats a good thing right? Now it's time for a test ride.
Now it's been a few months since I've been out on the bike, but damn, this thing seems so smooth and powerfull. I got to the highway and cracked 2nd gear open a bit and almost lifted the front wheel off the ground. WaaHooooo the riding season has begun.
My overall impression is that the 03 model year is definately the fastest FJR ever built, this thing hauls ass...... :yahoo:
