Winter of my discontent on the Gen2 09er has arrived in force as of a two hour ride last Saturday . . . still have yet to fully "diagnose" the issues, as there are more than one . . . . Bar position is one problem, the PO installed the Heli-bar Tour Performance adapter, which seemingly brings the bars "back" but then tilts them "up" but forward, so that all of the mechanics are transferred up to my neck/shoulders, like a mini-ape-hanger position . . . not too problematic until riding in SoCal crosswinds, then it becomes very un-natural and tension producing . . . .
And, mixed into that are the previously mentioned throttle issues . . . even after I had a pro relieve the throttle spring seemingly small throttle inputs are making for "un-smooth" acceleration while driving down the road . . . possibly due to massive torque being put down all across the mapping? It's hard to understand what is happening . . . pulling away from a light there is stump pulling power pulling like a "mad dog" . . . possibly pulling more and more with revs up to 5 grand . . . trying to "short shift" doesn't get out of the torque band . . . and also doesn't get out of the "herky-jerky-ness" possibly due to FI "zero-ing out" when the throttle is relaxed . . . while driving down the road . . . .
And, then, the other issue is that something in the throttle range of rotation adds into the problems, where after mad dog acceleration through a few gears . . . looking down and we're doing 45 mph??? with wrist bent like we would be WFO . . . except we're far from it . . . . I'm comparing the ride-ability to my carburetted 86 ZG1000, the throttle action is smooth, riding down the road is also "calm" and I can get it moving and maintaining a speed of over 55 mph without it being a tension filled affair . . . somehow in comparison the FJR provides locomotive type power, albeit at lower speeds, but seems somehow intractable . . . can't figure it out specifically to one particular problem, but to a number of them--all of which would require money thrown at them . . . for a bike that I'm not sure if it's what I want. Seems like the bike is meant for higher speed freeway strafing . . . but, no longer have time for riding distances to get to some twisty road, and then in the local SoCal riding is mixed into heavy traffic with high end cars that have super acceleration, so "mad dog" acceleration isn't going to get me "ahead" . . . have to ride sedately to survive and not get a ticket, and then the throttle seems to require an iron grip to avoid herk-jerky . . . which increases tension . . . it's all made riding decidedly "not fun" after 30+ years of riding . . . .
Looking for "answers" I rode the bike over to an independent mechanic staffed by guys who were former employees of "Yamaha on Lincoln" ?? and I described my issues, and the friendly fellow was trying to remember the names of the various bar adapters, and then he said, "Are you gripping the bars too tightly, because you aren't supposed to use the bars to hang on, you're supposed to grip the tank with your legs, and use the bar to steer" . . . which I admitted might be much of the problem, due to said problems with the FI mapping seemingly not smooth??? I asked him, "What about the Power Commander? what do you think about that, mapped for smoothness??" He replied, "Prolly better to do an ECU flash before adding the PC, would likely be cheaper and would improve smoothness across the rev range . . . for less money that the PC . . . you could pull the ECU yourself and search online for places that do it, or bring it here, or bring the bike in and have us do it . . . ." "OK" I said . . . "Thanks for your time on this." White-knuckled it home on a small section of freeway, just like when I first started riding 30+ years ago . . . don't know if I'm "just too old to ride in LA traffic" . . . there is some minor fix that would bring smooth acceleration on the low end and smooth riding rolling down Mulholland Highway without neck twinging torque effects from minor throttle changes . . . ??? Had the bike for 4 years, rode it up to the Central Coast two-up . . . still managed to ride it around these niggling problems . . . but the problems seem to be more blatant over time/miles . . . now only 23.5K . . . PO only put 13K on it in 5 years of ownership, possibly I understand why??
I'm not looking for top end hit, or triple digit speeds, just riding smoothness from low end w/o also feeling like the wind is going to push me off the bike combined with minor throttle movements . . . . I don't know whether the FI mapping is "glitchy" high/low HP v torque curve due to some "air pollution" issues, something specific to my bike that might show in dyno test . . . or, possibly just too much power for the type of riding environment I'm riding in . . . two lane highway with speed limits of 45 mph and tight twisty canyons with lots of on/off throttle . . . seems to have all built up to a "not that much fun" feeling . . . OR perhaps this is what all of the "Gen 2" problems are referring to?? "It's a Gen 2 bike John . . . just walk away . . . "??? G2 Throttle tube is the answer to all of these issues, or ECU flash??
TIA
Mambo
And, mixed into that are the previously mentioned throttle issues . . . even after I had a pro relieve the throttle spring seemingly small throttle inputs are making for "un-smooth" acceleration while driving down the road . . . possibly due to massive torque being put down all across the mapping? It's hard to understand what is happening . . . pulling away from a light there is stump pulling power pulling like a "mad dog" . . . possibly pulling more and more with revs up to 5 grand . . . trying to "short shift" doesn't get out of the torque band . . . and also doesn't get out of the "herky-jerky-ness" possibly due to FI "zero-ing out" when the throttle is relaxed . . . while driving down the road . . . .
And, then, the other issue is that something in the throttle range of rotation adds into the problems, where after mad dog acceleration through a few gears . . . looking down and we're doing 45 mph??? with wrist bent like we would be WFO . . . except we're far from it . . . . I'm comparing the ride-ability to my carburetted 86 ZG1000, the throttle action is smooth, riding down the road is also "calm" and I can get it moving and maintaining a speed of over 55 mph without it being a tension filled affair . . . somehow in comparison the FJR provides locomotive type power, albeit at lower speeds, but seems somehow intractable . . . can't figure it out specifically to one particular problem, but to a number of them--all of which would require money thrown at them . . . for a bike that I'm not sure if it's what I want. Seems like the bike is meant for higher speed freeway strafing . . . but, no longer have time for riding distances to get to some twisty road, and then in the local SoCal riding is mixed into heavy traffic with high end cars that have super acceleration, so "mad dog" acceleration isn't going to get me "ahead" . . . have to ride sedately to survive and not get a ticket, and then the throttle seems to require an iron grip to avoid herk-jerky . . . which increases tension . . . it's all made riding decidedly "not fun" after 30+ years of riding . . . .
Looking for "answers" I rode the bike over to an independent mechanic staffed by guys who were former employees of "Yamaha on Lincoln" ?? and I described my issues, and the friendly fellow was trying to remember the names of the various bar adapters, and then he said, "Are you gripping the bars too tightly, because you aren't supposed to use the bars to hang on, you're supposed to grip the tank with your legs, and use the bar to steer" . . . which I admitted might be much of the problem, due to said problems with the FI mapping seemingly not smooth??? I asked him, "What about the Power Commander? what do you think about that, mapped for smoothness??" He replied, "Prolly better to do an ECU flash before adding the PC, would likely be cheaper and would improve smoothness across the rev range . . . for less money that the PC . . . you could pull the ECU yourself and search online for places that do it, or bring it here, or bring the bike in and have us do it . . . ." "OK" I said . . . "Thanks for your time on this." White-knuckled it home on a small section of freeway, just like when I first started riding 30+ years ago . . . don't know if I'm "just too old to ride in LA traffic" . . . there is some minor fix that would bring smooth acceleration on the low end and smooth riding rolling down Mulholland Highway without neck twinging torque effects from minor throttle changes . . . ??? Had the bike for 4 years, rode it up to the Central Coast two-up . . . still managed to ride it around these niggling problems . . . but the problems seem to be more blatant over time/miles . . . now only 23.5K . . . PO only put 13K on it in 5 years of ownership, possibly I understand why??
I'm not looking for top end hit, or triple digit speeds, just riding smoothness from low end w/o also feeling like the wind is going to push me off the bike combined with minor throttle movements . . . . I don't know whether the FI mapping is "glitchy" high/low HP v torque curve due to some "air pollution" issues, something specific to my bike that might show in dyno test . . . or, possibly just too much power for the type of riding environment I'm riding in . . . two lane highway with speed limits of 45 mph and tight twisty canyons with lots of on/off throttle . . . seems to have all built up to a "not that much fun" feeling . . . OR perhaps this is what all of the "Gen 2" problems are referring to?? "It's a Gen 2 bike John . . . just walk away . . . "??? G2 Throttle tube is the answer to all of these issues, or ECU flash??
TIA
Mambo
R, Butt-
