Fork oil/fork R&R scheduled mileage? && need min. Volts to run bike?

[blakmambo]

Just really saying hi.2007 FJR 41,000 miles

Still on the original battery.

When not riding its on a battery minder 3 to 7 days a month.

I ride in the winter with heated gloves and a vest. The FJR does not have enough to keep the battery up at idle when I have all the heat turned up. Fine at speed. With two up and heated gear I think you'd need to turn them off with extended stop and go traffic.

I have a leaking left fork. Going to get them both rebuilt with new seals and bushings. About $85 per side plus parts est total $280.

@fjrmark:

Thanks for the comments . . . that's pretty impressive to still have the original battery . . . I think I got 8 years out of a battery on my other bike . . . then I got bored with it. Didn't need the battery tender to get that . . . I think this present battery is four or five years old, checked it couple weeks back at 12.61 V . . . standing.

Also, nice to see that there might be some wiggle room on the fork rebuild miles . . . beyond the 30K mark. I'm not super hard corner charger these days . . . another 4K to go to the 25K "valve check" operation, which is "not cheap" . . . it would be nice to then be able to push the fork rebuild slot down the road a bit . . . . We'll see, prices in LA I think are higher than what you are quoting; I think before I found my independent mechanic a dealer in the Valley was trying to sell me on the "fork inspection" . . . check the seals, basic service at somewhere near $375 . . . ???

In the olde days I would have to "make it better than stock" . . . and try to get an aftermarket upgrade . . . sounds cheaper to just do seals/bushings as there would be the next round waiting not a whole lot of miles later . . . but, might look to see if there is something semi-reasonable, if Race-tech or my local Works Performance offer any enhancements that might make it more funner . . . .

Thanks for the post.

Mambo

 

[FJR1300Mark]

07, 41000 miles and the front left fork is leaking oil. Enough that it has saturated the break pads and covered the left rotor with a black sooty grease. And reduced the braking enough to notice.

So I'm rebuilding the forks. Have not done any maintenance on them prior to now.

The fork rebuild from a local shop is $85 each plus $60 in parts and $10 oil. I looked at doing it myself but I'm not into building the necessary tools.

the kicker is I need to replace the brake pads and that's 4 X $45 total of $180 and I'll do that myself. I'm going to replace the pads on both sides of the wheel.

Had I noticed the leak really early on I could have saved the brake pads.

I thought I looked the bike over every 4000 miles or more when it's washed - but I'll be checking the front forks more carefully going forward.

 

[blakmambo]

07, 41000 miles and the front left fork is leaking oil. Enough that it has saturated the break pads and covered the left rotor with a black sooty grease. And reduced the braking enough to notice.

So I'm rebuilding the forks. Have not done any maintenance on them prior to now.

The fork rebuild from a local shop is $85 each plus $60 in parts and $10 oil. I looked at doing it myself but I'm not into building the necessary tools.

I thought I looked the bike over every 4000 miles or more when it's washed - but I'll be checking the front forks more carefully going forward.

I'm with on the "washing the bike every 4K or so . . ." concept . . . other things to do, etc. I think the fork rebuild is somewhat "technical" and does require **knowledge** and correct tools . . . plus, I think it's kind of a PITA job . . . perhaps best left to the pros for the peace of mind factor . . . . Brake pads could be a shade tree mechanic type of job . . . a shame to have to lose some life on the pads due to leaking fork seals . . . all part of the joys of motorcycling, always something coming up that needs repair.

I'd have to scroll through the thread here to see what the recommend on the routine fork oil change, which should help keep the forks "healthier" . . . on my Kawi I do 20K for the marker . . . seems like here they were saying less miles . . . . So, if you factor in the fact that you didn't spend any money on the forks for 40K+ . . . you actually **made** money on the deal, so you have the funds for the brake pad upkeep. : - )))))

 

[FJR1300Mark]

Wouldn't you know my battery wouldn't start the bike today. 2007 to 2017 I'm figuring out which battery to get next.

 

[900gc]

Wouldn't you know my battery wouldn't start the bike today. 2007 to 2017 I'm figuring out which battery to get next.

Am going on 3 years with a Motobatt, doing the job for me. Got it on sale on Amazon at the time.

https://www.motobatt.com/

 

[FTL900]

I'm a minute late to the shock conversation, but here's the Gen 3 shock new for $355. I'm considering that route plus doing some kind of upgrades in the front to match, don' know exactly what just yet. My 2011 has 44,000 miles on it. I've only had it 4 months, so I don't know when the forks were last looked at.

https://www.partzilla.com/product/yamaha/1MC-22210-50-00?ref=8d760001805ff17e4ca23a3650add883317c2da0

 

[blakmambo]

I'm a minute late to the shock conversation, but here's the Gen 3 shock new for $355. I'm considering that route plus doing some kind of upgrades in the front to match, don' know exactly what just yet. My 2011 has 44,000 miles on it. I've only had it 4 months, so I don't know when the forks were last looked at.
https://www.partzilla.com/product/yamaha/1MC-22210-50-00?ref=8d760001805ff17e4ca23a3650add883317c2da0

Thanks for the link, when the time comes that price would be hard to beat in comparo to full zoot adjustable high end shocks. As far as knowing what the previous maintenance that has been done, very hard to "know" by gut feeling . . . these days I think it's safer to just go with, "it prolly wasn't done" . . . as to actually do or pay for the scheduled maintenance is "expensive" in time and money. It seems like many folk buy & ride for 35K and then sell . . . and let the other guy take care of it, if and when it breaks . . . . According to the other posts here you should be "overdue" for fork service . . . guess it depends on how hard it was rid . . . . And could be they were serviced at 35K-ish . . . best way is to try to get the history of what was done & when . . . .

 

[FTL900]

Since I don't know much of the history, I'm just assuming that I'm overdue for fork service, overdue for a valve check, overdue for greasing the driveline, overdue for changing the final drive oil... it's all in the planning stages. I know the oil was changed and new tires were put on shortly before I got it. Everything else is the big unknown.

 

[blakmambo]

Since I don't know much of the history, I'm just assuming that I'm overdue for fork service, overdue for a valve check, overdue for greasing the driveline, overdue for changing the final drive oil... it's all in the planning stages. I know the oil was changed and new tires were put on shortly before I got it. Everything else is the big unknown.

Possibly that is so, as far as "everything" needs to be done; but question is who did the oil change and tires? And would that person or place be able to contact the PO and ask if there is a service history . . . if that is "impossible" then the priority is for the "higher value" aspects of the vehicle . . . e.g., the motor items primary concern, like valve check, coolant, and then final drive oil . . . . If the forks aren't leaking and it feels OK, then either wait, or, like I did recently I just changed the fork oil . . . .

But, it would be good to know if the valves had been checked at 25K or not, because that is an expensive service, but, if it wasn't done then it would be long overdue and should be the first thing to do . . . . The fork service isn't that expensive, and the problem would be if the oil was leaking down onto the brake pads . . . if that isn't happening yet it could be pushed off for a tad bit . . . other things to do before the forks.