Minnesota Owners

[carlson_mn]

Wilbers Shock..... make me happy. Weather has gone to shit around here but threw it in mid week and took it for a nice ride and can tell it's a nice shock. Seems more comfortable over expansion joints and yet it's more stable and controlled in the corners. Probably have it raised up about .75" over stock and really like that so far but will play with as it is adjustable.

Install was very easy so if anyone wants help doing it just let me know, could probably do the full swap in 30 minutes if I were to do it again. I'll admit it took me about 2 hours but a great deal of that time was fiddling around removing the underseat storage and trying to figure out how to route the remote preload through the ABS circuitry. Once I figured it out it was easy but just involved some trial and error.

My stock shock however I'm pretty sure is still in good/great shape, just jumped on the opportunity to upgrade.

 

[Gramps]

Good for you Matt. It is amazing what a better shock does for the ride.

 

[TripperMike]

Let us know how the shock feels after a rebuild. Mine has 37k and I probably wouldn't know if it's worn out until I hop on another FJR with a good shock. The price of aftermarket shocks is just ridiculous.

I had just recently redone my suspension with Race Tech springs. Ordered a heavier coil for the rear and had Hitching Post switch it for me (won't mention how I thought I could do it myself), and I rebuilt my front forks also using heaveir springs. Man what a difference it makes in a bike. I knew I needed to do something after taking the "scooter" down to the track @ DCTC last summer. Now the bike handles steadier in the twisties.

 

[carlson_mn]

Very nice to hear. I'm going to do a fork oil change and stick with the stock setup up front for now.

 

[mnxs54]

It said this is for random thoughts so I hope this belongs. Do you guys have a photo-tag here? I enjoy the extra riding I get from chasing them.

 

[wheatonFJR]

It said this is for random thoughts so I hope this belongs. Do you guys have a photo-tag here? I enjoy the extra riding I get from chasing them.

I haven't noticed them on this board, but I believe STN sometimes has that if yer into that sort of thing...

 

[rickcorwn]

It said this is for random thoughts so I hope this belongs. Do you guys have a photo-tag here? I enjoy the extra riding I get from chasing them.

There's one over on ADV Greater Twin Cities Photo Tag it pretty active too. Don't forget to read the rules :big_boss:

 

[carlson_mn]

Here's one for you Mark!

It's only about 500 miles due west....

 

[mnxs54]

Wow, ask and ye shall receive! Thanks guys, but I know about all the existing ones. I was just curious if you had one here. Thanks again!

 

[carlson_mn]

I'm going to do my valve adjustment tonight and tomorrow. Should be a decent weekend to get it done since I won't be as tempted to go ride being that it's supposed to be rainy. At least I rode to work today. Going to start tonight so I'll know if I need to go leave to get tools tomorrow.

Plus, Motoprimo closes at 4pm on Saturday and they will exchange shims for $5 each. Anybody in the Twin cities have a stash of shims?

 

[Gramps]

I'm going to do my valve adjustment tonight and tomorrow. Should be a decent weekend to get it done since I won't be as tempted to go ride being that it's supposed to be rainy. At least I rode to work today. Going to start tonight so I'll know if I need to go leave to get tools tomorrow.

Plus, Motoprimo closes at 4pm on Saturday and they will exchange shims for $5 each. Anybody in the Twin cities have a stash of shims?

So Matt how did the valves look? Were you able to get it all completed today?

 

[carlson_mn]

Yes just finished up around 6pm today with the bike all back together. Luckily I did the job with one of my best friends who was a mechanic which helped, he's now a service manager at a ford dearlership in Waconia. Having two people helps a lot. I had 10 out of 16 valves that needed adjustment. All of them had tight clearances between the lifter and cam, meaning the valves were opening too much/long, however you want to look at it, if that makes sense? Motoprimo swapped shims for 2 bucks each which I thought was reasonable given I needed 7 new ones. All of mine that needed adjustment were just barely too tight, I think my bike was made on a Friday afternoon as there were only 3 different sizes of shims between the 16 valves.

After all was done it fired up just fine and it does idle quieter than before. One of my exhaust valves ended up being tight upon reassembly of the cams despite it originally being at .22mm, which is within spec. So now I hear it ticking a bit on #4 cylinder, but that's ok it was near the clearance of .18mm.

Overall I'm very glad we did it, I only took it around the block afterwards as we had quite a few beers in us by the time we finished, but it seemed to run just fine. If I notice a noticeable improvement in the bike from fixing 9-10 just barely out of spec valves I will report back tomorrow after a late afternoon ride!

PS - I want to use your bike or someone's as a baseline before I possibly do the airbox mod and get a tune from your man Jeff! Next saturday we will have to do a 2-3 gear pull next to each other.

 

[Gramps]

PS - I want to use your bike or someone's as a baseline before I possibly do the airbox mod and get a tune from your man Jeff! Next saturday we will have to do a 2-3 gear pull next to each other.

I think we should be able to do that.

 

[carlson_mn]

Well, think I mucked something up as usual the first time I do something. Bike runs fine but there's a true loss of power and the idle isn't quite as smooth as before. Valves are not as clicky as before so that is nice. Pretty sure the cam chain must have moved a tooth on the crank sprocket while it was loose... I put white out and zip ties on the cam sprockets but forgot all about the bottom crank sprocket, the loose chain and sprocket must have let it move a tooth down below. Bike does not want to power wheelie in 1st gear anymore and there's an unusual flat spot between 4-5k, it's a sad, sad thing! DAMN. Amazing how well it runs otherwise though.

 

[wheatonFJR]

If it skipped a tooth, wouldn't you being hearing the sounds of valves hitting pistons?????

 

[carlson_mn]

No, it's gotta be way off to get to that point.

Check out this short thread below, his symptoms are the same as mine.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=102515

My idle wants to hang a bit low and the midrange feels kind of like there's a 750 under the tank. But it gives me the chance to re-shim the one exhaust valve that measured mid-spec initially but then decided to measure tight after re-installing cams and swapping shims with dealer. I said screw it at that point but this will give me a chance to get that one fixed up nice.

 

[Gramps]

That's a little disheartening. I hope you'll be ready to go by Saturday.

 

[carlson_mn]

yeah gramps I will be ready to go! I was going to sit on my butt tonight, but I got out in the garage and took it all apart and confirmed that yes it's off as I thought. What would have really sucked is if I had looked at it and it had been right on. So I'll just have to wait till my buddy can get back over to my place some night this week with his inch-pound torque wrench for the cam guides, and give me a hand. He's got some real small sockets and a skinny extension that fit through the frame to get the CCT bolt off. I'll try to take some pics.

So assuming I get my timing sorted out and can say I actually did the job well then, if anyone in the area wants to check/adjust their valves and had been putting it off for a couple years like I did, I will give you a hand if you need it or do it for you. Checking them is extremely easy now that I've done it a 2nd time in two nights, and adjusting is quite straight forward as well.

 

[Gramps]

Glad to hear it's what you thought & no other surprises.

 

[mnxs54]

Matt,

Let me know if I can be any help. I'm pretty close and generally have no life! 580 miles yesterday!

Mark