No air-filter? Great job dealership...

[Yroundrdn]

I just bought the bike, 10k miles, been sitting quite a while thus low miles for an '05. The guy I bought it from said he had it into the shop to get a new battery, and while there, they did the TPS recall, a new front tire and an oil change.

Well, being a former motor officer, I had drilled into me the importance of not leaving any dirt on a bike, and during the cleaning process, do a safety check. Thus I clean and inspect after or before each ride.

So when I got this bike, I began the tear down to clean this mess and inspect everything. This bike was really dirty. So I get into the area where I would think the air filter is and it's just an empty cavity. I check here and yes, a filter should be there.

So I figure, South Bay Motor Sports in San Diego forgot that little detail after doing the TPS on the bike! I couldn't believe it! How did they adjust idle and everything else without it?

I also noticed the front wheel is not set in the forks properly causing it so bind on the right caliper. I was working on bikes before there were mono-shock dirt bikes! I've done hundreds of front wheel mounts, a very simple process. It's not hard to mount the front wheel and align the forks.

If I didn't have the receipts I wouldn't believe it! These guys are bozos and have no business touching a bike!

Obviously I'll be changing the oil and filter next, no telling what they screwed up there....

 

[Patriot]

wholly molly...so sorry...great job doing the thorough inspection...I didn't pull the plastic off my bike for tens of thousands of miles...but no dealer has ever touched it...only my independent mechanic and me

 

[Intech]

Another reason I do all my own work. Recalls are the only thing that have been done by a dealer.

 

[900gc]

Amazing. How can they screw up something so simple? Hopefully they didn't strip the threads on the oil drain bolt by over torquing!

 

[rocket rick]

incredible what goes on at certain dealers.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Sorry to hear about your issue.

Could it have been the previous owner that ran without a filter...and not done by the dealer? The air filter you have to unscrew a lot just to get to it...I can't imagine going to all that work for that and not making sure a filter is in there when you button it all back up.

You'd likely have to be drunk to do that.

 

[Intech]

Sorry to hear about your issue.
Could it have been the previous owner that ran without a filter...and not done by the dealer? The air filter you have to unscrew a lot just to get to it...I can't imagine going to all that work for that and not making sure a filter is in there when you button it all back up.

You'd likely have to be drunk me to do that.

Fixed it for ya wheetie!

 

[wmadoty]

Sorry to hear about your issue.
Could it have been the previous owner that ran without a filter...and not done by the dealer? The air filter you have to unscrew a lot just to get to it...I can't imagine going to all that work for that and not making sure a filter is in there when you button it all back up.

You'd likely have to be drunk to do that.

"... they did the TPS recall, a new front tire and an oil change"

I don't think the dealer would have to touch the air filter for any of this. I guess they may have blown it out as part of the oil change, but with so few miles, I doubt a dealer would have done it. Sorry about you problem and glad you caught it.

 

[wheatonFJR]

"... they did the TPS recall, a new front tire and an oil change"

I don't think the dealer would have to touch the air filter for any of this. I guess they may have blown it out as part of the oil change, but with so few miles, I doubt a dealer would have done it. Sorry about you problem and glad you caught it.

I'm with Mr. Doty...

I don't see the dealer spending the time to get in there, when you don't need to for those maintenance items.

It may not...but this bike may have up to 10k miles, depending on if the original owner messed up early in the bike's life. The bike sat for awhile...so maybe the original owner did some maintenance and forgot to put the filter back in.

Maybe not...but it is a possibility. More so in my mind than a dealer going in there if the owner did not pay him to do so.

 

[ionbeam]

The Gen I service manual says to clean the air filter every 4k miles and replace as necessary.

If a motorcycle will run faster with a freer breathing aftermarket filter like a K&N, just think how much faster it would run without an air filter at all

Run fast, die early.

 

[Patriot]

IIRC, Fred purchased a new air filter for the new engine, but I didn't remember to grab up the old one which was new since the valve replacement or 20k miles. Nothing wrong with that filter. I would have been happy to save you $30 for a new one.

 

[RPrice]

Another reason I do all my own work. Recalls are the only thing that have been done by a dealer.

+1, Amen!, etc.. I do all my own work, except recalls (as noted above), and then I'm still suspicious! Good for you for checking others work, and getting the problem taken care of.

Normally, looking over the mechanics at a typical dealership does not fill me with confidence (too many tattoos and body piercings?). That's why I build up my skills, tools, and the knowledge to do it myself. Thank goodness for this forum

. The forum, along with the Service Manual gives me the information and the confidence to get "the job done". It's worked out well so far.

Thanks for your this thread.

 

[Yroundrdn]

Ya, I'm with you guys on this. I'll do my own work. In the end it's my butt on the bike so it's got to be checked and verified by me. Picked up the oil and filter today, will read up on the threads for greasing the drive shaft, and will order the filter. Might as well go with K&N I guess.

I'll be reading through the wealth of maint knowledge you guys have put up on this forum over the next week. Thanks for keeping this forum relevant and informative.

 

[Graham Downunder]

Sorry to here of you finding it out .I do some of it myself and more difficult stuff I leave for a very reliable one man shop that I highly recommend. Thankfully FJR are are easy bike to live with ,I cannot see me replacing mine with anything different I will just improve things with the money I save from not wasting money on another bike .

 

[yamafitter]

Might as well go with K&N I guess.

You may want to rethink the K&N. If you are not very careful it is easy to over-oil the filter and then that oil gets pulled off the filter and on to the throttle body butterfly valves where it can create issues. The stock filter isn't that bad for airflow and any performance gains from using a K&N are not noticeable IMHO. Most folks do not clean & oil a K&N properly and end up with a messy and sticky airbox plus other possible issues. I had a K&N but took it out and went back to stock since it made the maintenance easier.

 

[PhilJet09]

Another reason I do all my own work. Recalls are the only thing that have been done by a dealer.

Exactly! Then I go back and double check everything they touched.

 

[Auron]

K&N's don't flow any more air, it's their re-usability that makes the a great buy.

Amazing it was running OK without a filter, what kind of mileage were you getting?

 

[wheatonFJR]

I have a brand new K&N filter right out of the box that came with my FJR that I have never used. Make me an offer and it's yours...

 

[ionbeam]

K&N's don't flow any more air, it's their re-usability that makes the a great buy. Amazing it was running OK without a filter, what kind of mileage were you getting?

K&Ns claim (hey, you can trust them, it's not like they are selling something) "The K&N Filtercharger is designed to increase engine performance in both horsepower and throttle response by reducing air flow restriction."

In order to take best advantage of the extra intake air flow the exhaust air needs to flow better too. All of this improvement can be realized only near red line.