Okay, I'm showing my ignorance here.

[Terry J]

Somedays I feel like I'm trying to learn to ride all over again. I really am enjoying my FJR except for one thing: the throttle seems jerky. As I'm getting ready to enter a corner, I twist on the throttle as smoothly as possible and I still get a "clank" from the driveshaft. Sometimes the bike even gets a little unsettled. It happens when I'm accelerating through the gears, too.

I've been reading all the messages about changing the spring and that sort, but I don't really want to mess with the bike in that way.

So does anybody have any ideas about getting smoother with the throttle? This motorcycle is a lot of fun, but it's not like anything I'm accustomed to, and I don't like feeling clumsy.

Thanks.

Terry J

 

[RoadGlide]

Just face it, you're going to have to do the throttle mod. It really smooths out the throttle and makes the bike much more predictable. Install the G2 throttle sleeve and unwound the spring one time for a much more fun bike.

 

[Cdogman]

Practice.. then practice some more

Power commmander helps too

 

[wfooshee]

2008 has the revised throttle profile, so the G2 isn't needed, but the spring is still very stiff, and the unwind-it-one-turn is the standard fix.

There's also the issue of the throttle-off throttle-on being abrupt, which can be addressed by good maps in a Power Commander. The consensus is that the factory map is very lean at low throttle, for emissions, and may even feed 0 fuel at certain times, leading to an abrubt renewal of thrust when you re-energize.

 

[Silent]

PC3. Biggest single improvement on my bike by far. I'm running the Usless Pickle calculated smoothness map.

 

[Foxhuntr]

I did the PC3 and the spring release on my 07 and I'm totally happy.

 

[haas]

I did the PC3 and the spring release on my 07 and I'm totally happy.

How do you do the PC3 mod? What's needed?

 

[Mackeroni]

Somedays I feel like I'm trying to learn to ride all over again. I really am enjoying my FJR except for one thing: the throttle seems jerky. As I'm getting ready to enter a corner, I twist on the throttle as smoothly as possible and I still get a "clank" from the driveshaft. Sometimes the bike even gets a little unsettled. It happens when I'm accelerating through the gears, too.
I've been reading all the messages about changing the spring and that sort, but I don't really want to mess with the bike in that way.

So does anybody have any ideas about getting smoother with the throttle? This motorcycle is a lot of fun, but it's not like anything I'm accustomed to, and I don't like feeling clumsy.

Thanks.

Terry J

Terry,

There is alot of good advice here about the Power Commander, unwinding springs and so on...but there is one more piece of advice I can offer based on experience.

More than a few years ago, I decided to stop playing in the dirt and move up to the street full time. I sold my Suzuki DR350SE and bought a Katana 600. Even though I had been riding the dual sport on the street with no problem, suddenly the Katana seemed almost uncontrollable, especially in low-to-mid speed corners. I thought there must be something wrong with the bike. It was all herky-jerky...snatchy throttle in the corners...impossible to hold a line. I felt like a rank beginner and just knew that I must fix the bike or sell it and go back off road where I was king of the hill, and not prone to nearly as much embarassment.

By chance I picked up a copy of Keith Code's wonderful book, "A Twist of the Wrist II." After an evening of reading, it was apparent that all of the problems I was having with throttle control and cornering were due to my own inability to ride smoothly while keeping my attention out in front of the bike...looking through turns instead of at them...and so on. There was nothing wrong with the bike at all! I can't really paraphrase the whole book here, but there is no doubt that Code got inside my head and fixed exactly what was wrong with the bike...me.

My advice is to make whatever mods you feel are necessary, but find a copy of Code's book and read it...then practice. You will be so surprised at how much better your throttle control becomes when the bike is ridden properly.

 

[Rondo777]

Somedays I feel like I'm trying to learn to ride all over again. I really am enjoying my FJR except for one thing: the throttle seems jerky. As I'm getting ready to enter a corner, I twist on the throttle as smoothly as possible and I still get a "clank" from the driveshaft. Sometimes the bike even gets a little unsettled. It happens when I'm accelerating through the gears, too.
I've been reading all the messages about changing the spring and that sort, but I don't really want to mess with the bike in that way.

So does anybody have any ideas about getting smoother with the throttle? This motorcycle is a lot of fun, but it's not like anything I'm accustomed to, and I don't like feeling clumsy.

Thanks.

Terry J

Terry,

There is alot of good advice here about the Power Commander, unwinding springs and so on...but there is one more piece of advice I can offer based on experience.

More than a few years ago, I decided to stop playing in the dirt and move up to the street full time. I sold my Suzuki DR350SE and bought a Katana 600. Even though I had been riding the dual sport on the street with no problem, suddenly the Katana seemed almost uncontrollable, especially in low-to-mid speed corners. I thought there must be something wrong with the bike. It was all herky-jerky...snatchy throttle in the corners...impossible to hold a line. I felt like a rank beginner and just knew that I must fix the bike or sell it and go back off road where I was king of the hill, and not prone to nearly as much embarassment.

By chance I picked up a copy of Keith Code's wonderful book, "A Twist of the Wrist II." After an evening of reading, it was apparent that all of the problems I was having with throttle control and cornering were due to my own inability to ride smoothly while keeping my attention out in front of the bike...looking through turns instead of at them...and so on. There was nothing wrong with the bike at all! I can't really paraphrase the whole book here, but there is no doubt that Code got inside my head and fixed exactly what was wrong with the bike...me.

My advice is to make whatever mods you feel are necessary, but find a copy of Code's book and read it...then practice. You will be so surprised at how much better your throttle control becomes when the bike is ridden properly.

I dont know that I can agree with this as far as the FJR is concerned. I've been riding for 30 years. Have had 8 bikes in that time and have never, ever had any issue with the abrupt throttle off to throttle on response exibited in the Feejer. I've done all the recomended mods short of the PCIII and combined they tame it a little but its not gone and its not rider short commings. There is somthing poorly designed about the bike and thats a fact. I can jump on any of my friends bikes that I have no time on and have smooth throttle transitions within a turn or 2. I have over 8k miles on the Feejer and its still a huge issue. There isnt a single person of all my experienced friends that havnt commented on it after taken it for a ride. They just think its because its an AE and they need to get used to it. I used to think the same but know better now.

 

[Wolfhound]

Any slack in the throttle cable ?

 

[FJRed]

I recently put a G2 throttle tube and a PCIII on my 07A and it's everything people say about it. :yahoo: So far I've only ridden the bike with the default map for the FJR provided with the PCIII but it's like riding a different bike. The abruptness from off-to-on is completely gone. It's smooth and entirely predictable - just like you would expect it to be.

Hopefully, next week I'll have time to play with some of the other maps out there to see if can be even better.

You can certainly learn to ride smoother and adapt to the characteristics of the FJR so that it's not an issue. Many people have. But if you want to really fix the problem, you'll need to spend a few $'s on some Farkles.

Ed.

 

[SAFJ-rider]

I switched from an 05 to an 07 and I noticed the roll on issue...I was thinking of the G2 mod but that seems to be really aimed at the 06-so I guess I try the unspringing mod and see how that goes, if that don't work then PC. whew - I thought it was just me

 

[Sherman]

Sir,

I would provide a counter example. I had the PCIII on my '04 and I felt no need for it. It made the engine seem buzzier, louder and more radical even with the Wally map. Most everyone sings the praises of the PCIII, but I didn't see an improvement. You might gain some power especially if you get some pipes, but stock is fast enough for me and I like the quiet. The mileage suffers with the PCIII, and it may(?) void your warranty. I sold mine.

I did the spring mod, took all slack out of the cables, and made sure they were well lubed. I use a throttle rocker and that seems to provide better control at low RPMs. I think the miles help also as I have 18,000 miles now, but when newer (I bought it used at 8,000 miles) it was more jerky. It used to be a big problem, but not any more. Maybe I got better .

IMHO - Try the cheap fixes first and then move on to the PCIII if you must.

Dogpile to follow. B)

 

[MojaveFJR]

Practice with her. Just more excuses to ride.

Smooth throttle takes awhile on any bike. Keep at it you will get it.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Maybe the '04s were less snatchy...but no mods on mine. I have learned/adjusted to the bike, learned more...as it was my first bike in 20 years...and after a few miles I'm sure the throttle springs have loosened.

However if yours is intolerable to you...do what you need to do to be satisfied with it. However, sometimes it is the rider that adjusts to the bike...like seating position.

 

[xharleyrider]

If you have a lot of slack in the throttle that too may casue some of your problems. That is a easy fix. There is a fix nut on the throttle cable that is covered with a black sleeve. Move the sleeve down loosen the nut and turn adjuster until you have little play in the throttle. You want some for safety reasons but if it was like mine, it will help a lot.

 

[Flyguy]

The throttle improvement obtained with a PCIII is minimal for 02 - 05 (Gen I) bikes. With the advent of the Gen II (06') it is a huge improvement. In '06 Yamaha decided to outdo themselves and make the bike compliant with the upcoming '08 standards so in stock form all the Gen II's should have similar CO2 readings. It appears that there were minor response tweaks in each succeeding year as the engineers got better at dealing with the new ULTRA lean settings. So the '06 enjoys the biggest improvement but believe me all benefit. I can only guess on the positive effect on piston ring and valve longevity but it has to be there. Cooling down hot internals is worth the price of admission alone.

 

[Spook]

I have had my 07 AE for not quite a month now and I have found I can control the amount of jerkiness to a great extent. I still have some learning to do on the shifts although I think it is the amount I let off the gas on each shift.

 

[jameswilson]

Either I am incredibaly tolorant, or I got really lucky. I have an 07 AE with 1,000 miles. The throttle is sensitive at low speeds, but manageable with a little practice.

Riding the rear brake at low speeds (tight turns in at less than 10 mph) really helps to replace the missing clutch lever.

For what it worth (not much I admit) I would try riding the bike for a month or so, before I start changing things.

Good luck