madmike2
Shtirrenuppenmeister
Er, Robert, not to "burst your bubble", but there are those with other vintages of FJRs who have reported dropping their beloved new FJRs in parking lots, etc., because of the sidestand fold-up/collapse. I'm purely speculating 2 or 3 per year of the thousands that are sold. It may appear more prevalent on the '06s because there may be more of them (Or perhaps the owners are more vocal and willing to admit they dropped their bike) but it is certainly not peculiar to that year of production.
So, for the sake of discussion, lets admit that if we were designing a sidestand, we might allow a more "forward" angle to make it more secure. Once that conclusion is reached we have options. 1.) Sue Yamaha or complain to the dealer and attempt to have the body work repainted or replaced under warranty (Although they will NOT modify the stand from the "as designed" state because of the liabilities that would be assumed in our litgious society); 2.) Try to inform as many new owners as possible of the possibility of a problem so that they develop a habit of checking the security of their parking relative to the sidestand (i.e., in gear or not pointed "downhill); or 3.) Grind or file a bit of material from the sidestand so that the sweep angle of the sidestand is deployed/extended to a more oblique angle from perpendicular so as to help prevent "sidestand collapse" and the resultant "fall" of said motorcycle.
The continual assumption on the part of some that this problem has not existed before the '06 is futile and short-sighted as many of us who have been around for some historical time regarding the lifetime of import of the FJR to the North American Continent (Like fjrvtx1300s, who owns an '03 and has been on the FJR websites since before there was an American website, whose bike is the "test mule" for Dale Walker's Holeshot slipons and the attendant PCIII program for the complete header system) can remember the issue being discussed before on "galaxies far-far away" (In other words, on other boards and websites). Though the percentage has always been rather small, that does not diminish the tragedy of an owner seeing his FJR laying on it's side. (IIRC, a few years ago one of the Motorcycle magazines actually allowed a Ducati roadtest bike to fall in their garage, so its not unheard of).
The "fix" has always been to, 1.) Heat and bend the sidestand; 2.) File or grind some material from the sidestand and the juncture of the sidestand stop on the frame or; 3.) Learn the habit of always parking your motorcycle in gear (As I believe MSF teaches to be the most safe way to park your motorcycle). It seems to me that more time has been wasted discussing this issue ad nauseum and ad infinitum than would have been used to actually physically accomplish the modification.
If you truly feel you have been wronged by Yamaha please follow a legal route for redress. I will assure you that the manufacturers corporate lawyers will provide numbers (Estimated @ 4,000 units in '06 alone) vs. the number of owners who have experienced or actually reported an incident, and I would opine that the judge would not find, in your favor, that it is a defective design.
OR you can continue to persue your current avenue of thought, thus marginalizing yourself when it seems from your experience and mental processes you have a lot to offer on this Forum.
I will now relenquish the soapbox, vacate the dais,..........
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