Something All FJR Owners Should Know
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2006FJR
Administrator of Transportation
I could throw a rock and hit it from where I live. I actually spend most of my week at Camp Pendleton. I couldn't resist..... :yahoo:
I needed the laugh anyway. Thanks for some humor.
As for the BMW suggestion, the FJR final drive won't fit or there might be possibilities!
I think I recall that the OP stated somewhere that he used the motoman breakin technique. I'm surprised that no one has picked up on this. The compression rings might have been overheated enough that they lost some spring, explaining the low compression at the low cylinder pressure used in a compression test. The oil ring might have stayed cooler because it's bathed in oil. The engine might run properly at the much higher pressures of combustion because they are exerted on both the top and the back of the ring, which might be enough to seal the rings to the walls since they aren't appreciably worn at this low mileage.
2006FJR
Administrator of Transportation
I wasn't the one who mentioned the BMW suggestion. BMW sure has a mess on their hands with this final drive crap going on. Well it's getting late and I better get to bed.
SkooterG
Purveyor of Crooked Facts
Eric. I know you man. Your good peeps. Though some times, you express things in a way that..............well...............can you say Steve Hobart?
I feel for your problem. If I was going through what you are going through I would be very frustrated and disappointed. The problem here is in how you worded your post - 'Something all FJR owners should know - how long does the motor last?' It should have been something like, 'I think my engine's dying with only 88k'.
Just because YOU are having a problem with YOUR FJR doesn't mean you can attempt to draw blanket conclusions on ALL FJRS. Especially when there are so many data points (like me) to the contrary. Instead of generating blanket sympathy, you have generated some hostility. Even I was a bit put off by how you worded your post. I guess now I should start a thread with the same worded title? And tell everyone that if they are not an asshat their FJR should easily hit 150k? All to frequently, it's not WHAT you say, but HOW you say it.
Some random thoughts:
I have no idea what my 154k FJR engine would give for compression or leak down. You know what? I don't care. It runs great. In fact I saw 145 on the gps today and that was a short run without time to let it top out. I also switched FJRs with another forum member who has a 05 FJR w/57k. We both agreed our highly scientific butt dynos said my high mileage ol whore felt stronger. Mine does have PCIII and his doesn't, so I don't know what factor that has. Per previous PM with you before you posted, yes, I have always wanted to get those tests done if I had the spare $$$ but in the great scheme of things the bottom line is my FJR runs great. 154,782 HARD miles on the odo. Crashed 3 times. New cam chain and tensionser at 110k. New main wiring harness at 148k. I've abused my FJR and it's taken it.
One of the reasons I wanted you to post was to get knowledge from the collective. You have gotten it. Since the wording of your post was a bit presumptuous, you got some passively agressive hostile replies. You reap what you sow. But there is some good stuff there too.
I had remembered reading others saying you had to be very careful with compression and leak down #s and that they could easily be misleading. I don't care what your great Yammie dealer and Yamaha say. Maybe they are wrong. Which brings me to my next point that has been repeated my many already.............
Besides the cam chain issue, is your FJR running well? Get the tensioner replaced. Ride the damned thing. Run it on a dyno. See what numbers you get if you are so concerned.
I am not yet convinced your FJR is 'dead'. Especially since you report no smoke, oil consumption, or power loss. I think you need to take a deep breath, a chill pill, a step back, and a new look at this as objectively as you can. Maybe the sky is not yet falling.
EXTREMELY presumptous (I love that word!) to try and extrapolate that your engine began dying at 60k.
I am not an expert in these things. But I think this thread has some good advice from many who do have some expertise. If I were you, I WOULD NOT take what the one shop is telling you at face value. Get a 2nd opinion. Just like you would from doctors for a seriousl medical problem. Follow some of the advice you are getting in this thread.
Maybe your engine truly is dying. Bummer. Maybe you got a 'bad' one. ALL manufacturers make them. Doesn't mean everybody else will get the same results you get. If this is the case, I am feeling for you man. But you still can't have my Bud Light.
Besides Eric, PAY ATTENTION ALL YOU OTHER DOOM SAYERS WHO NOW THINK EVERY FJR WILL DIE AT 88K: I know of SEVERAL 130k+ FJRs with no known major issues.
If your engine dies.........EBAY!!!! Seen some good deals there. Worth the chance. No surprise Yamaha doesn't provide crate motors. Not exatly a 'big' market. I don't even want to imagine what Yamaha would try to charge for one anyway.
I wish you the best of luck with this. Hope it turns out that your FJR is not so sick afterall, and I can start calling you Chicken Little. Or maybe in your case, Chicken NOT so Little.
I feel for your problem. If I was going through what you are going through I would be very frustrated and disappointed. The problem here is in how you worded your post - 'Something all FJR owners should know - how long does the motor last?' It should have been something like, 'I think my engine's dying with only 88k'.
Just because YOU are having a problem with YOUR FJR doesn't mean you can attempt to draw blanket conclusions on ALL FJRS. Especially when there are so many data points (like me) to the contrary. Instead of generating blanket sympathy, you have generated some hostility. Even I was a bit put off by how you worded your post. I guess now I should start a thread with the same worded title? And tell everyone that if they are not an asshat their FJR should easily hit 150k? All to frequently, it's not WHAT you say, but HOW you say it.
Some random thoughts:
I have no idea what my 154k FJR engine would give for compression or leak down. You know what? I don't care. It runs great. In fact I saw 145 on the gps today and that was a short run without time to let it top out. I also switched FJRs with another forum member who has a 05 FJR w/57k. We both agreed our highly scientific butt dynos said my high mileage ol whore felt stronger. Mine does have PCIII and his doesn't, so I don't know what factor that has. Per previous PM with you before you posted, yes, I have always wanted to get those tests done if I had the spare $$$ but in the great scheme of things the bottom line is my FJR runs great. 154,782 HARD miles on the odo. Crashed 3 times. New cam chain and tensionser at 110k. New main wiring harness at 148k. I've abused my FJR and it's taken it.
One of the reasons I wanted you to post was to get knowledge from the collective. You have gotten it. Since the wording of your post was a bit presumptuous, you got some passively agressive hostile replies. You reap what you sow. But there is some good stuff there too.
I had remembered reading others saying you had to be very careful with compression and leak down #s and that they could easily be misleading. I don't care what your great Yammie dealer and Yamaha say. Maybe they are wrong. Which brings me to my next point that has been repeated my many already.............
Besides the cam chain issue, is your FJR running well? Get the tensioner replaced. Ride the damned thing. Run it on a dyno. See what numbers you get if you are so concerned.
I am not yet convinced your FJR is 'dead'. Especially since you report no smoke, oil consumption, or power loss. I think you need to take a deep breath, a chill pill, a step back, and a new look at this as objectively as you can. Maybe the sky is not yet falling.
EXTREMELY presumptous (I love that word!) to try and extrapolate that your engine began dying at 60k.
I am not an expert in these things. But I think this thread has some good advice from many who do have some expertise. If I were you, I WOULD NOT take what the one shop is telling you at face value. Get a 2nd opinion. Just like you would from doctors for a seriousl medical problem. Follow some of the advice you are getting in this thread.
Maybe your engine truly is dying. Bummer. Maybe you got a 'bad' one. ALL manufacturers make them. Doesn't mean everybody else will get the same results you get. If this is the case, I am feeling for you man. But you still can't have my Bud Light.
Besides Eric, PAY ATTENTION ALL YOU OTHER DOOM SAYERS WHO NOW THINK EVERY FJR WILL DIE AT 88K: I know of SEVERAL 130k+ FJRs with no known major issues.
If your engine dies.........EBAY!!!! Seen some good deals there. Worth the chance. No surprise Yamaha doesn't provide crate motors. Not exatly a 'big' market. I don't even want to imagine what Yamaha would try to charge for one anyway.
I wish you the best of luck with this. Hope it turns out that your FJR is not so sick afterall, and I can start calling you Chicken Little. Or maybe in your case, Chicken NOT so Little.
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Yes and no.
On a 2002 Triumph Sprint ST I only used Triumph approved Synth. oil replaced every 3,000 miles. At about the 18,000 mile mark and a move to the East Coast (did not ride here) I went 6,000 miles on an oil service. The bike began stalling at stops, the power began to decrease and it did not idle as smoothly. This was noticed after servicing the oil as all the above symptoms vanished after the service. I thought I'd experement again and waited for another 6,000 miles before a service...sure enough, those exact symptoms returned. After servicing the oil, those symptoms vanished again. Ironically, I tried another (less expensive) brand oil the second time and had the same results. I truly believe oil has a huge part in longevity and will service oil at or before the 3,000 mark.
Of course this is just my $0.02 worth and you can make of it what you want.
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SkooterG - I always appreciate your input. Yes, we have different ways of stating things. Don't get me started on Hobart.
What I said in the original post, and what I'm still saying to everyone is gather data on your bike. Do I know what's going on with mine yet? No. I do know what Yamaha's response was to my having the described issues though. That's what I shared.
As to blanket claims, without data, that's just speculation isn't it? I'm simply saying to the forum members, GET DATA.
As to everyone's bike that runs "fine", good on them. Doesn't mean it isn't blow spec on compression either. As of last Friday, mine isn't running fine. Nothing sucks like picking up a bike from the dealer that doesn't run "fine".
The thing to consider here is that Yamaha has a spec. And a minimum spec. They will consider the engine "worn" if it's below that spec. That will impact your warranty claims. If you take the time to gather some data along the way, you may have a better chance at getting some coverage. If my compression was discovered to be below spec at 60k, I would have had two years of my YES left to consider the issue and deal with Yamaha. Sure, maybe it ran "fine", but should it be out of spec? Is that normal? If not, is it due to a covered condition? Either way, WTF??? We buy extended warranties with the expectation that the product will perform to the manufacturers specs for that entire period, not just in case something full out fails. At least I did.
Your suggestion is that I ignore everything but the butt dyno and ride the bike. IF I can get the bike running decent, THEN I probably will do that, and post what steps I went through along the way.
Thanks for the input and see you in NV.
Don't get me started on Hobart.What I said in the original post, and what I'm still saying to everyone is gather data on your bike. Do I know what's going on with mine yet? No. I do know what Yamaha's response was to my having the described issues though. That's what I shared.
As to blanket claims, without data, that's just speculation isn't it? I'm simply saying to the forum members, GET DATA.
As to everyone's bike that runs "fine", good on them. Doesn't mean it isn't blow spec on compression either. As of last Friday, mine isn't running fine. Nothing sucks like picking up a bike from the dealer that doesn't run "fine".
The thing to consider here is that Yamaha has a spec. And a minimum spec. They will consider the engine "worn" if it's below that spec. That will impact your warranty claims. If you take the time to gather some data along the way, you may have a better chance at getting some coverage. If my compression was discovered to be below spec at 60k, I would have had two years of my YES left to consider the issue and deal with Yamaha. Sure, maybe it ran "fine", but should it be out of spec? Is that normal? If not, is it due to a covered condition? Either way, WTF??? We buy extended warranties with the expectation that the product will perform to the manufacturers specs for that entire period, not just in case something full out fails. At least I did.
Your suggestion is that I ignore everything but the butt dyno and ride the bike. IF I can get the bike running decent, THEN I probably will do that, and post what steps I went through along the way.
Thanks for the input and see you in NV.
Gizmo
Well-known member
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OC..., Your situation absolutely sucks and I would be pissed too :angry2: The shame of this is the support (BS runaround) that you're getting from Yamaha. I hope they are "listening" to their customers via these forums-CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW :clapping: I'm currently looking for an FJR. Is this going to stop me from buying one? Probably not, but it makes me think about collecting data, just in case. Thanks for sharing...
charismaticmegafauna
Well-known member
I was under the impression that the shop couldn't get the proper exhaust numbers from your bike -- and hence the "engine worn-out" conclusion? Not, that you had a performance complaint....
I think the warranty is for defects in material and workmanship -- not normal wear & tear? Usually, that means a part fails. I don't think it can be construed to provide you with a new/like-new bike for the term of the warranty.
OTOH, you may have a claim that Yamaha is obliged to make it meet Federal emission requirements (there is a Federal Law on this for manufacturers -- but, I don't know the mileage they're obligated to).
What was your initial running/riding performance complaint?
I once requested warranty from Kawasaki and the customer rep. on the phone asked me, "Does it affect the bike's performance?"
If your bike runs right up to the top speed of most/all other FJRs -- it can't have too much of a problem (jmho...).
Good luck -- I hope you get it all resolved (to your satisfaction).
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OK, I found the post where he admits he did the motoman breakin procedure the first day he got the bike. It's on the second page. If Yamaha has any reason to suspect he did this (hell, he might even have told them!), they absolutely should not give him even the time of day. After all, there have to be some penalties for stupidity.
SkooterG
Purveyor of Crooked Facts
WTF are you talking about?!?!
DO NOT turn this thread into a Motoman break-in debate.
That being said Einstein, why is he 'stupid' and why should Yammie not 'give him the time of day'? Doing the Motoman break-in is NOT outside the vague guidelines that Yamaha gives for break-in in the manual. Maybe YOU need some penalties?
I did the motoman break-in. 154,782 miles later still going strong.
Yeah, fine genius. But, what's your compression? After your "breakin", maybe it never was any better than the OP's.
ngarider
Ride More, Talk Less
Iggy with the
worldbound4now
Well-known member
I think I heard that hit from half way across the country
Sorry to hear about engine woes (perceived or actual).
Sorry to hear about engine woes (perceived or actual).
How is it that breakin can't possibly have anything to do with premature wear?
I'm getting a good start on my "nitwits I can safely ignore" list from the responses to my post.
Warchild
Benevolent Dictator
Here, let me help you out here, Mr 7 Posts.... I wouldn't want you to have to fret about keeping a list for all those you decide to ignore.
So lemme just go ahead and unsubscribe your dumb ass for week..... now you can ignore everyone, and everyone can do the same with you.
I am all about creating win-win's.
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