UPDATE: JB's Bike Problem Diagnosed

[James Burleigh]

Just got off the phone with Zach: New clutch is installed. Shifts beautifully; can click right through all the gears.

Trouble is, the bike had been on the center stand during all diagnoses, repairs, and testing. Then with the motor running he put it on the side stand. That's when he heard the grinding noise.

The lean of the bike causes something to press sideways in such a way that causes a mechanical problem and noise...and only when it's leaning toward the left side.

Zach thinks it might be the middle drive gear or transmission. Sounds like SLM wasn't so far off base after all, 'cause now Zach is going to have to remove the engine to diagnose it.

But I haven't given him the green light yet. I need to figure out if it's worth the cost.

What can I get an '05 for with a normal amount of miles on it, like 10K miles? Mine's got 90K.

Need some advice here, friends...!

 

[Geezer]

What can I get an '05 for with a normal amount of miles on it, like 10K miles? Mine's got 90K.

Need some advice here, friends...!

It might be less expensive to replace the engine as a unit with a gently used one rather than pay for all the labor to tear it apart without knowing what he'll find inside.

 

[Tree Doc]

This sucks, Hans. What a ****** decision you're forced to make.

There an '05 for sale down here right now with <8k miles. Ironically, in ATASCADERO! Guys high on price and maybe as well as crack, IMO as he listed it at $8,000. I'm guessing it will be for sale for a while at that rate. I'd say around $6500 would be reasonable for a clean, low mileage, '05 unit.

https://slo.craigslist.org/mcy/2414071729.html

 

[pmeysemb]

JB,

This may or may not help - probably not You are in exactly the same spot I was in about a month ago. My '05 had about 61.5K on it when something snapped in the tranny coming normally off an on-ramp onto the freeway. I was able to pull over safely and "jiggle" the shifter into 3rd only after a few minutes. I was able to ride home, in 3rd, about 10 miles and didn't take a chance on shifting again. I suspect it is something with the shift forks. Anyway, the prospect of being without a bike for a good while "forced" me to pick up a nice '04 within a week (very understanding wife :yahoo: ). Also, I finally got all my farkles moved over - it felt good not having to buy them all again!

It has taken a while but I finally got the engine out but getting into the tranny is a bit daunting, to say the least. I'm sure the cost for labor to peek into an FJR engine has got to be pretty high after getting this far with my own. I didn't even bother checking since I have a fairly nice shop to try this.

Long story a bit shorter: I suppose if I could get my '05 back into ride-able shape somehow, either with replacement engine or fixing mine, I suppose I'd happily take $3 - 4k for it - if I could ride it for a while (months - a few thousand miles?) and "prove" it, I think it might go up a bit. Right now, there's about six complete 1st gen. engine/tranny combos on ebay ranging from $650 up to $2k. I am going to wait a bit before bidding against you for one of them until I get a better look into mine and have even a hope of getting it all back together successfully.

Good luck,

 

[SkooterG]

Bummer.

Tough decision. If you can take your time, you can find some good deals on used Gen Is. Prices seem to be creeping up slowly however.

An 04 ABS with 4300 miles that was in Modesto went for $6100 about a month back on ebay.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I'd start by draining the oil and straining what comes out. You sometimes luck out and can get good clues about what the problem is.

In an old KLR, you may even get a broken piece out that was causing the grinding. But that's another story.

 

[doug5551]

Very sorry to hear this.

Best wishes for a good outcome for you,,, :dribble:

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

...Then with the motor running he put it on the side stand. That's when he heard the grinding noise. Zach thinks it might be the middle drive gear or transmission. Sounds like SLM wasn't so far off base after all, 'cause now Zach is going to have to remove the engine to diagnose it.

But I haven't given him the green light yet. I need to figure out if it's worth the cost.

Need some advice here, friends...!

At least get the full diagnosis and estimate of cost of repair (without that, you just don't know).

Used/junk yard engines are kind of 'a pig in a poke', IMO (unknowns -- ya take yer chances).

I recco fixing what you got.

While it may seem daunting to some, good motorcycle shops disassemble, repair, and reassemble engines/trans successfully on a regular basis.

Parts is parts...

Good luck.

 

[Patriot]

I guess I must continue to thank the biking gawds...

ebay '05 engine with 10k miles shown running perfectly on emailed video with crushed forks into the radiator to show insurance total bought at auction

$600

reasonably nearby independent shop with young mechanic loving bikes who commonly pulls & replaces engines of crotch rockets, Harleys, and Goldwings.

$50 hour and charged 12 hrs or $600 labor

CCT failure on '04 93k mi engine...found hard to start with zero compression

now with 137k miles or 40k miles with nary a hiccup from the day I rode Dec 6, 2009...2010 put 26k miles on my 2004.5

:yahoo:

 

[CAJW]

Geez Louise! Sorry to hear this Hans. Crying shame and as previous posts have said, not an enviable position. Best of luck and let me know if I can help.

JW

 

[TomInPA]

Hans, I got my 05 FJR with 6577 miles on the clock for $6295 on December 1. The bike went through a couple price reductions before I jumped on it and have not regretted one moment. Minimal farkles with throttlmeister, heli-risers and Rick Meyer seat. Pristine except for the oops mark on the stator case. As you know, a bike that gets ridden sees the mileage pile up pretty fast. Mine is at 14,800.

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Pm sent.

here is another listing of one of those antigue ugly blue 05's.............

https://medford.craigslist.org/mcy/2340326090.html

Do coast to coast 48 on the way back

https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/mcy/2332731778.htmla

 

[jwhite518]

Wow, what a major bummer.

If you feel like fixing it, I know a mechanic down near Lake Isabella who is awesome. Too bad you'd probably have to truck it down there.

They'll ban me from the forum for suggesting this, but if you're thinking replacement, you CAN look at other bikes. I tell ya Hans, the Wing is pretty damn comfy. But for your riding style, which is 90% commute and 10% touring...seriously check into a DL1000.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Hans - One thing I notice on this forum is there are a lot of Feej's on the market. I'd say it's a bit more of buyers market right now.

You should be able to pick up an 05 w/ABS for $5k-$6K. Many are out (with even fairly low miles) there, give'r a search.

Good luck.

 

[Tree Doc]

Wow, what a major bummer.

If you feel like fixing it, I know a mechanic down near Lake Isabella who is awesome. Too bad you'd probably have to truck it down there.

They'll ban me from the forum for suggesting this, but if you're thinking replacement, you CAN look at other bikes. I tell ya Hans, the Wing is pretty damn comfy. But for your riding style, which is 90% commute and 10% touring...seriously check into a DL1000.

BLASPHEMY!!

It's Friday, let the banning begin!! :yahoo:

 

[James Burleigh]

Hans - One thing I notice on this forum is there are a lot of Feej's on the market. I'd say it's a bit more of buyers market right now.

You should be able to pick up an 05 w/ABS for $5k-$6K. Many are out (with even fairly low miles) there, give'r a search.

Good luck.

Exactly my plan this weekend--to see what's out there. Thanks.

 

[James Burleigh]

...if you're thinking replacement, you CAN look at other bikes.

You know, I have been admiring the BMW K1200R for years...

 

[mr.paul]

Sucks to have problems. We want themto run for forever, or until we are done with them.

I usually look at it this way. Get a good estimate for the repairs. Assuming everything else is OK, try this test. If your repair is, say, $2,000, look at your bike and ask if you would pay that same amount of money for the same bike. If you were buying it used from someone else, would you pay that, for that bike? and then realize you actually know everything about your bike, unlike an anonymous used one. If you aren't sure, make a change. If you go "yeah, of course I would buy that bike for that", then get it fixed.

mr.paul