Weekend maintenance and I'm an *****

[gixxerjasen]

Spent the weekend with FJR parts strewn all over my garage. Actually, many of them are still there. I've got a few things to finish up tonight and button it all up.

First up, 7K+ miles on this baby means it's time to go. This tire was on the bike when I bought it so I have no idea how many miles Steel put on it before me, but Rockwall Yamaha refuses it seems to put the bike's mileage on their receipts so that spot is blank on all of Steel's impeccable paperwork.

I had my little helper assisting with the tire change.

With new tires, it was time to finally dig in and check those valves which was long overdue. All in spec with a couple of exhaust valves close to the loose end of acceptable parameters. Will have to keep an eye on those.

I'd like some time with the engineer who thought that was a good place for the radiator fill cap! Did a cursory change of the fluid. Not a full flush per say, but I did say a 1/3 flush. So that's out of the way too.

And finally, installed my wynpro covers. Wow that makes things so much nicer. Next throttle body synch will be SO much easier!

Here we are, before the install.

And after....

Note the nifty cap on the airbox. Picked up an assortment of caps at autozone and had one in there that was just perfect.

Closeup shot of the covers.

And lastly, why I'm an *****. Ok, the first part isn't so idiotic. The question is...why do we cover holes up with paper towels or something? This is why!

I was so glad that I'd taken the time to do this when I dropped that little bolt in there. That sucker would have been gone. Easily retrieved I'm sure with a magnetic wand, and would have necessitated me actually finally buying one, but not this time.

And lastly, got the bike semi back together for a function test. This part always gives my stomach issues after doing this much stuff. Last valve check I did I pinched the gasket and found myself sitting at a gas station wondering where all that oil was coming from. Anyway, I go to fire up the bike and it cranks and coughs once or twice but nothing. Hrm, not getting any gas. Fuel line is all hooked up and all clicky parts are clicked. This is not looking good.

"Hrm" I think. Gas was very low when I brought it in here. I figured this would be a good thing when removing the tank from the bike. I bet the fuel pump isn't picking anything up with the tank propped like that. Drop the tank and she fired right up! Woohoo! Whew! No leaks, ran the bike to four bars and then shut her down and went to bed. Tonight I'll top off the coolant and button her back up for a ride in to work tomorrow!

Thanks for reading up on some boring idiotic routine maintenance! Thankfully we had a cold front move through this weekend as it was 88F on Saturday. I always seem to get stuck changing tires when it's 104F outside but not this year. Fun stuff wrenching in the garage but I'd have rather been riding this weekend with the new great weather!

 

[YummYam]

Interesting stuff for me anyway and great pics.Just one question as I'm completely baffled on this one.

Apart from looking neat and neatER, what function do the cover plates fulfil or negate, or whatever?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Biggest function? Makes the throttle body sync MUCH easier. Trying to get the hoses on those stubby little pieces, or the caps back on is a pain when you have to go through all that plumbing. Now they are fairly easy access for my next go round.

Oh yea, and I estimate a 20lb weight loss so the bike will faster and handle faster. Hrm, ok, I might be exaggerating a bit, but hey, every ounce lost is worth it, right?!

 

[gixxerjasen]

Oh yea, linky -> https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=116612

Dave was great to work with and my block off plates and rambone arrived with a quickness!

 

[Bungie]

And lastly, got the bike semi back together for a function test. This part always gives my stomach issues after doing this much stuff. Last valve check I did I pinched the gasket and found myself sitting at a gas station wondering where all that oil was coming from. Anyway, I go to fire up the bike and it cranks and coughs once or twice but nothing. Hrm, not getting any gas. Fuel line is all hooked up and all clicky parts are clicked. This is not looking good.

"Hrm" I think. Gas was very low when I brought it in here. I figured this would be a good thing when removing the tank from the bike. I bet the fuel pump isn't picking anything up with the tank propped like that. Drop the tank and she fired right up! Woohoo! Whew! No leaks, ran the bike to four bars and then shut her down and went to bed. Tonight I'll top off the coolant and button her back up for a ride in to work tomorrow!

I did the exact same thing a few weeks back during my throttle sync. Kinda get a sinkin' feeling in your stomach when it wont' catch when all you've done is lifted the tank and connected some vacuum lines. Cooler heads prevailed and after lowering the tank, it catches and starts right up. <PHEW>

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Any man who has enough sense to have his "little helper" out there working with him is definitely not an *****. Great pics of the boy, love the shoes. Was that Lightning Mcqueen?

 

[gixxerjasen]

Yes, those are his Lightning McQueen slippers. I was in the middle of some stuff and noticed him walking around and his right foot was leaving wet footprints. Figured he got some water on his slipper, should have known better. Looked back a minute later and he's got his left foot cranked up in the air about to go into the bucket. Sigh...got him stopped in time but that other slipper was soaked.

 

[Bungie]

Looked back a minute later and he's got his left foot cranked up in the air about to go into the bucket. Sigh...got him stopped in time but that other slipper was soaked.

Congratulations. You've got a future motorcyclists.

 

[dsmack]

Very cute Son... I was grooving on the shoes as well! :yahoo:

Don

 

[Pat L]

Love it. My 6 yo helper is an awesome shopmate, though it does tend to take me a while longer to get things finished up with all the questions and lost tools and such

 

[someguy]

And the part # on the cap is?????

 

[gixxerjasen]

Love it. My 6 yo helper is an awesome shopmate, though it does tend to take me a while longer to get things finished up with all the questions and lost tools and such

Wait, I can blame the lost tools on him?

And the part # on the cap is?????

Cap?

 

[dcarver]

GJ, the proper syntax is 'IdJit', k'?

:lol:

 

[Redfish Hunter]

BTW what tires did you put on the bike this time? It looks like your roads must be as straight as the ones where I live judging by the wear pattern. Or else you've been doing burnouts to impress the ladies at bike night...

My son is 8 and is drawn to the motorcycle as well. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. I showed him the pics and he agrees, those are some great slippers. I lied shamelessly about how that little boy did all that work by himself. I pointed out that the least he could do is wash mine. He is still unsure if I am serious or not.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I went with my tried and true PR2's. They are good tires and can be had at a good price as well. I almost went with the Bridgestones that folks on here seem to like but decided to go with what I know works and works well.

And yes, I am centered right between hill country and Arkansas. Two curvy places about 3+ hours away, but nothing but flat straight roads here. Plus, nearly all of my 60 mile round trip commute is highway and HOV lane. That'll flatten out a tire like nothing else.

 

[Fred W]

I had my little helper assisting with the tire change.

I hope those are steel toed slippers. Safety first!!

With new tires, it was time to finally dig in and check those valves which was long overdue. All in spec with a couple of exhaust valves close to the loose end of acceptable parameters. Will have to keep an eye on those.

FYI. FJR valves don't wear and become looser. They only become tighter as the valve face and seat are the wear spots (not the stems). So if your clearances are increasing that would be an indication that you are getting buildup on those valve faces and seats.

Time to run some fuel system cleaner (Yamaha Ring Free, Seafoam or Techron FI cleaner) through the engine and give it an Italian Tune-up.

 

[RadioHowie]

Time to run some fuel system cleaner (Yamaha Ring Free, Seafoam or Techron FI cleaner) through the engine and give it an Italian Tune-up.

Fred, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Good One!

 

[Powerman]

I remember when my son was young (almost 30 now) he had to wash his electric three wheeler when I was washing my GXSR in the gravel driveway.

Went back outside and he left the hose on and washed out the gravel under my kickstand. 1 month old and on it's side on the plastic.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Interesting to note on the valve clearance thing. I've no idea which direction they are going as this is the first check under my ownership. Thanks for the tip.