What did you do to your FJR today?

[NTXFJR]

$346 is what I paid for PR4GTs last week. They got installed yesterday evening and the wheels go back on tonight. I'm hoping for better mileage out of the PR4 than the PR2 - it will take 7500 miles to get me to YFO and back. Based on my current data, the rear PR2 would never make it back.
And the start of that adventure is only one week away!!!

Hey Pants, 7 days!

You should have lots of rubber room with that 4GT on the trip westward ho. No wait...I've seen how you ride.

I'm trying to reconcile the differences in mileage between riders with the same tire. The first thing to consider would be right hand grip. But if some members can consistently get in excess of 15k on a PR2 rear than what other factors could there be? Chip seal vs. slab pavement?

 

[BanjoBoy]

Yeah, I went for a ride yesterday afternoon too, and it saw 96 degrees on the dash a lot. That's too damn hot for comfort for this northern boy. Luckily the front moved through last night and the temps are a bit more seasonable for the weekend.
PR4's are commanding a premium these days. Lowest price I know of is $346 for the pair of PR4 GT's in stock sizes (180/55, 120/70). I have tried to justify them with their promise of better mileage, but the numbers don't add up. I'll just keep on putting PR2's on the rear and a Bridgestone T30GT up front until that option is no longer available. At $243 per set it's hard to beat. $100 worth of gas will get me a lot of miles. Interesting to note that the T30GT front tires are now on closeout at Jake Wilson. I guess they won't be around for too much longer. But for the PR2 rear there is no "closeout" designation still (yet?).

T30GT or T30GT EVO? They are phasing out the T30s, but EVOs are still common. Dunno 'bout Jake Wilson, I always shop at American Motorcycle Tire. $122 delivered to my compound, 'n I dun gotta $50 rebate on the last set. https://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33_82_1154&products_id=6905

 

[draco_1967]

I'm trying to reconcile the differences in mileage between riders with the same tire. The first thing to consider would be right hand grip. But if some members can consistently get in excess of 15k on a PR2 rear than what other factors could there be? Chip seal vs. slab pavement?

I think riding style, road surface material, average speeds, temperature, and riding conditions will all impact tire life. I was only getting 8-9k on a rear on the NC700X, and that is not a heavy, nor powerful bike. I do like to accelerate quickly, but I wasn't going to be doing any burnouts with a 49hp, 500lb bike. Many owners were reporting 11-14k out of a PR4 on that bike. Some of the canyon roads around here are chip seal, but I would also do a lot of slab riding on trips getting to different states.

 

[Fred W]

Interesting to note that the T30GT front tires are now on closeout at Jake Wilson. I guess they won't be around for too much longer. But for the PR2 rear there is no "closeout" designation still (yet?).

T30GT or T30GT EVO? They are phasing out the T30s, but EVOs are still common. Dunno 'bout Jake Wilson, I always shop at American Motorcycle Tire. $122 delivered to my compound, 'n I dun gotta $50 rebate on the last set. https://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33_82_1154&products_id=6905

That was the T30 GT (non-Evo). The T-30 (non-GT non-Evo) fronts are also on closeout. The rears of both of those are not on closeout.

 

[BanjoBoy]

Interesting to note that the T30GT front tires are now on closeout at Jake Wilson. I guess they won't be around for too much longer. But for the PR2 rear there is no "closeout" designation still (yet?).

T30GT or T30GT EVO? They are phasing out the T30s, but EVOs are still common. Dunno 'bout Jake Wilson, I always shop at American Motorcycle Tire. $122 delivered to my compound, 'n I dun gotta $50 rebate on the last set. https://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33_82_1154&products_id=6905

That was the T30 GT (non-Evo). The T-30 (non-GT non-Evo) fronts are also on closeout. The rears of both of those are not on closeout.

Try a GT EVO front, you'll like it.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I changed the oil last night on the 08. Now to go to the post office.

Bye,

Dave

 

[draco_1967]

I did just shy of 1200 miles this weekend on the new Conti tires, testing packing for a longer trip, and fell further in love will my lovely '07. The new Contis felt great. We had all sorts of road conditions, including some pretty good rain. I felt very confident with the grip on these.

A pic from the trip (one of these things is not like the others):

 

[Fred W]

Interesting to note that the T30GT front tires are now on closeout at Jake Wilson. I guess they won't be around for too much longer. But for the PR2 rear there is no "closeout" designation still (yet?).

T30GT or T30GT EVO? They are phasing out the T30s, but EVOs are still common. Dunno 'bout Jake Wilson, I always shop at American Motorcycle Tire. $122 delivered to my compound, 'n I dun gotta $50 rebate on the last set. https://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33_82_1154&products_id=6905

That was the T30 GT (non-Evo). The T-30 (non-GT non-Evo) fronts are also on closeout. The rears of both of those are not on closeout.

Try a GT EVO front, you'll like it.

I've got one on there now, and it has about 5 thousand on it. So far so good.

 

[RossKean]

A pic from the trip (one of these things is not like the others):

Looks like three Harleys and a motorcycle.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Not today, but over the weekend. First I parked it after the DC trip. Then I didn't look at it for about a day and a half, but I knew I needed to do some maintenance. So, Saturday afternoon, I bought a gallon of oil and a small container of brake fluid. I wasn't liking the way my brakes felt, and my clutch wasn't disengaging correctly.

Sunday was the day. The first thing I did was spray electronic parts cleaner into my locks and ignition. The key was sticking when I tried to lock the handle bars. Then I went on a short ride to warm things up. Once back, I lubed all the locks and ignition with silicone spray, and it seemed to work well. Then I did a diff fluid change. Jeez, that stuff reeks.

I moved on to the oil change, with new filter. I also finally installed the new Union Bolt I got from Norm Kern. I was concerned that the needed oil change was causing my clutch plates to stick, and making it hard too find neutral. Once the change was done, I stated it up and had the exact same issue. I figured a clutch fluid change would fix it.

As I got the reservoir cap off, I noticed my Pazzo lever was set at 1, which is it's closest setting. It's also a setting I don't use, because I know the clutch doesn't disengage all the way. Not sure how that happened, so I moved it back out to 3 and did the fluid anyway. I also flushed the brakes. Old fluid didn't really look too dirty or bad, but everything felt better when I was done. Also, she shifts perfectly now. New fluid and a correct lever setting will do that. Haha...

Then I took my shifter apart and lubed that. It's been a while since the last time I did that. While things were apart, I decided to do the sidestand also. It was feeling sluggish. I needed an impact wrench to break that 17mm screw loose. Cleaned it all up, put new lube on everything, and it all feels brand new.

Finally, I did my rear brake foot lever. It didn't feel bad, but why wait. Again, cleaned it up, and it needed it. It's been since just after the first Rueben Run since I took the whole assembly apart. She's all clean and feels like new also.

All in all, some tedious stuff, but she runs great, and all the levers feel good. Not a bad day of FJR wrenching!

 

[draco_1967]

A pic from the trip (one of these things is not like the others):

Looks like three Harleys and a motorcycle.

2 "Honda-Davidson" VTX1800s and V-Star 1300. The VTX is certainly no slouch. around 110hp and gobs of torque.

 

[RossKean]

A pic from the trip (one of these things is not like the others):

Looks like three Harleys and a motorcycle.

2 "Honda-Davidson" VTX1800s and V-Star 1300. The VTX is certainly no slouch. around 110hp and gobs of torque.

Couldn't see the bikes well enough in the pic to identify other than the fact that they were cruisers - I just assumed the worst. Yes, the VTX does pretty well but not my taste. Even the V-star is a pretty credible machine for what it is.

I'll be interested to see how long the tires last.

 

[NBB]

Could have added a day or two ago,

Added a fender extender and a second horn using the 2 wire power setup.

This morning, enjoyed going for a ride.

NBB

 

[El Toro Joe]

Fresh oil yesterday...

 

[Biquer]

I used 5 or 6 sets of Conti Road attacks. Not good after 5000 miles and done at 6500. I've used many Pilot Roads, 2, 3 and 4 and all were useful to over 10,000 miles.

The Contis feel more like sport tyres when they're fresh, but the Pilot Roads are better on wet or slippery roads.

 

[Niehart]

First I want to thank Brad Smith [Travelinfjr], Don Carver, Ray Slocomb [FJRRay], George Hespe [escapefjrtist], Rich Holtmierer {Curly Joe].

My 2010 FJR [80,000 miles] was getting a little hard to start. Brad Smith had a new battery sitting on the charger so I installed that. Still had the same problem. The bike would start every time but really labor when starting. So I did all the battery leak down tests and every thing was great. Then I remembered when Brad's '03' was doing the same thing on startup. Oh damn, it's the starter.

Don Carver's only part in this story was having starter problems with his '06'. Ray sent him a replaced rebuilt starter and Don sent his bad starter to Ray, which Ray rebuilt. So Don's rebuilt starter is going into my bike. Ray was also kind enough to clean all the blue painter's tape off Don's starter.

I called Ray and he had a rebuilt start [Don's old one] in the mail to me the next morning. Thanks Ray, you saved my hide!

Then I, Mr. Shade Tree Mechanic, did what any smart man would do, call a real mechanic, "George I need help".

George came over Saturday and brought a tester to so we could be positive that it was the starter. Is a 140 amps on start up to much?

So we pulled the bike apart, really not to hard [with George there] but time consuming. Seats, gas tank, cross bar and heat shield, side covers, tool box, air box, injectors, etc all have to come off. We also took lots of pictures so that we could route everything the right way.

We took the starter apart and found that the oil ring seal had let a little oil into the starter. The oil combined with brush wear had created a nasty mess in the starter and bridged. I think that if we had the correct o-ring seals, we could have cleaned it and reinstalled it.

And, of course, priority mailed starter didn't come on Saturday so late Monday afternoon George and I attacked the bike again. Rich also showed up and a third set of hand was helpful in putting it back together. And as many have said before, the airbox was kind of a pain to put back on the injectors.

We started it up and it purred like a kitten.

I'm not really sure what I would do without my forum fiends. George, I just can't thanks you enough. Ray has a couple of rebuilt starters in stock most of the time.

My guess with the cost of a new starter and labor, this would have been a $1000 bill at a Yamaha shop.

And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I will post some pictures of the starter when I get time.

 

[Fred W]

Your story made me think about the time I took the throttle bodies off my old '05 for cleaning a few years ago. It would have been smart for me to have pulled the starter and given it some love after I had removed all the same crap required to gain access to it. Oh well, live and learn. But if someone else has plans to remove the throttle bodies on their high miler FJR, well maybe you can learn from my omission?

 

[Harald]

We took the starter apart and found that the oil ring seal had let a little oil into the starter. The oil combined with brush wear had created a nasty mess in the starter and bridged. I think that if we had the correct o-ring seals, we could have cleaned it and reinstalled it.

Too bad I didn't know, Dave. I have just such a seal sitting in my garage to rebuild my old 120,000 mile starter that also is a mess of carbon and oil inside. I had bought a used starter and rebuilt it so I wouldn't waste any time when it was time to pull the old one. Rebuilding is no longer a priority, but it would be nice to have it ready in case someone local needs one in a hurry.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Your story made me think about the time I took the throttle bodies off my old '05 for cleaning a few years ago. It would have been smart for me to have pulled the starter and given it some love after I had removed all the same crap required to gain access to it. Oh well, live and learn. But if someone else has plans to remove the throttle bodies on their high miler FJR, well maybe you can learn from my omission?

We all know hind sight is 20/20

Been there a few times myself.

Dave

 

[sapest]

https://www.satoracing.com/handlebarend.htm



https://www.satoracing.com/universalbrackets.htm

-Steve