Erat

iTrader: (5)

Take it to the "professionals" and end up with **** like this. ugh


Had some tires put on since after 4k miles i had pretty much smoked the rear tire, so i put some Pilot Road 4's on. Mostly in preparation for the trip i plan to take over the 4th of July. As of right now i'm looking at just under 2000 miles, but i'm sure i'll wimp out and only do half that.

Lincoln Logs

iTrader: (1)

That blows! I had the same thing happen, except I have no one to blame but myself for not warning my helper to make sure the calipers didn't hit the front wheel and it took some nice chunks of paint out. I ordered a touch up pen from ColorRite and it did an alright job covering it up.

Lincoln Logs

iTrader: (1)

I know there are a few FZ/FJ-09 owners here so I wanted to share my experience with a couple of recent mods I performed.

I've been sitting on my Stoltec Fork Piston Kit since last year and I finally made the time to get it installed. The Ohlins shock upgrade was such a huge improvement I wasn't particularly motivated to get this one done. I had contemplated attempting the installation myself, but in the end I took it to my local suspension guy, and after watching what goes into installing the kit I am glad I did! He had a lot of speciality tools which made the job quicker but thanks to Yamaha's liberal use of Loctite it was not a walk in the park. I did learn that cartridge swaps would be pretty manageable for a DIY project.


Quick shot of disassembly. If anyone is on the fence about this kit, get off and buy. The improvement over my heavier fork oil bandaid was massive. For the first time, the bike’s suspension is working in unison and significantly raised my confidence in the bike. Bumps disappear and the fork works like it should be. If I was building a track rat the cartridges might make more sense, but for the money this is a no brainer ($220 in parts, $160 labor).


With the suspension sorted I was pretty happy with the bike until I rode an FJ-09 with a refreshed ECU. I had no idea what I was missing out on until that ride. Being impatient, I ordered a no down time flash from Vcyclenut, he sends you a pre-flashed ECU and you ship yours back to him for a core exchange. Without a doubt this is the second best improvement I’ve made to the bike (suspension being first). The refresh makes the power of the bike much more manageable and accessible. The off/on throttle bucking is eliminated and A mode is actually fun to use when you want to be a hooligan.


With the suspension and ECU sorted I can't help but feel like this is how it should have been from the factory, I would have gladly paid a premium to Yamaha for a FZ-09R for the same goodies.

Roda

Nice! Suspension is on the short list, once I finish my. VVT swap. Have you had any cam chain tensioner issues? Mine started making noise and I just ordered an APE manual tensioner.

Lincoln Logs

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=Roda;1340370]My CCT makes noise on cold starts but otherwise it is fine. I'm not a fan of the manual tensioners (I'm lazy) and I know they are on V3 or V4 of the CCT which I should probably pick up at some point. The only issue I've had so far is my clutch cable started to fray at the lever pivot.

Erat

iTrader: (5)

My tensioner also makes noise on cold starts, but goes away.

I feel like i was only in triple digits when i got my flash
Maybe this winter i'll save up for suspension work. There is no way i'll be attempting it myself. Maybe send my fork out to someone.

I also now have this noise coming from my GPR4.

Email being sent to them tonight.

Lincoln Logs

iTrader: (1)

The shock is super easy to swap, I'd definitely recommend doing that yourself (it takes less than an hour). Do you already have something in mind for the fork (cartridges or FPK)? The flash really tamed the bike in STD mode, it takes more twist of the wrist to get the same acceleration I grew use to. What flash did you go with?

GPR has some of the best customer service in my experience, if they give you grief I'll go knock on their door, they are 15 minutes away!

Erat

iTrader: (5)

I'm completely undecided on suspension yet, honestly.

The tune:a fuel map for the full akro ti exhaust. disabled the speed limiter . customized all three throttle modes for throttle maps and deceleration maps. disabled o2 sensor, ais, and injector decal cut. start in std mode. fans on at 195. enables ecu controlled quick shifting
David was great to correspond with. Would do business with him again.

GPR got a nice email first, we'll see how they respond. I'm betting they're going to want me to remove it and send it in.

Erat

iTrader: (5)

My correspondence with GPR.
Me
Him
Me
I certainly wouldn't call this the best customer service I've ever had. I shouldn't have to, but I guess I need to ask how they're going to solve the issue.

OGRacing

iTrader: (1)

I got something you guys might like and might not know about. I picked up a new set of Karting gloves to be used on the bike. Kart gloves are made from Skid resistant material much like motorcycle gloves, but flow much more air. if you guys are looking for some in expensive gloves that fold up into your pocket give it a look.

Lincoln Logs

iTrader: (1)

That is a bummer, have you had any more luck with them?

Erat

iTrader: (5)

Yesterday at 11am i responded with this email:

Haven't gotten a response back yet.

OGRacing

iTrader: (1)

that doesn't sound good.

Erat

iTrader: (5)

Nope. Oh well.

I installed the cruise control and packed up for this weekend.





The google maps says just under 1000 miles, we'll see.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Love that bike.

I think I might need a bike. Dammit.

z31maniac

^That. My tattoo guy asked me last night, "You're single now. Why don't you already have another bike?"

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Yup. I always said that if my wife and I separated, I'd get a bike again.

Divorce was finalized end of February, still no bike.

Roda

Did a bunch of stuff to my FJ9 over the laslt week or so...

For those of you with FZ9s, this might be of interest: Yamaha have been having problems with the cam chain tensioner on the 900 triple. This is pretty well documented on the FZ forums, and failures are starting to show up on FJ9s now as well. My cam chain started making noise a couple weeks ago, and coincidentally, Yamaha released a TSB for warranty replacement of failing CCTs on FJ9s the same week. I checked with my local dealer, and they were aware of the issue and were willing to start the paperwork, but said it would take a couple weeks to process, get the part and do the repair. Well, I'm leaving on a x-country trip soon, and didn't want to take the chance they would fall behind and screw up my trip. I was also concerned that it wouldn't be a permanent fix, since Yamaha is apparently on version 3 or 4 of the CCT, and they're still failing...

So, I bought a manual CCT from APE (less than $100 shipped), and spent a whole 20 minutes installing it. Permanent fix, just have to adjust periodically. I can deal with that for the peace of mind. It's amazing how quiet my motor is now. Noises sneak up on you when they develop gradually, and you wear earplugs all the time!

This week, I installed handguards off a KTM 1190, which have better aero than the stock Yamaha handguards and are several inches narrower overall. I also installed the Yamaha heated grips, filled the bar with BBs to cut down on vibration, and slapped on a Beadrider seat thingy.

I must be getting old, 'cause I used to make fun of these...



I'm not quite ready to spend $$ on a replacement seat, but wanted to see if I could eliminate a couple hot spots for my upcoming trip, which will entail several 600 mile days in a row. Each way...

Also spooned on a set of Michelin PR4s... big improvement over the Dunlop Roadsmarts!

hi_im_sean

iTrader: (3)

Quit being a bitch already. Bring it with you when you go to TX and stop by. K thx bai

z31maniac

My divorce-ary was June 8th!