Tag: yamaha

Posted on

Avon Storms

At the last tire change I put on a pair of Avon Storms.

I decided to try the Storms because many folks claim the are “the @#$@$”. Outstanding handling and performance as well as reasonable life.

I had to replace the first rear right at 6k, which considering I got a good 7k out of the previous Metzlers wasn’t what I had in mind. The front still looked ‘great’ although the handling was starting to deteriorate. I mounted a new rear and marched on.

We’ll 5000 miles later I was very sorry. The front went to hell at about 8000 miles total, but we were on our way to the Void Rally and didn’t have time. The tread still looked good but it had started to wear really lopsided.

After the rally I ordered up a new set of Pilot Road 2’s. Now weather and other factors meant it would be about 3 months before I’d get those mounted.

The following are photos of the Storms:

2nd Rear after 5k miles. Well into the wear bars but probably has another 2k left in it. Somewhat flat spotted in the middle but I’d venture out of those 5k miles, only 1200 are slab, so I’m not impressed.

IMG_0006-3-small

The front:

IMG_0008-small

I didn’t like the Storms and won’t buy them again.

  1. They took a crap load of weight to balance.
  2. I didn’t like them on tar snakes and painted lines. Very, very slippery.
  3. I felt their wet weather performance was only mediocre, not outstanding.
  4. Life is poor in my opinion. To me there were a step backwards from the Metz Z6’s
Posted on

Run for the hills…

This morning I had to run down to La Grange, KY to meet a fellow FJR rider. He recently put in a bulk order for oil filters, crush washers and spark plugs. I needed to meet with him and pickup the stuff that I ordered.

$11 for a Yamaha oil filter is obscene, $6 from University motors is much closer to reality.

I left at 0-dark thirty and hit the slab. Riding through a sunrise is still one of those simply awesome things you have to experience to understand.

After the I-75/I71 split I got off the highway and hit some of the more fun roads on the way down.

We met for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, then proceeded to wear out some of Southwestern/western Kentucky’s better roads.

380 miles later and I’m home, with parts in hand.

Twas a good day.

Posted on

FJR Maintenance Day & Barbarian Modification

Well at just over 6400 Miles and a weekend of hard riding last weekend it was time to look things over and do a little maintenance.

At the very least we needed an oil change though 3,000 miles is pretty short for today’s oils. The Yamalube was a little dirty but not bad at all when I drained it. I opted for 10w-40 Castrol this time. It was one of the few oils I could find without the friction modifiers so I thought I’d give it a go.

Also figured out that a FRAM PH7317 will fit my bike as well. That too will save me some dough, all though I do think the Yamaha/Denso filters are probably a little better filters overall, the FRAM should be just fine.

On tap for changes this time was the Barbarian modification.

For the 06 model it’s pretty simple. You peel off some plastic on the left side of the bike, expose the main wiring harness.

Unplug the big connector, push the plug out of pin location 25, remove the wire from 23 and move it over into 25, insert the plug into 23 and put everything back together.

DSC 3949

DSC 3950

This is all sounds pretty simple and it was until you break that orange/yellow wire. Grrrrrr….

Anyway we’re fixed and we’re good to go.

What this is supposed to do, is expose the CO level adjustment interface in the diagnostic menu. Then you can adjust the CO levels for each of the cylinders, giving you smoother (richer) off idle throttle response, and potentially, perhaps a cooler running bike too.

I haven’t taken it for a ride yet, but did adjust the levels +7 across the board as recommended. (Remember all manufacturers set everything lean as can be from the factory to appease the EPA).

My values were:

INITIAL Change to +7:

C:01 5 C:01 12
C:02 18 C:02 25
C:03 18 C:03 25
C:04 21 C:04 28

I wanted to resync the throttle bodies today as well but ran out of daylight. Will do that maybe tomorrow or on an upcoming weekend.

Total cost of today’s maintenance? Oil: $12 (on sale) Filter: $4.50 (already had the crush washer) Barbarian Mod, FREE.

For more information on the Barbarian Mod check out this resource.

Posted on

Vista Cruise and 06 FJR 1300

I added my first ‘farkle’ to the FJR today. Well that’s not entirely true. I added my first ‘new’ farkle.

I transferred some things from Zed already. Namely the Battery tender cord and the permanent wire for my Gerbing heated gear but up to this point that’s it.

My Throttlemeister won’t fit and since I’m headed out on a lengthy trip next week not having a cruise control won’t do. I stopped by a local dealer to see if I could get some duplicate key’s made. Of course they can’t do that, stupid of me to think they could.

But while standing around I found the Universal Vista Cruise for $35.00 While not my proffered method, I’d really rather have a Throttlemeister, I’m not going to drop $150 plus expedited shipping to get it here in time. This should do.

I searched a couple boards and didn’t see that anyone had put this on yet so if you’re considering one it was really easy.

I guess there is a Yamaha specific version and a universal version. The specific version grabs the throttle collar instead of the grip, but requires you to drill a hole. I didn’t want to drill said hole. Because like I said I’ll probably put a TM on it later.

There’s plenty of room for this too, I saw where someone cut down the main support with a dremmel. On the 06, I just slid the plastic collar off the handlebars between the brake mount, loosened the one screw for the controls and slid them closer to the right.

I maybe had to move my front brake perch 2 millimeters.

The results are in the photo below:

06FJRVistaCruise