What did you do to your FJR today?

[raYzerman]

FJR OEM resin rack, 3 pics of the mounting area, #3 is from the underside. Note mold design is with several sharp corners, somebody coulda designed a better mold than that.... larger radii for strength..... although I have never seen one broken in this area. So what do you have, real crack or optical illusion?

Last pic is of the spendy aluminum rack, mucho better, lotsa reinforcement with bracketry. Note if you get one, you have to slightly widen the rectangular cutout in the plastic panel (I think 3mm...).

[FastPappy]

Eureka! Exactly how mine looks though I haven't gone in there to clean it up this looks to be exactly the same. Seems to be attached only in one corner rather than the entire edge which I would imagine would be a much stronger connection. So then I guess there is really no crack just an optical illusion. Thanks for the pics Ray you are the man. . But of course now after all of this I'm lusting after the the Yammy spendy alumi rack. Is it compatible with the GenII 09? I thought I saw one supplier listing it for 2012 and up??

[raYzerman]

Compatible all the way back to 2006.

[FastPappy]

So now I have to decide do I fix something that ain't broke or find something new to obsess over? It ain't easy being me.

[wheatonFJR]

So now I have to decide do I fix something that ain't broke or find something new to obsess over? It ain't easy being me.

I say you break it in the process of fixing it so you won't have to obsess over it anymore. It will become crystal clear what the issue is.

[N4HHE]

Am reminded why I don't (usually) change oil on hot engine. Got home today, grabbed 17mm ratchet without removing riding gear, pan under the bike, took the drain bolt out and dropped it in the catch pan which only has a 3/4" hole in the center of its "catch pan". Of course the bolt plugged the hole which would shortly overflow. Fishing with the ratchet handle got it out of the way but it rolled back as I recoiled for fear of burning my fingers. Second time was do or die, got it out. Fingers not doing too poorly.

Changed filter. Added 1 gallon. About mid level on the sight glass. Let it run a couple minutes, turned it off, then started watching. Started adding oil, watching the sight glass. Got it to about 3/4 but fear I put more in than expected. Pretty sure it will be over the top by morning. But I'm going to leave it be.

[D-Eagle]

Not sure what I do differently than the people that need to add more than 4 quarts. I change oil and filter, put in 4 quarts, and it is in the upper half of the sight glass until I do it all again. I never put more in than a gallon (Bob, that's the same as 4 quarts). I do feel the burn of hot oil.
Maybe the extra oil explains why some bikes are faster than mine in the curves.
Don

[ionbeam]

... took the drain bolt out and dropped it in the catch pan...Fishing with the ratchet handle got it out of the way but it rolled back...

I have a home made flexible magnetic pickup tool that gets lots of use. One common use is to fish out the drain plug from my catch pan. I don't screw around and wait to see if it will be needed, I get out the pickup tool along with the 17mm socket and wrench.

[raYzerman]

Not sure what I do differently than the people that need to add more than 4 quarts. I change oil and filter, put in 4 quarts, and it is in the upper half of the sight glass until I do it all again. I never put more in than a gallon (Bob, that's the same as 4 quarts). I do feel the burn of hot oil.
Maybe the extra oil explains why some bikes are faster than mine in the curves.
Don

You are technically underfilled. Yamaha spec. 4 litres/4.23 quarts with filter change. Use a long filter, it will be more like 4.3 quarts. When cold, oil will fill the sight glass.
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=5707

[bungie4]

Not sure what I do differently than the people that need to add more than 4 quarts. I change oil and filter, put in 4 quarts, and it is in the upper half of the sight glass until I do it all again. I never put more in than a gallon (Bob, that's the same as 4 quarts). I do feel the burn of hot oil.
Maybe the extra oil explains why some bikes are faster than mine in the curves.
Don

You are technically underfilled. Yamaha spec. 4 litres/4.23 quarts with filter change. Use a long filter, it will be more like 4.3 quarts. When cold, oil will fill the sight glass.
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=5707

I guess the quarts diminish in volume when they come in contact with a filter to match up with the smaller liters

Sneaky these yammie engineers.

[gixxerjasen]

Changed the rear tire. When I stuffed the bike into my parent's junk filled garage I noticed that my estimates on the rear tire were not on the good side. Seems that "Plenty of tread" on the rear tire wasn't as plenty as I thought and it went off quick on the way to Tampa. I mean, it wasn't bad, but certainly was worse than when I'd left and it'd be iffy if I could make it home. Sadly, I have two new tires ready to go on at home in Dallas.

Called the local Cycle Gear and found a cheap tire and then after too many trips to the hardware store for new tools I got the wheel off. I thought I could use the 12mm wrench in the bike toolkit for the pinch bolt but it seems like Yamaha buys those wrenches from a company that makes them out of butter because that thing was flexing as I pulled on it. Anyway, got it done, cheap insurance to make it back home.

Soon as I get off work, I'll be doing an oil change. I figured it'd be way early or way late if I did it at home, but right on time if I do it here. I ordered online some Mobil1 and a filter from Walmart and had them deliver it before I even arrived. Fun stuff.

Then Saturday I'm going to ride it to go party with some Cajuns. Should be a good time hanging with Nate, a shampoo drinking exhibitionist, an old sourpuss and his way cool dad.

[N4HHE]

Not sure what I do differently than the people that need to add more than 4 quarts. I change oil and filter, put in 4 quarts, and it is in the upper half of the sight glass until I do it all again. I never put more in than a gallon (Bob, that's the same as 4 quarts). I do feel the burn of hot oil.
Maybe the extra oil explains why some bikes are faster than mine in the curves.
Don

Perhaps you are fortunate to be purchasing 4 liters, not quarts?

Oh, and if somehow 4 quarts is working then it is likely you are not getting all the old out. Thats probably OK.

4 quarts works great if I don't change the filter. But this filter has been on for 8,000 miles so it was time.

[FJRoss]

...
Soon as I get off work, I'll be doing an oil change. I figured it'd be way early or way late if I did it at home, but right on time if I do it here. I ordered online some Mobil1 and a filter from Walmart and had them deliver it before I even arrived. Fun stuff.

For a long ride halfway across the country and back, I wouldn't worry about doing an oil change "late" rather than early. A thousand highway miles is probably less hard on the oil than a couple hundred stop-and-go short run city miles. For a long trip, I will often extend oil change by 50% or more rather than bother with it on the road.

[gixxerjasen]

...
Soon as I get off work, I'll be doing an oil change. I figured it'd be way early or way late if I did it at home, but right on time if I do it here. I ordered online some Mobil1 and a filter from Walmart and had them deliver it before I even arrived. Fun stuff.

For a long ride halfway across the country and back, I wouldn't worry about doing an oil change "late" rather than early. A thousand highway miles is probably less hard on the oil than a couple hundred stop-and-go short run city miles. For a long trip, I will often extend oil change by 50% or more rather than bother with it on the road.

It messes me up though, I do it on the 5 and 10's. Plus, it's quick and easy when you have a driveway to do it in. No biggie. If I was on a trip trip then I'd probably wait, but this was different. The pumpkin is waiting till I get home though.

[FJRoss]

The pumpkin is waiting till I get home though.

How often are you changing the rear end lube?
Owner's manual says 16,000 miles (24,000 km) or two years. I do it every 2nd or 3rd oil change and that is more than enough.
Cheap and easy to do though...

[N4HHE]

How often are you changing the rear end lube?
Owner's manual says 16,000 miles (24,000 km) or two years. I do it every 2nd or 3rd oil change and that is more than enough.
Cheap and easy to do though...

I change motor oil at 4,000, final drive at 16,000, but somehow the two are out of sync.

Have been using Mobil-1 75W-90 which was probably purchased 20 years ago. Recently ran out. Couldn't find anything but 75W-90LS for limited-slip differentials (it has friction modifiers!) so I used Valvoline conventional I had laying around. First ride noticed gear whine I've never had before, just leaving and returning in the driveway. Immediately changed to Amsoil which ended the gear whine but started the pinion seal to leaking. Dripping stopped by the time a new seal arrived. Never had to add more than a thimbleful of makeup oil but I keep checking under the swingarm and periodically pull the fill bolt to check.

Thought I would replace the seal with rear tire but "If it ain't broke don't fix it" overruled that thought.

Those paying attention know I have no respect for "synthetic". I don't care if an oil is synthetic, I care whether there is a quantifiable difference. Mobil-1 and Amsoil work, Valvoline had problems. Same goes for motor oil. Rotella-T6 shifted poorly. Refined Rotella-T no different. Yamalube was nice the first 500-1000 miles. I got a good deal on WPS's Firepower Ester Racing oil, which shifts nicely, so that is what I'm using.

[gixxerjasen]

The pumpkin is waiting till I get home though.

How often are you changing the rear end lube?
Owner's manual says 16,000 miles (24,000 km) or two years. I do it every 2nd or 3rd oil change and that is more than enough.
Cheap and easy to do though...

I generally run Mobil1 synthetic Racing T for no other reason than I can pick it up at the local Walmart with my groceries. It's 5 miles to Walmart, about 20 miles to a motorcycle dealer. Convenience wins out. I change it on 5's and 10's. Many will say I could stretch it out further but it's easy to remember and keep on the schedule. In Dallas, even in town riding is usually highway miles anyway. I use Mobil1 Gear Oil in the pumpkin, can't remember the specifics now, also because I can pick it up with the motor oil at Walmart when I eventually need it. I do the pumpkin on the 10's, again because it's easy to remember and I just do it with that oil change. Easy to remember, keep track of and convenience have worked out well, and doing things early does give me some flexibility if I end up on a trip or something.

[danh600]

Oh, good an oil thread!!!

Man, I am boring when it comes to oil. When I first got my Honda I put something beside Honda GN4 in it. It noticeably shifted very rough. Huge clunk when going into first, hard to find neutral. So I put GN4 back in it. Started shifting smooth again.

So when I got the FJR I just decided to use Yamalube. That is all I put in it. Every 5,000 miles cause that's just easy to remember. 10,000 on the rear end lube, again cause it's easy to remember. I buy the rear end lube from Yamaha also. Always get OEM yamaha filters.

For me it's just one less thing to worry about and fret over. I read too much of where one guys loves an oil and the next guys says it screwed up things on his bike. So I just play it safe.

[wheatonFJR]

Well, after no brakes all Ramble weekend and using up the bottom of my boot, I'm a gonna flush the old brake fluid out and squeeze the new fluid in. Really. Honest.

[raYzerman]

No need to drain the rear drive any more than once a year..... easy to remember.
If you flush and bleed your clutch and brakes annually, you'll prevent yourself problems...... easy to remember.
Use whatever oil you feel like works best for you.