Man, she purrs like a kitten with a full belly
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:31 am
Got the motor back together Sunday after a valve check on Saturday. It took me virtually all day Saturday to do what many of you can do in an hour, but I'm a parts changer not a mechanic and as such, I've got to take it very slow, double (and triple) checking every single step to make sure I'm doing it right.
On Monday, I put the throttle cables together (
), propped the tank up, filled her up with coolant, and fired her up. Of course, she comes to life instantly and we just stood there listening to her fast idle slowly and automatically reduce as she comes to running temperature. Like any biker worth his salt, I simply cannot resist the temptation to blip the throttle on occasion. I know that there is no logical reason for me doing so, except that I like hearing the sound through the exhaust. I would never do this at a stop light, but in the privacy of my workshop, it's just too tempting to resist.
With the motor still in full view, I can hear the internals moving round and round, up and down. I don't smell fuel out of the exhaust. I really like this about the FJR. I follow many other riders on other bikes and many of them, especially the ones with aftermarket exhaust, are running rich as I can smell fuel even keeping a 2-second following distance in open air. But not my bike. She's running very clean. The pitch is perfect and in tune, with not even a peep of knock, clatter, ping, or anything of the sort. There is hardly any vibration to be felt.
She's purring like a kitten with a full belly.
We check for any sign of a leak, and finding none, we shut her down to cool off just a little so we can top off the coolant and hook up the manometers for the T/B sync.
The Yamaha FJR1300 is one smooth machine, man.
On Monday, I put the throttle cables together (
), propped the tank up, filled her up with coolant, and fired her up. Of course, she comes to life instantly and we just stood there listening to her fast idle slowly and automatically reduce as she comes to running temperature. Like any biker worth his salt, I simply cannot resist the temptation to blip the throttle on occasion. I know that there is no logical reason for me doing so, except that I like hearing the sound through the exhaust. I would never do this at a stop light, but in the privacy of my workshop, it's just too tempting to resist.With the motor still in full view, I can hear the internals moving round and round, up and down. I don't smell fuel out of the exhaust. I really like this about the FJR. I follow many other riders on other bikes and many of them, especially the ones with aftermarket exhaust, are running rich as I can smell fuel even keeping a 2-second following distance in open air. But not my bike. She's running very clean. The pitch is perfect and in tune, with not even a peep of knock, clatter, ping, or anything of the sort. There is hardly any vibration to be felt.
She's purring like a kitten with a full belly.
We check for any sign of a leak, and finding none, we shut her down to cool off just a little so we can top off the coolant and hook up the manometers for the T/B sync.
The Yamaha FJR1300 is one smooth machine, man.
