A Used-Bike Habit For Lifelong Safety

[Hugh Janus]

Sign says “Fun ahead,” and a few days in the garage gave me confidence in this very capable motorcycle. (Nick Ienatsch /)

“Are you ever going to ride that thing?” my wife Judy asked as she stood next to the workbench a few years ago; the 1985 FZ750 was apart even though it had been ridden into the garage a week earlier. It had left the factory 30 years before it came into my life, and I explained to Judy that what I wanted was a brand-new FZ750, not a used FZ750, so I was trying to make it feel new again. This has become a habit when the right bike comes along.

You And Me Forever

Veteran riders will understand this term: mechanical soul mate. Most of us can find something good about almost any bike, but occasionally we stumble across a motorcycle “made just for me.” This has happened in my life a few times, and love struck again last week when I brought home a bike I’ve wanted for a long time: Yamaha’s FJR1300.

The beginning of a smart habit: Let’s get those clothes off. (Nick Ienatsch /)

I found a 2008 model—the second-generation FJR—in Denver and traded two bikes that had failed to capture my lifelong devotion and love. I liked them, but I did not love them. I could live without them and they were suddenly expendable when I saw that the FJR seller, Kevin, had added “interested in trades” at the bottom of his Craigslist ad.

First ride after garage therapy. (Nick Ienatsch /)

Kevin is three years older than I am and also grew up riding. He has a lovely collection of bikes with a few keepers but he enjoys refurbishing, riding, and selling bikes. Kevin didn’t know much about this FJR, but with only 7,900 miles on the odometer and clear signs that the mileage was accurate, I had no significant concerns about its history. Yes, it would have been nice to have an owner’s manual (downloadable on the Yamaha website, by the way) but the tool kit was there, the bike was stock, the brake rotors were almost unscathed, and it ran perfectly.

Kevin rode one of my trades, I rode the FJR. We had a deal.

Welcome to your new home, my friend. (Nick Ienatsch /)

Hi, My Name Is Nick: Let’s Be Friends

And now we’re to the point of this week’s column: The habit of spending a few hours in the garage goes a long way toward making that used bike feel new again. I couldn’t afford a new FJR in 2008, but experience told me that some pointed tweaking can make a newly purchased 12-year-old bike pretty fresh. You can enjoy garage therapy when you bring a new-used bike home or to renew your current ride if it’s feeling a bit aged.

FJR brake piston.jpeg | As you may have deduced from this column, braking power and feel are vital, so the front pads came out for a cleaning because the FJR’s stopping power wasn’t equal to the lever pull. The pads were contaminated at some point, and there was gunk around the pistons. A few minutes of cleaning (and deglazing the pads) solved the issue. Carry Andrew, one of the most gifted bike builders I know, told me that clean brake pistons and seals are often overlooked by otherwise-solid tuners.

Add in these two facts: The FJR is a ground-covering weapon, and I live in the American west. This won’t be a commuting bike puttering along a crowded freeway well below its design limits. Bike prep is vital to the safety of the rider; I’ve learned many lessons on that subject from the roadracing world, especially watching men who have tuned bikes that I pushed to my limits—Steve Biganski, Steve Johnson, Dan Kyle, Carry Andrew, Dave Schlosser, John Cordona, and Steve Long, just to name a few. All those years of watching and helping the best in the country rubbed off on me, and I hope this column helps to focus you when a new bike comes into your life or an old one comes out of mothballs.

The shifter was heavy to move and a quick exploration found the mechanism dry. Cleaning, lubing, and the addition of another wave washer made it light and smooth. Interestingly, part of the dust cover for the shaft’s front U-joint appears to be worn by the U-joint. I plan to explore the extensive FJR forums for all my FJR questions because there’s a great community around this bike. (Nick Ienatsch /)

I dove into the FJR because: It was 12 years old, it had no documentation, I plan to keep it forever, and because garage time is as wonderfully therapeutic as riding. Judy stuck her head in occasionally to see how it was going, and four days after the bike arrived, it rolled out for its first real ride. New fluids, clean plugs, tight bolts, missing fasteners replaced, joints lubed, ergonomics adjusted, and all thoroughly explored and cleaned. Even a motor mount bolt was loose! When checking over your new-used love, leave no stone unturned. We started our path toward lifelong friendship in the garage.

Much of the quest for a new 2008 FJR revolves around adjusting and lubricating controls. This throttle assembly might have been lubed 12 years ago, but only gray dust remained. The brake and clutch levers were worse. Cleaned and lubed. (Nick Ienatsch /)
Throttle cables too. (Nick Ienatsch /)

Why FJR?

A student let me ride his FJR at ChampSchool two years ago and our COO/CFO Keith Culver raved about his time on one. Keith and I ride exactly the same so I knew my first impression of the student’s bike was solid. If it works for Keith, it works for me.

The right rider’s footpeg inexplicably drooped (no signs of a crash whatsoever) so I fabricated a small shim to bring the peg to level again. A new footpeg is in order long term. (Nick Ienatsch /)

And remember the long-term Tracer GT I had last year? It was the first bike I’ve toured on with lockable luggage and a windscreen larger than the stock FZ1 screen. What a revelation. I put a few 800-plus-mile days on it and knew that going back to my FZ1 for long-distance travel would be as tough as playing tennis with a ping-pong paddle—you can do it but there are better tools available.

You might recall me wishing the Tracer GT had more than 4.8 gallons of fuel on board and though I changed the sprockets, I would prefer a shaft-drive cross-country bike if possible, simply for the reduced maintenance. The FJR carries 6.6 gallons of fuel, has slightly larger versions of the Tracer’s bags, plus shaft drive. Not surprisingly, the 640-pound FJR is nowhere near as sporty as the Tracer GT, but I’ve got my wonderful ’06 FZ1 for sporty riding. This now-like-new FJR ticked all the boxes and my first few hundred miles have not disappointed. It runs well, and more importantly, fits into my riding life perfectly.

More next Tuesday!

Source

[Sir Fallsalot]

Got to say you never lube throttle tubes it creates a paste that wears things out and makes the throttle action slow. Also the same with cables modern cables are Teflon lined and are self lubricating if the cables are stiff throw them away and buy new ones  

[MooN]

one of the guys I ride with is on his 4th fjr 1300 and 4 others of the gys ave had them as well they are unanimous in their praise of the machine but preferred the 2nd gen models to the more recent ones.  Both the Police and the Gendarmes here ride them.