Not all 5K's are created equal!!!

[RobbieAG]

Wow, that's a great deal on a beautiful bike. I'll have to add that to my list of potential "stablemates" along with Honda VFR and ST, Kawasaki Concours, and Suzuki Bandit 12xx.

[hppants]

Rode the FJR about 35 miles around town.  Few more impressions:

1.  For in town slow speed riding, there's a lot of heat on the inside of my ankles.  Once you get moving, it's barely noticable.

2.  If you even think about touching the rear brake, she will grab.

3.  Hockeyhawk is right, she goes right where you point her.

4.  There is so much torque on this bike.  The fuel injection is incredible.  Top gear about 35 mph, I'm turning around 2K.  From there she will pull right up.  No flat spot, no cough, burp, fart, nada -- just screw it down and hold the hell on.

5.  The hydraulic clutch on this bike is the smoothest I have ever tried.

6.  The pre-load adjustment for the rear mono-shock has only 2 settings.  Soft and hard.  Soft is my choice for now.  It does have both compression and re-bound dampening, but I have yet to figure out how to set it.

7.  I don't feel the rear end climbing on acceleration like I did with other shaft bikes.  However, the rear end fluid must be Yamalube (compatibility with some bronze bushings), and get this, it's $29.00 friggin bucks a quart!!!  Luckily, the rear end only holds 0.25 quarts, and with a 10K service interval, I'm good for a while.

8.  The stock air filter is life time.  Washable and reuseable.

Stay tuned....

[natehawk750]

Nice set of wheels Pantsman we need to get together again so we see how she runs against the Rex my curiosity is peeked!! I'm getting alittle more comfortable on her in the curves too! Lol!!

[RIDERED]

awesome bike, glad you pulled it off, so it really sucks to be me huh lmao i want wheelie pics dam it

[tomb raider]

Just got in from a WFO run on the 700s, Pants bring that thing out here this week and I'll show ya around 

[hockeyhawk]

Sounds like things are going well with the FJR pants. Looking forward to more input after a couple hundred miles in a day.

[hppants]

Neighbor and friend Brody, Loki, and I got together this morning for about 100 miles.  We ran to the Atchafayala Basin Levee, where there is smooth curvy (not twisty) road with no cross traffic.  I picked this place so we could open up the FJR and see what she's got.

Oh.... and she's got plenty.

Loki is a little more brave than I.  He reports a "slight vibration at about 130".  Uh... I'll take your word for it Bud.

At one point on a quiet straight, I told Loki that I was going to go "1/2 throttle and shift at 5K" - According to him, that was just about balls out for his NH.  This bike has incredible torque.

Anywoo, the bike runs fantastic and performs really well.  I'm getting used to the heat on my lower legs now.  It's not that bad.  The rider has to turn this bike more than the NH, but as previously mentioned, it will go where you tell it to go.  I got to lean on the bike a little too.  In the faster sweepers, the bike is rock solid  I adjusted the suspension a little (softened the front and back pre-load, stiffened the compression dampening front, softened the rebound dampening rear), and I've got it dialed in pretty well.  I was taking some 40mph curves at 75-80 with absolutely no problem - the chassis plants and there is no wiggle what so ever.  On the tighter stuff, I'm still a little nervous, so I can't really comment.

The brakes are simply fantastic on this bike.  It will stop on a friggin dime.  The free play on both the clutch and front brake are adjustable and I really like that.  I wish the rear brake would have just a little more free play in it, but alas it is not adjustable.

I have to learn to get my heels a little more down.  Loki says my feet are pointed down and when I lean, my toes are getting close to the pavement.  That will hurt big time if it happens.

Oh - and I have a throttle lock!  The bar end weight on the throttle side turns to lock the throttle.  I found that out during the ride this morning and for a second I thought I had a stuck throttle.

Finally, I have to change how I kick a leg out to alert riders behind me of road kill.  Now, I have to keep my leg a little higher than the NH.  I put the ole soccer toe on a ripe Possum this morning.     Don't care to do that again.  Couple miles down the road, we stop and Loki says "Hey... quit kicking the road kill, man."     Good stuff.

Having a good time.

[hockeyhawk]

I have to learn to get my heels a little more down.  Loki says my feet are pointed down and when I lean, my toes are getting close to the pavement.  That will hurt big time if it happens.

I noticed this as well when riding behind DesignFlaw on his FJR at the PA rally. He actually tore a hole in his rain covers for his boots.

[luckylindy]

Are the pegs further back than the NH 750?  Never ridden a FJR, but the ST 1300 I rode leaned me forward a bit more and pegs were back from a NH.  Sounds like your getting used comfortable.

[Burgi]

I have to learn to get my heels a little more down.  Loki says my feet are pointed down and when I lean, my toes are getting close to the pavement.  That will hurt big time if it happens.

I noticed this as well when riding behind DesignFlaw on his FJR at the PA rally. He actually tore a hole in his rain covers for his boots.

My Bonnie taught me this pretty quick. Catching your toe is a good wake up. 
Suppose the problem increases with a larger boot size. 

[LOKi]

This toe dragging thing will happen on all bikes if your leave your arches of your feet on the pegs in twisties. Balls of the feet on the pegs, and keep the heels down.

I really like that FJR. It's so smooth. I'm used to riding pretty fast on the NH and to get that same feeling on the FJR your pushing 120. And that vibration I was telling Pants about is only in the pegs. I didn't push it past 135 but she was still pulling at that point. The crazy part is when I was pushing to see how she felt at higher speeds I had raised the wind screen to the highest position. With no ear plugs and the visor on my helmet up I didn't even realize the visor was up. In the wind you can't go that fast with the visor up or your rip off your head.

Only thing I might change would be to add 1" risers to the bars. Pants said he had some that came with the bike so I'm looking forward to seeing how that changes the sitting position. Not that I was uncomfortable just I could be sitting up a little straighter. It's a toss up if the risers would help or not.

While I love this bike I don't think I'll be getting one unless I find myself riding long distance a lot and/or riding with a passenger. It was just too hard to keep under 100 mph. I would loose my license in no time.
.
.
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Now watch me turn around and get a 1000cc sport bike.

Great bike Pants. Thanks for letting me take a ride. 

[DesignFlaw06]

I have to learn to get my heels a little more down.  Loki says my feet are pointed down and when I lean, my toes are getting close to the pavement.  That will hurt big time if it happens.

I noticed this as well when riding behind DesignFlaw on his FJR at the PA rally. He actually tore a hole in his rain covers for his boots.

My Bonnie taught me this pretty quick. Catching your toe is a good wake up. 
Suppose the problem increases with a larger boot size. 

Yeah, throw size 14 boots on your feet and it makes a difference. To be fair, the rain covers don't exactly fit the boots so there is a little bit hanging off. But no more than an inch. And I tore holes in both of them.

All part of getting a new bike.

[RIDERED]

yea there is something to say about a 1000cc huh, just when ya think it has no torque left it will put ya back in the seat twisting for more,

atleast with me but i am a certifiable adrenalin junkie ,,,,,

[muttstang]

the 700 is way too short for me to put the balls of my feet on the pegs.

[hppants]

Yeah - I found that too with both Nighthawks.  I've got to rechange my comfort zone for the feet on the FJR.

Ordered a new rear shoe today.  I've got some tread left, but with the Arkansas weekend coming up, I would prefer some new rubber under my seat.  There are not too many choices in my size (180/55ZR17).  My neighbor the former bike dealer got me a fantastic price on a Michelin Pilot Road 2.  The front is plenty good for now.

Also, I'm learning more about the plastics - how to remove.  Trust me, this is no joke - taking the fairing and dash pieces off this bike is a chore.

Yamaha reccomends in the owner's manual - 20W40 motor oil.  Trouble is, no one has it.  Yamalube quit making it.  So, I'm going to go with either 10W40 yamalube or 15W50 Rotella T. - With the Shell, can anyone tell me what the API rating is of this oil?  Is it "API SE, SF, SG, or Higher"  "JASO" rated?  I've really struggled with this decision.

[Laminar]

Did you mean Rotella T 15W40? That's the most common kind.



As it's "commercial" grade oil, it uses "C" ratings instead of "S" ratings - it is CF rated and also carries the JASO-MA rating.

[hppants]

Laminar - thanks for this info.  So, "C" means commercial, but the letter designations follow.

I learned about the JSAO-MA (not MB) designation as well.  I think this product is available at Walmart to boot.   

FINIALLY!!!! - I found the oil for my FJR.   I spent way too much time on this.

[Laminar]

The "C" might also stand for "compression" ignition as opposed to "spark" ignition as the Rotella started life as a diesel oil.

[tbante]

Pants, for what its worth, Advance Auto carries Valvoline motorcycle oil 20-40W