What did you do to your bike today?

[Pat Conlon]

1Paddy, I had a 3" front rim with a 120/70.  The rim was to narrow.  The wider wheel made that tire feel so much! better, and put a lot more contact area under me.  More front brakes too.  Wider is better.  Hell, I may put a R1 rear wheel on the front, so that 120 will be REAL WIDE! (OK, maybe a bit of exaggeration here)

Hey Ed, ok so you disagree with manufacturer. Soooo, the oem rubber Yamaha used on your '89 was wrong.....I disagree with that.
I do agree 1000% a 3.5" wide rim is better, no question, but I'm saying that there is no reason you need to run a undersized front tire with a 3" rim.
The difference in width of a 1/4" per side between the oem 3" and the popular FZR 3.5" rim,  does not mean that you need a 110 tire.

[Flynt]

Mark...  what are your travel plans to the rally?  I'm still towing the bike at this point, but looking for alternatives.

Frank

[Mark Olson]

hey pat wasn't the original a bias ply ? so it is a bias ply radial thing.

[Mark Olson]

Mark...  what are your travel plans to the rally?  I'm still towing the bike at this point, but looking for alternatives.

Frank

gonna truck in as I am still not 100% , leave around noon on thursday with fellow fj'er Craig Z.

Mark O.

[andyb]

...... and the 110-70.  It fits better on the 3 inch rim I think but time will tell........ 

Wait a minute.....This is the second or third time I've herd this on this forum.....
Our '89+ FJ's came with a 3" wide 17" rim. Didn't Yamaha choose a 120/70-17 tire for this?
Why would Yamaha choose a tire this size if the fucking rim is too narrow? IOW What's wrong with a 120/70 tire on a 3" rim?
Yes, I could see a 120/60 being pinched....Not a 120/70

What goes?  Who is saying that a 3" wide front rim is too narrow for a 120/70 tire?

Where does this come from? Certainly not Yamaha, what do they know?

Pat:

1)  Relax man.  Breathe... breathe.

2)  Tires today are rather different than they were, oh 25 years ago.  Hell, they're different than they were 10 years ago.  One of the magazine tests I read (and I can't find what year it was, sorry) said that the OEM tire was a Dunlop K330, which was a bias-ply tire.   Now for comparison, Pirelli makes a couple of 120/70R-17 tires.  If you read their sizing chart, it is not recommended for use on a 3.0" rim (looking at Diablo with all suffixes, fits 3.5-3.75").  However, their 110/70R-17 is listed as acceptable for the 3.0x17 (3.0-3.5" okay).  Tires have changed man!  Even the sport demon, a bias ply tire, is not deemed appropriate for the 3.0" wheel.  I firmly doubt that on a modern machine, a tire manufacturer would allow an OEM to fit a mismatch wheel/tire combination.  Most likely, they'd make a special version of the desired rubber and test extensively to ensure safety (read: lack of lawsuits).

3)  Nominal tire size (what's on the sidewall) is just that, nominal.  If you actually measure, various brands are shockingly different in size when fitted.  I can't think of the specific example right now, but I believe it was a bridgestone 190 width rear that measured at 198mm not that long ago (BT-57, I think it was).  Really, putting any tire that isn't original on a motorcycle is a modification of sorts, as they're all different shapes, compounds, and carcasses.  Different hammers, etc. 

Personally, I'd go with the tire manufacturer's recommendation for the wheel size, rather than a 20+ year old spec given for tires that don't exist anymore.  (That being said, I've got a 120/70 on the front of my FJ, because of availability.)

Relax, it's all okay.   

[moparman70]

Andyb -- what Pat says is on the money.  I did my research and bottomline is I think the radials of today fit differently then the bias plys of the same size of yesteryear.

But to clarify on my choice - Avon showed the 120-70-17 to fit a 3 - 3.5 inch rim. So I could have went with the 120 but I had 120s and I felt the 3 inch pinched the tire too much I never like the profile the rim gave it.  My postings on the subject didn't get any viable results as to what I was feeling. 

The 110/70/17 - spec'd out to a 2.75 -3 inch rim.  So for that size I was on the upper spec which I thought would fit better.  To me it doesn't look pinched now.  Time will tell.

The best thing to do is stick with the spec of the tire although it was difficult to find the rim specs for the some of the tire brands... but Avon had it on their site.

steve

[racerrad8]

Mark...  what are your travel plans to the rally?  I'm still towing the bike at this point, but looking for alternatives.

Frank

Frank,

I am going to trailer up as well on Thursday. I am planning on leaving the shop no later than 2pm.

Give me a call if you want to meet up somewhere; Dunnigan.

Randy - RPM

[Flynt]

This might work out Randy...  Dunnigan at about 4pm on Th?  That will be my plan unless I communicate otherwise.  I will call for more details.

BTW - smoked tail light is NICE!

Frank

[1tinindian]

Sorry to break up the WCR talk in this thread, but I did get my new Spiegler front brake lines put on today.
Thanks to Pat for his assistance in getting the correct ends ordered.
These lines cost $134 after shipping, not cheap, but they are a high quality item that look great, fit awesome, and were a breeze to install.
Highly recommended!

Broke them in with an 83 mile ride today with my son and his Honda 919!
Awesome day, even though it was a little windy, but the sun shine was great, and the time with my son, priceless!

Leon

[Pat Conlon]

Very nice Leon, congrats! The next step, save your $$ and finish the job with a Spiegler 1 piece clutch line and rear brake line.
BTW those stainless header tubes look like chrome.....wow!
Cheers! 

[1tinindian]

Thanks Pat, I appreciate the comments and assistance in getting my FJ to where it is today, you have been a huge help and my inspiration to have as nice of an FJ as I can get.
It's really funny to look back at just a little over a year ago and take into account of how many suble changes I have made in that time.
It's been a hell of a lot of fun,too!

Leon

[Flying Scotsman]

Update to the last few days.Went out to Sugar Grove about an hour south west of here to look at a 1990 FJ1200.Bike had some issues but I bought it anyway.Dave took my 1100 out and I took the 1200 out for a test ride.At the first stop sign he had me pull up next to him and told me how great my 1100 was he even said this is better than my bike.After the test ride we setled on a price and I went back home and aranged for a ride to go get the 1990 FJ1200.It is here now and pics are in the gallery.Clutch slips carbs need work front forks need work front brake needs work tires are ok but I see that the rear wheel is tracking right chain is good I think.Dent in the tank  some scratches to plastic etc supertrap pipe 1380cc engine allegedly lol riped up seat.My 85 is running great it will walk all over the 90 at the moment but the potential is there.I have replaced the seat and adjusted the float heights.I have an aftermarket clutch that I can install next.Going to get some seals for the forks and some carb bits to fix the bikes performance.Big bore pipe K@N's (dirty as crap) and no stage 3 carb kits so it runs but no where near what it should.Handling needs work too it wont turn like my 85.Front forks have been lowered 1/2 " or so and theres a 17" front wheel there instead of the 16 " on the 85.Looks like the head cover gasket is leaking too.
I am looking forward to seeing what the new bike can do when I get her dialed in.

[markmartin]

Fresh Meat.



Lucked out and found some plastic flexible trim to put on the edge of my freshly cut down screen.  The trim looks like it belongs and matches perfectly the stock trim on my stock screen.  StyleGuard # T3802. Two, 24" pieces for $3.87 at VIP Auto Supply.

[rktmanfj]

I used some of that stuff on my fairing inner panels to cut down some of the rattling and buzzing.

Randy T
Indy

[RichBaker]

Finally got around to adjusting the valves and replacing the spark plugs, waiting for UNI to send me a replacement dual pod.... under warranty. Once I get that, sometime this week, I can sync carbs and put her all back together.  Had to replace 5 shims, both #4 intakes were tight(.004", .0025").... last time I swapped any was 50k miles ago, last check was ~30k ago. Everything else was at the loose end of the spec.
Anyone else find getting shims in and out of the outermost valves a PITA? I had to use a thin flat-blade screwdriver to depress the valve so I could get the old one out of #4s outboard bucket, it wouldn't clear the edge of the head. I tried repositioning the tool a couple times, but it didn't help....