New fork springs? But that costs money!

[racerrad8]

Randy, what do you believe caused the bolts to loosen?  I would theorize that the bolts were undersized and didn't have enough clamping pressure, causing movement under heavy load; frame flex. Perhaps if it had locating dowels the smaller bolts would have been able to separate the load, bolts in tension and dowels in shear.

I do not think you can get the stock allen head bolts tight enough. That is why I replace them with harder, hex & flanged head bolts. That allows me to get them tighter than the allen bolt and spreads the clamping force out over the flanged head.

Dowel pins would also help.

Randy - RPM

[fudge12]

Accepting the inevitable that this is no longer a thread about cheap suspension upgrades, it occurred to me that most of the bikes in the thread I linked to about the broken bolts are the rubber mounted engine models. I wonder if the earlier bikes are less affected because the engine acts as a stressed member?

[FJmonkey]

My 89' came with one of the lower frame rails bolts missing. 

[Alf]

Frame flex?

I do testify that in a closed track the first thing that touch the tarmac are the footpegs. When you fit higher footpegs, the lower cowl. After, the silencers. So you fit a 4/1 and then you touch with the lower front frame rails. And in the meanwhile, I´m not capable of any feeling of any kind of frame flex. Maybe I am not fast enough...

Phill Hacker even have drilled the front frame rails to loose weight. He never has spoken about frame flex

Maybe he is not fast enough...

Again, frame flex? 

[fudge12]

Post deleted because I was rude, and I apologize. If you don't believe that a 32 year old frame design, made of mild steel, with removable rails located only by bolts is flexible compared to modern frames, then nothing I say is going to change your mind and we'll have to agree to disagree. 

[racerrad8]

Accepting the inevitable that this is no longer a thread about cheap suspension upgrades...

That is how a lot of conversations morph from one topic to another...

From your fork spring mod, to how much people spend on their FJ's, to how good they look and now to frame flex...

Randy - RPM

[fudge12]

True, and I was wrong to fight it. Oh well, you live, you learn, you get old, you get ugly. 
I love my FJ, I love my Versys, I even love my Blast.  Next year I'll love something else, the monkey will hold up the lion cub and the circle of life will continue. 

[FJmonkey]

[Alf]

Post deleted because I was rude, and I apologize. If you don't believe that a 32 year old frame design, made of mild steel, with removable rails located only by bolts is flexible compared to modern frames, then nothing I say is going to change your mind and we'll have to agree to disagree.  

I´ve not compared the FJ chassis with any other. I´ve only said that I´m not so fast to notice that flex... or Phill Hacker anyway, with 180 cv rear wheel horsepower. Maybe you feel the flexy chassis, I dont know.

And a super strong rigid chassis is not the best for the open road anyway (ZXRs come to my mind)

So my FJ continues being not the best bike in all departments, but the best for me  

[fj1289]

Post deleted because I was rude, and I apologize. If you don't believe that a 32 year old frame design, made of mild steel, with removable rails located only by bolts is flexible compared to modern frames, then nothing I say is going to change your mind and we'll have to agree to disagree. 

I agree there is "some" frame flex -- but not enough for the vast majority of any riders to notice.  I think the frame flex discussion is academic and not a factor in real world performance. 

Also, the examples of issues attributed to frame flex seem to be isolated incidents caused by individual issues vice a series wide issue. 

Also, as I recall, it was "only" a decade or so after the FJ the manufacturers went too far with frame stiffness and lost grip on the corners.  Im sure I'd never get to the level of riding that I could tell the difference!  Especially not on street tires. 



 

[fudge12]

And my point was never that frame flex was an issue, or that I could feel it. It was that bolting a larger, stiffer swing arm and stiff upside down forks didn't make sense to me because for the same money I could instead buy a bike that already had them, and had a frame designed to take advantage of them.

[TexasDave]

Evidently you have not read any of the replies to your posts. Many of us already own modern bikes with modern suspensions and still enjoy the FJ. We also get satisfaction from improving the FJ to make it a better handling bike.

Dave

[FJ1100mjk]

Evidently you have not read any of the replies to your posts. Many of us already own modern bikes with modern suspensions and still enjoy the FJ. We also get satisfaction from improving the FJ to make it a better handling bike.

Dave

Not sure if 'many' is accurate.

From what I see in the profiles of some members who bother to put the other bikes that they own in their profiles, I don't see many references to newer bikes. Of course, there are some that do own newer bikes, and some that can be described as lurkers, who don't post for reasons of their own, and their ownership of other bikes is an unknown.

There are also other members who do own contemporary bikes, and still own an FJ, hang onto it, so they can still technically be an FJ Owner, but for the most part, ride their new bike. I have seen this firsthand.

[fudge12]

Evidently you don't read my posts either. Look at the list of bikes I have, reference my intro post to see the bikes I've had. I have a modern bike, with good suspension. I have the FJ. I have a Ukrainian sidecar. Did I ever say I didn't enjoy the FJ?  No, I'm pretty sure I said that I do. Did I ever say that you're not allowed to enjoy your FJ?  Nope, didn't say that. So your point was?

[TexasDave]

Evidently you don't read my posts either. Look at the list of bikes I have, reference my intro post to see the bikes I've had. I have a modern bike, with good suspension. I have the FJ. I have a Ukrainian sidecar. Did I ever say I didn't enjoy the FJ?  No, I'm pretty sure I said that I do. Did I ever say that you're not allowed to enjoy your FJ?  Nope, didn't say that. So your point was?

Did not accuse you of saying anything! The only reference to you was in reading the replies made to your post. My point being just because it makes no sense to you to upgrade an FJ it does make sense to some of us.

Dave