Upstate NY - FJ Refresh

[fj1289]

Yeah, believe it or not, not EVERYONE on this site is looking for FJR-like touring RPMs!

^^^ Said the man with the fastest FJ in the world....

Not yet!  Still working at it!

[fj1289]

... but I think quite a lot of us are looking for 6th gear.

I understand!  But, remember the spread between 1st and 5th on our bikes is actually BIGGER than the spread between 1st and 6th on a Hayabusa!  Now, there are aftermarket ratios available for the Busa transmissions for 6th and even 5th gears if you have the power for the speed....

[ribbert]

... but I think quite a lot of us are looking for 6th gear.

I understand!  But, remember the spread between 1st and 5th on our bikes is actually BIGGER than the spread between 1st and 6th on a Hayabusa!  Now, there are aftermarket ratios available for the Busa transmissions for 6th and even 5th gears if you have the power for the speed....

I was hoping someone other than me would raise this point. I never really believe anyone looks for 6th gear on an FJ, why would you, it's not there! I think it's just a bit of throw away line, and as Chris points out, the Busa and most other 6 speeds are crammed into a shorter range anyway.

In a quarter of million recreational km's on the FJ over the last 11 years I've never looked for another gear, 6th gear only offers 300-400 rpm drop at highway speeds on most bikes anyway. I have four 1200cc road bikes in my garage, 3 of them are 6 speed and one is 5 speed (FJ). I love the gear box on the FJ, there is never any doubt which gear I'm in, never any doubt which gear I should be in and never any wish for another gear, either on the way through or at the end, the 5 speed is matched perfectly to the engine power and torque, I can't say that about the 6 speed bikes I own or the ones I've ridden, sometimes they feel like a manual shift CVT. Even MotoGP bikes only have 6 gears and they win and lose championships by 1000's of a second, there's only so much splitting of ratios you need, and after all, the FJ is a road bike.

I sometimes wonder if manufacturers bowed to market pressure on this score, I seriously find 6 gears too close together and it's easy to find myself half a gear to high or half a gear too low, or even worse, undecided. If you think about the role of a gearbox, more gears is not necessarily better, there is a point of diminishing returns.

FJR's offer an unusual opportunity in that you can ride what is essentially the same bike with 5 or 6 gears, for the astute rider who has compared the two, the 5 speed seems to be the favourite.



Noel

[Waiex191]

Actually I'm always looking for 6th not because I want lower RPMs. The FJ motor is awesome and it never feels like it's in top gear as I'm running through them. So I often  try to shift into the 6th gear that is not there. Probably because I don't ride as much as I used to. I do agree the gearing is great as it is.

[RPM - Robert]

You can have 6th if you really want it. Just depends on how much you're willing to pay.

https://www.novaracing.co.uk/ProductYamahaFJ12006SpeedCloseRatioGearbox.html

[Waiex191]

I'm just always looking for it, I don't really want it!  That is cool though.

[fj1289]

You can have 6th if you really want it. Just depends on how much you're willing to pay.

https://www.novaracing.co.uk/ProductYamahaFJ12006SpeedCloseRatioGearbox.html

Well, with today's exchange rate that would buy about 900 pounds of nitrous - then the problem becomes how much smaller can I go on the rear sprocket!

[Millietant]

Hmm.........interesting, unusual choice for a 1200  a

It mighttttt have been possible I ordered the wrong size on accident. Lets just pretend I did it on purpose  not my brightest moment.

I cant see it making that much of a difference - maybe 5 mph more? If it feels really sluggish it will be the first to go.

Going for a 41 tooth on the rear (up from 40) won't make any noticeable difference to the performance - it will make it a teeny bit more sprightly in top gear as at 70 mph it will be revving about 100 RPM's higher than with the standard 40 tooth on. In the real world, none of us would be able to detect the difference by the seat of our pants.

I always know which gear I'm in, but having done quite a bit of higher speed cruising, I prefer the 18/38 combo which reduces the RPM's at 85 mph just enough to put the mechanical "feel" of the bike at that speed in sync with my brain..........it's a purely personal thing and everyone is different on this front - but universally it seems, no one has ever said the FJ is short of top gear "grunt" as standard 

[imagelessJAKE]

I suspect your sprocket choice will be fine.  It will give you slightly lower gearing so that should improve the acceleration a bit.  You may be RPM limited to 146 MPH or so.

Shoot - and there goes my opportunity to pull a ton and a half on my commute!

So the tires off, forks off, chains off, tanks off - waiting on a couple buddies with some beers to come over and help with the forks/tires.

in the meantime - Took the opportunity to repair several chips off the front fender with some fiberglass patches on the underside!

[imagelessJAKE]

All,

I come to you with two humble requests:

1.) Is there any trick to bleeding completely fresh brake lines - I've heard of reverse bleeding (pumping fluid from bottom up) but has anyone tried it?

2.) Does anyone know the correct color combination of the wires coming from the tank? the connection on mine was so rusty the pins popped out and it doesnt look like the colors directly correspond. I have a replacement 3 pin plug to use but don't want to hook up the wrong wires.

[Millietant]

1.) Is there any trick to bleeding completely fresh brake lines - I've heard of reverse bleeding (pumping fluid from bottom up) but has anyone tried it?

Yes - I bought a small Laser brand bottle pump that I put fluid into, then connect the outlet pipe to each bleed nipple in turn and pump fresh fluid up to the master cylinder before I start the normal bleeding process. Works a treat.

It's also the only way I've been able to get my clutch bled quickly when I've change the slave seal or the fluid.

[imagelessJAKE]

Yes - I bought a small Laser brand bottle pump that I put fluid into, then connect the outlet pipe to each bleed nipple in turn and pump fresh fluid up to the master cylinder before I start the normal bleeding process. Works a treat.

It's also the only way I've been able to get my clutch bled quickly when I've change the slave seal or the fluid.

Hmm - now that I'm thinking about it - since the wheels/Forks are off the bikes - I could almost raise the caliper vertically and hang it from the ceiling and achieve the same effect no?

[Old Rider]

All,

I come to you with two humble requests:

1.) Is there any trick to bleeding completely fresh brake lines - I've heard of reverse bleeding (pumping fluid from bottom up) but has anyone tried it?

2.) Does anyone know the correct color combination of the wires coming from the tank? the connection on mine was so rusty the pins popped out and it doesnt look like the colors directly correspond. I have a replacement 3 pin plug to use but don't want to hook up the wrong wires.

You can tie the brake lever into handlebar and fill up reservoir with bleedscrews closed. wait some hours  or best over night and the system will selfbleed.
or  just work the lever about 3 cm slowly in and out and you can see small airbubbles rising in the air outlet hole in reservoir.

In the picture below I'm testing if the fuel-petcook is holding vacuum with a plastic bottle the reason i posted it is that you can use a similar setup to bleed the brakes .
and it answers the question about the wiring placement for the fuel level sender unit.  The middle one is green and brown the one on leftside is black and rightside is green

[Pat Conlon]

Safety wire that petcock elbow....

[imagelessJAKE]

Safety wire that petcock elbow....

This is first on the list! Had to take it off to use the RPM rebuild kit because it seemed like it was leaking like a siv from the little sandwhich gasket!