2007 R1 Front and Rear end........

[Dan Filetti]

This set moved the key back to center- only minor hassles getting the ignition mounted up and allows the steering lock to work as is....  You can see the Cycle One Off fork extenders below the triple clamp.  These added 2" to put the total fork length back to stock and they have some room below the clamp so if needed I can reduce the total length a bit by dropping the clamps down the forks...  Best part- this cost about half of the cost of an Gen II FZ1 set which was the other suggested path...  

tim

Fixed it for you.

[axiom-r]

Hello!!

I have to say I was quite disappointed to miss the WCR this year especially since my work got in the way and then dropped off to almost zero activity in the month of June....  

So I went to work while my mind was elsewhere (whipping through wooded curves trying to keep up with the fast guys at the WCR) and realized in short order that I would have to take a substantial ride in June to overcome having missed the rally with all of you.....

The decision was made and work then had to commence in order to properly prep the "FJR1" for a big ride.  First and foremost I needed to address my speedometer issue.

Therefore: I am reopening my project thread to include the details of fitting my new Speed Hut GPS Speedo and other preparations for a long haul. If you are interested I will also post a thread with the details of my 3,294 mile ride!

Off we go!

As you may recall, the addition of a complete 2007 Yamaha R1 front and rear end to my 92 FJ1200 resulted in the loss of the mechanical speedo drive on the front wheel.  I had looked at many options for a digital replacement and (for me) the stumbling issue was that none of them looked even remotely close to a stock unit.  They all pretty much looked foreign on the FJ and that wasn't OK with me because one of my primary goals while modding my bike was to make it look like Yamaha did it....  as if it were a 2007 re-release of the FJ with more sporting bits. That was the look I wanted to achieve.

A few months back some images surfaced on the forum here of a GPS digial unit that looked much more like a stock FJ gauge.  I pursued information from Speed Hut and was happy with what I found.  www.speedhut.com

Speed Hut offers a large number of variations in the units, including package deals and many options.  It took me awhile to find what I thought I wanted and still I did not get it quite right.  At first look it seemed like the GPS gauges were very, very expensive.  As I delved into it I found they were not too bad: I paid $237 inclusive of an expedited delivery.

I found a single GPS speedo unit and selected options that resulted in a gauge that resembled the stock FJ speedo.  Unfortunately, I failed to make some of the better choices on a few options and had to go back (hat in hand) and ask for some corrections - Speed Hut provided excellent customer service.  Here is the gauge as I first received it:


Mistake 1: They have remote buttons for controlling the gauge functions but the option for that was not evident to me anywhere on their website - it was not offered up as a choice while custom designing the gauge.  I only discovered this when I saw the install directions for the first time and noticed "optional remote switch".  When mounting up the unit, the remote button allowed me to preserve and use the odometer button location in the stock FJ gauge cover.  I was planning on drilling an access hole or some other similar approach - the remote button was ideal for me because it looks very close to stock.

Mistake 2: The FJ gauges have white numbers during the daylight and I looked at daylight photos of my gauges as I matched the number font and other options as best I could.  Problem is, at night the numbers and backlighting are an orange/red color.  I forgot this and ordered white backlighting so my speedo color does not match the rest of my gauge cluster at night.  I got over this but I did discover that Speed Hut would match any backlight color so when you order a gauge you can make it a perfect match with the remaining OEM tachometer.  

I am never going to sell my FJ so I was not too concerned about riding the bike without logging miles on the odometer.  I kept a loose log and knew generally that my bike had about 20,000 miles on it although the stock speedo stopped at the mileage showing when I did my suspension mod.  Speed Hut was happy to set my new GPS odometer to a start reading of 20,000 miles - so cool!

First things first, I took my time disassembling the bike and carefully removing the instruments.  I have had the gauges out before as a unit but had never opened the gauge cluster itself so I went slowly and it was not too bad at all.  It always amazes me how easy it actually is to work on the FJ....


Next up was some test fitting of the GPS unit.  They are quite shallow at a little more than an inch deep and the face of the unit fit nicely into the cluster without much effort at all.  The Speed Hut site offered up this sizing guide, which made it easy to select the right unit.  I purchased the 3+3/8" unit which fit perfectly.


The gauge sits through the FJ "dash" and is held in place by a threaded plastic collar in the back. The only challenge to making the gauge sit perfectly in place was the grip nubs on the plastic retaining collar.  I fired up my grinder and carefully removed the nubs as well as additional material from the collar in order to make it fit within the back contours of the FJ "dash".






From here it was on to the task of making and routing the electrical connections.  I went back to the search function at the forum and located a thread about a miscellaneous plug on the right side of the FJ's.  There was talk of this being the connection for emissions equipment and other components but what caught my eye is that the plug was already tied to the ignition switch - I found this plug on my bike and created a two wire connection from it to the gauge area:


If you look closely here you can see the plug itself in white at the right side of the bike near the fuel pump with the red spade style connectors and the pair of wires running up to the gauge area.  When I knew it was right, I wrapped the wires in the coiling plastic protector stuff and secured it with zip ties to the main wiring loom to make it tidy....


Organizing the wires at the back of the gauge was not too tough all though as I reassembled the gauge cluster it took a few tries to get the wires settled in right so that the FJ clear plastic cover would screw back on tightly with no tension in the plastic... Here you see the remote button wire coiled up behind the gauge and routing forward through the existing odometer buttonhole.  The rest of the wiring fit neatly through the old speedo cable hole!  You can also see several contours and supports for the old FJ speedo in the cluster shell.  I used a dremmel tool to easily nip these off where they interfered with the new unit.  A few of them made contact with the lock ring so I removed them all as much as I could to make sure there was room.  I left the rubber sockets for the stock backlights in place but empty of bulbs.  This keeps the unit sealed.
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The heavier black wire that you see coming off the back of the gauge (with the brass nut) is the GPS antenna.  It is on a 6ft wire that fit nicely in behind the gauge pod coiled.  The FJ "dash" has a small drain hole deep in under the windscreen.  I used the dremmel to open this hole up into a slot.  I was able to do this without removing the rubber trim - I just pulled it out of the way and worked the hole over...


This provided a perfect location to route the antennae wire and park the antenna itself out of sight deep behind the windscreen - this is also an excellent location for reception and provides reasonable protection from the elements.  Look closely and you can see the antenna


So that is about it for the GPS Speedo Unit.  I like the way it fits and I am very happy with its near stock look.  It has great functionality including an altimeter, 1/4 mile timer, 0-60 timer and a few others....  Here is a view of it installed.  You can see the antenna peeking up over the dash.



Other Stuff:  In order to prep for the trip I also mounted the new Bridgestone T30 sport touring tires, and added an EBC clutch spring to help my old stocker and make sure I would not get any clutch slip while loaded with bags and climbing in the mountain passes I anticipated. Of course fresh oil, plugs, air filter - I was ready!


My next steps will be to take the bike apart completely and do more to the motor and frame.  I really like the black frame on Frank's bike and I might go that route.  My motor has always seeped a little oil near the countershaft sprocket and I think this is why I found the bike in 2002 with only 1250 miles...  I intend to split the cases and fix that.  Work on the transmission and maybe go big bore.....  time will tell!

Cheers to all!  Thanks for reading!

tim

[Pat Conlon]

Thank you Tim!  Very, very nice work.  Be sure to tell us about your trip!

.....and yes, you were missed at the WCR, but fret not, next year we ride the Sierra's

Pat

[big r]

That gauge looks awesome. Looks almost stock. Great job and write up. Big R

[oz.fj]

+1 on the gauge. Great job!

[jscgdunn]

Tim,
Thanks again for leading the way on this and providing all the detail and "dos and don'ts" ...looks great.

Jeff

[axiom-r]

Time for an update and some critical information in regards to rear suspension upgrades for anyone that is using an adjustable link dogbone.....

This morning I headed out with with Roger on our typical Sunday morning run which consists of a more sporting tour north on HWY1 into Big Sur....


There was fog on the coast so we turned inland on Old Creek and wound our way north and east up to HWY 46 and then turned west joining back to HWY 1 further north where we knew the fog would be off the coast line....  Great, fast paced rip through Old Creek which is a twisty bumpy road....

Got back onto HWY 1 and lumbered through Cambria in traffic waiting to get a bit further north where we could wick it up....   A few miles north of Cambria traveling in a straight line at about 70MPH the rear end dropped hard 7-8in slamming down against a hard stop in the suspension.  I was able to get the clutch in and get the bike stopped without a tip over but it was a puckered moment that will not fade from memory any time soon......  got off the bike and it was like this:


I made the call to a buddy and he was soon on the way in my pick up truck which I leave loaded with a ramp and tie downs every time I ride.  Examining the bike at the side of the road we could see that the Soupy's Adjustable Dog Bone had failed catastrophically.  






When I got the bike back to the garage there was no significant damage anywhere...   The dogbone broke and the triangle suspension linkage closed hard against the swingarm section that held it which is flat and slightly built up in material - probably specifically for this reason....

What became immediately clear is that the Soupy's Heim-joint design dogbone is no good for several reasons...  

The first thing to point out is that the link broke on an area that was not threaded.  Our initial dialog was focused on the threaded rod providing a natural starting place for a crack to form due to repeated stress - right in the trough of a thread.  That is not what happened.  The rod portion (unthreaded) broke away where it joins the Heim Loop




The second issue that was noticeable is that using a heim joint as a dogbone allows for rotational forces in the linkage to act - we can see the spacer bushing snugged into the heim joint on the frame side was wearing badly.


We can also see that the outside of the bushings were rubbing the exterior edge of the heim joint itself...  This rotational movement scored the ball inside the heim joint and after removal there was movement and slop within the joint itself...   The dark marks you see on the outside edges of the heim joint are where the bushings rubbed...






Finally, and conclusively, look at the stock dogbone from the 2007 R1 suspension laid next to the Soupy's adjustable link....  the design differences stand out dramatically to me now;

A thick bar of aluminum vs a smaller round bar.
No threads, connects or breaks in the link - its a billet piece.
Roller pin bearings which eliminate any "action" from torsional forces in the link...  these forces might wear out a bearing but they cannot act on a critical component in a significant way....



My plan is to remove the end bushings from the R1 dogbone and have them drilled to accept the FJ Bolt that holds the Dogbone into the frame...  the other end of the R1 Dogbone will be joined to the linkage it was designed for - so no modifications needed...  The spacer bushing I was using with the adjustable link at the frame end will be cut shorter to accommodate the thicker aluminum stock R1 dogbone....

Pictures to follow.

Bottomline - As I was doing the major work of my mod several other members chimed in about using the Soupy's Dogbone - I highly suggest that you get that part replaced and soon.  Heim joints should not be used in a dogbone - round bar and threaded bar should not be used in a dogbone....  Every manufacture's part used for this function is either two pieces and steel or one piece and billet aluminum.....  the manufacturer's engineers are paid to get it right the first time.  Aftermarket parts suppliers are trying to make a quick buck - especially those who are making the parts in their garage....  

Here is a link from 2013 where other riders had similar experiences... sure wish I would have known:
http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?270419-Dangerous-aftermarket-suspension-linkage-please-read-!!!!!!!!!/page2&s=d3519669152f67d9393ad6592b68a8c6

I learned a huge lesson here and I got very, very lucky.....  let this be your lesson too if you have one of these dogbones. You gotta get it off your bike!

Cheers,

tim

[FJmonkey]

Good report Tim. Happy this did not happen during your normal spirited pace in the twisties.

To all using adjustable dog bones, consider this a public safety announcement.

[Harvy]

Tim, first of all I'm pleased to see you were unharmed!

I am assuming the R1 setup is a single dogbone?

I have FZ1 swingarm with OEM FJ relay arm and a pair of Soupys adjustable bones on my '91.

I will now be removing said bones and installing the OEM bones.

Thanks for the info.

Harvy

[Tuneforkfreak]

Holy shit that is way scary man. Did you even have to put your kickstand down or did you just lean it over on a small rock?

[rktmanfj]

If it was like my dogbone collapse, he had to stand there and wait for a couple of helpers to get it on the centerstand...   

[Tuneforkfreak]

This is a true testament as to the forces placed on a street bike suspension, I would have never imagined it. Looking at how the heim joint was worn, it was obvious it was being forced and torqued all over the place until it failed. If you would have held that soupy joint in front of me brand new and told me that one day it would simply just break in half, no way I would have ever believed you, I might have even called you crazy.

[FJ1100mjk]

This PSA doesn't affect me, since I am running OEM suspension, but I would find it interesting to read what Soupy's has to say about your failure and others. They seem to sell lowering links for about any sportbike under the sun, so I wonder how they are addressing these problems.

[jscgdunn]

Hi Tim,
Were the heimjoints seized or were the bushings seized into the heim joint?

Thx,

Jeff

[axiom-r]

Hi guys -

The bike managed to sit on its side stand because the hwy was slightly down hill to the stand side....

The heim joint was not seized up at all it was functioning properly but is simply not the right thing to have as a dogbone. The heim joint allowed rotational force (or torsion I'm not an engineer) to manifest - it gave it a place to show up and move.  This was wearing and scoring the inner ball of the heim.  it was also allowing the aluminum bushings to rub on the outside - on the joint loop or housing.  The ball in the broken end could move inside the joint when you turned sideways - it was heavily worn.  The space bushing wore through on its thin end...  Again, comparing directly to almost every dogbone made by Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Aprillia etc - they all have a solid bar with pin style roller bearings.  This design allows movement in the path that the linkage was designed for but does not accommodate any rotational force in the dogbone...  the bearings might blow out but the bar won't receive and undue stress.  My racer buddies and my machinist friend both agree that you should determine a length for your dogbone and adjust the ride height with the shock.

As soon as I showed it to my machinist friend (that helped me do all my mods) his comment was that this particular heim joint was not "shouldered" correctly for the use...  notice how the loop of the joint terminates onto (joins into) the threaded rod with no buttressing material, no shoulder...  that is where it failed.

Soupy's assembled the parts in my dogbone from a hardware source - it was not engineered.  They did produce the bushings to mount it on my application.  They have given some lip service to riders that are complaining as you can see from the link I supplied and many, many others on numerous different forums. They do continue to sell them. I did not even try to talk to them about it. I am not injured and my bike is not damaged so I don't have a real issue.  Had this happened mid corner or while two up riding it would be a different story.   One last thought on this - they market them as "lowering links" i was using mine to create additional ride height...  not sure if that use made the difference in stress accumulation.  I did not have an unusually long amount of thread showing etc..

I am thankful to have dodged the bullet - hoping to save others from what could be disaster.  I toured the bike with full luggage....  have had passengers on etc....

Cheers!

tim