What did you do to your FJR today?

[wheatonFJR]

I had a slow leak in the front for months. It was the rubber washer on my t-stem. I got the guy at my Indy shop to put a new one on during my tire change to RSIII’s. All good.

You went up to Indy to get it fixed? Holy Crap!













(Or did you mean Indie...)

[griff]

(Or did you mean Indie...)

maybe undie

[silverback]

I'll keep an eye on it...but the piston was clean and easily compressed by hand with no sense of sticking. The pedal was not sticking, but we took that apart and lubed that as well, with all the smooth action easily reversed by the spring action.

I am aware of the consequences...that's why I aborted a 400 mile solo ride into the mountains on an absolutely gorgeous early spring day to get it checked out further.

I will keep an eye on it at breaks during the day ride next weekend...

There is a problem that surfaces on older vehicles in which the release port (commonly referred to a spooge hole because it sounds more technical) gets blocked up and the pressure does not release when the master piston is at rest. Thos causes brake lock up after a few good firm stops because the fluid heats and expands as stated previously in the thread.

These usually port back into the master cylinder reservoir and are very small. A set of tip cleaners for an oxy acetylene torch works well to clean them most of the time.

This was a common occurrence on the XS11 both front and back. Have seen it on Honda CBs and even on a Chevy Suburban. Brake fluid flushes usually don't get the crud out of that port, or even drive it in tighter, so it takes a manual cleaning every once in a while.

Just a thought.

[wheatonFJR]

I'll keep an eye on it...but the piston was clean and easily compressed by hand with no sense of sticking. The pedal was not sticking, but we took that apart and lubed that as well, with all the smooth action easily reversed by the spring action.

I am aware of the consequences...that's why I aborted a 400 mile solo ride into the mountains on an absolutely gorgeous early spring day to get it checked out further.

I will keep an eye on it at breaks during the day ride next weekend...

There is a problem that surfaces on older vehicles in which the release port (commonly referred to a spooge hole because it sounds more technical) gets blocked up and the pressure does not release when the master piston is at rest. Thos causes brake lock up after a few good firm stops because the fluid heats and expands as stated previously in the thread.

These usually port back into the master cylinder reservoir and are very small. A set of tip cleaners for an oxy acetylene torch works well to clean them most of the time.

This was a common occurrence on the XS11 both front and back. Have seen it on Honda CBs and even on a Chevy Suburban. Brake fluid flushes usually don't get the crud out of that port, or even drive it in tighter, so it takes a manual cleaning every once in a while.

Just a thought.

I will take another peek at that...just to make sure that isn't the issue...thanks for the suggestion.

[Harald]

I sat on my FJR for the first time in 2 months. Left ankle surgery had saddled me with a boot that is not conducive to shifting.
I got the go ahead to start wearing a neoprene brace and this gave me hope that I can ride again soon. My trial sitting in the saddle resulted in the sad realization that I'll need to work on getting more range of motion in that ankle before I'm ready to shift.

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

[silverback]

I sat on my FJR for the first time in 2 months. Left ankle surgery had saddled me with a boot that is not conducive to shifting.
I got the go ahead to start wearing a neoprene brace and this gave me hope that I can ride again soon. My trial sitting in the saddle resulted in the sad realization that I'll need to work on getting more range of motion in that ankle before I'm ready to shift.

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

Mobility PT is no joke and I don't envy you a bit. But, do it right. It will be better in the long run.

Also, we can rig you a suicide shifter with a cast aluminum skull on top. I saw it on an old Knucklehead. He had one on his bike too.

[bungie4]

There is a problem that surfaces on older vehicles in which the release port (commonly referred to a spooge hole because it sounds more technical) gets blocked up and the pressure does not release when the master piston is at rest. Thos causes brake lock up after a few good firm stops because the fluid heats and expands as stated previously in the thread.

Experienced this first hand on my old Honda CX650e. You'll never forget it after sitting on the side of the hwy for an hour waiting for your now cooked brake disk to cool enough to pry the pads off of it to get home.

[Uncle Hud]

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

Sorry for your misfortune, and I’ll echo the sentiment about physical therapy. It’s definitely something where you get out of it what you put in.

Now, for your heel shifting. You know cruisers have an extension for the shift lever, right? It extends towards the rear of the bike. Toe down to shift into first, heel down to shift up.

Just what the doctor ordered!

[Red]

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

Sorry for your misfortune, and I’ll echo the sentiment about physical therapy. It’s definitely something where you get out of it what you put in.Now, for your heel shifting. You know cruisers have an extension for the shift lever, right? It extends towards the rear of the bike. Toe down to shift into first, heel down to shift up. Just what the doctor ordered

Harald,

I can vouch for the heel/toe shifter idea. My first-ever bike (Ducati Monza) had that gadget, as did my Yamaha dirt bike, and it's a piece of cake. You may have to get an old FJR shift lever and have the heel piece welded on, if you can't find something pre-made to fit. You may not want to give it up after the foot heals - the heel shift never gets in the way of normal shifting, and using it does not mess up your boots like a toe shifter.

[Harald]

I sat on my FJR for the first time in 2 months. Left ankle surgery had saddled me with a boot that is not conducive to shifting.
I got the go ahead to start wearing a neoprene brace and this gave me hope that I can ride again soon. My trial sitting in the saddle resulted in the sad realization that I'll need to work on getting more range of motion in that ankle before I'm ready to shift.

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

Mobility PT is no joke and I don't envy you a bit. But, do it right. It will be better in the long run.

Also, we can rig you a suicide shifter with a cast aluminum skull on top. I saw it on an old Knucklehead. He had one on his bike too.

LOL, I actually thought about a golf club attached to the shift lever and held captive in a ring duct taped to the side of the tank. It would be too hard to keep the front wheel up and shift at the same time, so I decided against that option.

[Harald]

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

Sorry for your misfortune, and I’ll echo the sentiment about physical therapy. It’s definitely something where you get out of it what you put in.

Now, for your heel shifting. You know cruisers have an extension for the shift lever, right? It extends towards the rear of the bike. Toe down to shift into first, heel down to shift up.

Just what the doctor ordered!

I didn't see that option in the Yamaha parts catalog. If the ankle was a long term problem, I'd definitely look at that option (or perhaps a VFR1200 or Gold Wing with DCT) but I think I'll stick with the PT and plan on riding the FJR again soon.

[wheatonFJR]

And no, I'm not willing to heel kick into first and run around in first gear just to ride.

Sorry for your misfortune, and I’ll echo the sentiment about physical therapy. It’s definitely something where you get out of it what you put in.

Now, for your heel shifting. You know cruisers have an extension for the shift lever, right? It extends towards the rear of the bike. Toe down to shift into first, heel down to shift up.

Just what the doctor ordered!

I didn't see that option in the Yamaha parts catalog. If the ankle was a long term problem, I'd definitely look at that option (or perhaps a VFR1200 or Gold Wing with DCT) but I think I'll stick with the PT and plan on riding the FJR again soon.

Plan on eventually, after a good bit of PT, to be standing on a a small rubber ball and trying to maintain your balance. It got so that my injured foot had better muscle control than the non injured foot...so they stopped.

[Prestone]

Flogged it for 200 miles. More switch back than I normally like but still beatuiful none the less.

[BkerChuck]

Washed it after riding it to work. Day 372 complete.

[LKLD]

Washed it after riding it to work. Day 372 complete.

C'mon 400!

Chuck, that's quite the accomplishment, especially considering where you live.

Stay safe, my friend.

[gixxerjasen]

WTF does his foot have to do with shifting and what are all these crazy mods for? Oh yea, not all ya'll as cool as me and can just push a button to shift. I'd be riding with the boot on too!

Rode mine to work today. Got up to freaking 90F on the way home. So much for spring.

[tominca]

Pulled out the Autocom and the related wiring, and am installing the Sena SR10 and getting the Sena 20S setup where I want it. Oil change, new plugs and throttle body sync. Should have done a valve check, but I'll take my chances. It's been the longest layup for me this winter since forever. I took the insurance discount and have not done a ride since December. I'm heading to the Keys (by car) March 31, so I probably wont get a good ride in until mid-April.

I think I'll ride with the slow group at SEO.

[Harald]

WTF does his foot have to do with shifting and what are all these crazy mods for? Oh yea, not all ya'll as cool as me and can just push a button to shift. I'd be riding with the boot on too!

I have an 07 FJR also, but I bought the MORE expensive one. Seriously. Despite the higher MSRP of the AE, they didn't sell well at all and consequently had to be heavily discounted to get them off the floor. I actually considered the AE because I like the silver color better, but couldn't get myself to break with tradition.

I've never ridden an AE, but my wife has a Honda NC700XD which is their adventure style bike with DCT trani. There's no clutch lever or shifter and it defaults to automatic shifting when started. You can put it in manual mode and then you're required to shift it with paddles on the left handlebar cluster. It works surprisingly well, although there's always that panic when I reach for the clutch lever at stops and can't find it.

You might wonder why I don't just ride that bike because it's just sitting there waiting for warm, dry weather before it gets ridden by the wife? Anyone that's married can probably guess the answer. She has absolutely forbidden me to touch it until the Doctor has cleared me to ride, which will hopefully happen April 18th.

[gixxerjasen]

That's kind of exactly how I ended up with the AE. Even used they had lower value and it was a better deal so I figured I'd give it a shot. I mostly haven't regretted it at all. Unlike you, I don't like the silver color, but like I said, it was a good deal and silver is better than the ugly brown from that same year. No full auto, always gotta use the paddles, and yea, when I first got it, like the second day I had to do a panic stop and there was extra panic induced from my left hand grabbing nothing but air.

Do as she says, or you'll need to plan a really really loooooong bike trip.

[Redfish]

I rode mine to work today and as usual it was the only motorcycle in the lot. I would be more proud of that if it were not for Chuck making me feel like a sissy with this year + riding streak.

I have thought about what it would take to ride Every Day for an entire year. Most of us here actually do understand what that really takes. It would never be possible for me.

I live in South Louisiana. It NEVER snows here. This year it snowed and the roads froze badly enough that I actually had to put my truck in 4WD HI to get to work. Every so often we get these little storms that flood and knock down trees and power lines, we call them Hurricanes. On top of that the Family Vacations that are a Very Important part of every year mean that I don't have access to my bike for a week or more.

I can only try to express my respect for a man that is willing to make an attempt at a one year riding streak. I cannot even think of where to begin to congratulate a man that actually accomplished it.

Well done Chuck, well done.