2004 FJR1300 ABS - 7,000 miles.
Wow,
I spent all winter reading, worrying, wondering.....
Then I bought these bad boys from England on eBay for $23 and had them shipped to Buffalo NY for $5.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-FJR-...m5d694719bf:m:mcZ_5cIdp78_lyNGU3OJMZw&vxp=mtr
They were here in under a week.
A friend and I installed the links and dropped the trees on the forks in 30 minutes.
I bought 35 millimeter (1.377 inches) or, (1 & 3/8 ) lowering links.
They also have 45mm (1.771 inches) available. (1 & 3/4).
I'm 5'5 and have a 29 or 30 inseam.
The links lowered the bike 1 & 3/8 in the rear, and we dropped the trees (raised the forks) 1 inch in front.
Here's what we did:
REAR SUSPENSION:
Put the bike in gear and rolled it forward until the trans locked.
Then we put the side stand down.
We put an automotive jack under the rear shock and lifted until the rear tire was off the ground.
My buddy was on the right side of the bike and loosened removed the two nuts on the bolts
holding the original links on.
He pried up the rear tire with a bar and slid a wooden wedge under the tire
once the bolts were unloaded.
(no weight on the suspension bolts)
He drove the bolts out gently with a punch while I held the link on my side (left side)
in place to stop the bearings from falling out.
I put the new link on my side and slid the top bolt in from the left hand side.
My buddy then used the bar to pry up the rear tire until I could get my bolt in.
(He had to pry up the 1 & 3/8 difference for the new link)
Each time I slid a bolt in, he held his link up to the right side so that when I pushed each bolt
through, I didn't end up pushing the bearings out his side this time.
We torqued them up to 30 ft lbs.
SIDESTAND:
Then we ground just over 1/16 of an inch off the side-stand stop as has been described on this site.
The side stand now sits forward of it's original location to the point where
the pad on the bottom isn't totally flat anymore.
We'll tweak the stand later I think with some heat and touch her up with spray paint.
I was still able to get the bike up on the center stand cuz I'm a husky mo' fo' (185 lbs', 5'5")
It was somewhat harder, but if it really bugs me after awhile
it looks like you can just drill two new holes underneath the stock holes and stick her back
on there. I don't think there's any VooDoo to do there either.
(If anyone has tried it, I'd love to hear from you)
FRONT SUSPENSION:
I cleaned about 2" of fork tube below the triple tree with WD40.
We then loosened the 3 pinch bolts on (1) fork tube, (2 lower, 1 upper) and raised the fork 1 ".
(Twist the fork tube gently back and forth while pulling upwards through the tree.)
Then we retorqued the bolts.
(guesstimated.... it was impossible to get a torque wrench in there)
Then we repeated the operation on the other side.
It's important to only do one side at a time.
It should be noted that I have Heli-Bar risers installed which create plenty of room
for the top of the forks to protrude through the top triple tree without
hitting the handlebars.
I can't exactly flat foot the bike, but it's somewhere between the balls of my feet and flatfoot.
Before, I had to hop off the bike to one side to come to a stop,
Now I can just touch down on both sides.
I can also paddle the bike backwards on flat pavement. (Impossible before today)
I can also swing a leg over the bike, where I had to hop on the footpeg to get a leg
over before.
RIDE REPORT!
*Heck Yeah!*
I felt like I lost 50 lbs right off the bat.
The center of gravity is (or feels) lower and you notice it right away.
The bike seems to turn in quick and it feels nice and light.
(I realize, I increased the rake, but it actually felt easier & lighter to turn.... go figure)
For me, it was definitely confidence inspiring.
I am an experienced rider, but that bike was a bit tall and heavy
for such a short guy with a roached back. (56 yrs old)
Now I don't have to worry about tipping the bike over in a parking
lot when my girls gets on, etc.
I don't mind tip toes on my 250 lb dual sport, but the FJR was a different story.
Today was my first day on the FJR this year.
I had just bought the bike and only put 350 miles on it last year
before storage. When I asked my good buddy to ride today.
he said to bring the links over and we'd lower it right away before
I had an "incident". LOL
So there ya have it.
No need to hang the bike from the rafters etc.
No cutting of bolts. No VooDoo.
Just a cool friend on the other side of the bike.
Take your time, think twice - move once, as my father used to say.
$28 & 30 minutes.
2 guys in a fully equipped garage.
Admittedly, my friend is a pro and works confidently and quickly.
I'm skilled, but only half as quick.
NOTE:
If I was any shorter or lighter....say a 130 lb female, I might have went with the 45mm links,
and maybe lowered it another 1/2 inch in front for a total of 1 & 3/4 rear and 1 & 1/2 front.
But I'm at 185lbs and I plan to ride 2 up a lot with my 135 ish lb girlfriend and some gear.
When my 135 lb mechanic buddy hopped on the rear in the driveway, my feet went flat on the ground.
He bounced around a bit and the suspension still felt firm (on the soft setting)
This 2004 ABS just hit 7,000 miles today, so the suspension is still very new.
Rode about 70 miles today.
I'll do a bit more and maybe mess with the suspension settings a little to see what happens,
but I'm really happy.
I hope this helps someone thinking about doing "the big" mod.
It was a cakewalk.
Wow,
I spent all winter reading, worrying, wondering.....
Then I bought these bad boys from England on eBay for $23 and had them shipped to Buffalo NY for $5.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-FJR-...m5d694719bf:m:mcZ_5cIdp78_lyNGU3OJMZw&vxp=mtr
They were here in under a week.
A friend and I installed the links and dropped the trees on the forks in 30 minutes.
I bought 35 millimeter (1.377 inches) or, (1 & 3/8 ) lowering links.
They also have 45mm (1.771 inches) available. (1 & 3/4).
I'm 5'5 and have a 29 or 30 inseam.
The links lowered the bike 1 & 3/8 in the rear, and we dropped the trees (raised the forks) 1 inch in front.
Here's what we did:
REAR SUSPENSION:
Put the bike in gear and rolled it forward until the trans locked.
Then we put the side stand down.
We put an automotive jack under the rear shock and lifted until the rear tire was off the ground.
My buddy was on the right side of the bike and loosened removed the two nuts on the bolts
holding the original links on.
He pried up the rear tire with a bar and slid a wooden wedge under the tire
once the bolts were unloaded.
(no weight on the suspension bolts)
He drove the bolts out gently with a punch while I held the link on my side (left side)
in place to stop the bearings from falling out.
I put the new link on my side and slid the top bolt in from the left hand side.
My buddy then used the bar to pry up the rear tire until I could get my bolt in.
(He had to pry up the 1 & 3/8 difference for the new link)
Each time I slid a bolt in, he held his link up to the right side so that when I pushed each bolt
through, I didn't end up pushing the bearings out his side this time.
We torqued them up to 30 ft lbs.
SIDESTAND:
Then we ground just over 1/16 of an inch off the side-stand stop as has been described on this site.
The side stand now sits forward of it's original location to the point where
the pad on the bottom isn't totally flat anymore.
We'll tweak the stand later I think with some heat and touch her up with spray paint.
I was still able to get the bike up on the center stand cuz I'm a husky mo' fo' (185 lbs', 5'5")
It was somewhat harder, but if it really bugs me after awhile
it looks like you can just drill two new holes underneath the stock holes and stick her back
on there. I don't think there's any VooDoo to do there either.
(If anyone has tried it, I'd love to hear from you)
FRONT SUSPENSION:
I cleaned about 2" of fork tube below the triple tree with WD40.
We then loosened the 3 pinch bolts on (1) fork tube, (2 lower, 1 upper) and raised the fork 1 ".
(Twist the fork tube gently back and forth while pulling upwards through the tree.)
Then we retorqued the bolts.
(guesstimated.... it was impossible to get a torque wrench in there)
Then we repeated the operation on the other side.
It's important to only do one side at a time.
It should be noted that I have Heli-Bar risers installed which create plenty of room
for the top of the forks to protrude through the top triple tree without
hitting the handlebars.
I can't exactly flat foot the bike, but it's somewhere between the balls of my feet and flatfoot.
Before, I had to hop off the bike to one side to come to a stop,
Now I can just touch down on both sides.
I can also paddle the bike backwards on flat pavement. (Impossible before today)
I can also swing a leg over the bike, where I had to hop on the footpeg to get a leg
over before.
RIDE REPORT!
*Heck Yeah!*
I felt like I lost 50 lbs right off the bat.
The center of gravity is (or feels) lower and you notice it right away.
The bike seems to turn in quick and it feels nice and light.
(I realize, I increased the rake, but it actually felt easier & lighter to turn.... go figure)
For me, it was definitely confidence inspiring.
I am an experienced rider, but that bike was a bit tall and heavy
for such a short guy with a roached back. (56 yrs old)
Now I don't have to worry about tipping the bike over in a parking
lot when my girls gets on, etc.
I don't mind tip toes on my 250 lb dual sport, but the FJR was a different story.
Today was my first day on the FJR this year.
I had just bought the bike and only put 350 miles on it last year
before storage. When I asked my good buddy to ride today.
he said to bring the links over and we'd lower it right away before
I had an "incident". LOL
So there ya have it.
No need to hang the bike from the rafters etc.
No cutting of bolts. No VooDoo.
Just a cool friend on the other side of the bike.
Take your time, think twice - move once, as my father used to say.
$28 & 30 minutes.
2 guys in a fully equipped garage.
Admittedly, my friend is a pro and works confidently and quickly.
I'm skilled, but only half as quick.
NOTE:
If I was any shorter or lighter....say a 130 lb female, I might have went with the 45mm links,
and maybe lowered it another 1/2 inch in front for a total of 1 & 3/4 rear and 1 & 1/2 front.
But I'm at 185lbs and I plan to ride 2 up a lot with my 135 ish lb girlfriend and some gear.
When my 135 lb mechanic buddy hopped on the rear in the driveway, my feet went flat on the ground.
He bounced around a bit and the suspension still felt firm (on the soft setting)
This 2004 ABS just hit 7,000 miles today, so the suspension is still very new.
Rode about 70 miles today.
I'll do a bit more and maybe mess with the suspension settings a little to see what happens,
but I'm really happy.
I hope this helps someone thinking about doing "the big" mod.
It was a cakewalk.