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2007 - the new build

29K views 157 replies 18 participants last post by  DesertBike 
#1 ·
Picking up a 2007 next Saturday. Not many miles on it, but I'll plan on all fluids, check codes on tires and I have a new battery for it. Have a givi kit on order for a top box. Will also plan on crash bars.
Anything else in particular to go through on a 2007?
 
#60 ·
I'll give that a Shot
 
#62 ·
Chuck, wishi could say that did anything different ! I liked the FJR when it cameour but when the 07 came out that maroon really got me going but my wife wasn’t so agreeable. But she had decided maybe the bike thing wasn’t just a passing fad and decided if I was going to tour after 2 trips to n-hampshire to see my son 1000mi away that maybe I needed something newer and more reliable that the 86 gl1200 Sei I was riding,

Fortunately the fastest color red 14’s were out and I really, really liked that red! (As much as the 07’s) I did wait until the 15’s came out because I had been lurking here some at that time and rumors of a major update to a 1500cc, 6 spd were rife here. When the 15’s were announced and were just a color change I got busy sourcing my 14a, gotta keep the wife happy, right ? And I have a well documented red fixation.
 
#63 ·
The r-gaza luggage bars showed up today. Nicely built and a 10 minute install. 3 days from Russia. 905 still can't manage to get me the bars I ordered from them 6 weeks ago.
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#66 ·
Only some of them have the big stripes. I've only ever seen maybe 2.
 
#68 ·
Google 2007 fjr1300 and see how many you see with stripes. Maybe they are common in other countries, but here in the US I have seen very few.
 
#70 ·
There were no stripes on any US or Canadian......... do you have some pics randomdude?
 
#71 ·
I have the EU model, so don't know about the US version, but this is my 07 in the same color... with stripes.

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Also, this is a snapshot from the official yamaha website (the original is no longer available). It had a model history page dedicated to the FJR.

Maybe it only considers EU versions, but this color only came with stripes, according to this article. Granted, there are a lot of bikes out there without them, so go figure. As a wise man once said - "Perhaps the archives are incomplete." which in this case might actually be true :)
 
#72 ·
There was a set of those side stripes available here at one time (I think Premier Cycle, but they are out of business now), looked identical. I see now where they got the idea...........
 
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#73 ·
I've seen a couple in the US, but maybe they either ordered European stickers or some sort of aftermarket.
 
#74 · (Edited)
Shakedown run complete. I've got about 800 miles on the fjr since I bought it a month ago. Only concern I have is my right hand going numb. Bars have too much pullback for me, but nothing to do about that now since it has the heliriser tree that eliminated the rotational adjustment. Will get it loaded tonight, check the tire pressure and at 3pm tomorrow hit the road for a few days.
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#76 ·
Shakedown run complete. I've got about 800 miles on the fjr since I bought it a month ago. Only concern I have is my right hand going numb. Bars have too much pullback for me, but nothing to do about that now since it has the heliriser tree that eliminated the rotational adjustment.
Chuck,

Numbness in the hands or wrists will usually be vibrational, more than positional, for the FJR. Try keeping your weight off the handgrips, as much as possible. You can add foam grips, the correct (for you) padded gloves, bar end weights (either heavier or lighter),and maybe a Throttle Body Sync (when time/money permits). First thing, before anything else, would be to run a can of Seafoam (or other good fuel injector cleaner) through the gas tank, mixed per label specs. Seafoam is magic stuff, but it is not instant magic. The situation should be better, before the Seafoam is finished.
 
#75 ·
If you remove one of the little roll pins in the bottom of the handlebar, you should be able to rotate them somewhat......
 
#78 ·
Not understanding - the bars are positioned by the 2 bolts that hold each on on and the helibar tree only has a forward and aft position. The little pegs don't really do anything with their setup.
 
#83 ·
Left after work for Mitchell. Lot of grooved concrete and the Angel gt front is not a fan. Big plus is that the speed limit in SD is 80 and people drive 90. Home sweet shed for the night and dinner in the shadow of the corn palace.
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#84 · (Edited)
It was a long day. Rolled out of bed in my shed at 7am. Went from deadwood to Sturgis to wall and then through the Badlands again on 240, had a crappy breakfast at the visitor center and then visited the Minuteman exhibit. After that it was 90-100mph (keeping up with left lane traffic) all the way across SD. Hard to slow down in MN, but home before 6. Hotter than heck all the way back. Blew the right front fork seal on a big highway bump - weird, it kicked the seal saver off the lower and I am guessing had puked half the fork oil all over the bike and some on the right front brakes. Luckily on the freeway brakes are unnecessary.

It was a good trip, now it is beer time, pizza time. My wife has tomorrow off and it is supposed to be 95 so boat day it is
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#85 · (Edited)
My takeaways after 1400 miles since Tuesday at 3pm.
1)The FJR is overall a great bike, smooth, fast and comfortable for the most part.
2) My handlebar setup sucks. The helibar tree tips the mounting points forward, so the risers I added make them higher and further forward. The bar angle is bad, if my shoulders were a foot narrower this would be a good setup. It is getting redone.
3) the pirelli angel gt front hates groved pavement. I will go with a Conti RA or TA next time.
4). 33 was a good pressure for the Riken raptor CT. Smooth and you could hardly tell it was a CT in the twisties. Thanks @rbentnail
5) The fjr side luggage is a huge pain. I may rig up a rack for givi panniers over the winter.
6) my normal 5w40 rotella doesn't cut it in the fjr - at least not for long high speed trips. Shifting is super clunky near the tail end of the trip. Will try something different. Never had an issue in other bikes, but this one needs something else.
7). I am undecided about the Sargent seat. It doesn't suck as bad (for me) as a RDL, but it is still too tractor seat like if you don't have a larger rear. I will likely order a top sellarie gel front and see how that goes.
8). Those Beamtech Led headlights are insanely bright. Yesterday I left at around 4:30 am and kept thinking that the brights were on.
 
#86 ·
33 was a good pressure for the Riken raptor CT. Smooth and you could hardly tell it was a CT in the twisties. Thanks @rbentnail
(y)

my normal 5w40 rotella doesn't cut it in the fjr - at least not for long high speed trips. Shifting is super clunky near the tail end of the trip. Will try something different.
Some folks don't believe it but I learned early on that my '07 HATES Rotella oil. I dumped that crap for good back in 2009. Back then I tried a couple different brands and weights & settled on Valvoline 10w-40 full synth plain ol' auto oil. That stuff was the best! But alas, as auto oils have moved to the lighter side 10w-40 became harder and then nearly impossible to find or even order. I switched to Valvoline motorcycle specific 10w-40 Full Synth for spring & fall and 20w-50 for the heat of the summer. They both hold up well for a variety of riding styles from prolonged interstate like you did to high rpm/low gear unpaved national forest roads. I get mine at Auto Zone along with Mobil1 M1-110 filters. The M1-108 fit fine too.
 
#87 ·
I'll have to try the Valvoline. My fz1 and dl1000 were both fine with the rotella, this one not so much
 
#88 ·
I would say 5W40 is too light a viscosity in general, your shifting would be better with 10W40 (or 15W40 if you're sticking with Rotella T6).... side comment, although recommendations changed to lighter oils in the later years (presumably emissions related), the recommended oil back in the day was 20W40, which was only available in Yamalube. I found 20W just a tad too heavy..... you are not the first to say shifting with T6 was less than optimal...

I am wondering how you got the bug deflector off the forks, any time I rebuild forks I have a heck of time removing those..... you musta hit hard, likely bottomed out, blew out some oil..... perhaps the seal is not leaking other than that event. But you do have a lot of bug debris there too, might have damaged the seal... It only takes a tablespoon or so to soak rotors and pads.... I doubt you have lost anything significant...... suggest clean up with isopropanol and ride some more, see if your leak is genuine.
 
#89 ·
Only thing I can figure is that it bottomed out. I also have had a heck of a time removing those from yamaha forks. I ordered some new seals and bushings just in case. I figure I have to pull the legs to reset the oil level so I will yank them apart and take a complete look. Only takes an extra 30 minutes or so and then I will know where it is all at.

But this morning is cleaning it all up so it can be worked on.
 
#90 ·
The seal saver is broke. All the tabs snapped and the bottom is distorted/stretched from getting rammed onto the lower. Guess we'll add that to the order.
 
#91 · (Edited)
That doesn't look good. But opened it up and it is basically full and clean within a few drops of the top. Oil was only on bottom of wheel, like it dropped when parked.
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And that seal saver hit the front brake line bracket and bent it a little. There was some oil on the dust seal and some on the seal saver, but you may be correct that little oil was lost. I am a little concerned that it was able to compress that much, but it was a pretty good bump at about 60mph. So maybe I ll glue it in place for the moment.
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All cleaned up and ready for some wax later. But now it is lake time. Still have one more day off.
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#92 ·
Honda aluminum washers for those drain and fill plugs.........

I don't know the actual air gap after filling fork oil level to the 100 mm level, but full 5" suspension travel is going to compress that air gap a lot.... a buddy of mine has a hydraulic press tall enough for forks. He fills with oil (no air gap at all) and compresses the fork to push the seals out..... works great.
 
#95 ·
Honda aluminum washers for those drain and fill plugs.........
Quirky thing about my '07- final drive weeped oil from from day 1 from the drain bolt no matter if I used Honda aluminum or Yamaha copper washers. It just weeped. I switched to a Dowty washer, problem solved.
 
#93 ·
And she is all back in local configuration. Pirelli back on the rear, short windshield and waxed within an inch of it's life. Changed the oil with some t6 15w40 for now since I have some for the boat. Ordered some Valvoline bike synthetic to try on the next change. So it is ready for ZARS in a couple weeks.
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#94 · (Edited)
Did some research last night on a couple different handlebar solutions and ordered an ABM conversion setup so that I can use standard handlebars. Need to do some measurements, but I will likely use either Renthal high street bars or the Emgo superbike bars I have on my fz1.
No idea when the kit will get here from Germany but it will allow better tuning of bar position with standard MC risers and bars.
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#96 · (Edited)
Started digging through the spare parts box during lunch to see what all I have for the conversion. Looks like instead of buying a Kaoko that I will just use a spare FZ1 Throttlemeister that I have. The Renthal aluminum bars I ordered have a 14mm ID, so I'll just drill and tap them to M16x1.5 rather than dealing with inserts. The inserts I had laying around are for steel bars anyway - so even if they were not way too large OD then would need to be epoxied/pinned.
Will need to figure out a thrust washer for the Throttlemeister since I don't have any spares. Set of 135mm Oxford grips should fit the FJR, they were too long for the FZ1.

I'm guessing that I'll need some offset risers too, but want to get it all together with just the ABM setup and bars first to see which directions I might still need to go. (Not planning on using that original tree, but it was in the parts pile)
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