FJR Buying advice - thanks

Both the US FJR forum - http://www.fjrforum.com - and US Concours
(Kawasaki GTR) forum - http://forum.concours.org/ - seem to be
inhabited by very knowledgeable and helpful people but then I guess
you'd have to rather warped to want to put an extended swing arm on
either of those bikes.

Kevin (who knows someone is going to respond with a link to a picture
of an FJR or GTR with an extended swing arm...)

 

you can't cope with the riding position on a sports bike when it comes
to long rides then surely you just buy a touring bike to compliment it?

 

I'm neither fat, nor bald tvm.

 

I joined a UK based GS forum which has provided much useful information, a
few friends off the internet and the knowledge of why not to buy a BMW
motorcycle made after about 2003.

 

No, sir just needs to ride it a bit more and get used to the race
crouch. It doesn't take long to adjust.

When I'm old and past it, then I'll look at something more comfortable.

 

I joined UKRM.

 

That's why your name rings a bell. SVRider.com?

 

Sir just needs to go faster. The wind blast on the head and chest provide a
lot of support.

 

My body's just not really used to it - I used to ride a sportsbike every
day and it seemed normal. Now I use the KTM as a daily commuter and the
GSXR only comes out for special occasions.

I'll get used to it again.

 

Most og the GL forums are a mine of info, and helpful advice, as are
the CBX ones.

The CB13 one seems a little sad by comparison.

 

Yep, I was on there, as well as a/the Yahoo SV mailing list and
the Google Groups SV/DL group, too.

 

Mark -

I remember lots of comments about the factory fixing various FJR
problems, and that one shouldn't buy early models and opt for the
latest if possible. What year did that advice became obsolete?

 

The 2006 and later Gen II models got rid of the ticker problem, and addressed
the 'heat problem' but added a couple new problems that the earlier models
didn't have. But not all Gen I bikes will become tickers (Yamaha fixed most
of the tickers in the USA, but I have no idea if they did in Europe) so if
he's got a good one he's really good to go. Even if it turns out he's bought
a ticker, or it turns into one, all it really means is, the exhaust valves and
valve guides need to be replaced. Not cheap, but a relatively straightforward
repair.

 

The seller said he'd had the valves done, but I didn't ask to see
evidence that the work had been completed. I'll double check before
completing the sale though.

Cheers

 

"Had the valves done" usually mean the valve clearances have been checked
and adjusted if needed. A much different thing than rebuilding the head.
But if he was indeed referring to replacing valve guides and valves, you
will be just fine with a Gen I.

 

What's the ballpark on the replacement job, if it hasn't been done?

 

It's a biggish job. Head off, exhaust valves replaced with new guides and
a new redesigned oil stem seal. But I really wouldn't worry about it. Mine
ticks and has done for years and nearly 100k km. It's only a noise and has
no influence on performance (dyno tested proof if required). When it gets
really really bad you get oil coming out of the exhaust. For some reason
the US made a much bigger hoohah about it than over here.

I can supply links if you really want the full paranoia effect.

 

That doesn't happen on the SV forum, as most of them are switching to
Street Triples and GSXRs

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

Provided there's no performance loss, I'll probably wing it. The bike
has 15k miles on it and I've asked the vendor to clarify the work he's
had done, but to be honest, they seem like a bullet-proof bike, which
is why they were on my list in the first place. I need it to start
every day and do the ringroad run to work, come hail or shine. It'd be
a shame to put a new FJR on that run, but an 04? Ticker or not, it's
probably going to get me to work so it ticks that box.

 

No idea, really. Any competent machine shop that does cylinder head
rebuilding can do it.

I just did a search on fjrforum.com for this topic and found this
topic:

"Question About Buying An Fjr, Cost To Fix Ticker"

http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//inde...st&p=790879&hl=+valve++job++cost&fromsearch=1

If the link above doesn't work, the most informative response by
ionbeam is copied & pasted below my comments.

Keep these points in mind:

If it doesn't tick now, you're probably just fine.

If it ever does start to tick you can ride it for a long
time before you have to do anything about it.

You can save a huge fraction of the cost by removing &
replacing the cylinder head yourself, and carrying the head
to an independent cylinder head rebuilding shop.

Remember this is not something that happens to every Gen I
bike. Most will never develop the problem.



==========================fjrforum post============================
[Poster] ionbeam
Group:Members++
Posts:4,727
Joined:24-June 05
Gender:Male
Location:Sandown, NH
Bike: 2004 ABS (N. America)

Posted 21 September 2010 - 03:40 PM

Expect repair cost to run in the $1.4k to $1.75k range if your dealer
does 100% of the work. You can reduce that amount by stripping the
bike down and putting it back together yourself. The more you do,
the more you save. There is a chance that Yamaha may still pick up
some or all of the cost.

If you are looking at an '03 your odds of it being a ticker is very
likely <20%, much less than that if it is an '04 and very, very
unlikely for an '05. The premature wear of the valve guides due
to stem seals being too tight takes a long time. You can ride the
motorcycle until oil comes out the exhaust and it will still run ok
and be reliable.

Not knowing the model year or miles it's hard to advise much more. The
true dealer check for a 'ticker' is to pull the head pipes and look
for traces of engine oil. The duffers check is to put a long metal rod,
long screwdriver, etc on the exhaust header right at the cylinder head,
at cyl #1, then with the engine running put your ear on the improvised
mechanic's stethoscope and listen for sharp metallic rattling. This
can be done with the faring still on. If the bike is very low mileage
it is unlikely either of these checks will show anything.

If the deal is good and the bike is clean, I think it is worth
the risk.