FJR1300 and PAN buying advice

Thinking of buying either a Pan or an FJR1300. What sort of things in
particular should I be looking out for? I'll probably be looking for
something around 5 years old/30k miles.

Anyone I've ever spoken to who has had either of these bikes has
nothing but good words to say about them, but I know Pans can have
trouble with exhaust wear/corrosion due to centre stand bashing into
it, and the petrol tanks can go on them. Is there anything else I
should be looking for in particular on either of these bikes.

Thanks in advance.

 

FJR: Old man's lardy tourer for sure but I like mine.

Ask if ALL the rear suspension linkage and swingarm bearings have ever
been lubricated. Apparently some never got greased at the factory and
a few have seized up or broken. 1st Generation (through 05 models) and
2nd Generation have some differences which are worth noting. I'd stick
with 2nd Gen despite there being a couple of minor issues there that 1st
Gens don't have, a 1st Gens still may be liable to turn up as a ticker.

My 07 has 30k on it over 3 seasons (new in 08) and it still runs like
new. I am going to replace the cam chain tensioner with the revised
part, even though I've had no issues with the CCT, I just want to avoid
the possibility. I've also removed a couple of the ground spiders and
replaced them with crimped connections to head off a potential issue
there. There was also a recall on the ignition switch due to overheated
wires coming loose (!) and the ECU (so-called "altitude sickness") but
I don't know if those were offered in Europe or not.

Peruse http://www.fjrforum.com/forum if you're interested in one, but
save yourself some grief and read all the background info- if you come
in and ask the newbie questions without educating yourself first you'll
have the piss (rightly) ripped out of you.

 

Local plod in S.Wales have been using silver FJRs for 5 years or more which
are probably coming to the end of their working life. Some chancers are
bound to alter the mileage/history to misrepresent mileage & condition.

Nothing wrong with an ex-plod bike at the right price but worth being
careful with checking the provenance thoroughly if a silver one is on your
wishlist.

 

01 - 05 FJRs can suffer premature inlet valve guide wear, Not all are
affected and even if they are (google "the tick") it doesn't really cause
much of a problem. Just a noisy topend. Later models are unaffected.

The swingarm linkages are a known problem cos they get ignored by dealers
and seize and then the dogbones fatigue and break. This is nasty and
peeps have been injured. You really need to check these have been well
maintained if you are looking for a 5 yr old bike.

That's about it really for serious problems. I have had my 04 from new
and it's been ultra reliable for 90k km. Mine ticks too.

 

My mistake. Meant exhaust valve guides.

 

?

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in

ground as in earth wiring

http://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=125763

 

Earth points?

 

Very tasty I've heard.

 

Excellent info, thanks.

 

Perfect, thanks, and thanks for the Forum link. Why can't everyone
just Usenet?

Thinking about it, it'll probably be the FJR, and there's one at a
local dealer that offers "lifetime warranty" ... provided I get it
serviced there. Also, it will be an "everyday commute" machine so this
might be worthwile considering, I'll ask about the specific points you
raised, cheers.

 

Yep. For anyone who doesn't want to wade through hundreds of pages
of forum posts, the problem is that Yamaha decided on the Gen II
bikes to replace crimped-together earth connections in the wiring
loom with a bunch of discrete connectors, each connector ties six
earthing wires together with a 6-legged shorting block called a
"spider". Of course it should have been called an insect or bug...

The problem is, they cascade the connections through these spiders,
so as the current through each spider gets collected, it all goes
through a single pin of a connector/spider up through another
spider and so on. At some point, nearly all the return current to
the negative battery post is going through a single pin on the
"black widow" spider nearest the negative battery post, and it's
simply far too much. Schoolboy error on the part of the engineer
assigned to design that loom, and no one caught it. Yamaha have
been paying to replace looms under warranty but have not yet come
out with a redesigned harness, so far as I know. I decided not to
wait for mine to fail and ripped out the two most troublesome spiders
and crimped them together, running new separate return wires back to
the battery. Fingers crossed.

 

Ta. I knew ground was Thanspondian for 'earth' but I had no idea of the
existence of ground spiders.

I picture them as being very hairy and venomous.

 

I dare say the unfortunate Gen II owners who've been bitten
would have no choice but to agree. I still think it is a small
percentage who have experienced trouble. Now that the problem
is known, a few will sidestep it, but all it takes is a little
moisture in the wrong place, and especially if there's salt
added, bingo.

 

I pictured them sitting on a shelf between ground corriander and
ground turmeric.

As the bike will be destined to life as "out in all weathers, jet-
washed once a month, whether it needs it or not" it's something I can
bear in mind, cheers chaps.

 

Unfortunately, my Pan has been infallible. It's done everything I've
ever asked of it. I say unfortunately because before I bought the 13,
I rode an 11. In comparison, the 13 is an engineering mistake. For
almost every task, the 13 requires more tools for more fasteners. It's
damn near impossible to replace the oil filter without spilling oil on
the centerstand. The LCD gauges (fuel, clock, etc,) are ridiculously
hard to read in bright daylight, yadda yadda, the list goes on. All
minor points to be sure, but a step back from the 11. For someone who
doesn't know the 11, the 13 is prolly a great bike. Hell, I still have
it after 8 years. It can't be that bad.

 

Spare a tear for the late model Pan 1300 owners and consider yourself
fortunate

 

Thanks for the advice Thomas, as it happens, I'm trying to convince my
old man that he needs to part ways with his newly acquired 1100
pan.