If you fill up with premium (or marina fuel, which is premium or at least ethanol free), then add stabilizer you should be fine, ethanol is hydroscopic, meaning it attracts water, this is why marinas only sell premium or ethanol free fuel because of the inherently wet environment and for boats...
The problems you outline can all be addressed.
The seat is a pretty common complaint, I used an airhawk seat pad and it allowed me to ride all day no issues. There are also a number of aftermarket seats on the market, and they come up for sale used fairly frequently.
The shudder you feel...
I took the FZ6 on a couple longer journeys, had a Givi tail rack and bag, a small tank bag, but I liked the size as it kept it out of the way, then I usually strapped a water resistant duffle bag onto the passenger seat. No upgraded seat but an air hawk did the trick for long days.
Was...
I whole heatedly disagree with this, majority of your stopping power comes from the front. A mix of front and rear should be used, with the primary braking coming from the fronts. Rears will lock up quite quickly and cause a skid or high-side if you release it quickly enough by accident
How did...
Went a new direction with bikes so selling my FZ6, I bought the bike at 10,000 km and all miles after that have been put on by me using it for trips and country rides. its now at 73,000 km (45,000 miles)
All touring related mods:
Heavy weighted Stainless Steel Bar ends...
I checked my valves for the first time at 65,000 km (40,000 miles), oil changes are done every 5000 miles or so, I ride almost every day from April through till November putting on around 12,000 miles a year. I was riding to commute for a while 120 miles per day, but really the most of my riding...
I don't have a reason to explain why mine tightened and you're loosened, I thought tightening was the normal thing for them, as the valves slam themselves into the seat. My bike is running like a top though, 8,000 km after the check and adjustment (parked indefinitely now though until I find a...
I've been going more and more off the beaten track on my FZ6 as of lately and have been passing by trail entrances I wish I could follow. My dad's been a BMW guy for the past 4 years or so and I've been following their lineup for a little while now. I called the dealership to ask about some of...
Give some thought to replacing it as a set, chain and sprockets wear together and if you don't run it on the loose end of the spec you can eat up a new chain pretty fast (ask me how I know...) on the other hand, sticky links can be dealt with via a good cleaning and lubing with an oil based lube...
Question about your riding style, when you're trying to shift down are you doing this as you coast to a stop with the clutch in? What I mean is, are you downshifting continuously (clutch in, downshift, clutch out let the engine braking do its thing, repeat), or are you just coming to a stop with...
The cams should have their little mark lined up with the head and facing away from each other like this, note how they're opposing and the marks are level with the head
and the T mark should line up with the crankcase like this (note my bike has ~65,000 km at this point so the cam chain is a...
I do like all types of riding, commuting, day trips, weekend trips, week long trips across the country... So I'm generally up for anything and everything. I spend alot of time in the Adirondacks in NY and Vermont, also some great riding north of Kingston and to the West of Ottawa.
There's a...
I should clarify I set it to a touch more than 2", then have someone sit on it to make sure its not tightened up too much, I ride with heavy loads sometimes with touring equipment so I go a little more than people who just ride with themselves on the bike...
too tight (and probably a...
Kinda hard to say without seeing it, probably also worth mentioning that the sprockets (front and back) and chain should be changed as a set, they wear together and introducing a new piece throws that all off. That contributed to my old chain dying as well, I changed it and put it on the same...
These bikes like to run with the chain fairly loose, I set mine at 2", find the tightest section and check it right under the bolt where the rubber chain guide it held down on the swingarm. I wreaked a sprocket and chain running it too tight, since, I've set it at 2" when the bike is on the...
This could be from an improperly tensioned chain, too tight or bad maintenance resulting in a sticky link could produce a grinding feel/noise. I had a horrible grinding noise in the first couple of gears that would dissapear at higher speeds. My chain was awful and stretched super loose in one...