06 FZ6 Overhaul (primary)

[Stolf]

So, not so long ago in a town far too far away...

I was an owner of a pretty good looking 06 FZ6. Got it in 2010 for 5k and was a summer rider (Washington state isnt exactly a year round riding state). A couple years ago, I had moved and with it wanted to overhaul the bike. Sadly though, it got put off and was tarped up for a few seasons in the barn. Luckily I had some foresight and took the battery out and a few other things. But now... now it is ugly and I am going to get it done.

Thus why I am going to start the trek here. Pictures showing what is being done and how it is going along. I am sure with these bikes hitting 15 years old now, they will be found in the same state of sorriness that mine is in now. And with that, give someone hope that they can bring it back to life.

So I will be posting the overall here. Specific questions will be going both here and in the more direct sub forums where they may belong better. But for now... now to see the shame I have hidden for a couple of rideless seasons...

 

[trepetti]

Never a bad time to do a good thing. I have an 05, bought in 2013 with 3k miles. I am just finishing my off-season refresh and with almost 60k on the bike it still runs like new. Once you replace the normal wear items like chains, cables, brake pads etc, there are a few things that were recommended to me through this great forum that help keep that like new feeling.

Brakes - Its a simple job to rebuild the calipers, and although Yamaha's recommended interval is a little too frequent, it makes a BIG difference in overall operation and safety when you have fresh seals. Do it, you won't be sorry.

Bearings - I just finished replacing all my wheel bearing and cleaned / repacked my swingarm bearings. Wheels seemed ok, but the swingarm was loaded with gak.

Valve clearance - If you are behind in the schedule, take the time to do it now. Although performance will deteriorate as they go out of adjustment, the change is usually slow and subtle where you might not notice it happening. By the time they get really out of whack, you might be facing a bigger problem.... burnt exhaust valves and seats. Don't forget the TB synch when done as the engine's volumetric efficiency will change when the valves are back in spec.

Good luck with the resurrection. It's a great bike what still puts a smile on my face when we go for a ride.

 

[Stolf]

Good luck with the resurrection. It's a great bike what still puts a smile on my face when we go for a ride.

Thank you very much. Considering the bike only has about 8k miles on it, I didnt really think the valve clearance or bearings were too worrisome as of yet. I did the spark plugs (Christ was that difficult with my pie plate hands) recently. I will check the swingarm more clearly though since I am already tearing apart the exhaust.

As far as the brakes, I never considered doing a rebuild of the calipers themselves. I am doing new pads and rotors though.

I also wasnt planning to to cables/brake lines, but am curious if they may be worth doing.





And yes, I will be doing a new sync when done since there will be a new fuel map, no more catalytic converter, and a K/N filter. I will be posting pictures of the new exhaust here soon when I reinstall it all.

- But that does bring me to ask: does the 'Airbox Mod' really make a difference? I seem to find constant conflicting information on it. Not as convoluted as 'which oil to use', but seems pretty close.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

As posted above, even thou you only have 8,000 miles on the bike, the brake caliper RUBBER SEALS harden up, don't allow seals to retract, etc, over TIME.. Those seals are likely 13 YEARS OLD...

You may want to reconsider that... Same as tires. They dry rot, etc.. Is a failed tire/ brakes while riding worth it if they fail?


Re the air box mod, it's been posted it does make the bike a bit noisier. Should you put aftermarket pipes on, loose the cat, K&N, count on having a "loping idle" as the engine can't keep up with all the extra air.. I do have open Scorps, but everything else stock and have a solid idle (with plenty of sound). I wouldn't want it any louder..

I'd also pull the fuel pump and check for rust in the fuel tank. If the bike was parked in humid area / half empty tank, you'll likely have rust in there that needs addressing before it clogs up / ruins the fuel pump.

Cables, at least lube and check for any binding. I doubt you'll need new cables.

Fork oil, I'd probably change that as well. it's not terribly difficult and cheap enough..


**Another member (recent thread, accidentally deleted), with the mods you describe, had his engine fail but eventually got him home. Running for awhile at high speed, his engine apparently BURNED AWAY the GROUND STRAP and tip of his iridium plugs. Apparently running too lean (with a fuel map recommended-but obviously too lean). Still waiting to hear if there's any damage to the engine.... Something to think about..

 

[Stolf]

Yea, I wasnt throwing away the idea of rebuilding the calipers considering the 8000 miles, just that the bearings and valves should be good.

Tires are already purchased, Will be getting them installed after I strip and repaint the rims.

Good call on the fuel pump, didnt think of that and I asked a mechanic about forks. They said not to bother unless it was leaking, but it seems to easy to replace the oil and seals while the bike is in pieces.


That is disconcerning about the other rider's bike. I figured letting the motor breathe better with a proper fuel map and TB tune would allow for longevity, not catastrophic failure. Please let me know if you find any more information on it.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Replacing the fork seals is a bit more involved.

Although also rubber, if their not leaking, I'd just change the fork oil. That oil gets stinky and nasty over time.


*The other member IS going to post on a new thread the results of his leak down test, other tests, etc and the overall outcome when done...
Hopefully a short synopsis (and pic's of his old, destroyed spark plugs) will be with it..

 

[FinalImpact]

Fork oil - save the money on the seals and dump the oil. Plunge a pint through them and overfill them by 25 to 35mm. It will reduce nose dive.

Rear shock and swing arm: you might pull the rear shock so you can clean and grease the shocks needle bearing... If the wheel is off, you can now swing arm through its range and feel for crunch. If smooth leave it be unless it was stored outside. In that case you might prepare for tear down. << likely applies to head bearings too!

The other thread is apples and oranges. Proceed at will as I don't see any correlation other than a bad plug install whereby the precious metal plug failed and was burned off. I've put 20,000 miles on mine with tune, cat free exhaust, and the ignition advanced. See sig or build thread. It's an R6 bottom end. It can handle it!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

What's a "bad plug install"?

Just curious, have you even seen all 4 spark plug electrodes "go away" as such? I never have.


Four plugs ALL failing in the same engine cause the plugs were bad or installed (somehow incorrectly ), doesn't add up..

 

[FinalImpact]

Agreed but you never know. Maybe the lot/batch was bad or during adjustment the weld bonding the ground in place got knocked off or was never there. Who knows???

A couple things about the ECU flash. One, the goal is to richen the mixture compared to stock. In that case it also had a piggy back FC on it. That implies someone also turned it so it likely got double checked after the flash. What I'm getting at is it likely was not caused by a lean condition.

ECU flash - could they have F'd the 3 ignition maps and forced it into destructive detonation? Unfortunately yes! That said IF that happened there is also aluminum transfer from the piston top to the cooler plug base whereby the plugs get hot balls of aluminum stuck all around the circumference. This almost always happens before the plugs steel and precious metals melt. That said a plug installed with excessive gap and the spark will take the path of least resistance which can be ground straps bend which then burns off ground strap.

What is odd here is the waste spark coils use both the anode and cathode ends of the coil to discharge from unlike a standard coil which discharges to ground. Here we also discharge to a positive potential which makes the wear pattern different between the two plugs on a waste spark coil...

Without aluminum transfer I think the plugs failed for reasons that are unclear to us at this time. Time will tell.

JM2C

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

A couple things about the ECU flash. One, the goal is to richen the mixture compared to stock. In that case it also had a piggy back FC on it. That implies someone also turned it so it likely got double checked after the flash. What I'm getting at is it likely was not caused by a lean condition.

ECU flash - could they have F'd the 3 ignition maps and forced it into destructive detonation? Unfortunately yes! That said IF that happened there is also aluminum transfer from the piston top to the cooler plug base whereby the plugs get hot balls of aluminum stuck all around the circumference. This almost always happens before the plugs steel and precious metals melt.
Without aluminum transfer I think the plugs failed for reasons that are unclear to us at this time. Time will tell.

JM2C

The above bolded is what I was thinking.

The fueling map, especially on the top end (as the failure occurred at extended high speed running) was incorrect or something, obviously wasn't working correct..

I wish the Op would drop back in with some updates...

 

[Stolf]

Im still around.

My local Yamaha store is ran by rather rude owner's sons, so i order parts online or through cycle gear.

DynoJet is making me a custom fuel map over the next couple days. Brake rebuild kits have been ordered. Went ahead and also ordered SS brake lines. Front forks will be drained soon with also flushing all other fluids. Hoping rain will quit soon so i can paint rims and get the new tires on.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Did you install plugs and fire it up yet?

Or any other tests?

 

[Stolf]

Did you install plugs and fire it up yet?

Or any other tests?

Negative

I swapped out brand new plugs before lt became a barn ornament. It was not ran and i don't want to start it up until fluid is drained/replaced and a new map is installed. I am not sure what tests you are referring to.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Negative

I swapped out brand new plugs before lt became a barn ornament. It was not ran and i don't want to start it up until fluid is drained/replaced and a new map is installed. I am not sure what tests you are referring to.

My boo, mixing up different threads..

 

[Stolf]

Been a busy week. Still haven't had a good solid day to devote to the bike, but i got more and more things to do as i delve deeper and deeper.

So far, forks are now done, handle bar cleaned and painted. Next is wheels painted and new tires. Still waiting on brake parts to rebuild calipers and go to stainless lines.

More pictures and details soon.