FZ6 bought today!! need 'General' service info

[1Animal1]

Scott, cheers fella.... I've actually brought the manual into work today to have a read through I have to say though, the amount of work and upkeep involved is shocking haha..... I'm gonna do the jobs I've listed this weekend then span the rest out I think. Here's me thinking its got 6k on the clock, one mature owner..... yeah basic oil, plugs and air filter

Ruggy, I was looking on ebay for similar items last night - gonna pick this up when I've done my basic maintainence and mods, so i can plan it exactly to my liking (and not copying all you guys )

Tim

PS I am actually astounded how much detail is covered in the standard manual!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Scott, cheers fella.... I've actually brought the manual into work today to have a read through I have to say though, the amount of work and upkeep involved is shocking haha..... I'm gonna do the jobs I've listed this weekend then span the rest out I think. Here's me thinking its got 6k on the clock, one mature owner..... yeah basic oil, plugs and air filter

Ruggy, I was looking on ebay for similar items last night - gonna pick this up when I've done my basic maintainence and mods, so i can plan it exactly to my liking (and not copying all you guys )

Tim

PS I am actually astounded how much detail is covered in the standard manual!

Yep the Yamaha manual isn't bad, it does assume you have a bit of knowledge re the vehicle. There are short cuts NOT NOTED, a post here will get others to chime in with those shortcuts (ie fuel pump removal) and help.

**I'd do the basics initially. You need to enjoy the bike too... Ride it and do the other maintainance stuff as time permits..

Its not a job, you bought it for fun and to tinker on. ENJOY IT!!!!


Everything posted above is neccessary, but it doesn't need to be done in one day (un-less your starting to have an issue). Do keep the chain clean, lubed and adjusted often. This will likely take most of your tinker time if you put miles on the bike(more so if in the rain).

Plugs, I believe are suggested at 12,000 miles, you'll likely find them spotless, most (including myself) did. I'm still on my original air filter, I did blow it out a couple of times with the air compressor, next time it gets replaced (14,000 on the clock now, its showing some brown discoloration). I haven't touched the fork oil and don't plan too any time soon, just try to keep the chrome fork tubes clean of critter splatter and your seals will last a lot longer. Brake seals are recommended to be changed every two years, I got about 5 years out mine before they started dragging excessivly and needed re-building.

Once again, ENJOY THE BIKE, tinker when your up to it... Don't turn it into a headache or a boat (always putting money/work into a boat!!!)
:Sport:

 

[1Animal1]

woah woah woah why would i need to remove the fuel pump?

Sound advice that Scott - That's exactly why I've taken Friday afternoon off work, so I'm not bogged down with working on it Saturday....

Todays purchase!!! went to the s**t shop at lunch and got this letter holder (£2.50, prob $1.75? i think).... looks to me like it'll make a good radiator guard, bit of hack sawing and black paint required AND I get four attempts to mess it up

 

[1Animal1]

Right...busy evening so far. I decided to finish the light mod before the weekend, opting for the long way around. I lifted the tank, removed the top of the air box and the entire battery, before realising it's not an easy job getting to that connector - so in the end I made a small incision near the bottom of the loom where everyone else has tapped into the Green wire - and connected the H4 lamp up using an extra spade connector I pinched from a spare plug I bought . All works perfectly

Second job was to attempt the Fan guard using the letter holder above...here's my pre sprayed effort - should the trick nicely!

Does anyone know where the fusebox is on these? - please don't say below the battery EDIT: Hold fire, I've found it - just wanted to swap the Fan fuse from 20 to 10 amp.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

You won't get any pebbles in your fan, boulders either!!!

You can cut that down about 3/4's (keep the nice clean edge) and it'll work fine...

 

[1Animal1]

I've just test fitted it this morning - it is too long (hits the manifold) and I obviously missed the bracket cut out from the centre piece

cheers Scott

I'm thinking about leaving it as it is colour wise, its completely out of sight and it'll only chip within days.


Scott, What were you talking about getting gunked up, near the chain area? I'll be tackling that tomorrow....

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I've just test fitted it this morning - it is too long (hits the manifold) and I obviously missed the bracket cut out from the centre piece

cheers Scott

I'm thinking about leaving it as it is colour wise, its completely out of sight and it'll only chip within days.


Scott, What were you talking about getting gunked up, near the chain area? I'll be tackling that tomorrow....

The front, plastic sprocket cover and the engine block around the sprocket.

Three allan head bolts secure it. You can jiggle the cover out without removing the shifter linkage, take your time.

Once cleaned up and ready to re-install, it's VERY EASY to pinch the two wiring harnesses at the right side of the stator cover. Those wires run thru a retainer but do tend to get caught when replacing the sprocket cover.

Make sure they are very clear of the cover when snugging the cover back on or you'll keep Cliff busy later down the road...

Bet its nasty under there... I'd clean and lube the chain just in case you get your degreaser on the chain.

Below pic is from another members post..

 

[1Animal1]

That's my first job tomorrow in that case, cheers Scott...

On another note, found that I cant have these, UK MOT regs state that the indicators have to be a seperate unit apparently 14x LED Turn Signals x 2

 

[1Animal1]

Right...think I'm gonna sort the chain tomorrow and the tyre pressures.... then i need to learn to ride this.... I've just been out after work for 4-5 miles and felt really nervous on corners! temps about 5 degrees out there but on the bends I couldn't help but go slow. Went up a hill on a sharp right hander, no aggressive acceleration or front braking, yet felt the front slip a couple of inches eeeek

 

[DeepBlueRider]

**I'd do the basics initially. You need to enjoy the bike too... Ride it and do the other maintainance stuff as time permits..

Its not a job, you bought it for fun and to tinker on. ENJOY IT!!!!

Once again, ENJOY THE BIKE, tinker when your up to it... Don't turn it into a headache or a boat (always putting money/work into a boat!!!)

This. Having fun from bike is non questionable factor. Doing all maintenance at once For me doing all that stuff was never an issue as I had other bike to ride while other was torn apart and being prepared. On the other hand I have lot of fun working on bikes

If you don't see problem you can take on it later. If you suspect problem, reschedule it sooner.

I would do it all of that for you but I'm in US.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Right...think I'm gonna sort the chain tomorrow and the tyre pressures.... then i need to learn to ride this.... I've just been out after work for 4-5 miles and felt really nervous on corners! temps about 5 degrees out there but on the bends I couldn't help but go slow. Went up a hill on a sharp right hander, no aggressive acceleration or front braking, yet felt the front slip a couple of inches eeeek

If the roads aren't safe or too cold to ride, that's fine, don't ride. You don't want to get hurt nor tear up the new bike!

I just wanted to point out to have some fun riding too..

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

This. Having fun from bike is non questionable factor. Doing all maintenance at once For me doing all that stuff was never an issue as I had other bike to ride while other was torn apart and being prepared. On the other hand I have lot of fun working on bikes

If you don't see problem you can take on it later. If you suspect problem, reschedule it sooner.

I would do it all of that for you but I'm in US.

I luv wrenching and can't ever have enough tools...

Part of owning the bike, IMO, is learning how it works yourself and as you noted, wrenching on it. I know its been done right and a newbie wrench at the local shop didn't tear it up or forget to tighten a bolt or two... Forget about even the $ you save too!

Happy ridng and wrenching!

 

[Ruggybuggy]

That's my first job tomorrow in that case, cheers Scott...

On another note, found that I cant have these, UK MOT regs state that the indicators have to be a seperate unit apparently 14x LED Turn Signals x 2

Same ones I have but don't be too disappointed. I took a while for me to find out the marker/brake lights need a diode to stop it from backfeeding so they work correctly and thetwowheels.com gives no information on this. Once the diode is in place they work great. Do the UK bobbies really know the codes that well they would spot the issue?

 

[1Animal1]

Morning chaps!

Well, I decided to take the bike to work this morning for the first time - what can i say, entirely 'better' experience grinning from ear to ear and LOVE traffic for a change

Completely see what you guys are saying and you Scott on 'wrenching', being able to stand back after you've done the work - that's my plan, to learn how to do all the maintainance myself but schedule it a bit at a time - I'm used to doing beyond basic tasks on my cars, coding, retrofitting, advanced engine work etc - this is just a little more compact

 

[1Animal1]

double post :ban:

 

[Ssky0078]

All the answers are in your Yamaha FZ shop manual with pictures.

Its a bit easier draining the forks while you clean and re-grease the steering bearings. Should they (the head bearings) be worn, 'ALL BALLS" makes a tappered bearing kit that's superior to the Yamaha stock, roller bearings...

Lots of guys go to the K&N filter, when I replace mine (starting to get dirty at 15,000 miles), I'm going with the OEM...

Re the coolant, the drain plug is atop a copper washer on the water pump. Keep the radiator cap on loosely when draining or it'll spew all over the place. Re-fill and warm up. I ride mine, get it to temp and let it cool down. Re-check and top off the radiator and coolant tank.

Two bolts will remove you coolant overflow tank which should be dumped, cleaned and new fluid installed...

I spoke with the head service manager at Two Brothers Racing and he said if you are ever gong to replace the Air Filter with a K&N or other such air filters that you should do it after a Power Commander. He said that installing an aftermarket air filter without a fuel controller, then it will cause the bike to run lean and cause excessive engine wear and future problems.

 

[1Animal1]

Thanks Sky... I'm most likely going to go OEM, I don't want to give the insurance people a reason to increase my premium in the first few years....

I was gonna change it, but seeing the intervals and the fact I'm miles away from the suggested mileage change - was surprised when i had it off the other day though? the filter was warped ina couple of places, maybe age?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I spoke with the head service manager at Two Brothers Racing and he said if you are ever gong to replace the Air Filter with a K&N or other such air filters that you should do it after a Power Commander. He said that installing an aftermarket air filter without a fuel controller, then it will cause the bike to run lean and cause excessive engine wear and future problems.

I can't comment as I don't know. I've never run the K&N AIR filter in any of my bikes. Just from what I've read here.

The ECU will adjust the mixture up to a point. With my open Scorps, stock filter, the A/F mixture (looking at the plugs and how great she runs) is fine.. Actually, my old FJR was set so friggin lean it'd surge 50% of the time under 3,000 RPM's...

I'm very pleased with the A/F ratio of the stock engine (map) (and performance) and don't want a Power Commander, so I'll stick with the stock OEM filter.

Others would disagree and want to squeeze a couple more HP out of the engine and that's fine, just not for me.. The bike has enough go for me, gets 46 MPG around town, IMO, no reason to change that (again, that's for me).

Again, as you state, the more mods you do, the more likely you need to adjust the map, dyno run the bike, custom tune, etc..

 

[turbid]

i have put a kn on my bike, and i cannot find any difference whatsoever in noise or perfomance. i have the stock exhaust so that may count, i got the kn just for the sake that it will last the lifetime of the bike ( by that i mean i dont think i ll ever reach the 100 000 km the filter is quoted for on the fz as i dont ride it very often since i have smaller 2stroke commuter bikes to go to work with)

 

[1Animal1]

This afternoons update... left work at 12, didn't get home until 3pm starting to get to grips with it and learning to lean more as I'm more and more conscious of flat spotting my tyres through not riding the bike properly

After the ride I chucked the bike on the centre stand and thoroughly cleaned the chain with WD40 (well, a mechanics equiv ), it was filthy!! I then removed the front cover which came off a lot easier than I expected (thanks Scott!) and cleaned around/inside that area.... could not believe the amount of gunk, luckily I bought 4 garage paper rolls a few months back, probably emptied a quarter of a roll on this area alone refitted, left to dry while i did other jobs before getting a fresh coat of Putoline DX11.

Next I switched the radiator fan fuse to 10 amp from the standard 20....I also had to refit the stone guard as the screws i used stopped the plastic cover seating properly at the bottom. So I made a complete new piece and fastened it further into the plastic guard.... fits loads better and flicks up above the manifold so its less visible, bigger and almost completely covering the fan area.

After this, removed the front fender - this now has the fender extender attached and is drying, ready for refit tomorrow.....

Last thing to do was to hide the wire going to my second headlight, after a less than neat install midweek - oh that and check my fluids/oil/lights.

All in all a pretty productive afternoon - tomorrow will consist of fender refit and chain tension check using this guide How to adjust chain and rear wheel alignment - Yamaha FZ6R Forums - International FZ6R / XJ6 Motorcycle Community Forum the measurements are the same for the R too I noticed (though we obviously have that in our manual) - Tyre pressures to be done - then it'll be ride ride ride! (I've a few mates that need visiting all of a sudden )

Edit: One thing I have noticed, when changing up a gear, my boots don't let the selector drop fully, so i have to push my boots down before lifting up to another gear...otherwise the bike won't obviously change.... is it a good idea to move the selector up slightly, few mm's perhaps?

Tim