New owner: things to check?

[rmg471]

First post!

I just picked up a 2006 FZ6 with 20,000 miles tonight. This is my first bike since going without for 8 months (2004 FJR1300). I'm excited to be back on 2 wheels.

Is there anything that I should check on the bike before considering it totally ready to ride? The only modification is Scorpion slip-on exhausts.

Thanks, all!

Ryan

 

[ShoopCE]

Hi Ryan, and welcome to the forum.

I'll let the other jokers give you grief about first posts without pics.

From your post it seems you've had some experience with street bikes, so you probably know the basics and are asking for specific maintenance quirks of the FZ6. You also didn't mention the history of the bike. There are several other issues I won't mention now, that you should look at if the bike sat unused for the past few years.

The only quirky maintenance item I know of is to lube the ends of the shifter linkage, especially if the bike gets washed frequently. If neglected, the shifter will get very balky particularly if riding in colder weather. For me the problem was with downshifts. I've seen others complain of problems with upshifting too.

Spark plugs were to have been replaced at 8K and 16k. You might want to check them. While in there, check the leads to be sure they are tight. Some people have seen problems where the leads get loose then burn off the wires but the bike still runs - but not smoothly.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...spark-plug-caps.html?highlight=cure+vibration

The other, standard, things are - depending on what the previous owner did or told you he did:

Change the oil, change/flush the coolant, change the brake fluid - particularly if it's looking more gold than pale yellow.

Check the tires for damage and age. Depends a bit on how you ride but old tires, even if they still have tread, will not hold well in corners. Check the pressure - every few rides.

Your bike is coming up on the 24,000 mile mark where the 1st valve clearance CHECK is suggested. Most bikes don't need adjustment at this stage.

Performance quirks:

The clutch engagement zone is very narrow. You'll get used to it, but after stalling more than a few times.

The more performance oriented guys complain that the forks are too soft. You can see many threads on here about higher viscosity oil, better springs, valves, or R6 fork swap outs.

As a result of FI, the throttle-to-on response is pretty abrupt. It also backs off pretty quickly so that you feel like you have to hold a steady position on the throttle.

The speedometer will read higher than actual. Mine was reading 4.5% high and perhaps because I'm an analytical chemist, this bugged the crap out of me. I solved it by getting a SpeedoDRD - similar to the SpeedoHealer. Of course this means my odometer is now reading low, but that won't get me a speeding ticket - or grumped at by my wife.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/the-...e.html?highlight=what+did+you+do+with+my+wife

Enough for now.

Chris

 

[Love@FirstRide]

Hi Ryan, and welcome to the forum.

I'll let the other jokers give you grief about first posts without pics.

From your post it seems you've had some experience with street bikes, so you probably know the basics and are asking for specific maintenance quirks of the FZ6. You also didn't mention the history of the bike. There are several other issues I won't mention now, that you should look at if the bike sat unused for the past few years.

The only quirky maintenance item I know of is to lube the ends of the shifter linkage, especially if the bike gets washed frequently. If neglected, the shifter will get very balky particularly if riding in colder weather. For me the problem was with downshifts. I've seen others complain of problems with upshifting too.

Spark plugs were to have been replaced at 8K and 16k. You might want to check them. While in there, check the leads to be sure they are tight. Some people have seen problems where the leads get loose then burn off the wires but the bike still runs - but not smoothly.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...spark-plug-caps.html?highlight=cure+vibration

The other, standard, things are - depending on what the previous owner did or told you he did:

Change the oil, change/flush the coolant, change the brake fluid - particularly if it's looking more gold than pale yellow.

Check the tires for damage and age. Depends a bit on how you ride but old tires, even if they still have tread, will not hold well in corners. Check the pressure - every few rides.

Your bike is coming up on the 24,000 mile mark where the 1st valve clearance CHECK is suggested. Most bikes don't need adjustment at this stage.

Performance quirks:

The clutch engagement zone is very narrow. You'll get used to it, but after stalling more than a few times.

The more performance oriented guys complain that the forks are too soft. You can see many threads on here about higher viscosity oil, better springs, valves, or R6 fork swap outs.

As a result of FI, the throttle-to-on response is pretty abrupt. It also backs off pretty quickly so that you feel like you have to hold a steady position on the throttle.

The speedometer will read higher than actual. Mine was reading 4.5% high and perhaps because I'm an analytical chemist, this bugged the crap out of me. I solved it by getting a SpeedoDRD - similar to the SpeedoHealer. Of course this means my odometer is now reading low, but that won't get me a speeding ticket - or grumped at by my wife.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/the-...e.html?highlight=what+did+you+do+with+my+wife

Enough for now.

Chris

Hey Chris great advice, do you know how exactly to lube them? do i just throw some grease on top or is there anything to disconnect. i can turn mine by hand but only a quarter turn back and fourth

 

[iviyth0s]

:welcome: love to see some pics of your so called new bike :cheer:

Hey Chris great advice, do you know how exactly to lube them? do i just throw some grease on top or is there anything to disconnect. i can turn mine by hand but only a quarter turn back and fourth

I haven't yet done this myself but I remember reading lithium grease was the best for it.

 

[ShoopCE]

I use a spray can of lithium grease. It has a flexible red spout that I can turn to get to the backside of the rubber boots. Other surfaces get messy from overspray but it's easy to wipe off.

The lithium grease is good for being more resistant than oils to being washed out by rain or being washed. But any lube or oil will work. Note that WD-40 is meant to be a penetrating oil and will not stick around long - so it's not a good choice for anything that needs to be lubed.

Chris

 

[Love@FirstRide]

I use a spay can of lithium grease. It has a flexible red spout that I can turn to get to the backside of the rubber boots. Other surfaces get messy from overspray but it's easy to wipe off.

The lithium grease is good for being more resistant than oils to being washed out by rain or being washed. But any lube or oil will work. Note that WD-40 is meant to be a penetrating oil and will not stick around long - so it's not a good choice for anything that needs to be lubed.

Chris

any difference between the "white lithium" and the all purpose stuff?

 

[ShoopCE]

Besides the color? - sorry - couldn't resist! :rof:

I'm not an expert, but I know a guy who is. Blah Actually, I do, but this would lead to a 30-minute lecture...

Anyway, it seems that all of the spray types are "white". The other colors, and white, seem to be in tubes.

I don't think you need to use the spray on version. I just had a can sitting around from years ago and knew I wanted something water-resistant in there. At the time I tried it I was still terrified that the problem was not that simple and I was going to be paying big bills to get my new-to-me bike's gearbox fixed.

OTOH the spray propellant might help to get the grease deeper into the crannies of the linkage joint. I haven't tried any "solid" grease.

 

[trepetti]

Good advice Chris. Ryan, another quirk on the fizzer is chain slack. When you prop the bike on the center stand and set to factory, it seems REALLY loose. Its not. The output shaft bearing on the tranny will take a real beating if the chain is too tight. The recommended 2 inches of slack works fine.

Good luck and welcome to a great team on this forum.

Chris.... You making the trip north again this year?

 

[fb40dash5]

Check the battery. Mine seems to be very grumpy about having a good battery, meaning enough depth to actually run it below 3k RPM. I'd been having an off-idle stumbling issue for a couple seasons and figured it for some kind of spark or fuel issue... when I replaced my poor 3-year-old AGM this year, it seems to be running great.

I really like the Deka AGMs with the grey case... AFAIK all the ones you'll see rebranded are all the same Deka units. There's no direct fit for the FZ, but an ETX12 will fit (very snugly!) with a little work to the battery box.

 

[rmg471]

Chris:

What an amazing response. I'll be going line by line through your post in the garage this weekend. The bike has not been sitting, it has fresh oil and filter, but I'm not sure about break fluid. I didn't ask about that one.

It's amazing what as few as 50 miles on the bike will do. I agree with the shifter quirkiness and the soft front forks. It probably doesn't help that I rode the FJR1300 for 2 years... What a great and smooth bike that was.

I'll post pics this weekend when I dive in.

Thanks again, everyone. By the way, anyone near southern Indiana? I'd like to get some riding partners.

Ryan

 

[rmg471]

Throttle to on and clutch engagement statements were so very accurate. I thought perhaps the clutch had issues until I read your post. Again, my old FJR had a mile of clutch engagement. I like the FZ6, though. It's a different experience. It revs to 14k, where the FJR revved to 8. You have to wind it up a little bit to find the power, in my very brief experience.

 

[kinderwood]

With that many miles you'll probably want to check the steering bearings and swingarm bearings at some point. Swingarm could probably use a clean and re-lube. Steering might need to be replaced, might just need more lube. Both are not terribly difficult, but depending on your tools and mechanical comfort level you may want to pay someone to do it.

The factory seemed to go light on the lube for steering head bearings on some bikes. There have been members here that had them dry out and start to rust. Lots of threads on it here. Of course riding in wet weather accelerates the process.

 

[long101]

Chris:

What an amazing response. I'll be going line by line through your post in the garage this weekend. The bike has not been sitting, it has fresh oil and filter, but I'm not sure about break fluid. I didn't ask about that one.

It's amazing what as few as 50 miles on the bike will do. I agree with the shifter quirkiness and the soft front forks. It probably doesn't help that I rode the FJR1300 for 2 years... What a great and smooth bike that was.

I'll post pics this weekend when I dive in.

Thanks again, everyone. By the way, anyone near southern Indiana? I'd like to get some riding partners.

Ryan

Not sure how South you are, but there are a decent amount of us in Chicago

 

[ShoopCE]

Ryan,

Your best bet for finding local riding friends is to join a more or less local area forum. 600riders.com is WONDERFUL for insight on this specific bike but I have never met many folks from nearby. In that frame of thought I joined OhioRiders.com which is mostly about Columbus, but they regularly travel to the southeast to get to the hilly, curvy roads. Which puts them in range of my home just across the river in WV.

I haven't heard of any Indiana based forums, but I've heard of LocalRiders.com which I think is based in Cincinnati, though they also draw from KY, and maybe IN.

Another suggestion is that you should post an "Anybody from Southern Indiana?" post as a separate thread, probably in the Midwest folder. Lots of Chicagoans there.

Last suggestion is to try the Search Members feature and you'll find there are quite a few members from your state. I don't know the cities and many don't post them so it's hard to say how close they are.

To do this search - it's not simple, go to the top of any page and click on "Community" on the lower of the two blue command bars. from the drop down that opens, click on Members List, which will open a new page. There are over 22,000 members - though many are not active.

Next, on the title bar - below the two command bars and just above the start of the listing, click on the button at the far right for Search Members, but next click on Advanced Search, at the bottom of the box that opens.

FINALLY, you are at the detailed search screen. Type "Indiana" in the Location box, or "Southern IN" or try different things. You can limit the search to folks who have been on recently by scrolling down a bit and in the field named Last Post, under "Is After" enter a fairly recent date in the correct format. Hit the Search Now button near the bottom of the page to begin.

Good Luck!

Chris