Finally got to take a spin on the new bike!!!

[fzsixx]

Holy hell is this thing fast didnt even take her over 8 grand and an hour later i still have a **** eating grinn on my face got alot better with shifting through 3rd not as klunky if you if you give her a little gas when you let out the clutch shifting. Only took her out on the main roads for a couple miles and people are already throwing me the the thumbs up...even a cop did as we sat at a light. So my tires are good with only 300 miles on them just cleaned and lubed the chain today. Oil was changed with the tires what other maintenance do i need to do? let my know guys this is my first bike..and i plan on treating her well. oh and how do you guys wash your bikes? Any certain soap i should not use? Is it cool if she gets wet in certain areas (thats what she said) Cheers -Matt

 

[motojoe122]

Glad to hear you are loving the fizzy, Matt!
The soap I like to use is S100, its a little spendy but works very good. Just be careful with high pressure water, no need for it.

 

[mduhon]

Congrats on the new bike! When I wash mine I've used many types of soap, some car soaps as well as my soap I use for washing windows and all seem to do the job with no repercussions. Don't use high pressure water but otherwise if a bike is stored outside it is going to get rained or snowed on and they withstand that so I assume rising it off doesn't hurt it. I would clean the chain after just in case you get soap on it. I don't think it is super bad but I don't want to test it so I always clean my chain after. Have fun with the new bike! :thumbup:

 

[Ssky0078]

What to do?

I would probably flush the coolant. I ordered the Yamacool which is about $8 bucks at Apache Motorcycle off Power and the 60. It's supposedly a 60/40 blend with aluminimum engine protection specifically for the yammy. You'll need a little over 2 bottles. They may not have any over there, I know they have some at the Scottsdale location and they ship between the 2 stores all the time. I was told that if the bike sits the coolant can gel up and the bike will run a little warm. I figure for $25 it's worth not having to think about it.


On the center stand I would check the brake fluid, I took my reservoir cap off and looked into it for the front and the rear brake fluid you can see the resrevoir on the right. If it is nice golden and clear then great. If it was dark at all I would take it into the shop and have them service it because you don't want any bubbles in your break lines.

I would lift the tank and check the airfilter. I replaced mine at 8000 miles. I think you can go longer but I jsut wanted to do everything when I got the bike since I wanted to have my own maintenance schedule setup. A hotly debated topic is using OEM filter vs K&N or other aftermarket highflow air filters. After talking to several people and reading the forums I would stick to the stock filter. I have heard of the K&N causing the bikes to run lean and also causing a reduction in gas mileage.

As for cleaning I would go to the car wash and use the sprayers there. I didn't even think about the high pressure issue so I did use it a couple times but not right up on the bike. I would wipe down with a micro-fiber towels that you can get at autozone. The next day when it was all dry I would use the Original Motorcycle Spirits Polish & Cleaner. I would never spray directly on the bike but rather would spray on the microfiber towel and then apply, then using a separate towel I would buff/polish.

After polishing, I would go for a short ride and then when back I would use P&J chain lube/cleaner (blue bottle) to clean and lube the chain. It is recommended for chain health/longevity to clean and lube the chain every time after you wash the bike as the soap can begin to degrade the lubricant and get crud into the chain. What I screwed up at first is that I didnt' wipe off all the gunk as I was cleaning and lubing the chain. I found it to be a lot better when I would use another micro-fiber cloth to clean and lube the chain (although this could prove to be expensive I'm sure, LOL)

Here's a little note on the shops in town. RideNow will try to pressure sale you and rarely cut a deal. I like the guys at Apache Motorcycle in Scottsdale. The guys in the Mesa store are still pretty good but so much busier they kind of just don't care. Also Apache if you do your internet homework and tell them a price a lot of time they will cut you a deal.

Good luck man and have fun, I'm kind of jealous since I'm waiting for my bike to be delivered.

 

[Ssky0078]

BTW if you use the P&J Chain Lube cleaner be careful not to mis-spray on anything as it is sticky a $hit. Also as your cleaning you don't want to have too much excess as it whips off and will stick to the chain guard and all over the place when you ride.

 

[Ssky0078]

Also you have more restraint than I do. I redlined mine from a stop line the first day I got it. :spank: 62mph in 1st gear, not bad.

 

[ChevyFazer]

Congrats, and if you think it's fast now, HA, just wait till you run the whole rpm range! It's really a whole different bike above 8.5k, but since your new I wouldn't recommend doing that until you get some more seat time.

As for washing the bike, I just wait till it rains :BLAA:

 

[Red Wazp]

Don't use household dish soap- it cuts any wax on your paint, stay with automotive soap like Mcguires. However Pledge (the furniture polish ) is a really good wax to use on the painted parts-even on the wind screen.

Use kerosene (as stated in the Yamaha manual) to clean the chain. Rinse it off with low pressure water, dry the chain with a rag and use Honda Pro chain lube. It's the cleanest lube I have found that won't fly all over your rim and bike.

Take your time (as you are) getting up to speed because it's another world above 8k rpm.