tej98's FZ6 Maintenance/Adventures Thread

[jdmlude]

Thanks! I really can't wait for it to warm up here in Georgia so we can take them out for some longer rides!

I'm in Lawrenceville and ride year round. I love riding in the 40-50 degrees, with the proper winter gear of course. Summer is when I ride the least. Too hot!

 

[tej98]

I'm in Lawrenceville and ride year round. I love riding in the 40-50 degrees, with the proper winter gear of course. Summer is when I ride the least. Too hot!

Yep! I ride up a bit further north and really enjoy the 40-50s as well. I actually enjoy riding in the Summer, but in the early mornings or later evening/night is the best.

 

[tej98]

Haven't done much to the bike lately just been riding it. Here are some pics my brother took of it:

I also recently noticed some clunkier than usual shifting compared to my brother's FZ6. Since the current oil supposedly oil had 400 miles on (from receipts from previous owner) I didn't think to change it out when I first got the bike. I decided to change it out just to get some fresh Yamalube 10w40 Mineral oil in there to get a baseline on what the bike should be shifting like. Here are the pics of the oil with the supposed 400 miles on it:

Old Oil:

It was too cold to take it for a long ride but hopefully new oil helps.

 

[trepetti]

Make sure you check the clutch cable slack. I have noticed that if it is just a little too tight, the gearbox will get noiser and notchier especially on upshifts. Rev matched downshifts hide a lot of evils, less work for the dog clutches to do. Anyway, check the simple stuff first.

FYI she looks gorgeous!

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[tej98]

Make sure you check the clutch cable slack. I have noticed that if it is just a little too tight, the gearbox will get noiser and notchier especially on upshifts. Rev matched downshifts hide a lot of evils, less work for the dog clutches to do. Anyway, check the simple stuff first.

FYI she looks gorgeous!

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Thanks! I will definitely check the clutch cable slack before I ride it next. I understand that these are supposed to have clunky gear boxes to begin with but compared to my brother's (his just slides into each gear smoothly) mine is definitely louder. As far as rev-matching goes, I haven't mastered it on the bike just yet since the throttle is so responsive. I find myself accidentally applying far too much throttle and the bike lurching forwards as I release the clutch on a downshift. I am able to do it smoothly on my manual transmission car though so I assume it will just take more seat time to get used to the throttle response on the FZ6.

Any tips to rev-match the FZ smoothly?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

If you lower the idle down a bit, it won't shift into first gear so hard.

I keep mine about 1050 or so (which is also SMOOTHER) looking in the mirrors.

Also, pull in the clutch maybe 15 seconds BEFORE dropping into gear from neutral (lets the trans gears / shafts slow/stop spinning).


Re down shifting, most of the time, as I slow, I hold the clutch in and downshift ONE GEAR at a time, AS I SLOW...(gradually).
DO NOT pull in the clutch at say 50 (as your going to stop) and down shift 5 times-VERY HARD on the transmission.

Also, don't wait until your STOPPED to downshift from a high gear to first. If so, you will be letting out the clutch slightly, getting a gear change, and doing it over again till your in first.



Should you want to have the engine help brake, as you slow, down shift according to your current speed..

IE, if the RPMs jump 2,000(roughly) or MORE, you need to wait longer before releasing the clutch-just TOO MUCH MIS-MATCH (RPMs and speed).

 

[MIJ_FZ6]

Very nice bike and photos! Can you post links to the products/tools (attatchment for the drill) to clean the exhaust headers?

Take a look at those tires, see the DOT writing and see what year they are from. If they are over 4 years (5 at max), I suggest you replace them. Even if the tread is in good shape the rubber is not what it used to be after 5 years.

I bought an FZ6 last year and it was a similar story. Previous Owner only put 4000 miles on it, and it was a 2009. While it is mint, everything needed attention. Coolant, brake fluid, tires, lube, etc. I ended up replacing nearly every wear it on it (pads, fluids, air filter, etc).

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Can you post links to the products/tools (attatchment for the drill) to clean the exhaust headers?

If that was asked of me, I use Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mothers-...&wl14=mothers mag and aluminum polish&veh=sem

You can do it by hand or with one of those "buffers" that your drill motor spins (and slings it all over the place):

 

[MIJ_FZ6]

Can you post links to the products/tools (attatchment for the drill) to clean the exhaust headers?

If that was asked of me, I use Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mothers-...&wl14=mothers mag and aluminum polish&veh=sem

You can do it by hand or with one of those "buffers" that your drill motor spins (and slings it all over the place):

Man those look good. I've used that product a lot, but generally it is the finishing touches. Is that really all you need? I have a bunch of that stuff.

 

[trepetti]

While we are talking headers, has anyone heard of JetHot ceramic coating? I have an extra set of headers that I sent them to coat. Expect them back end of this month. Cant wait. Hope to challenge Scott for the title of Worlds Best Looking Headers! [emoji3]

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[TownsendsFJR1300]

While we are talking headers, has anyone heard of JetHot ceramic coating? I have an extra set of headers that I sent them to coat. Expect them back end of this month. Cant wait. Hope to challenge Scott for the title of Worlds Best Looking Headers! [emoji3]

Keep trying!!! LOL..

All it takes is a nasty street, wet, to kick up crap and make them crappy looking.

Mines a "pleasure" bike so really doesn't see rain un-less I get caught un-expectantly..

I might do a quick clean up twice a year...


The Jet coating (if it's the same as the other ceramic header coatings), is supposed to lower exterior heat and give better engine performance (likely VERY slight).

This is my bike (replacing fairing stay) when I first got it in 2009.
You can see the header was NASTY, (the PO NEVER washed the bike ever!):

 

[MIJ_FZ6]

While we are talking headers, has anyone heard of JetHot ceramic coating? I have an extra set of headers that I sent them to coat. Expect them back end of this month. Cant wait. Hope to challenge Scott for the title of Worlds Best Looking Headers! [emoji3]

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How much did they quote you?

 

[trepetti]

So my buddy has a race car and we placed our order together. Not sure if that reduced the price any but i expect to pay about 150. plus shipping for their least expensive color / temp option.

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[TownsendsFJR1300]

So my buddy has a race car and we placed our order together. Not sure if that reduced the price any but i expect to pay about 150. plus shipping for their least expensive color / temp option.

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If the finish stayed clean (cleaned up easily) with riding in the rain, etc, I'd get mine coated.

I love the looks of clean pipes, but can be a PIA keeping it up...

Please post some pic's once done and how they hold up after some real world riding..


(I'd be lost with no bike for weeks )

 

[tej98]

As far as polishing the header goes, I just used some old metal polish my dad had laying around the garage, and a foam attachment for a Velcro adapter on an electric drill. I first used a scotch pad to scuff up the crud on the exhaust and then polished it out with small amounts of polish on the foam pad until I had the shine that I was satisfied with. I know it will get dirty again, but its nice to have it cleaned up so I just need to keep it "topped" off as the years go on

I topped off the oil before I took the bike out on a ride today to get a total of about 2.75 quarts of the Yamalube 10w40 mineral oil in the engine along with whatever the filter is holding. This shows to the top of the hash-marks on the dipstick using the "dip" method when the bike is fully cold. I noticed that when the oil is still cold shifting is smooth, but as the bike warms up it can become a bit more notchy.

Holding the clutch lever in for an extra ~15 seconds before dropping the bike into 1st from neutral at a standstill as TownsendsFJR1300 says seems to help a bit. But I've noticed that when moving at about 4-6mph (ex: coming up to a stop sign) and then going from neutral to first gives the smoothest transition into 1st. If I preload the shifter when going from 1st to 2nd I can have the bike "click" nicely into 2nd without much fuss. 2nd-3rd seems a bit more finicky and will occasionally clunk (no grinding or pop-outs just a bit noisy) if I do not preload the shifter and just casually shift. I noticed that now if I properly preload the shifter and slowly bring it from 2nd to 3rd I can get a much better feeling from the gearbox. I also noticed that when shifting around 5-6k rpm the clunks seem to happen more often (even with preloading the shifter). But I also noticed that raising the rpms up higher (around 11k) and then shifting from 2nd to 3rd gave the smoothest shift I've felt from the bike. I did loosen up the clutch lever free-play a slight amount to see if I noticed much of a difference.

It may just be that I have a slightly clunky gearbox which is perfectly fine with me as long as I won't be doing any damage riding around like this. Any thoughts?

My plan is to check the chain slack and clean the chain thoroughly to see if that has any effect at all on shifting (doubtful but willing to try). Apart from that, the bike is running great and responds very well to throttle input and seems to enjoy riding in the higher rpms more than the lower range (shifting as well). I'll also be taking some time to give the bike an in-depth cleaning over Spring Break since I haven't really had the time to do it yet. I am fairly thorough in my cleaning regimen on all my vehicles so I won't stop until I get all the years of built up dirt/grease out of the small spaces on the FZ6

By the way, Townsends, I love the blue on your FZ! It reminds me of the Estoril Blue on the BMW E36 M3, a dream car of mine

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The chain being cleaned, ESPECIALLY/well lubed AND adjusted correctly will make a difference in shifting. It won't change any clunking,

Lowering the idle to about 1,050, 1,100 RPMs WILL help dropping into first gear (and holding the clutch in to keep the box from spinning up). Less RPMs, impact for parts to "go together"(similar as holding in the clutch). More engine braking as well..

Follow the directions to the letter for your chain adjustment. I've found 2", TOTAL up and down, at the tightest point, well lubed works best.

Too tight, you'll hear whining and other noise from the bike, maybe some extra vibs..
Too loose and shifting gets sloppy, (harder to shift smoothly). The excess play is felt thru the drive train and makes shifting not nearly as good.

I have 27,000 miles on my bike now (abused by the PO for the first 4,500 miles). Not to start another oil thread, but I've found Motul semi-synthetic 10w40 to work best. NO issues after first gear (still a very slight clunk going into first) what so ever. 7100, same weight seemed thinner and no noticeable difference.

 

[trepetti]

If the finish stayed clean (cleaned up easily) with riding in the rain, etc, I'd get mine coated.

I love the looks of clean pipes, but can be a PIA keeping it up...

Please post some pic's once done and how they hold up after some real world riding..


(I'd be lost with no bike for weeks )

Will do Scott. Fyi about losing the bike for weeks, a while ago when i was diagnosed with Header Envy' I picked up an additional set of headers to polish and keep as a spare[emoji3]

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[tej98]

The chain being cleaned, ESPECIALLY/well lubed AND adjusted correctly will make a difference in shifting. It won't change any clunking,

Lowering the idle to about 1,050, 1,100 RPMs WILL help dropping into first gear (and holding the clutch in to keep the box from spinning up). Less RPMs, impact for parts to "go together"(similar as holding in the clutch). More engine braking as well..

Follow the directions to the letter for your chain adjustment. I've found 2", TOTAL up and down, at the tightest point, well lubed works best.

Too tight, you'll hear whining and other noise from the bike, maybe some extra vibs..
Too loose and shifting gets sloppy, (harder to shift smoothly). The excess play is felt thru the drive train and makes shifting not nearly as good.

I have 27,000 miles on my bike now (abused by the PO for the first 4,500 miles). Not to start another oil thread, but I've found Motul semi-synthetic 10w40 to work best. NO issues after first gear (still a very slight clunk going into first) what so ever. 7100, same weight seemed thinner and no noticeable difference.

Okay cool thanks! I'll be changing the oil around once a year anyway even though I will probably put no more than 3,000 miles on the bike in that time. For now I'll try the chain cleaning and adjustment.

 

[FinalImpact]

While we are talking headers, has anyone heard of JetHot ceramic coating? I have an extra set of headers that I sent them to coat. Expect them back end of this month. Cant wait. Hope to challenge Scott for the title of Worlds Best Looking Headers! [emoji3]

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On that note I should have snapped a shot of these before I polished them. S1 header from fleabay for install on S2 bike. They were in fair shape but rusty and I thought about coating them but they cleaned up OK.

Once in use, the hue turned to gold like color over time.

 

[tej98]

On that note I should have snapped a shot of these before I polished them. S1 header from fleabay for install on S2 bike. They were in fair shape but rusty and I thought about coating them but they cleaned up OK.

Once in use, the hue turned to gold like color over time.

Looks awesome! Does the S1 header offer performance benefits over the S2? If so, glad I have an S1