betoney

[bra Whenever I lube my chain, I run it in gear for a moment while on the center stand, then dry most of it off with a rag to avoid flinging off or attracting dirt and debris.

I have had mine for 2 years and have no plans on getting rid of it any time soon, however I am always keeping my eyes open to new models being introduced for when "someday" gets here. The H2 SX SE caught my eye as well, though since its release I haven't kept up on any long term ride reports. Have you ridden the Ninja 1000? I test rode it before deciding on the FJ and liked it - A LOT. The one thing that kept me from further considering the Ninja was the rider triangle, I have bad knees and the riding position was just too focused on the sport aspect of sport touring. Otherwise, GREAT bike.

Glad to hear that you have it all cleaned up, greased and re-assembled. The shock looks good, I think you will love the difference it makes.

Not to worry. Just like the forgotten Niken, the GT variant will never be released to the public.

It's funny that you say that because same thing is hapening to me: it hurts real bad after 2 hours. Sometimes I have to open it (it's modular) in order to release the pressure. Did you get the Shoei on sale? Price is not even close... No, I didnt find the Shoei on sale and unfortunately, they are VERY expensive. However, I have the mindset of "you cant put a price on comfort". To be able to ride 10+ hour days, for a week straight, - in comfort - while on a road trip is very much worth the money to me.

You got it! Yes, it really is that simple. I think the reason some riders neglect the swingarm and linkage bearings is they might assume that it is too involved or time consuming to remove the back portion of the bike. But like I said, you could pull into the garage, have everything removed, cleaned, lubed and reassembled - ready to ride within an hour.

In the photo of the bike on jacks, the swingarm is already removed, Sorry, I did not take procedural photos. There is really no step by step instructions except once the wheel is removed, you pull the swingarm pivot. Its the the top bolt holding the rearset on. When you remove the swingarm, grease the pivot bearings then remove the shock linkage and grease every bearing as well. You can see how filthy this area can get. Once you do this once, the next time is a piece of cake. I can have the wheel, linkage and swingarm removed and replaced in 30 minutes, cleaning and re-greasing might take an additional 20 minutes if it is really dirty and I take my time.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will check those out. I dont ride in the rain on purpose, only when it catches me by surprise. I cant imaging how nasty the shock would be if I was a year-round commuter.

I removed the shock and forks and dropped them off at the local suspension shop for their 2-year servicing. There she sits for the next week. :-[ I will have plenty of time to clean and re-grease the swingarm and shock linkage. The shock was absolutely FILTHY!

Michelins on sale? wha..? Where are these on sale? I have never seen the Road 5's for less than about $350 a set.

PR2 are not available here any more. PR4 GT and PR5. PR2's are available everywhere, Revzilla, Motosport, Dennis Kirk, Bike Bandit, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC etc. they are about $265 a set

I have the Shoei GT-Air and LOVE it. The drop down sun visor is very nice and the helmet is very quiet. The most important factor to consider when buying a helmet though is head shape, not all L or XL are the same, not even close. I previously had a Scorpion helmet and after a few hours of riding it put a lot of pressure on my forehead, with my GT-Air I can ride all day long with no discomfort whatsoever, it fits like a glove.

So true. I am always planning future trips and tucking them away. Plans for 2019 are already almost done.

Remove the rear wheel first, then when removing the front wheel you will have more than enough room to lift the front end.

Indeed it will. Myself, I ordered a Penske through Traxxion Dynamics and couldn't believe the difference it made. I felt like the stock shock was a weaker link than the forks but upgrading both ends completely transformed the bike, no question.

The Assist/Slipper clutch really is a nice upgrade isn't it? The transmission seems so much smoother. I have heard that Matt can really transform the Andreani's, I got his advanced fork upgrade and it is VERY nice. What do you have planned for the shock?

I would think that those available for the FJ would fit the Tracer/ GT. They share the same engine and frame so the mount points should be the same.

LOL... gotta pace myself, so not sure this will fly in time for the big BD. Shock and fork valve/shim/seal hardware coming. Sometime before next spring though. Reminds me... block-off plates! You definitely have the right idea there, suspension comes first! Which shock do you have your eye on?

Not bad at $716CAD (delivered)... full $200CAD cheaper than sourcing through local distributor ($915CAD delivered)... unless Customs decides to make an example out of me. Right on!! Treat yourself to an early Christmas.

The cheapest I found was through Adrenalin Pedstop in the U.K. I paid $415 + $46 Shipping + a $14 international transaction fee through my bank, right at $475. I checked Cycle Gear and Revzilla, both sell it for $570 + $50 sales tax, yes, Revzilla charges sales tax now for Washington residents. Once the order was processed and I got an email shipping notification, it was at my doorstep within 5 days.

I originally cut it as close to the silencer box as well but there was so much extra material to remove, I cut it again on the other side of the weld. Original cut Finished, ready to install

All good to know... how much pipe overlap do you think you managed to get? Never mind... 8-9mm is right in your post. Here are some photos The ultra high quality mid-pipe My header after cleaning it up with a grinding wheel and a Dremel tool OEM header with mid-pipe installed

What was is it you found hit and miss? I thought the instructions were nice and clear. The only thing I thought was a fiddle was getting everything lined up so the silencer bolted to the bracket. The first thing I found misleading was the step to cut the pipe 15mm back from the O2 sensor weld, there isn’t 15mm available before the weld, mine was maybe 8-9mm at most, I was very concerned that I would screw something up horribly if I cut it that short, but it fits. The biggest hinderance for me was the black bracket, from the line drawing I couldn’t tell which way it was supposed to go, no matter how I turned it around it didn’t fit with the silencer, it wasn’t even close, I had to bent it a fair bit for the holes to line up so I could get the bolt through.

@cuff - its the Ermax Evo 3-Part Belly Pan Ermax has VERY high quality parts and the paint match is absolutely 100% correct. It wasn't cheap but I really like the looks.

I posted a write-up in this thread as well, https://fj-09.org/thread/7155/scorpion-serket-taper-stainless-slip I installed the Scorpion Serket Taper Slip-On exhaust.