Old FZ6 But New To Me

[DeepBarney]

Just picked up an '07 FZ6 with 104,092 on the odometer and figured I'd pop in and say 'hi' since this seems to be the forum for them. It's not in too bad of shape, but the 104,091 miles of commuter duty (the other 1mi was put on by me in the test ride) shows in places. Picked it up because after a cross country journey on my Bonneville (without so much as a tachometer to deflect wind and serious rain/sleet) and having grown tired of waiting for Yamaha to bring the FJ-07/Tracer 700 to North America, I decided it would make for a better/more comfortable (and hopefully low cost) mid size touring rig.

Thankfully it's all stock far as I can tell, save for the Puig screen and an aftermarket tag mount/tail tidy that will be replaced soon as I find a decent used OEM piece to put back on. PO kept up with having the engine serviced (synthetic oil changes every 5k and supposedly a new timing chain and stator recently). Motor runs pretty well, but the idle is super low after warm up and adjusting the idle adjustment screw will bring it up but then within a minute or so it drops right back down to where it was at (~700rpm). Coolant is a nasty orange brown, I'll be thoroughly flushing that and hoping it stays green. The chain is thrashed and will be replaced asap. The suspension front and rear is equally toast, and will need to be rebuilt (or replaced in case of the rear shock since I suspect rebuilding isn't an option or at least not economically viable). Then it'll be all the basic crap like inspecting/replacing bearings, going through the brakes, etc.

Thankfully it's not too bad aesthetically. RHS headlight surround (molle?) is scuffed but I could easily repaint that. The RHS plastic body piece that's below the seat has a crack in it so I might be replacing that too. And the plastic muffler surround is cracked on the left side and will get replaced if I decide to fix up the non-essentials.

Well here it is.

 

[Gary in NJ]

Welcome to the FZ6 forum. The bike looks great for a commuter with 104k on the clock. It sounds like a lot of mileage, but it’s just 8,000 per year. I wish I could get that much riding in a year.

There are things that should be addressed to keep the bike going an additional 100k. If it hasn’t been done already, I’d probably change the timing chain and tensionor. While you’re at it, inspect the valve lash.

The low idle could be a number of things. What is the condition of the air filter and spark plugs. A simple cleaning of the throttle bodies could resolve the issue.

 

[DeepBarney]

I'm not sure it was ridden much in the past two years (only a hundred last year) or even when it began commuter service but I was told it got ridden 6months of the year to carry the guy to work and once on a 3hr (one way) trip to Kansas City.
The timing is reported to be done, and there looks to be an aftermarket adjuster for it (possibly a manual tensioner?). Can I determine if it's been changed without side case or valve cover removal?

Not sure on the rest as I haven't had time to inspect them yet, but they'll be among the first things I inspect when I finally tear into it. Probably need to check out the TPS as well.

 

[meadeam]

Nice bike. I have an '07 with 5,700 miles on it, I hope I get a 100K out of mine. It would take me forever to put that many miles on though. I think there is a forum member here who has/had well into six figures on an FZ6 and still going strong. Your windscreen looks up to the task of highway riding. The stock FZ6 screen looks nice but is awful in terms of wind protection on long rides over 60mph.

 

[Japarley]

Welcome to the FZ6 forum only just joined myself
That looks like a nice bike for that sort of miles ...!
i have a 2004 with 17000 miles and have to say i love it
mine has been lowered front / rear, properly springs and rear shock
also the seat has been done as well (only got short legs LOL)

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Motor runs pretty well, but the idle is super low after warm up and adjusting the idle adjustment screw will bring it up but then within a minute or so it drops right back down to where it was at (~700rpm). Coolant is a nasty orange brown, I'll be thoroughly flushing that and hoping it stays green.

Read post #2 on this thread: https://www.600riders.com/threads/idle-adjustment-screw.59611/

The end of that post is likely your idling issue




.

 

[DeepBarney]

Read post #2 on this thread: https://www.600riders.com/threads/idle-adjustment-screw.59611/

The end of that post is likely your idling issue




.

Awesome, sounds likely so hopefully flushing it will do the trick. That part referenced at the end, is it safe to use compressed to try and to clear it out (once disassembled)? Don't want to screw up any little seals or check valves.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I never had one apart... Member "Final Impact" has numerous posts and pic's on the unit, cleaning it etc..

Once it's out, you should see where the coolant hoses are and tear down from there. Should be somewhat obvious if clogged and not too difficult..

@FinalImpact

 

[DeepBarney]

Thanks

 

[DeepBarney]

Pulled the seat and tank off the bike yesterday to drain the fuel out (I suspect it's old) and get at that coolant activated hot idle doohickey. Think I figured out what was causing the idle issue...

I remember the PO saying he replaced the battery. Guess he lost or forgot to put the bolts that locate the airbox back in (I removed the lid and filter, the rest is how I found it). Some people's kids, I swear... I'm remembering why I wanted my next bike to be new. At least he hardly put any miles on it.

Also I don't what dairy farm Yamaha sourced those cheese grade bolts that hold the coolant doohickey from, but screw drivers were hopeless for removing them. Had to use vice grips to loosen them off. Thankfully the coffee tin of miscellaneous hardware happened to have an Allen bolt for each one (surprisingly even the 3" long one that goes back to the head).

After getting the doohickey apart, it seemed pretty clear. I ran some compressed air through it (set pretty low in case there's seals or sensitive parts inside) and it passed it without any hint of obstruction. Should probably check the plugs and wires while I've got it taken this far apart. Anything else that ought to be checked while I'm here? Oh, and the little sensor in the airbox is just a temp probe correct?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Can you rig a hose, and funnel and pour water thru it connected to it?

And I believe the sensor is a temp probe..

 

[DeepBarney]

I'll give it a try. When I blew air through it it pushed coolant out the other nipple and didn't feel very restricted. Nor did it when I breathed out through it.

I'm going to fill the coolant back up with some citric acid added. I'll run that through it for a bit then flush a few times before adding new coolant. Hopefully that, plus fresh gas, and actually having the throttle bodies connected to the airbox will get it running like it should.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Yepper, make sure your getting coolant actually passing thru there...

Just curious, could that unit be broken down any further?


@FinalImpact

 

[DeepBarney]

Yepper, make sure your getting coolant actually passing thru there...

Just curious, could that unit be broken down any further?

You can separate the part coolant flows through from the main part, but beyond that doesn't look like you're going to get it much further apart without damaging anything. The main part can come apart further, but I ain't touching it for fear of ruining the gasket/seals.

 

[Luts]

Just picked up an '07 FZ6 with 104,092 on the odometer and figured I'd pop in and say 'hi' since this seems to be the forum for them. It's not in too bad of shape, but the 104,091 miles of commuter duty (the other 1mi was put on by me in the test ride) shows in places. Picked it up because after a cross country journey on my Bonneville (without so much as a tachometer to deflect wind and serious rain/sleet) and having grown tired of waiting for Yamaha to bring the FJ-07/Tracer 700 to North America, I decided it would make for a better/more comfortable (and hopefully low cost) mid size touring rig.

Thankfully it's all stock far as I can tell, save for the Puig screen and an aftermarket tag mount/tail tidy that will be replaced soon as I find a decent used OEM piece to put back on. PO kept up with having the engine serviced (synthetic oil changes every 5k and supposedly a new timing chain and stator recently). Motor runs pretty well, but the idle is super low after warm up and adjusting the idle adjustment screw will bring it up but then within a minute or so it drops right back down to where it was at (~700rpm). Coolant is a nasty orange brown, I'll be thoroughly flushing that and hoping it stays green. The chain is thrashed and will be replaced asap. The suspension front and rear is equally toast, and will need to be rebuilt (or replaced in case of the rear shock since I suspect rebuilding isn't an option or at least not economically viable). Then it'll be all the basic crap like inspecting/replacing bearings, going through the brakes, etc.

Thankfully it's not too bad aesthetically. RHS headlight surround (molle?) is scuffed but I could easily repaint that. The RHS plastic body piece that's below the seat has a crack in it so I might be replacing that too. And the plastic muffler surround is cracked on the left side and will get replaced if I decide to fix up the non-essentials.

Well here it is.
View attachment 73470

Nice, looks good. Welcome

 

[DeepBarney]

Update: flows water fine. Comes out clear, so I'm confident it's free of obstructions.

 

[DeepBarney]

Figured out why the airbox wasn't attached to the throttle bodies. The battery the PO put in is too deep/thick and the airbox got pushed back to fit it in. Guess I'll have to order a new one that fits right before I can see if all this has remedied the idle situation.

 

[DeepBarney]

While I'm ordering a new battery and other parts to get this thing roadworthy again. At over 100k is it necessary to replace the fork bushings along with the seals?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

While I'm ordering a new battery and other parts to get this thing roadworthy again. At over 100k is it necessary to replace the fork bushings along with the seals?

If leaking, definitely.

We don't know what service has been done before on the forks, obviously bushings wouldn't hurt but unless play is felt-not mandatory.

I would dump the fork oil, inspect for any metal particles(which may decide bushings need replacement) and install fresh fork oil.



Also, re the doo dad with the coolant lines to it. Might want to make sure coolant IS actually flowing up to the unit once semi assembled...


.

.

 

[DeepBarney]

If leaking, definitely.

We don't know what service has been done before on the forks, obviously bushings wouldn't hurt but unless play is felt-not mandatory.

I would dump the fork oil, inspect for any metal particles(which may decide bushings need replacement) and install fresh fork oil.



Also, re the doo dad with the coolant lines to it. Might want to make sure coolant IS actually flowing up to the unit once semi assembled...


.

.

Probably not a bad idea to dump the fork oil (there's no way to drain them in situ, correct?) and see what it looks like. I'm not seeing any oil on the forks/tubes, but I haven't ridden it much either. Plus, for all I know there may not be any fluid left in them to leak. As for checking them for play, you're referring side to side play right?

I'll make sure it flows coolant when I do the system flush. I'm waiting on a new battery that'll fit now.

I ordered a new chain for it today. Sprockets are in good shape, so I'm not going to replace them. If I can I'll flip them as I've had good luck doing that in the past on other bikes to promote even wear and longer service life.

On the subject of brakes I'm going with semi metallic pads up front (I prefer a more progressive bite than the hard initial bite of sintered metal pads) and likely organics on the rear to make locking it up harder and allow me to modulate it easier. Plus I'm not really a fan of how quickly sintered pads have worn out rotors on my Bonneville and the uneven wear pattern across the radius of the disc face (or peaks and valleys). The current rotors, while worn down a bit, are usable. I'll grease up the calipers when I get around to the brakes. Anyone have any experience with the Niche Industries branded brakes? Amazon carries them and they seem a step up from the cheap generic carbon/Kevlar pads I've seen out there, but I haven't seen many reviews on forums. Probably grab some Braking SM1 pads if I can't find any good feedback on Niche.