Who wants to make a buddy?

[Smittyboy]

Would anyone be willing to meet up and/or walk me through the maintenance items I have neglected? It's an '08 and as far as I know, original fluids, cables, and lines. What I was thinking is a new clutch cable (feels really stretched), coolant flush, brake fluid bleed/fill. Anything else I should watch for? Not looking to get flamed, just trying to keep the bike happy with me. 24k miles, and one proposal under our belt, so I want the memories to keep on coming.
Thanks in advance.
Smitty

*I've done regular oil changes every year, but that's pretty much it except cleaning and lubing the chain.

 

[lawlberg]

Would anyone be willing to meet up and/or walk me through the maintenance items I have neglected? It's an '08 and as far as I know, original fluids, cables, and lines. What I was thinking is a new clutch cable (feels really stretched), coolant flush, brake fluid bleed/fill. Anything else I should watch for? Not looking to get flamed, just trying to keep the bike happy with me. 24k miles, and one proposal under our belt, so I want the memories to keep on coming.
Thanks in advance.
Smitty

*I've done regular oil changes every year, but that's pretty much it except cleaning and lubing the chain.

Probably a good idea to replace your clutch and throttle cables - they tend to get worn out and it's no fun to have to use a pair of visegrips as your clutch lever. The job to replace them is really easy though, so you should be able to follow one of the walkthroughs on the forum and knock those out in an afternoon.

Same goes for coolant and brake fluids - you should replace these (flushing the coolant with distilled water will help to clean it out if it seems really nasty) pretty straightforward, even easier if you have a second set of hands. Both procedures are heavily documented on the forums, if you have trouble finding them let me know.

24k miles, people here would propose a valve clearance check as well, I'm due for one so I don't have any experience on what that entails, but it's probably a lazy Saturday if you want to do it yourself, or a fair chunk of change if you have it done at a shop.

 

[Smittyboy]

I figured the fluids would be easy given the vids and threads on here. The cables are what worry me. Now another thing to add to the list, valve clearance check.

 

[lawlberg]

I figured the fluids would be easy given the vids and threads on here. The cables are what worry me. Now another thing to add to the list, valve clearance check.

Cables are also really easy - it can be frustrating threading them through the frame, but that's the most difficult part, adjusting is easy, shouldn't take more than 2 hours for both the throttle and the clutch your first time, each time after will be 20 minutes.

 

[The_Paragon]

HEY NEW BUDDY,

Where are ya in WI? I'm up in Medford.
I'll be happy to help out a fellow FZ6'er I'll have mine home hopefully this weekend to get rolling on it's maintenance.

I'm fairly well stocked with tools and knowledge!

 

[dschult2]

As long as your changing the coolant I would change the spark plugs as well. Its really easy to gain access to the plugs if you can disconnect the hoses from the radiator and tilt it forward a few inches. The plug wrench in your toolkit works great to actually change them and I replaced mine with iridium plugs just so I would never have to do it again (they're good for 100,000 miles).

 

[FinalImpact]

Tip number one - buy a syringe and some soft tubing. Preferred is silicone as it can stretch to any size. Then when it comes time to do the brake flush, suck out the old, dump in the new and move the syringe to the bleeder.

Remove old fluid, this save time. Way better than pumping it through!

If you have a long hose, run it straight into a pan or bottle. Here I was in pinch and just let it fill up the syringe.

After filling MC, pump it and hold brake lever down. Crack the bleeder. When the lever bottoms, seal the bleeder. Repeat until clean fluid is coming out. Do both sides. ** DO NOT LET THE MC reservoir go empty and suck air or your brakes will be all mushy and you'll have to start the bleeding process over!! **
On the final bleed, seal the bleeder before the lever reaches bottom. This prevents air from entering the system.
Clean everything spotless and repeat once a year for Dot 4 fluid!

 

[long101]

Would anyone be willing to meet up and/or walk me through the maintenance items I have neglected? It's an '08 and as far as I know, original fluids, cables, and lines. What I was thinking is a new clutch cable (feels really stretched), coolant flush, brake fluid bleed/fill. Anything else I should watch for? Not looking to get flamed, just trying to keep the bike happy with me. 24k miles, and one proposal under our belt, so I want the memories to keep on coming.
Thanks in advance.
Smitty

*I've done regular oil changes every year, but that's pretty much it except cleaning and lubing the chain.

I'm actually planning on doing alot of the same items (I have an 09). Same as you, I have only done oil changes, so I was probably going to read up a bunch on each job, and watch videos. Still a bit scarey, IMO . I probably wouldnt be much help, unless you wanted another hand with as much experience as you

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Something you can put off for a little while is the valve check.

The maintainance chart calls for 26,600 miles (42,000KM) for the check, so depending on the miles you put on, you may be able to wait until winter and the bikes laid up. :thumbup:

 

[greg]

I was waiting for my bike to be laid up this winter, but we didn't get any snow in the end.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I was waiting for my bike to be laid up this winter, but we didn't get any snow in the end.

Wisconsin gets ALOT OF SNOW during winter..

 

[The_Paragon]

And Unfortunately this winter we got a TON of snow especially when you get up in the northern parts... and its really taking its sweet time leaving!!

 

[iSteve]

I wouldn't really worry about the throttle cables just yet. Although they get a lot of use there is really not a lot of strain on them. Many people will keep the same throttle cables for the life of their bikes. Of course if the bike sits out in the rain a lot, you wash the bike weekly or the cables have been bent then a change is a good idea.

 

[Smittyboy]

Yeah, got the bike out and sure as a Swiss time piece, SNOW!?! Thanks for the pics and info guys! Do you have any suggested spots to pick up fluids and the clutch cable (that I strongly feel needs replacing) in WI? I like buying local. Just want to avoid the stealerships.

 

[Smittyboy]

Is dot 4 really supposed to be a yearly ordeal? oops.

 

[lawlberg]

Yeah, got the bike out and sure as a Swiss time piece, SNOW!?! Thanks for the pics and info guys! Do you have any suggested spots to pick up fluids and the clutch cable (that I strongly feel needs replacing) in WI? I like buying local. Just want to avoid the stealerships.

If you can afford to put in an order for the cable with your local dealer, I'd say do it. In places like Ohio and Wisconsin, it can be really hard for a motorcycle store to stay in business - my favorite dealer just went under this winter, so now I don't have a good shop anywhere close. For the extra 5 dollars (over partzilla or any online dealer) you can feel good about supporting riding in your area. As for fluids, you'll be fine at an auto parts store - there are some things that are just dumb to buy from a dealer.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Is dot 4 really supposed to be a yearly ordeal? oops.

You can pick up DOT 4 at Walmart for a bunch cheaper than an automotive shop.

Re changing the fluid, I don't do change at a set time, pretty much when I feel like it. If the fluids getting low, or is starting to look funky, I change it. With that said, I'm very easy on the brakes. If you run the bike hard, heat them up a bunch, I'd be changing it sooner... ANY SPONGYNESS from hard braking, time to change fluid.. The fluid is hydroscopic and like to attact moisture. Water in the system, when heated up, (besides corrosion) can make you "brakes go away"..

Yamaha recommends brake seal and brake line replacement EVERY TWO YEARS. In real life, I've found you can get 4-5 years out of the caliper seals (before they harden up and start dragging). That's based on both my old '04 FJR (same ft brakes as the S2 FZ6) and my current FZ...

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Would anyone be willing to meet up and/or walk me through the maintenance items I have neglected? It's an '08 and as far as I know, original fluids, cables, and lines. What I was thinking is a new clutch cable (feels really stretched), coolant flush, brake fluid bleed/fill. Anything else I should watch for? Not looking to get flamed, just trying to keep the bike happy with me. 24k miles, and one proposal under our belt, so I want the memories to keep on coming.
Thanks in advance.
Smitty

*I've done regular oil changes every year, but that's pretty much it except cleaning and lubing the chain.

My local Yamaha dealer loves to see me bring in my bike for service. They are fascinated to know what still original and what's been replaced. I have 95k miles on my bike. I replaced my clutch cable at 70k miles only because I wanted to, not because I had to. Still on the original throttle cable and original clutch plates and original front brake pads. And I use my front brakes on every stop. Yamaha puts out great OEM parts, I suggest that you stick with their clutch cable if you are planning to replace.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

My local Yamaha dealer loves to see me bring in my bike for service. They are fascinated to know what still original and what's been replaced. I have 95k miles on my bike. I replaced my clutch cable at 70k miles only because I wanted to, not because I had to. Still on the original throttle cable and original clutch plates and original front brake pads. And I use my front brakes on every stop. Yamaha puts out great OEM parts, I suggest that you stick with their clutch cable if you are planning to replace.

Agreed 100% on OEM parts. The chinese knock offs are not worth the hassle and there have been many cases of poor fitment and early failure.

BTW, you must be very smooth to still have the original pads up front (unless you went thru 3 sets of pads on the rear??) :thumbup: