What to look for when Shopping for a used FJR ?

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brady

Live the Adventure, Ride the World
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I'm going to look at a 2006 FJR tonight and wanted to know if there are any FJR specific things i need to be aware of when looking at this bike. Hopefully it will be as good in person as it looks in pictures.

Thanks

 
I'd stay away frum a crashed one, other than that go fer it!

Check that all recalls have been done.
Even if all the recalls haven't been done, yer smiling Yamaha dealer will do them for free. But you can also use this as a price negotiating tool if they ain't all dun cuz it takes time.

 
Check the vertical part of the rear subframe (the part holding the rear lights, for any signs of cracks in the casting.

Listen for a noisy cam chain ($100 and two hours)

Check all the electrics are working as specified, if the ground spider hasn't been fixed it might need doing.

Make the normal checks, there aren't many major issues.

 
Thanks for all the feedback. Hopefully it's a good buy and I'll be an FJR owner soon.

 
Look through the body fairing and see if the header pipes are dented at the lower, down turn. If it's been wrecked no one ever changes out the headers. They are to expensive to replace.

 
If its the color you like , it runs good and you're happy with the price then buy it. You know you want to.

 
The 2006 (and 2007) had a bad throttle lurch from off-to-on throttle transitions (like when you get on the throttle entering a corner). Pay particular attention to this; if it bothers you, and the bike doesn't have a power commander, plan to spend $300 for a PC3/PC5 to fix it.

Also, look for the upgraded cam chain tensioner; if the owner hasn't done that yet plan on spending ~$80 for that if you do it yourself (it's not hard, just a PITA to get to). Not sure what a shop would charge to do it ... 1-2 hours labor, ~$200?

Pay attention to how it shifts. It's not going to be as snickery smooth as a Honda or Kawasaki; expect a "thunk" going into first, and a "clack" into the higher gears. That's OK. What to look for is that it stays in 2nd gear when you accelerate hard; it doesn't pop out of gear (bent shifter forks) or disengage/re-engage (worn cogs). Although merely a handful of us have had issues with this, it is failrly expensive ( > $600 in parts) and difficult (pull and split the engine) to fix and best not to buy someone else's problem.

Nearly all other issues with these machines are simple and easy to fix, from threadlocking the luggage locks, replacing the crappy stock mirrors or finding a seat / windshield combo that works for you.

There's another list here with lots of folks who have > 100k miles on their bikes, most with the original engine (one guy with ~ 360k). Don't be afraid of miles if it has been taken care of and is priced accordingly.

 
Thanks for all the input. I ended up getting it and am very excited to finally have an FJR!! It's an 06 with 29k on the clock the guy who owned it used it as his touring bike so those are mostly touring miles. Over all looks like a great bike!

 
Congrats on the new to you ride!

For the future, always take a flashlight with you when buying a used bike.....especially a low mileage one.

Look inside the gas tank for rust.

Could be a nightmare of coated flakey/crusty rust in there even if the bike looks pristine........don't ask me how I know!
rolleyes.gif


 
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