John_Dumke
Well-known member
Last month my wife and I headed out on a 5,200 mile two week trip to Iowa and back. Home is Long Beach, CA. I wanted the bike to be ready for the journey, so I performed the following maintenance and upgrades. Forks sent off to Traxxion for the ATK-20 inserts. While the forks were off, I replaced the steering head ball bearings with tapered bearings, and gave the upper triple clamp to the dealer to replace the recalled ignition switch. At the same time, I had a set of new Dunlop Roadsmart I's laying around and put them on.
My main concern was improving the high speed handling of the bike and making sure the bike was serviced and reliable. After the 5,200 mile trip the Roadsmart's were toast. 100 mph for extended periods with a fully loaded bike are a sure way to toast your tires. Tread wasn't showing, but any sign of tread had vanished 1,000 miles prior. After the trip, I put on a new pair of Roadsmart II's and added a new Escort Radar detector with "Escort Live" for a quick trip up to San Luis Obispo and back (600 more miles round trip).
While the FJR is a fine bike if you keep it under 85 mph, at around 100mph, it can feel a little twitchy, especially with cross winds on a narrower two lane highway. And I guess a passenger with fully loaded luggage and tail trunk can only exacerbate the vague feeling. The new bearings and forks would hopefully improve the high speed handling.
While performing the steering head bearing upgrade, I was impressed with the significant increase in size of the new tapered bearings. While installing these bearings, I did read that they could handle a higher installation torque and appropriately went to 23lbs. Once the new forks and tires were on, I had a chance to test drive the new front end setup. Certainly the bike had a more stable and planted feel. Everything was good at higher speed and/ or on smooth pavement, but at speeds below 70mph or on rain grooved pavement the front end wanted to follow the grooves. Might this be the Dunlop Roadsmart I front tire (not a well regarded front tire), or an over torqued steering head?
If this tendency to hunt from side to side was due to an over torqued steering head bearing, maybe it would loosen up just slightly as it broke in, and frankly I didn't want to try a bunch of different torque settings to verify. So I just drove the damn thing. After 5,200 miles and new tires, I can now however report that with the new Roadsmart II's the front end feels FLAWLESS.
So hear is my report on the different products.
The front end is now as good as I believe the FJR will be. The steering head bearing has given the bike a more hydraulic feel, certainly less twitchy. Might a re-torquing of the original ball bearings resolved this? Maybe, but I can only imagine the tapered bearings being better for front end alignment and stability.
The Traxxion ATK front forks seem to hold the front end up a little more, making the front end feel like it rides higher. I believe where the forks are most noticeable, would be while I was cornering at full lean angle with the pegs touching. I do have a Penske rear shock on the bike, set up for two up aggressive riding, so touching pegs means that we are leaning over pretty good. Never can I remember touching the pegs down and feeling comfortable to just hold that lean angle. Surprisingly the Dunlops Roadsmarts I's gave me quite a bit of confidence at this fully banked angle. Never did I feel any hesitation in holding this max lean. Maybe the extra seat time added to my comfort level, but I caulk it up mostly to the new forks.
Where the new Dunlop Roadsmart II's outshine the Roadsmart I's is in two areas. First the front tire in NO WAY follows any rain grooves. It has zero tendency to follow any gaps in the concrete that are parallel to the direction of travel. Basically the front tire goes where it is pointed, not where the pavement might dictate. While the Roadsmart I was good at max lean, the precision in which I could moderate the lean angle wasn't the best. The new Roadsmart II's seem much better at allowing me to place the bike where I want in a turn, either tightening up or loosening up on the turn. The new Roadsmart II's are supposed to have a steeper drop off on to the side walls. Maybe I could notice that the bike dropped in on the turn a little easier, but this could be that old worn tires tend to stand up and I was comparing 5,200 mile old I's with new II's. If the magazines hadn't mentioned the steeper sidewall then I probably wouldn't have noticed a difference in this drop-in characteristic.
One area that seems overwhelmingly apparent is how smooth the new Roadsmart II's are. They just feel buttery smooth rolling down the highway. Maybe some of this is due to older tires riding harsher, because there is less rubber tread left, but they really seemed to smooth out the ride. I didn't not read anything in a Roadsmart II review that mentioned a softer ride. So maybe its just that the being on the Roadsmart I's for 5,200 miles, made my ass sore and now it is recovered. Or maybe I just did a better job balancing the rubber? Who knows, but I will stick with my story that the new Roadsmart II's really smooth out the ride.
When I got back from the trip. I noticed that my clutch engagement seamed like a marshmellow and the bulk of the frictional transfer occurred very late in the travel. So I read up on the FJR's clutch and decided to do the clutch plate soak. When I pulled the clutch appart I noticed the crap ass diaphram spring. I decided to replace the diaphram spring with the Barnett spring replacement kit. Inspection of the friction plates revieled no stuck plates and /or gunky black splooge, as other have reported. The plates all had some oil on them, none were dry, but what little oil was present looked like the bare minimum, any less and we might call it dry. So the plates soaked in Mobil 1 for one week while I awaited my new Barnett pressure plate.
The clutch engagement point is now much more accurate, and soaking the plates really helped quite a bit. Previouly the FJR would shift quite clunkely. It would rarely shift lightly. Now the transmission seems more like most other bikes I have had. This alone adds to the pleasure of driving the bike. Thumbs up on soaking the plates.
My new little gadget is the the Escort Live enabled radar detector along with the iPhone app. The jury is still out as to how much I will like the additional layer of protection. If you haven't read up on this upgrad to the escort detectors, then hear it the skinny. "Escort Live" uses a different power cord to link the detector with your Smart Phone. When another user picks up a Ka band radar or Laser, his sighting is uploaded to the web and then shows on your smartphone screen. So in theory we now have some more protection against instant on speed traps. All in all I LOVE the idea, but as they say, the devil will lie in the details.
I think the thing to keep in mind, is that this is an additional layer of protection on the existing detector. My Escort has ABSOLUTELY saved my ass 3 times in the last 6 months. Once up in the canyons heading to the Rock Store, specifically on Stunt Road. I probably would have been nailed for a 70 in a 35, and they were looking to nail bikes. The other two times were on the 5,200 mile trip to Iowa, where twice the detector clearly saved my ass. And this was all without the new "Escort Live" feature. Time will tell weather the new "Escort Live" feature is a worthwhile add on.
My main concern was improving the high speed handling of the bike and making sure the bike was serviced and reliable. After the 5,200 mile trip the Roadsmart's were toast. 100 mph for extended periods with a fully loaded bike are a sure way to toast your tires. Tread wasn't showing, but any sign of tread had vanished 1,000 miles prior. After the trip, I put on a new pair of Roadsmart II's and added a new Escort Radar detector with "Escort Live" for a quick trip up to San Luis Obispo and back (600 more miles round trip).
While the FJR is a fine bike if you keep it under 85 mph, at around 100mph, it can feel a little twitchy, especially with cross winds on a narrower two lane highway. And I guess a passenger with fully loaded luggage and tail trunk can only exacerbate the vague feeling. The new bearings and forks would hopefully improve the high speed handling.
While performing the steering head bearing upgrade, I was impressed with the significant increase in size of the new tapered bearings. While installing these bearings, I did read that they could handle a higher installation torque and appropriately went to 23lbs. Once the new forks and tires were on, I had a chance to test drive the new front end setup. Certainly the bike had a more stable and planted feel. Everything was good at higher speed and/ or on smooth pavement, but at speeds below 70mph or on rain grooved pavement the front end wanted to follow the grooves. Might this be the Dunlop Roadsmart I front tire (not a well regarded front tire), or an over torqued steering head?
If this tendency to hunt from side to side was due to an over torqued steering head bearing, maybe it would loosen up just slightly as it broke in, and frankly I didn't want to try a bunch of different torque settings to verify. So I just drove the damn thing. After 5,200 miles and new tires, I can now however report that with the new Roadsmart II's the front end feels FLAWLESS.
So hear is my report on the different products.
The front end is now as good as I believe the FJR will be. The steering head bearing has given the bike a more hydraulic feel, certainly less twitchy. Might a re-torquing of the original ball bearings resolved this? Maybe, but I can only imagine the tapered bearings being better for front end alignment and stability.
The Traxxion ATK front forks seem to hold the front end up a little more, making the front end feel like it rides higher. I believe where the forks are most noticeable, would be while I was cornering at full lean angle with the pegs touching. I do have a Penske rear shock on the bike, set up for two up aggressive riding, so touching pegs means that we are leaning over pretty good. Never can I remember touching the pegs down and feeling comfortable to just hold that lean angle. Surprisingly the Dunlops Roadsmarts I's gave me quite a bit of confidence at this fully banked angle. Never did I feel any hesitation in holding this max lean. Maybe the extra seat time added to my comfort level, but I caulk it up mostly to the new forks.
Where the new Dunlop Roadsmart II's outshine the Roadsmart I's is in two areas. First the front tire in NO WAY follows any rain grooves. It has zero tendency to follow any gaps in the concrete that are parallel to the direction of travel. Basically the front tire goes where it is pointed, not where the pavement might dictate. While the Roadsmart I was good at max lean, the precision in which I could moderate the lean angle wasn't the best. The new Roadsmart II's seem much better at allowing me to place the bike where I want in a turn, either tightening up or loosening up on the turn. The new Roadsmart II's are supposed to have a steeper drop off on to the side walls. Maybe I could notice that the bike dropped in on the turn a little easier, but this could be that old worn tires tend to stand up and I was comparing 5,200 mile old I's with new II's. If the magazines hadn't mentioned the steeper sidewall then I probably wouldn't have noticed a difference in this drop-in characteristic.
One area that seems overwhelmingly apparent is how smooth the new Roadsmart II's are. They just feel buttery smooth rolling down the highway. Maybe some of this is due to older tires riding harsher, because there is less rubber tread left, but they really seemed to smooth out the ride. I didn't not read anything in a Roadsmart II review that mentioned a softer ride. So maybe its just that the being on the Roadsmart I's for 5,200 miles, made my ass sore and now it is recovered. Or maybe I just did a better job balancing the rubber? Who knows, but I will stick with my story that the new Roadsmart II's really smooth out the ride.
When I got back from the trip. I noticed that my clutch engagement seamed like a marshmellow and the bulk of the frictional transfer occurred very late in the travel. So I read up on the FJR's clutch and decided to do the clutch plate soak. When I pulled the clutch appart I noticed the crap ass diaphram spring. I decided to replace the diaphram spring with the Barnett spring replacement kit. Inspection of the friction plates revieled no stuck plates and /or gunky black splooge, as other have reported. The plates all had some oil on them, none were dry, but what little oil was present looked like the bare minimum, any less and we might call it dry. So the plates soaked in Mobil 1 for one week while I awaited my new Barnett pressure plate.
The clutch engagement point is now much more accurate, and soaking the plates really helped quite a bit. Previouly the FJR would shift quite clunkely. It would rarely shift lightly. Now the transmission seems more like most other bikes I have had. This alone adds to the pleasure of driving the bike. Thumbs up on soaking the plates.
My new little gadget is the the Escort Live enabled radar detector along with the iPhone app. The jury is still out as to how much I will like the additional layer of protection. If you haven't read up on this upgrad to the escort detectors, then hear it the skinny. "Escort Live" uses a different power cord to link the detector with your Smart Phone. When another user picks up a Ka band radar or Laser, his sighting is uploaded to the web and then shows on your smartphone screen. So in theory we now have some more protection against instant on speed traps. All in all I LOVE the idea, but as they say, the devil will lie in the details.
I think the thing to keep in mind, is that this is an additional layer of protection on the existing detector. My Escort has ABSOLUTELY saved my ass 3 times in the last 6 months. Once up in the canyons heading to the Rock Store, specifically on Stunt Road. I probably would have been nailed for a 70 in a 35, and they were looking to nail bikes. The other two times were on the 5,200 mile trip to Iowa, where twice the detector clearly saved my ass. And this was all without the new "Escort Live" feature. Time will tell weather the new "Escort Live" feature is a worthwhile add on.
