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So like all things I have decided that I'm finally done with my biking, not happy about it but I am just getting to old to do this any more. I have been riding since I was 14 and now at 71 it's time to hang my boots up. Having fallen off more times than I can mention and also having more broken bones over the years than is healthy it's time to walk away. I would like to say to you all may you all live and ride for as long as you can and stay safe out there and if you know anyone who want's a 2001 FJR1300 please let me know. I will bung an advert up on here in the near future so hope to hear from at least one of you if your interested. Good bye all. Martin.

Hi Sacha, welcome back! long time no see as you say, your always welcome dear girl and well done on your doctorate, not easy. Glad your still tearing up the roads. Stay safe and keep in touch.

Nope just Nope, I want to ride the bike not some bloody computer, if I fall off then I learn to get better this fools you into thinking your brilliant right up till your not. Much better to invent a centre stand that does'nt need you to be a weight lifter.

Just like anytime you move your bike in a vehicle. They strap it down with tie downs (usually pretty manky) and run it over the bars and across the seat. Your bike MUST be on the centre stand (if you have one) and when I did it I used 2 towels acoss the tank and bars to keep the scratches down. Dont worry over much mate they have done this hundreds of times and definately know more then you when it comes to safe storage. If you can, stay by your bike till they come to tie it down and explain you would like to cover the bike where the straps cross over the bike to protect it, they are mostly good guys who will help if you ask nicely. Good luck on your journey.

As finnerz says this sort of thing usually needs a fair bit of fettling to get them to fit perfect. As to a scam, who knows nowadays, even real sites have folks attached to them that steal your stuff, sometimes you just have to jump in and see. I did think about buying a similar thing for the FJR but after watching some youtube vids thought better of it, might be an idea to see if other folks on youtube have done it?

Hi there, Ok I found this. It might be of some use to you, it seems to be an online copy of the SERVICE MANUAL for you bike. I did look for shifter position but it has hundreds of pages so that bit will be down to you to look for. Hope this helps. http://www.yamaparts.com/2013/01/engine-service-manual/

Merry Christmas to you all. Have a wonderful time with your families and see you next year.

Ok so LOOONG story short (I hope)I have had the FJR for over 5 years now and in all that time I have been lucky that nothing major has gone wrong BUT the other day I heard what sounded like a bag of spanners loose in the barrels! So youtube to the rescue and scanned the various FJR folks and their problems and lo and behold there was my noise, yep cam chain tensioner had let go, not a major job to change and in all the vids it looked easy and quick! I am on my 3rd day! First finding one was easy FJ owners club had one in stock and is only 20 miles down the road so no prob plus a couple of gaskets and the loss of £135 quid I'm ready to go. Took the cam chain cover off so I could use a zip tie to clamp the chain together so it would not jump a tooth and that seemed easy except for the first bolt that came out brought the thread from the casing with it, then NONE of my socket set extensions would fit in the poxy little hole in the frame that you reach through to undo the bolts on the tensioner so off to Amazon for a 1/4 inch drive set of extensions plus a set of 1/4 drive sockets and other sundry bit's and bob's. 1 day gone. All the bit's arrived and was an easy if fiddly job to reach in and undo the bolts and remove the tensioner. By this time I am into 2nd day and it's getting dark. Day3, Put the various odds and end's back together and torque the nuts up and sort out the stripped bolt thread, great all ready to start and listen to my bike as quiet as a mouse BUT then I remember the cloth I had stuffed into the bottom of the crank case to stop the oil dripping while this all went on! So cover off and strip all the sealant off and new gasket (again!) £25, double check that I had not misaligned the case and no other sodding bit's of cloth jammed into the various places I had been working on. So finally I have it done, 3 days instead of 3 hours and still can't start it as the sealant needs 24 hours to cure before final torque up of bolts. It's great doing your own maintenace and you get a sense of purpose knowing that it is done right and not flung together by a guy who is only there for the wages but christ it can be a pain in the arse OH and I still have to put the fairing and all the other crap back on but not before I make absolutely sure there is no oil leaking. On the plus side I now have a nice new shiny set of 1/4 drive sockets and a set of 1/4 drive extensions that I would not have had if I had sent it in for someone else to do it, there's always a sunny side if you look for it.

Go to Halfords and buy their box spanner plug remover usual sizes are 5/8 inch and 13/16. That way you don't have to grind down a socket. Just remember that box spanners are thin walled and will slip if you go gorilla on them! The cost is about £12 for a box spanner set.

Have you tried to bridge across the terminals from the starter motor to the engine to see if the motor is in fact working? Turn on the ignition, place a screwdriver on the end of the starter nut and touch it to the engine case. You will get sparks but the motor should turn over. Just to see if that might be the problem before replacing more stuff, the bendix on the end of the shaft can stick if not used for a while and it might just be in need of a good soaking with lube. You can also replace the brushes on the motor if they are worn beyond the max wear point. I did mine on the FJ and it worked like new.

I just found this on the net it states that there are some problems with valve seat arrangements that have been known to cause issues. You might like to think about using the updated heads that they mention. just a thought! The first models had some problems with warping valve seats, so later cylinder heads were changed to round exhaust ports to help the heat dissipate. Heat remained a problem, frequently causing the head to fracture. The balancer and camchain arrangements needed regular attention.31 Aug 2015 Not saying this is the problem but valve seals are a source of smoke if they are old or worn plus valve seats do wear and that might be an easy fix!! Press out the valve seats and put in new round ones plus seals.

Hi Christian, Welcome to the YOC. Ok mate I am not being sarcastic here but there are loads of "tubes" on bikes so a little more info if you would. A photo is better or a description of the part and the place it occupies would help. We like to help other bikers so come back with another question and details so we can help.

Hi Michael, Well done mate, 75 and still going strong. I'm 70 and still using the 2 wheels but I'm sure the time will come when I need that bit more stability. As to your original question EBAY is a good source of parts or even your free local paper and Gumtree can have some surprising parts listed. What exactly are you looking for in the way of parts? and does it have to be off of an XJ900 divi? Between us we probably have loads of parts knocking about so just list what you want and see if anyone get's back to you. Good luck with your project.

Hi Michael and welcome to the YOC, can I ask why you want to change your bike into a trike? If your disabled there are people and organisations out there who will offer help. I belong to the NABD (national assiciation of disabled bikers). They can help out if your struggling. Just sayin!

Snakebite is right, you should really check the bike at the front, bikes are incredibly delicate at the front end, even a small 1 or 2 degree bend can mean the difference between leaking forks or not. Your right that ageing plastics do break easier than new ones but it still takes force to break even the most manky ones. When your life depends on it always assume the worst till you have had it checked.

As Snakebite said go through the loom front to back, seat off tank off and check it all. It's a simple loom and usually easy to spot broken wires if the rodents have been munching on them. After 12 years also oil down the bores (just a teaspoon full) buy yourself a tin of "EASY START", makes the whole thing much easier to get running or at least fire if it's going to.

Unfortunately as Cynic say's it does sound like a bearing eating itself! Best option if your up for it is to take the chain off and see if the final drive sprocket at the gearbox end is loose or worn. Grab it with your hand and see if you can get any movement out of it wether up and down or back and forth. Snakebite is also right in a bad chain can make it sound like that as well. There is definately a problem there you just have to knock off the faults till you find where it is. A garage will help but if you just ask them to find the fault then do it yourself when your sure where and what it is. Good luck.

That's great, remember tho always check her work if she is a newb at spannering. Good luck to you both.

Welcome to the YOC, as above a video is what is needed, it's easier to diagnose something you can see.

Hi Tom, It's always difficult to tell what a problem is without seeing it! A few photos or even better a video of the problem makes it much easier. Just a few questions tho. Do you have a manual? are you sure that the new carb kit you have fitted is not the problem? usually when a bike is running well and you fiddle with it and then you get problems it's the bit's you fiddled with that caused the problem. Just sayin!

I'm with Finnerz on this, it's not a critical part and if it lasts a couple of years then go for it, worst that can happen is you have to walk home!

Hi Andrew, welcome to the YOC. Must say you have done all the things I would have but your still stuck! How old is the fuel in the bike, have you put fresh fuel in it since you stored it? I only ask as if your firing when you physically put fuel in the spark plug hole it sounds like your NOT getting fuel to the cylinder, which is odd. If you turn it over on the button is the plug getting wet? Something between the injector and cylinder is blocking the fuel perhaps. Not worked on one of these so just guessing mate. A video or pictures really helps with this sort of thing. You might have a stuck inlet valve or even a broken valve spring whip the head off and have a butchers inside and see if there are any obvious problems. If not then come back and we can think of something else to spend your money on.

Welcome to the YOC Steve. We can ride all year as well just depends on how cold you want to be.

It is possible to remove these bolts but as above you need patience and care. I have been known to use a "nut spliter" to cut the nut off and then remove the stud afterwards. if you try to remove the nut and stud in one you will almost certainly break off the stud in the head which will lead to swearing and tantrums! I use a thermal coil tool on really stubborn nuts and studs, works most of the time but can still snap off if your a gorilla.

Actually there might be, not saying Tommy is wrong but the cables do strech over time, depending on how hard they have to work to pull the plates apart. You might want to check the length of the inner cable first against the recommended length and also check the mechanism for the clutch cable fixing point on the engine just to make sure that they are still in the correct place as it can get knocked and moved out of alignment. If you have a hydraulic clutch check the ball bearing and the rod for wear or if they have become seperated. Also measure the plates (steel and Cork) for thickness just to make sure they are still in tolerance, nothing worse than buying all the kit and it's a bent rod or slack cable. Also check the length of the springs as those buggers can also get squashed over time and lead to a dodgy clutch. My FJ1200 had a problem with the springs just replaced them and it was all good. Not saying it is any of these things but best to check them before you shell out on plates and don't need them.