cupcake1973

Still rode the bike, just had to keep an eye on the temperature at lower speeds and around towns etc. Was fine on the motorway. Still managed to have a fabulous time riding around the Alps and came back via Lake Geneva which was a lovely route. I love biking in France, it's totally different to over here - way better Since doing my investigations about the knackered fan, it seems the fan itself is quite a common part, but none of the mounting arms are the same across the bikes that use them. Bit of a pain unless you're really handy at fabricating stuff to make things fit. Just ended up getting one from Yamaha in the end after the bike being with the garage for nearly 3 weeks! Oh well, you live and learn...

I got a stone stuck in the fan on mine during a trip to France. Needless to say I came back with a burnt out fan motor. Not happy as it's £250 for a replacement. Trying to get a 2nd hand one was near impossible and hardly any other models use the same fan (and if they do, all the mounting points are different). Whilst trawling around the internet searching and searching for suitable fans to replace the broken one, I since discovered that this is not an uncommon occurrence with these bikes (including the US FZ6 version) - due to the way it's designed. The fans are prone to getting stones and debris kicked up into them and they will burn out long before the fuse blows. As it's a complete sealed unit, you can't just replace the motor, you have to get the whole thing. I dare say there are thousands of owners that have never had a problem, but since there are a good portion that have (if you include the US market) then beware, especially if you get caught on a particularly gravelly road. Check your fan regularly is the advice

Just come back from riding trip to the French Alps, other side so can't offer much by way of places to visit. But here's a few other pointers.... Breathalyser thing is still in force, although highly unlikely you'll get stopped and asked. Remember, it's two per rider. Helmet stickers - don't bother. We didn't and French police never bothered us. None of the other 12 bikers on the Eurotunnel had them either. Spare bulb kit rule is laughable - you are legally required to carry one even if you don't know how to fit them, which defeats the object of carrying them! Hi viz - needed only in the event of breakdown Don't forget to carry your bike documents (and copies) too - V5 and insurance which MUST show that you are covered in the country you are visiting. Most do nowadays on the back of the certificate, but check just in case. Driving licence (paper and card) too. Remember - every rider must carry these things on their own bike - they cannot go into a bag for one person to carry for everyone in the group. It all sounds like a lot of hassle just to ride in France, but these are the "just in case" things. You'll find that it turned out all highly unnecessary as you never got stopped or had a problem. But the one time you do, you need to make sure you have everything in hand. Enjoy your trip

Well, no one got this one right. Booked the bike in with hubby's mate that owns a KTM bike shop with servicing etc for others, he had to search around for ages cos ECU failed to show any faults. Turned out to be a stone lodged in the fan itself stopping it from spinning. As expected it burned out the motor, so that's the fix. Completely random event from some random gravelly road in France! Thanks all for the help and suggestions in my time of crisis! maybe if this happens to someone else then this is something to check for.

well it's not the fuse, eliminated that possibility today. Where's the relay located? There's nothing listed in the owners manual about the fan or temp sensor etc. that i can find

coolant is fine, we checked that anyway when I noticed the fan wasn't coming on. Will try some of the suggestions, thanks

Half way up a massive mountain in the French Alps last week, my engine temperature reached 117 deg and climbing. I noticed the fan wasn't kicking in and hasn't worked since. Spent the next 4 days watching the temperature reading constantly! Just wondering if anyone knows of any common faults/problems that are known to this model before I start getting into all sorts to fix it? is it likely to be the sensor? Or fan motor? Or would it simply be a fuse? if so, where is the fuse located to check and where will i find the fan sensor? Sorry for the dumb questions, but need to get it sorted asap and could do with any advice that will help save time faffing about. thanks Sadie.

208 miles on a tank, wow! I've never managed much more than 180, but then that's been mixed commuting, motorway and country road cruising. Off to France on 1st July to ride down to the Alps so will see what it does then. Interesting to see how many miles you get on reserve - gives me an idea of what I might get when mine gets down to flashing

Hate sitting at the lights cos I feel like everyone's staring at me and watching whatever I'm doing - in reality no one probably even cares I'm there, but I guess it's just a self conscious thing! lol. So most of the time I do nothing, unless there's clothing adjustment to me made. There's other occasions when I have to smile at the knob in the inadequate car that pulls up trying to squeeze me out, or the BMW that tries to block my path. As he softens when he realises I'm a female biker and moves out of the way, I then call him a wanker very loudly on my way past if his window is down

Nice, but the US version, the FZ-09 is slightly nicer (and has a 'proper'name). I read a piece about it yesterday. Made for interesting reading if you care about the little things http://www.visordown.com/features/mt-09-or-fz-09-you-decide/22859.html

Been to the last two years. The service never fails to move me. Already registered for this year, will be travelling up from Berkshire with hubby. Happy for others to join/meet up along the way

Interesting reading about tyre choices since I really really dislike the Continental's my bike came with - actually the front is ok, but it's the rear I have issues with. It's utterly rubbish in heavy rain/very wet roads. Manageable in the dry and damp, but got caught in a monsoon commuting home from work last week and it felt like there was no grip at all. Even the dreadful original tyres that came with my Harley had better grip! It's only done about 2,500 miles of 'sensible' riding and looks barely worn, but I really don't want to keep running it given the unpredictable English weather. Anyone got experience of a good tyre that performs in the dry as well as in the rain? Needs to give a reasonable amount of miles (doesn't need to be a 10,000 miler) - I don't generally ride particularly hard. I guess I'm looking at a touring tyre?

Yeh I've noticed that on a run out (e.g. day trip to the coast) that's not all stop-start like commuting, then I can squeeze 170 miles from a tank. Commuting seems to be about 145-155, that's 30 miles a day mixed motorway and lots of traffic lights. Still not quite managed to work out how many miles reserve gets me. I'll work it out one day!

I got a cheap charger socket off ebay for my sat nav. Installed it myself, dead easy to wire up to the sat nav mount on the bars and it works a treat

I had a Harley and it was one of the loudest I ever heard out of thousands of Harleys I'd come across during the time I owned it. It was just too loud and I had ringing ears even when I only went down the road on it. I'm loving my XJ6 and the Scorpion exhaust - just enough of a rumble to keep me happy and my hearing in tact. Loud isn't everything, trust me! I never once got stopped for my Harley being too noisy, even when I passed police cars and sat next to them at traffic lights etc. My exhausts were even marked as not road legal, but no one batted an eyelid. Maybe the cops perceive Harleys to be slow, lumbering old machines (lumbering yes, slow is not always the case), whereas I reckon people have this perception, and they stereotype sports bike riders as nutcases dressed like Power Rangers that have no regard for anything or anyone, and their only interest is to go everywhere as quickly and dangerously as possible. So clearly if your exhausts are loud then you're an exhibitionist and thus you must be one of these sports bike idiots lol But as we know, we are not all the same. But as bikers, we are all frowned upon by non-bikers

Hello and welcome from me

Hello and welcome from me

Hello and welcome from me

Hello and welcome from me

Hello and welcome from me

Hello and welcome from me

Hello and welcome from me I'm not a million miles away in Bracknell. And I got an XJ6 too - the N though. Passed my test a looooong time ago when it was less complicated thankfully Accessory shops are a must! They're the only kind of shopping I actually like Safe riding

Exhaust is a Scorpion Carbon Oval - not the loudest, but gives little deep resonance at low revs and screams a bit when you give it a fist full of revs. Does the job for me The first screen I put on was a Givi Flyscreen - but the smoked one that you can see through, not matt black as in that picture on the link. It definitely helped reduce the wind buffeting, but I'm only small so I really needed a bigger touring screen for when I'm on the motorway, as past 75 I was struggling to hang on. So I changed it for an MRA Highwayshield which is much taller and much better for me. Thought it would look properly pants on the naked bike, but I was pleasantly surprised that it actually looks alright. Plus it fits really well and is nice and sturdy - no wobbling or vibrating. Very pleased with it really

My bike has already been lowered the maximum it can front and rear so adjusting the shock height is not really an option for me to reduce the lean and occasional numb thumb syndrome. I had considered raising the bars, but there's the issue of the cables and if they're long enough. I might just about get away with an inch increase, but then all the cables would have to be unclipped and to me that's just messy (touch of OCD lol!). If not long enough, they'd all have to be changed and that's an expense I'm not prepared to fork out when I may well sell the bike next year anyway. I'll try and live with it for now - it's not an enormous issue at the moment, but I may live to eat my words, you never know

I like the look of the N better too, but I'd have the half-faired one also since I'm only little and tend to get buffeted around a bit on naked bikes. I'd have a more comfortable ride on the faired version. Glad you like it. I'll be looking for one next year I think