Intro, eating crow, which way to go help?

[emt803]

If this is in the wrong section sorry guys. I'm having to type on this POS phone due to being layed up with a broken foot. Take a wild guess how that might of happened. This is the third time attempting to write this because of said crappy phone, so I'm gonna try and cut the fluff because I'm getting more frustrated re-living it over and over. Long story short, I'm a first time motorcycle owner who was warned about the dangers of starting on a 600cc, but being nieve figured as long as I'm fully geared and "drive responsibly" I'd be good. And for the most part I was. I bought an all black and silver (only writing on the bike is Yamaha) '98 FZR600r from a guy on craigslist. 15K miles, fully serviced for the season, new clutch, minor damage on both sides where you would expect for a bike that had been dropped at a standstill. Damage didn't matter as far as appearances were concerned to me. Bottom line, I fell in love with her and still don't regret the decision. I had a couple stumbles out the gate, but never damaged her. Assisted her to the ground after using the front brakes too hard once, but my ego was all that was hurt. After two months and 1K miles under my belt my main issues are still low speed maneuvers (u-turns, turns from a stop etc) and the majority of that I attribute to 1st and 2nd gear being so jerky at low rpms and my inexperience with clutch feathering etc. Well, after fishtailing down my girlfriends 2 mile curvy clay driveway in the rain (I had no choice), I breathed a sigh of relief as I finally made it to the paved road. And that's when I found out why my friend warned me about 600's and newbs. I went to turn, had to give it a little more gas because she was hopping around in 1st and I didn't want to stall, felt the back end start to slip on the paved road that had a fine coating of drizzle, road scum and invisible razor thin coating of clay..... (wait wait, it gets better)... Had the presence of mind to use the front brakes LIGHTLY instead of the rear since I had no traction there (I thought it kinda made sense), ALMOST HAD IT, when along with the light application of the front brake, I also HEAVILY opened the throttle... And to the pavement I went. Somewhere in the mix I fractured my foot in the middle, sprained my ankle, and did something horrible to my big toe.
(to be continued in just a few guys, don't want to lose all this AGAIN and I have a few concerns)

[delvryboy]

Glad you're ok.

I think that's the point that flies over people's heads. WOT on any 600 cc sport bike, ain't no joke.

Hell, I learned on an old 500cc standard. It wasn't even comparable to the power a sport bike can produce.

[emt803]

(again, I apologize for having to do it like this)

As far as the bike goes, I broke the small inner fairing that sits under the clutch and attaches the main fairing to the front fairing, scratched it over the pre-existing scratches, matched the left turns signal light assembly to the right one by cracking the base of it (still works, and sticks out correctly but isn't seated properly, scratched the mirror, and bent the foot peg in to the point that the chain was scraping it when decelerating. I was able to bend that back out by hand however. Pretty much, at this point I am stuck here in bed rehabbing this foot, and deciding which route to go fixing her (you didn't think I was selling her did you)... I'm just a little overwhelmed right now and don't know where to begin so I thought I'd just list everything I've noticed that's wrong/ strange feeling to me and go from there with anyone who cares enough to read this novel (sorry).

1. As is the norm, bike is really jerky in low gears, but even lunges and lurches at up to 6k rpm in second.
2. Makes an intermittent rhythmic sound that I notice more in higher gears that QUITS when I let off the throttle (almost a scrubbing/brushing noise...what you would expect to hear if pads were brushing a warped rotor, but its not that I don't think) Some guy saw me pull into a church parking lot and asked if I was breaking down because he thought he heard something dragging... He was a crackhead that wanted a smoke though.
3. Sometimes makes hideous clunking rattling sound when going from 1st to 2nd vice versa... Sometimes I almost think that I can hear little pieces of something rattling around in a rolling can.
4. The guy who seasoned it put oil in it that when sat upright and level, covers entire oil level window when bikes cold and been sitting for a while (that would be over filled right?)
5. Needs new tires
6. Chain needs tightening BADLY and needs lubing (which I will start doing since friend moved) and has minor rust beginning on chain and sprokets. I'm hoping that the chain adjustment will fix most if not all of the above problems, but am open to suggestions.

I am considering dropping the fairings and going "naked" but don't know what to do with the electrical components (installing single headlight, relocating turnsignals etc ... I guess that would be making it a streetfighter I guess. Given the problems that I've noticed in the past, coupled with the wreck damage etc, I guess I'm just looking for suggestions from you guys here. I'm out of work, so I'm on a budget, but do have a couple hundred to spare and want something to occupy my time. I had planned on getting some yamalube and doing an oil change early to check for metal, adjust level, and maybe help a little with the gears. I included all issues so that maybe someone could suggest the order of things so I'm not messing up. I just want some input guys... All the procedures etc I've searched and printed so don't think I'm asking for a step by step tutorial because I'm too lazy to search... Unless you want to of course... I live in rural S.C. If anyone from the south would like to suggest oil type or chain lube type that works best for this area. Feel free to ask questions, I have no where to go ....

[emt803]

Glad you're ok.

I think that's the point that flies over people's heads. WOT on any 600 cc sport bike, ain't no joke.

Hell, I learned on an old 500cc standard. It wasn't even comparable to the power a sport bike can produce.

Thanx. I used to live in Chi-town and miss that city...
I originally had a friends cousin try and sell me a 2005 GS500 with 6K miles for $1500 that would of been perfect if it hadn't possibly been stolen (didn't know that at the time), but he ran varnish through the fuel system when he started it for me and I decided to say screw it after waiting two months. That bike would of been perfect.
IF YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE ON BIKES AND ARE DEBATING ON CC's, RE-READ MY ORIGINAL POST.... An FZR 600 is NO JOKÉ, I can't imagine making a similiar mistake on anything "newer" or bigger. The first time I sat on mine and reved it in neutral, the brute power is jaw dropping... I was speechless actually and respected the hell out of her from the get TO THE UTMOST... Especially being a paramedic and seeing what a moped can do to a human.

[yamaha_george]

Hi,
well welcome to the Bikers experience, some of it just plain hurts some hurts from having a silly grin on yer face for hours on end "on that day" !

Do not worry about the bike (that will drive you nuts and leave you with possible permanent damage to YOU )
Get you healed properly first a bike can be fixed when ever the human body must heal properly in a short a time a possible and that only happens if you PAY attention to the healing process.

When you are up and around walk with no limp and for a couple of miles with no stiffness or pain.
Then worry about the bike.

We, the crew here, will still be around to guide you thro it once you are healed.
FIX YOU FIRST that is an order, I am getting to old for worrying about other peoples health I have enough trouble with my own

[emt803]

Thanx George... I definitely agree on the importance of taking care of ones health before worrying about material things. That being said however, the bike is my only means of transportation right now so its gonna be tough to follow your advice, but I will certainly try. Luckily, the "doc in the box" I went to sent the x-rays to an orthopedist and I only have a hairline fracture of the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal. The ankle and toe hurt due to ligament bruising and are progressing nicely. Even after the accident, I was able to ride for 200 miles with minimal discomfort wearing my boots (I know that sounds weird, but my ankle bends up and down like normal). I'm assuming my foot was stuck and got twisted in the peg and levers. Anyways, after riding to a friends house and having his over protective girlfriend put ice on it, it became stiff as hell and I was unable to return home on it. I plan to get it in the next couple of days and am wondering about the chain.

1. I don't have my manual here (its on my pc), but I could of swore I read somewhere about using 10W-30 for chain lube. I'm not sure if there's a Yamaha dealership on the way to his house (for yamalube), and my girlfriend has plenty of 10W-30 motor oil in her car. Not sure if its "SAE" or not or if hat matters.
2. Is there any benefit in lubing a cold chain before I start driving it home without cleaning it first? The ride will be close to 200 miles.

[_Will_]

First off Welcome to the board, props for wearing boots and not sneakers. It sounds like you've probably seen what happens with the latter while you were at work

You'll find discussions about oil, chain lube, and tires if you do a search (rotella 30w, chain wax, and bridgestone bt016 150/70/18 rear for myself in Florida). They're all subjective and have been debated plenty.

FZR's aren't the bikes bought by the rich or foolhardy with their money (mostly) so you're going to find great ways to do things on the cheap here and we have a number of knowledgeable people here to help. Always remember, the more information you can give the more they can help.

[emt803]

Thanx Will! Been searching my ass off the last few days... Probly need to do better with my key words however... Apparently "chain" and "lube" are terms used pretty often ... Haha... Seriously though, thanx

[emt803]

Not sure if anyone really cares at this point, but went to local shop and got 4q's yamalube 10W-40, PJ1 chain lube, Yamaha oil filter, and a new washer for the oil plug. All info I got from searching the forum here haha... Although the chain is slack, I'm going to clean and lube it, drive it home, and adjust the chain after I get a torque wrench. The guy at the YAMAHA SHOP actually said to re-tighten the rear axle I didn't need to have one but I'm not very comfortable with that. Anyways, from looking around I've gathered that I should get a 1/2" drive torque wrench??? Is there anything I should know about these wrenches before I shell out the cash for one... I know I should start another thread for this probably, but given the frequency I'm sure its been asked I won't. At this point I'm just throwin things out there...

[DonTZ125]

Moat people don't bother torquing their rear axles. So long as it's tight enough to keep everything in position, and is positively retained by a cotter pin or R-clip, there's not much bad going to happen.

[emt803]

Just getting the bolt back on tight and DEFINETLY replacing the cotter pin was my original idea, but I started reading horror stories about what could happen even if you over tighten it ie: damaging the inner components etc. The obvious concern for me initially was wondering if the back wheel would fly off if it were too loose, but the pin eases some of that for me. I'd like to be able to tighten the chain before driving it and hope to find a torque wrench to borrow, but will consider trying without. How tight are we talking for the rear axle. Will hand tight suffice?

[yamaha_george]

Just getting the bolt back on tight and DEFINETLY replacing the cotter pin was my original idea, but I started reading horror stories about what could happen even if you over tighten it ie: damaging the inner components etc. The obvious concern for me initially was wondering if the back wheel would fly off if it were too loose, but the pin eases some of that for me. I'd like to be able to tighten the chain before driving it and hope to find a torque wrench to borrow, but will consider trying without. How tight are we talking for the rear axle. Will hand tight suffice?

Hand tightened with a socket set or ring spanners if you really go for it, can get you home BUT it must be split pinned or R clipped NOT a COTTER pin that is the wrong animal to use as that is meerly a wedge shaped pin used on bicycles.!!!!!

Overtightening does damage bearings etc. so........

A good 1/2"drive 12" long torque wrench with a "click off" mechanism is good enough PROVIDING you ALWAYS back off the setting to zero after each use.

[DonTZ125]

George, you're the one always growling at people who don't specify their location so we can avoid international usage and model issues, yet this is at least the second time you've jumped on me because your local version of a term isn't my local version of a term.

In North America, where both emt803 and I reside, a "Cotter pin" is what you might call a "split pin."

I had to wikipedia what you were calling a Cotter pin; an odd-looking dingus, and I'm not sure I've ever seen one before...

[yamaha_george]

Don,
A cotter pin & a split pin and an R pin are 3 different animals and whilst they do similar jobs they are NOT completely interchangeable. This has nothing to do with things like tire & tyre , color or colour , boot or trunk it is a matter of engineering terminology that is just wrong. As you have seen in the wikipedia a cotter pin cannot be used safely in place of a split pin.
Common usage / venacular do not correct a technical mistake. Sorry if that offends you ..........

[emt803]

Let's digress, I'll get that piece of metal on the end of the rear axle when I get the torque wrench. If I let my hands guess the correct torque, I'll always be looking at that pin while I ride while wondering what I will do if it comes off... Haha... Getting the wrench Friday when I get paid. I'm simply a perfectionist and don't need to start taking shortcuts before I know what I am doing in the first place. Lubed the chain thoroughly and it ran better right off the bat. The problem now is I live on a dirt road and it gets filthy no matter if I lube before or after I ride. I wanted to spray all the dirt off with water first, but figured that would cool the chain off. This dirt gets everywhere and its almost impossible to either pull in or pull out without it jumping right back on. Any suggestions, or should I just go ahead and order multiple sprocket and chain sets and replace them every ride...kiddingbut you get the point.

Now here's another post related issue. There was a vibration in the left footpeg from said peg getting bent when dropped. The chain would rub it while under low tension and the two parts were scratching each other. I bent it out by hand and eliminated the vibration, however thd chain still looks mighty close to the peg. VERY close. Is that how it should be, or do I need to fix something? I don't want to throw off the gear lever by bending too much, thanx for all of the support guys...