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Home. Just about dried out. 

I had a blast today guys. 

Congrats Tonik on the new bike, and for bragging rights for 536. 

 Chris

I like these - DownBeat molded re-useable plugs. They provide 18 dB reduction, mostly for high pitch sounds and really reduce wind noise that I get from my helmet. I use them with my Sena and the quality of the music is pretty good. The painful part is when I forget to turn down the volume when I don't have the plugs in.

The typical disposable foam plugs provide more reduction at 29-32 dB but cover a broader frequency range and leave me feeling like I'm missing traffic sounds.

https://www.amazon.com/DownBeats-Reusable-Fidelity-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00A3Z44RM?th=1

Hope you went out and had some fun. 

My son and daughter-in-law are visiting from NJ this weekend so I've only been out for short spins. 

Chris

1 hour ago, Tonik said:

And I think I need a Puig touring windshield. No buffeting but it feels like its pressing on my throat. Not liking that at all 

Yep, the stock screen puts a sheet of air right around neck level. That causes my otherwise quiet Shoei RF1200 to shriek at speeds over 65 or so because of turbulence at the neck roll at the chin strap. So I use ear plugs when riding any distances at speed. In colder weather I use a Windjammer. I am also fairly pleased with a different windscreen, the MRA Vario which has a small adjustable spoiler. It doesn't completely move the air away from the helmet. It seems more like it breaks up the strong concentrated stream without causing turbulence. 

And now for an amusing story about a speedometer.

I posted this in Oct. 2013 in the FZ6 forum. 

WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY WIFE?

Before I start the story, please understand that my wife is a wonderful person  and has been surprisingly supportive ever since I gingerly mentioned that I was, you know, maybe thinking of buying a bike. (I was riding when we met in college but tapered off then stopped a bit after our first was born and I started a suit & tie job.) But she also has a rep for being pretty much a straight arrow, which seems to come with teaching elementary school music. 

So, I find the bike I want, Craigslist. It's a great deal but is 60 miles away and is on the other side of the river, in Ohio. I'm in WV. Plan A was for my neighbor (experienced rider, great guy) to ride it back, but he was not available till Sunday. Then I learn from my local dealer that I need to get the title notarized because it will be switching states, and our best bet was to go to the Ohio BMV. They're not open on Sunday. Will I wait till next weekend?  RIGHT

So, plan B is that I ride it back. Yep, first ride in at least 25 years - 60 miles. The wife is still fine with this. Notice the title of the post?

One more wrinkle. I forgot to look into getting temp plates. We realize this in the parking lot at the BMV. After a bit of discussion we decide to wing it. (This part is unlike either of us. BIKE FEVER!)

Next, I suggest that I should follow her on the way back home, but she insists that she'd rather follow me. She hates the GPS and wasn't watching the road on the way there. After a very brief suspicion that she was going along with the whole bike thing so she could dispose of me by running me down, well fairly brief, I agreed and we go. 

So I take off and I'm being VERY VERY careful, sticking to the speed limit EXACTLY! Perfect skills-test-type stops at stop signs, the works. The wife is following closely so, you know, it's less likely anybody, ahem, will get close enough to notice the lack of a plate. The first 20 miles were 2-lane with almost no places to pass. I noticed that a red Cherokee was tailgating my wife pretty hard for the last few miles before the road widened to 4 lanes. Soon as possible, the Jeep flew by. A few minutes later my wife passes and signals to pull over. She's decided to use a gun?

So I stop, pop the helmet, and walk up to the car. She asks, "Are you doing OK?" I'm grinning ear to ear. Yeah, it's going great. I LOVE this bike! Again she asks, "No, really. Is everything OK?" Hmmmm, I finally recognize the tone of voice, and the look in the eye. So I ask, "What's up Honey? Why are you asking?"


Get ready...


She asks, "Why are you going SO SLOW?" After a moment of stunned silence, maybe a minute or ten, I cracked another grin and asked her the "who are you?" line. But she's serious.  "I was going exactly 55! It wasn't a 65 zone, was it?" She says "No, but you were going 51, not 55." But, but, NO Way! Never... 

Hmmmm. After a moment, some of those old brain cells reconnected and I remembered seeing posts on this forum about the speedometer error. I resolved ON THE SPOT that I was going to get one of those calibration correctors. The rest of the trip I did not enjoy estimating my speed by multiplying by 0.9. 

After getting home and doing a bit more research I ordered a SpeedoDRD. Installation was very easy. Wife helped calibrate it with only a few complaints. It works great!

BTW, the tags were obtained first thing that Monday and the inspection was done Tuesday.

Chris

Hey @Tonik,

I didn't want to add a lot of stuff to the happy thread about your purchase so I thought I'd start a separate one here.

First, if you're interested in the FZ6 you REALLY need to visit the FZ6 forum at 600Riders.com. It's a large and well moderated site with a huge amount of info and help that's specific to the FZ6.

MOST IMPORTANT - I love this bike. You've already bought one so I don't need sell it to you. Please don't take my list, below, as any indication that I see these things as problems. They're just things you should know about.

OK, next a quick list of comments that everybody makes.

The clutch requires a strong pull and has a very narrow engagement zone. You'll get used to it. It helps to lube the cable every year or so.

The chain needs to have 2" slack when on the center stand. She gets fussy and whines if it's too tight. Check this after anybody else changes or moves your wheel because most bikes do not need 2". (Justin did it right.)

The speedo is probably reading higher than actual by 5% or more. My first mod was to add a SpeedoDRD device that corrects the speedometer reading. Mine required a -4.5% correction. That doesn't sound like much but I'm a measurement guy and it really bugged me.

Pauly is correct.  The most important improvement you can make on this bike is to improve the front suspension. You're a bit lighter than I am so you might not mind it as much, but the springs are very soft. The easiest fix is to just change the springs. But I got a great deal on a set of forks from an R6 which is a very popular mod. Check the FZ6 forum. With a set of spacers fabbed by a guy on the FZ6 forum, the replacement was super simple and the handling was much improved - like - OMG - why did I wait???  

The shifter can be a bit clunky but it is solid. Before the first cold weather you should lube the external linkages on the shifter, especially at the rubber boot just above the left footpeg. If left too long the shifter will get fussy and almost refuse to shift down. Major PITA when this happened to me first time a few weeks after I bought the bike third-hand. Was terrified that I'd have major bills for tranny work, but a few drops of lithuim spray did the trick. Found that on the forum.

The kill switch can be a problem and can fail and be hard to diagnose. Best to just use the ignition to shut down. That was my habit anyway.

The electrical system is a bit light. People have had problems with heated gear.

If you jump start the bike, the car must NOT be running or you will fry the the R/R. 

If you're happy with the mirrors - just leave them. But I had difficulty seeing much behind me so I replaced mine with mirrors from an R6. Simple bolt-match change-out. The R6 mirrors extend  a tiny bit more to the side, which improves the view, but have less rise which puts them closer to the bars and control levers.

Many people complain about the handlebars, particularly about the sweep angle of the stock bars. For a larger diameter, try grip buddies. They are vibe deadening also. Many people try the much straighter and flatter FZ1 bar, but most find they need to add a riser adaptor to stay clear of the tank. Some try the FZ6R bars which are in between. (The FZ6R is not an FZ6 - close, but not quite.) If you want to try them I have the FZ6R bars (free). They were too close to my mirrors and I don't think the sweep was really bothering me.

About the pipes - Justin is correct, mine are stock but one of the two prior owners had somebody do a nice clean job of opening them and removing most of the baffles. I've heard recordings of projects like this that did not turn out well but I like the sound that resulted with mine. Not too loud. Not at all wheezy.

If you decide to lose the rear fender, consider the R&G fender eliminator. Good quality and it accomodates the oval shape of the existing signal stalks.

That's all for now.

Chris

CONGRATS Tonik - you're gonna love it! Oh, and welcome to the family. 

John - glad you found a home for it. That bike's in good hands. 

Chris

I'm home!

It was great to see everyone.

Chris

7 minutes ago, Scorpion-Ninja said:

Yea, checked and saw "Ride canceled" last night, so went to bed at my normal time.

Then this morning I woke up at 8am... read several of ya were still gonna go and said rain wasnt more than like 30% chance. I looked at the USA radar and judging from it, yep.

I just would NOT have time to hurry up get ready, ride all the way down to meet yall at that point! 5.5 hours to Mcconellsville met spot for me!

well there is always next time.

 

So instead I rode to go see a movie. Then met a friend of mine up at Ducati Detroit after. I got to Demo ride a new 2017 Multistrada 950! Nice bike, just need to demo it 2UP to get my GFs approval. lol

Then on the way home I GOT FUCKING DUMPED ON! Damn Michigan weather! Wasnt supposed to rain at all what so ever here, but did and I was WITHOUT my rain gear! lol

Least my Phone and valuables stayed dry!

P.S. My Bridgestone T30 EVOs handled Great in the rain. Highway speeds up to 100 mph, slow city stuff, etc.

 

Hopefully see yall on the next ride . . .

Dave,

Sorry that you you weren't there and then got rained on. It would have been a LONG ride for wet riding. Some day we'll have one when the weather finally cooperates for a change.

1 hour ago, Hellmutt said:

I honestly have no clue where the main fuel stop would be for the ride, but I was planning on stopping my group just inside Marietta since it's about the halfway point

The best spot for a gas stop with a lot of space would be the Marietta Marathon at the corner of Acme and Pike Streets.

From the planned route, just after you go under The I77 interstate, First traffic signal is on Acme. Turn left and go about 3/4 mile. Marathon is on the corner of the next big intersection.

I'm in. Sorry for the late notice. 

I'm willing to lead or sweep for the slow group. Or if that's covered, I could do either for a medium-slow group.

Welcome. Glad to meet ya!

I got a pair of Kevlar lined riding pants. I got out for an hour ride just before sunset - didn't try out the new pants though. 

I talked with Apple support last night and they fixed the problem. My Plantronics worked right after the fix. But now a different issue, not caused by the ios change, is preventing the BT device from waking the phone. At least I am able to answer calls and can control the music playback - which is an improvement from before the reset. The support guy on the chat line was great, though I must admit that the gung-ho attitude soon became annoying. 

The solution was that I had to reset all the settings in my iPhone. A single system reset command cleared everything. After the phone came back to life the headset was able to wake it. The tech said they have had a few instances where stored profiles for BT devices do not work properly with the ios update and the reset clears those up.

That reset step was a pain because many MANY things then had to be reset or re-entered. iTunes, Appstore, location services - many things. I even had to re-enter the alarms on the clock function of my phone.  

But this morning the headset and the Sena are again not able to wake the phone. But the problem is a security app that my company requires be active on my phone in order to protect the company email and calendar system that I can access from it. Prior to the reset, I was able to set the that app so the passcode would not be required for up to five minutes after the screen actually goes blank.  For some reason, after the phone reset that app no longer allows a delay and will immediately require the pass code or thumbprint to wake up as soon as the screen goes blank. 

I am reconsidering whether I want to accept this security stuff just so I can see my company emails and check my calendar. 

Talking to AT&T support today. They said the issue was reported to Apple. They guy is checking for a workaround. 

I looked at Trusted Devices in the iOS help forums. Looks like that term is for computers that you set up for backup. Doesn't seen to talk about BT devices.

I stumbled into a partial solution for the Sena. 

If I start a map app like google maps or CoPilot then the phone will not go to the lock screen. That's not much help for the Plantronics because I don't usually walk around with a map app running.

Has anybody else noticed that their devices won't open the phone after the update to iOS 10?

I have a Sena SMH10R and use an iPhone 7. Ever since I updated iOS to version 10 I have lost things that I used to be able to do.

After the screen has gone to the lock screen I cannot answer an incoming call from the Sena. Also, I used  to be able to do voice commands to play a different album, etc.

It seems the problem is that Apple changed the wake up sequence from "home button, swipe right" to "home button, home button" and the Sena doesn't handle that.

The Sena support people have not been helpful. They just tell me to reset the Sena. They will not answer a simple question - do you have an update that will let the Sena work with an iPhone running iOS 10? Frustrating.

My Plantronics E550 earbud has the same problem.

If you have a Sena and an iPhone, you might want to wait to update to iOS 10.

Has anybody else seen this problem? Found a solution?

Chris

Try applying some fresh lube to any external shift linkage points. 

If the joints don't have decent lubrication they'll get cranky when the weather turns cold. 

This happened to me in Nov 2013 shortly after I bought the bike used, and I thought the transmission was toast.

Try spray-on lithium grease. Not WD-40.

Foldable. I have one.

I used 3/8" plywood as recommended. It won't close quite flat but it's close enough that it stacks up nicely and takes very little space in the garage.

Welcome!

I know that novice feeling. I came back to riding after 25 years away.  

Tier10 - Yes, we're crazy.

But the MSF training is a truly great idea.  You seem sold on the idea. I'm not sure how much you looked into it, but the season is ending soon. I think they have sessions this weekend and next and then seem to be finished for the year. Surprisingly they still have openings. Looks like they opened multiple classes.

If you don't happen to take it this fall, please consider taking it next year anyway. You'll pick up a lot of good info.

Chris

I'll see your +4 and raise you a +1.

Welcome!

10 hours ago, Hellmutt said:

ABS may have saved my ass on that corner, but didn't feel it kick in.  I heard @o-no-moto lock the rear as he split right of me just between the truck and bikes.  Again, damn good save Chad.  And yes, I was a bit pissed the truck was where it was....should've definitely been around the corner flagging traffic.  Had he stuck around, I planned to speak with him since he nearly caused us to pile up as well, but he pulled away as I was walking up so I went right to moving my wife's bike off the road.  

I'm truly proud of my wife @snot and thankful our group instantly went to work with traffic control, or trying to get a signal for the 911 call, attending to the rider down, and just asking if they could be of help.  We did what we could in that situation, and took charge like it was one of our own guys. Just another reason I'm such a fan of the people on OR.  This place continues to bring good folk together - thanks again to all

Helmut,

The guy in the silver pickup should not have been where he was when you came around the corner - agreed. But when he pulled forward he stopped on the other side of the corner and was there to flag people down when I got there with the next group. After I stopped I went back and asked if he was part of the group that had the accident. He wasn't so I told him I'd stay and flag people down. I did that till theBrown57 brought his car back to help slow people down. So the pickup driver did help out, though he started in a bad spot.

Kudos to Snot (Jennifer) because she jumped right in there.

Chris

I'm home and finished dinner. Max - you can have the award. 

The ride and the weather were GORGEOUS!  While I'm sorry that some of you had to drop out, and I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow, it seems like an excellent decision to have postponed. 

Thank you for coordinating this, Derek.

Chris