My Wife's Bike

[solderingon]

I'm here asking for help. My wife has an FZ-07 and I don't know what to do with the damned thing. It has a laundry list of problems.

 

1. It feels "lurchy" when you shift. When the bike is in 1, and I pull in the clutch, I feel resistance as it rolls, almost as if it's not quite disengaged. If I put the bike in neutral, however it rolls just like my Kawasaki. This seems to translate into a riding issue as well, as my wife surges and lurches with each gear change. 

 

2. Because of the clutch issues she hasn't ridden in about a month. That made me want to get her a battery tender. So, I bought and installed one. We let it charge, my wife got her gear on to go for a ride (we FINALLY have nice weather) and the bike wouldn't start, even though the charger says the battery is charged. This leads me to believe the battery is bad. 

 

I drove to Autozone and replaced it with a Duralast GSX7a battery.  That battery (the new one) shows as fully charged. My wife's bike still won't crank. The lights and gauges turn on but it appears that there isn't enough amperage to crank the starter. 

 

Do I HAVE to use the Yamaha battery? Was the Duralast the wrong one? It matched and fit.

 

3. That #$%*ing seat and those stupid bolts. I HATE having to PEEL back the seat to get the seat on and off. My Kawasaki just has a key under the tail that pops the whole seat and gives access to the batteries. Hers now has a stripped bolt hole and a bent bolt because I got frustrated and tried to force a cross-threaded bolt. 

 

Is this normal operation for a Yamaha's clutch? My Kawasaki has a slipper/assist clutch and just clicks through the gears so hers feels foreign and weird to me. 

 

Did I buy the wrong battery?

 

Can I fix the threading in the frame?

 

[duenan]

Yamaha gear changing is very consistent "clunk" as opposed to kawasaki which may or may not be smooth- I do not have a slipper clutch but my kawasaki is bipolar.  It can either feel like nothing- sort of squishes or slips into gear by itself, or sometimes I have to jam it in. 

 

Don't know what you are talking about the surge and lurch- that can just be the FZ07's twitchy throttle which isn't compatible with newbies or those with abrupt right hands.  FZ09 is even worse (not sure about the newer models).  She probably just isn't shifting smoothly- naked bikes have all the torque down low so its easy to not shift smoothly.  Is that her first bike?  Or has she ridden some ype of supersport with the power up high?  What is your kawasaki model? 

 

Did you actually ride the FZ07 for several 10s+ miles to see how you do with shifting?  Now granted- if a slipper clutched bike was your very first bike, that can also be jarring going to an FZ07 after that.

 

As far as the seat goes- yeah, not going to sugar coat it, it is horrible.  One of my bolts was messed up as well, I had to buy a bolt thread restraightening kit to fix it.  The problem is the bolts go in at a specific angle and the seat corner requires a good amount of force to lift up properly to get the correct angle- and if you don't get the correct angle, hello messed up threads!

[norcal616]

Yes shifting into 1st gear has always been "clunky"- budget bike=skimped on the little things that annoy people... Some like-some hate... I personally skip 1st gear and start in 2nd because they are to close in mph... 

 

As for the not starting even tho it's charged- check all the the safety switchs such as kick stand, clutch lever, etc... 

 

As for the others have resorted to many DIY fixes for the seat pan/frame connection... I put a dab of sliver anti-sieze on the bolts from day 1...

[randy2100]

Friction in gear with clutch in is normal.  The part with the stripped seat threads can be replaced as it bolts to the frame.  Are you in neutral when you try to start the bike?

[shinyribs]

It's not just Yamaha mounting seats this way. I've seen a couple others where you had to fold the foam to access the bolts. I'm not a fan either.

 

This 07 is the clunkiest sounding gearbox I've owned, and that's even comparing it to early 70's Honda CB's. The 07 actually shifts very well, but it not quiet at all. I have an oil analysis done every oil change ( 2500-3000 miles) and there are absolutely no signs of undue wear metals. So just nature of the beast, I reckon. Once you get used to the bike and know where it likes to shift you can click gears off butter smooth. I find myself rarely using the clutch to upshift on this bike anymore. But rowing down to 1st when approaching an intersection always feels like I'm downshifting a farm tractor.

 

The lurching could be various things. If you are sloppy with the throttle this bike is not forgiving. Also a chain with too much slack can cause lurching,for any bike. 

 

Hard to say on the battery. If the bike lights up but the starter drags too slow to start the engine it's a possibility the new battery is faulty. Autozone will test the battery for you. Sometimes the sit on the shelf too long and this happens. 

[solderingon]

4 hours ago, duenan said:

Yamaha gear changing is very consistent "clunk" as opposed to kawasaki which may or may not be smooth- I do not have a slipper clutch but my kawasaki is bipolar.  It can either feel like nothing- sort of squishes or slips into gear by itself, or sometimes I have to jam it in. 

 

Don't know what you are talking about the surge and lurch- that can just be the FZ07's twitchy throttle which isn't compatible with newbies or those with abrupt right hands.  FZ09 is even worse (not sure about the newer models).  She probably just isn't shifting smoothly- naked bikes have all the torque down low so its easy to not shift smoothly.  Is that her first bike?  Or has she ridden some ype of supersport with the power up high?  What is your kawasaki model? 

 

Did you actually ride the FZ07 for several 10s+ miles to see how you do with shifting?  Now granted- if a slipper clutched bike was your very first bike, that can also be jarring going to an FZ07 after that.

 

As far as the seat goes- yeah, not going to sugar coat it, it is horrible.  One of my bolts was messed up as well, I had to buy a bolt thread restraightening kit to fix it.  The problem is the bolts go in at a specific angle and the seat corner requires a good amount of force to lift up properly to get the correct angle- and if you don't get the correct angle, hello messed up threads!

This is her first bike, and I am on my 4th. All of mine have been Kawis. I have never had a bike "clunk" into gear before. It was a bit jarring to me. I shift hers a bit better than she does, but it still surges a bit for me. Maybe it's the fact that it's a parallel twin, where I ride a 4cyl. 

 

I've ridden hers for semi-extended periods of time (20 min, highway speeds in SoCal). I think part of her shifting issues may be the fact that she has small hands, and part of it may be inexperience. But part of it DEFINITELY is Yamaha, as she was clicking through gears on my Z1000 with no issue at about 90+ this afternoon. 

 

I hate the seat. I'm going to get a restraightening kit as you did, and see where that takes me. 

 

I appreciate the input. 

[solderingon]

4 hours ago, norcal616 said:

Yes shifting into 1st gear has always been "clunky"- budget bike=skimped on the little things that annoy people... Some like-some hate... I personally skip 1st gear and start in 2nd because they are to close in mph... 

 

As for the not starting even tho it's charged- check all the the safety switchs such as kick stand, clutch lever, etc... 

 

As for the others have resorted to many DIY fixes for the seat pan/frame connection... I put a dab of sliver anti-sieze on the bolts from day 1...

My wife starts in 2nd, too. I can't. I'm not programmed to. I've been driving a standard since I was 14, and starting in first is ingrained for me. 

 

It's definitely not a safety switch issue, the bike wants to start. IT begins to crank and then....doesn't.

 

I think I have an amperage issue. I blew $70 on a battery in the heat of the moment to find out that it only pushes 0.6 amps. I don't believe that's enough. 

 

I'm going to rethread as someone else suggested, and then I believe that anti-seize is on the agenda. 

[solderingon]

3 hours ago, shinyribs said:

Hard to say on the battery. If the bike lights up but the starter drags too slow to start the engine it's a possibility the new battery is faulty. Autozone will test the battery for you. Sometimes the sit on the shelf too long and this happens. 

Autozone is on tomorrows agenda. I've had a beer or two and I don't feel like going down there. Not only do I not want to drive like that, I don't want them to ruin my mood. 

[solderingon]

3 hours ago, randy2100 said:

Friction in gear with clutch in is normal.  The part with the stripped seat threads can be replaced as it bolts to the frame.  Are you in neutral when you try to start the bike?

The friction with the clutch in is what was concerning me mostly. I've never had a bike have friction like that (and I've had 4, but they were all Kawasakis).

 

The part with the stripped threads is welded, unfortunately. 

 

ANd yes, I am in neutral. It's either a faulty battery or one not rated for the needs of the starter. According to the Autozone website the battery only puts out 0.6 amps and I believe the bike may want more than that. 

[DewMan]

6 hours ago, solderingon said:

I'm here asking for help. My wife has an FZ-07 and I don't know what to do with the damned thing. It has a laundry list of problems.

 

1. It feels "lurchy" when you shift. When the bike is in 1, and I pull in the clutch, I feel resistance as it rolls, almost as if it's not quite disengaged. If I put the bike in neutral, however it rolls just like my Kawasaki. This seems to translate into a riding issue as well, as my wife surges and lurches with each gear change. 

 

2. Because of the clutch issues she hasn't ridden in about a month. That made me want to get her a battery tender. So, I bought and installed one. We let it charge, my wife got her gear on to go for a ride (we FINALLY have nice weather) and the bike wouldn't start, even though the charger says the battery is charged. This leads me to believe the battery is bad. 

 

I drove to Autozone and replaced it with a Duralast GSX7a battery.  That battery (the new one) shows as fully charged. My wife's bike still won't crank. The lights and gauges turn on but it appears that there isn't enough amperage to crank the starter. 

 

Do I HAVE to use the Yamaha battery? Was the Duralast the wrong one? It matched and fit.

 

3. That #$%*ing seat and those stupid bolts. I HATE having to PEEL back the seat to get the seat on and off. My Kawasaki just has a key under the tail that pops the whole seat and gives access to the batteries. Hers now has a stripped bolt hole and a bent bolt because I got frustrated and tried to force a cross-threaded bolt.  

 

Is this normal operation for a Yamaha's clutch? My Kawasaki has a slipper/assist clutch and just clicks through the gears so hers feels foreign and weird to me. 

 

Did I buy the wrong battery?

 

Can I fix the threading in the frame?

 

1: If the clutch cable is  adjusted properly you should feel next to zero resistance (same as when in neutral )  to rolling the bike with the clutch lever pulled in.

The surging and lurching could be a combination of the snatchy throttle and the less than fully disengaging clutch. The throttle can be smoothed out with a  2WDW ECU Flash which removes the fuel cut-off at zero throttle among many other shortcomings in the factory timing an fuel map required to meet EPA standards.

 

2. I had my factory battery go bad while on a name brand maintenance charger. As others have suggested, get it tested.

 

I'd confirm that the aftermarket battery has at least the same, or more cold cranking amps as the factory battery. Also make sure all bolts in the starting system circuit are tight including the battery leads themselves. If you have any aftermarket electrical accessories wired up, such as USB ports and the like, to test the bike for any parasitic draw that might be draining your battery.

 

3: I resolved the comfort and accessibility issues of the factory vinyl covered plank they call a seat with a Corbin Saddle aftermarket seat. It is held down with the key release that holds down the factory pillion seat. But it's not a cheap solution. You may be able to heli-coil the seat bolt's threads but they're not normally used on frequently accessed bolts that I'm aware of. Perhaps using a tap & die to go up a bolt size would work?

 

The FZ-07 is a fun bike to ride even with it's faults. Luckily all of it's faults can be fixed with basic changes. Some solutions are cheaper than others though.

 

Best of luck working out the kinks.

 

 

 

[Beemer]

@DewMan is right, I never got the ECU flash so my bike is twitchy like that also. It's more noticeable in the lower gears where the monster torque lies. My bike has almost gotten away from me more than once because I wasn't careful with the throttle. (There's actually a video of it happening on here somewhere, under riding tips if I recall.) Since my bike has an Akra C.F. pipe, a Dobeck EJK and an un-snorkeled air filter it 'may' be a 'hair twitchier' than your wife's with a few extra ponies. 

 

I probably should just go ahead and get mine flashed and be done with it, I've put it off for a couple years and even though I've learned the do's and don'ts with the bike I occasionally slip up and the bike will die on me at a light or stop sign when I'm taking off because I blipped the throttle, causing the fuel to shut off while I was releasing the clutch. (or so it seems) For all newbs or new riders of this particular bike that aren't aware, that's a big NO-NO with this bike. Do yourself a BIG favor, get the "FLASH"!

[randy2100]

19 hours ago, solderingon said:

The friction with the clutch in is what was concerning me mostly. I've never had a bike have friction like that (and I've had 4, but they were all Kawasakis).

 

The part with the stripped threads is welded, unfortunately. 

 

ANd yes, I am in neutral. It's either a faulty battery or one not rated for the needs of the starter. According to the Autozone website the battery only puts out 0.6 amps and I believe the bike may want more than that. 

$17 Bracket.  1WS-21131-00-00

Parts are listed under Seat on this site!

[sorkyah]

On 1/27/2019 at 8:18 PM, solderingon said:

The friction with the clutch in is what was concerning me mostly. I've never had a bike have friction like that (and I've had 4, but they were all Kawasakis).

 

The part with the stripped threads is welded, unfortunately. 

 

ANd yes, I am in neutral. It's either a faulty battery or one not rated for the needs of the starter. According to the Autozone website the battery only puts out 0.6 amps and I believe the bike may want more than that. 

having the bolts stripped several times by the dealership, the part that randy linkes above would do you well.  also, changing the bolts themselves might work. 
If you need some, ive got a ton laying around from doing recall work on the Ram1500 transmission pans. they're the correct thread and use a t40 torx instead of a small allen with a roughly 1" dia head. 


as for the battery, 0.6A sounds like a lawnmower battery to me. also, a battery tender will not charge a dead battery, it is only meant to maintain the charge of a >70% charged battery. 
take the old battery if you still have it, back to autozone and ask em to charge it up. 
Are there any accessories added onto the bike? 

for your clutch issue it sounds like an adjustment might be necessary, orthe drag you feel(if the engine is off) could just be the rear brake dragging and you think it's the clutch.  
the clunk into first is common on nearly every yamaha ive ridden from the v-star to the super-tenere also as others have stated, a slightly tempermental fueling algorithm that yamaha decided to give the fz/mt to meet epa regs. a reflash will cure this as will just smoother clutch operation with less throttle.