So it's been a little while

[njdevils1990]

Hi all, I'm back on the forum now after selling my FZ-07 about a year and a half ago after moving from New Jersey to Delaware and my insurance doubling to about $225/month. It was about September 2015 when I sold her and I went from then to March 2016 before I bought a 2015 Honda Grom as I'm mainly in a city environment so it was perfect for how I rode down here, plus being a hell of a lot cheaper. I bought the Grom on the 10th of March and rode it about 300 miles in 9 days before my life changed a little on the 19th while I was on my way to work at 11:30am. I was on my way to work when I came to a red light and was last in line making a left turn waiting for the green light. All of a sudden it's a month later and I am in the hospital. I eventually find out I was rearended by a woman driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee, texting and hit me at about 45-50mph. That put me in a coma for 2 weeks and a bunch of other things that got fucked up but are slowly recovering even now. I was in a hospital for a month, rehab hospital for another month and outpatient rehab for 2 months. What a crazy experience it's been. Out of all this I want my next bike the most but it will likely be at least another 6 months before I get one. Where I'm at now is looking around at what I want to eventually get as my next bike. I was thinking a 2008 Buell 1125R at first, then to a 2017 Kawasaki KLR650 and about 3 weeks ago I found out about the Yamaha WR250R and that had my attention until I found some videos and pictures of me and my last FZ-07. I'm set on getting another. I really like the silver they have out now and the white they had (I think last year). My last FZ-07 I owned from new to 10,150 ish miles over about a year and two months. It was very reliable during my time of ownership. Since the bike has been out for a few more years since my ownership I'm just a little curious how they are holding up for anyone with more than 10,000 miles (~16,000KM) I also plan on moving back to New Jersey sometime in the next few months so I won't have to worry about paying a rediculous amount for insurance and dealing with these piss poor drivers in this state (worst I've ever seen). Thanks all for reading and for anyone who responds!

[Zephyr]

Wow man! That's a hell of a tough break. It sounds like you are doing well which I'm sure that we are all very happy to hear. I just got my 07, so I can't attest to the longevity aspect, though I have seen postings here of 50k and 100k mileage. Ultimately if the 07 is pulling at your heart strings, then perhaps that is the route you should take. I've never heard of reliability issues with Yamaha, though most modern bikes should be quite reliable regardless of manufacturer (with some exceptions of course). I look forward ot hearing more of your comeback story and hope that your transition back to 2-wheels and Jersey is all smiles!

[crsnhppr]

My bike is at 21,000 ish. It's engine is fine and smooth. The only issues I've had are likely due to the additions I've made to the bike. My ecu has been acting up due to either my EJK and settings and the resistance increase on engine load due to my chain and sprockets being pretty toasted. Yes the chain has 21,000 on it and it's done. Brakes are gone front and rear mostly, they need replacing but still bite when you need em , no rotor wear but lots of take up in the levers . Front end feels harsh and unforgiving, no leaks in seals. Rear shock is squishier and find myself having to adjust preload recently. To help "balance" the bike as much as I could. The gear indicator is spotty so that sensor needs cleaning or replacing. Other than that she's fine and any of the issues I'm having are just due to either consumable parts or my own messing about in the wireing job I did on the ejk or it's fighting resistances in the engine due to the driveline being super cruddy.

[bigdaddybane]

I am really glad you're getting better. As per those imbeciles on their phones, I would take their licence away for good. Here in Ontario (Canada) in 2016, distracted driving deaths were double in number than those caused by drunk driving. Anyway, I think you're pretty much set on FZ07 ... you had it before and you know what to expect.

[njdevils1990]

The woman that hit me got her license taken away then got caught driving in Kent County Delaware and might actually face more punishment for that on top of my case than if it was just for hitting me. I'd be happy hearing her lose it for at least 5 years but who knows. My experience with the FZ-07 was amazing. It took me from New Jersey to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada and back in a day trip when I had a day off work. And from NJ to Florida and back in a week and a half with some friends. Had some very minor hiccups that never effected how it rode or gave me any inconveniences which is more than I can say for any other bike I've owned. I also took it for a track day at New Jersey Motorsports Park on the stock Michelin Pilot Road 3s and they were amazing on the track which was most from a downpour the night before. Do they still come with Michelin Pilot Road 3s or have they upgraded to the PR4s, or a completely different brand?

[yamahazaki]

Jesus christ people need to be made examples of for distracted/texting and driving. It should be a felony with a minimum of 10 years.

[njdevils1990]

I definitely agree with you there mate.

[jetgirl]

I want that woman put away! We're out there, not doing anything wrong and some idiot hurts us, kills the bike, takes months maybe years out of our lives, makes you disabled. Maybe you make a full recovery, maybe you're forever partially disabled or maybe you just walk around with a slight limp. They do this to us and just have their license taken away (in my case ticketed)? I'm sure she didn't purposely hit you but I don't care. She knew she shouldn't have been texting. Sorry that happened to you and good luck.

[ddog]

Glad you're still here that's crazy!

[rowdy]

Man, sorry about your accident, and glad you are getting better. I wish you a speedy and complete recovery.
 

[Beemer]

Damn! A freaking coma! That has got to feel weird waking up after that. Just today in Bradenton, Fl. some young girl pulled up next to me and was texting so I yelled at her not to text. You think she cared? Nah, she just gave a little smirk and kept right on texting.  Glad you're alright and doing better. May you have a speedy recovery.
 

[rowdy]

It's just crazy that distracted driving isn't considered a more serious offense. Every day on my commute, I see people talking on their phones, texting, putting on makeup, reading, eating, arguing with the kids in the back seat. A few years ago, a close friend of mine was killed while riding her bicycle by a driver with a front cab filled with helium balloons obscuring her view. ... and in the mean time, Utah just passed a law lowering the DUI limit to 0.05%. Lowest in the nation, and you will not even be able to have a beer with your dinner or pizza. go figure...

[Mr.Puss]

Damn sir thats one hell of an experience. Amazing to hear you're in one piece and looking to get back at it, that takes strong spirit and confidence. I'd think many would give it up after something like this happens, I respect very much your impressive devotion to riding, I cant say I blame you for one second.
 
Even seeing my wife slip in the snow and ice etc brings a slight panic and tear out of me and the more I think of riding with her beside me the more I realize that if someone nails her I'll probably "black out" and kill the idiot by crushing their feeble eyes to the very rear of their pathetic skull. "Here we go, clearly you dont need these..grrrr crackle POP!!" Ahem...right. O_o FWIW, Im a rear/shoulder checking junkie and I plan to instill the same habits in her.
 
Alberta has a pretty strict distracted driving law. The Fuzz can pull you over for merely screwing around or talking on the phone or for as little as looking down at your lap while at a light etc and if your phone is in your lap or near, then there's a good chance they'll give you ticket, almost $300 + 3 points on the license which really screws your insurance rates too. Love it.
 
All the best!
 

[Mr.Puss]

It's just crazy that distracted driving isn't considered a more serious offense. Every day on my commute, I see people talking on their phones, texting, putting on makeup, reading, eating, arguing with the kids in the back seat. A few years ago, a close friend of mine was killed while riding her bicycle by a driver with a front cab filled with helium balloons obscuring her view. ... and in the mean time, Utah just passed a law lowering the DUI limit to 0.05%. Lowest in the nation, and you will not even be able to have a beer with your dinner or pizza. go figure...

That limit is good stuff IMO. We've had that .05% up here for some time now. Restaurants and folks were up in arms about it but I agree with the decision. Drinking age in Alberta is 18 so you can imagine the number of idiots who jump behind the wheel regardless.    
 

[rowdy]

It's just crazy that distracted driving isn't considered a more serious offense. Every day on my commute, I see people talking on their phones, texting, putting on makeup, reading, eating, arguing with the kids in the back seat. A few years ago, a close friend of mine was killed while riding her bicycle by a driver with a front cab filled with helium balloons obscuring her view. ... and in the mean time, Utah just passed a law lowering the DUI limit to 0.05%. Lowest in the nation, and you will not even be able to have a beer with your dinner or pizza. go figure...

That limit is good stuff IMO. We've had that .05% up here for some time now. Restaurants and folks were up in arms about it but I agree with the decision. Drinking age in Alberta is 18 so you can imagine the number of idiots who jump behind the wheel regardless.    

I would never advocate drinking and driving, but if you are looking at "bang for your buck"   I think enforcing the laws they have would be a better use of resources, especially when it comes to "distracted driving". 

[hobbs]

Wow man, glad to hear you're alive. Not glad to hear the circumstances.
 
I don't think people take driving anywhere near as seriously as they need too. Hell, it's the most dangerous thing the vast majority of Americans (and maybe Canadians) will ever do in their timid lives. At least put some Damn effort into it.
 
Anyway, once again glad you're better off than it could have been. As for mileage, I've clocked just shy of 30k and haven't had any real issues. Only thing overall is that right now I either have to replace the steering stem bearing or retorque the pinch bolts on the triple. The handling has gotten a little off. Relatively inexpensive and easy maintenance, I've just been too busy with work to take the few hours to do it.

[jake]

Hope your recovery is speedy and you get back on 2 wheels asap your life is forever changed now, but thank the stars your still here to enjoy another day.

[Cruizin]

Im so sorry to hear that happened to you. And Im happy that you survived and are doing well and getting back on a bike. DO you remember anything from the accident? From the coma?

[e30kawi]

Glad to hear you are making a come back. Same kind of thing happened to me, driver texting and pulled out in front of me. Will be a year on the 28th. I'm still healing but hoping to be on a bike next spring if finances allow it.

[njdevils1990]

So the time came, I've been riding my mom's Buell Blast since February and instantly got my riding skill back. Today I planned to look into a test ride for a Kawasaki KLR650 but yesterday at work the FZ-07 came on my mind and remembering how awesome the '15 FZ-07 I had was I changed my mind, went to the dealer I bought the '15 from and bought a red '17 model (sadly doesn't have the Michelin's). Got it for $7,400 out the door vs the '15 was $8,200. I'm not going to complain as it ends up being about $20 less per month, which is kinda irrelevant for me now but nice. Can't wait to ride her after work today! 

[guylee]

That's awesome man! Congrats! Glad to see you've made a full recovery. Any word on what happened to the woman that hit you?

[r1limited]

That just bloody sucks one big donky dong.  Happy to hear you are at least physically ok, and hope the mental aspect is doing great.  Distracted drivers, scurge of human life, fecal matter of the lowest degree, subhuman ingrat festering mass of vomit.   Ya I hate em.  Here in the PNW they just uped the anti to a whooping guilty of a "Traffic Infraction" they get a ticket worth around 175 bucks.  Yaaa WA

The law is not enforced, the state road side tax collectors are too busy busting people doing 2 mph of the posted speed limit.

 

Quote

Effective July 23, 2017, the State of Washington will be focusing on stopping and citing drivers who have sent, received or written a text message while driving.  The new statute, RCW 46.61.668 is referred to as the “Distracted Driving” law or, as the Governor has declared, “E-DUI.”  Referring the new law to “E-DUI” is really code for, “this will one day be a crime.”

The dip wanker goiv enslee is a f***ing moron

[njdevils1990]

16 hours ago, guylee said:

That's awesome man! Congrats! Glad to see you've made a full recovery. Any word on what happened to the woman that hit you?

No word on her yet, no one knows where she is and we can only hope she f@#ks up and gets arrested or pisses off whatever friends she might have that are helping to hide her.

[Beemer]

I just went over this thread again and I can say my FZ-07 has just over 23k miles and is running like a top. Of course it requires the standard maintenance and parts replacements, like tires. I need a new battery soon, it's starting to show signs of weakening but only after 2 years of use, that's not bad. From my experience all my Yamaha's have been reliable, for the most part. There was this elephant once ... 😂

[njdevils1990]

So in regards to the woman who hit me back in 2016 on the Grom. No update on her yet as far as if Delaware will put any effort into bringing her in (likely won't happen) but I'm gonna try to put pressure on them to do it possibly by going to a news station if I feel that'll work. We (my family and I) know where she is in Florida and about a year and a month ago she got arrested for public drunkenness but since Delaware won't pay to have her sent back she's free to go and do as she pleases. In time she'll get hers and the longer it takes the worse it'll be for her.