What have you done to your FZ-10 today?

^^^ Fair question. For years I used Shell Rotella T6, which is a 5W-40 weight, with no real issues in any of my bikes. But a lot of wear happens in the first few seconds of a cold startup and I was just not that happy with the thought of a 5W weight when Yamaha was recommending nothing lower than a 10W minimum weight.  I stopped by the Yamaha dealer and he gave me a good price on the Yamalube 15W-50. I have a four year warranty on the bike so figured if I use their oil they would have a harder time rejecting any claims related to the engine, which I don't expect to have anyway. And Yamaha doesn't make a full synthetic 10W-40 so if you want that weight you'll have to use another brand. Even though we are getting into cooler weather these engines do spin hard so I don't think a 15W-50 is too heavy even for winter use. I usually won't ride if the temp drops below 50 degrees.

Hey Achrista, a heads-up and a 2 questions. The heads-up first: check your radiator grilles for contact on the finned area. Mine were more expensive ($120), from Amazon, but weren't shaped properly (only the Evotechs fit right, apparently). Had to mess with the upper one for hours to make it clear the finned area all over. Now my 2 questions. First: Do engine cases necessary when you have a full slider set? I bought the Shogun set since they have no markings/decals, which in theory should protect the engine cases in the event of a fall, but don't have a buddy or two to slowly drop the bike on both sides to prove that. By the way, I'd like to 'drop' it on the right side to see if my Graves slip-on clears when the peg feeler touches, although it might be different under load. And my second question: Was the comfort seat worth the expense? Have read many negative reviews to make it a slam dunk. In addition, with only 31" inseam, don't want it too much higher than stock, to still be able to reach safely. That's why I took the Corbin out of consideration; looks HUGE. Thanks man. And yes, this mod business gets expensive fast. I'm at $1,300 in the first week. Ha ha. But only have left the seat, as far as bike mods. But still have to buy the 2 stands, a chock, and a platform for my truck to haul it, so will get to $2K in another week. Hope that's the end. Not going to mess with the engine, and I'm almost sure I'll be fine with the stock suspension with my 160#.

As we all know, every crash is different. Some don't have any case contact, while others do. There's no way to predict.

That said, the real beauty of a case slider is that they tend to keep the cases in tact and leak-free. If something unfortunate happens far away from home or at the race track, keeping the engine sealed is an obvious boon.

Different bike, but here's a picture of what happend on our FZ-09 a few years ago during a sudden rainstorm at Summit Point (Jefferson circuit):




And here's a shot of our FZ-10 right after the side stand pushed through some fresh tar and chip during an impromptu rain gear stop:



Not a scratch to the engine resulting from either of those two incidents. I know there is a scratch on the FZ-09 case in that picture, but I swear it was there before the crash!

Installed LighTech chain adjusters - easy, peasy, lemon squeezy... took all of 20 minutes to install. Then washed the bike b/c it really needed it.

Yup, torqued to spec. I cringe at doing it every time though. Just waiting for the axle nut to sheer off when I start getting it tightened down. I saw the Amazon adjusters you posted and passed because the spools look ugly and I wouldn't trust them anyway.

Yeah PSA. Make sure you clean the threads on the axle and the nut when you remove them every once in awhile (or even replace the nut occasionally). I recently had mine completely seize up. I had to cut the nut off, replace the axle, nut, washer, and the adjuster plate on the left side because it started to sheer when I went to loosen it to adjust the chain. Torqued to spec with a recently calibrated snap-on TW.

Installed a new set of Battlax S21's and while they were in there, I had them throw in this set of 90 degree valve stems. I wish bike manufacturers would put these on from the factory. Makes it so much easier to check/set tire pressures. I have them on all my bikes now.


 

Just got them off of amazon, I buy a lot of stuff with my amazon prime. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I04WPB4