Pretty normal if the engine is still cold. My FJR does it, as did my previous one. Once the engine warms up, that hard "thunk" will not sound so bad, but it will still be there, in my experience. My trick is to rock the bike forward a few inches and engage first gear while the bike is moving slightly. It seems to take the brutality out of the shift.
Yes, nothing to worry about. You'll also find that sometimes, while shifting from neutral to 1st it will not engage, just move or push the bike forward and it will engage. All bikes have their defects, this is a minor one. Also, nothing to worry about. Cheers on your bike and nice blog write up! I have a similar story, unfortunately I went through a great deal more bikes.
Thanks. Seems the clunk is supposed to be louder when cold. Now I'll just have to go on a long ride, warm up the bike and then check! :) Thanks on the Blog bit. Linked thru either FB or G+ I guess. Sent using Tapatalk
Dun sum tasty twisties w/ BigDogRaven, (Or wutever his handle iz?) last weekend! I gotz me an AE now, 'n that's purdie normal. It wuz normal w/ mah '07 standard shift too. Frum wut I read, the '06s 'n '07s are the clunkiest shift'in FJRs. Peeps at the FJRforum say if you soak yer clutch plates overnight, that'll help 'em shift.
Just a little reminder that FJR Tech Day VIII is this Saturday. We're gonna be in Owosso, MI, at BustanutJoker's place. For more info, check out the threads over on FJRforum.com or fjriders.com If you are in the area and are so inclined, feel free to swing by, even if you don't have anything you wanna do to your bike or are just curious about FJRs.
just a couple days ago my new to me '03 had a shield failure. It basically got stuck on the worm gear (I think due to slop in multiple fasteners) and wouldn't move manually, and when key was shut off the nuetral light stayed on (battery tender kept it from killing the battery). I ended up taking it apart and putting back together, works great now. Anyone reading this with some miles on your bike...I suggest doing the same and using blue loctite on all fasteners before the motor gets damaged (have you priced these things?!?) <!-- / message -->
re:stock seat- I find it passable (did a 400 mile day of mostly twisties on Sunday); only thing sore was my hands. I'm sure a Sargent or something would be better, but the stocker is no torture rack.
I'm pretty spoiled by the Mayer seat I spent nearly 10 years on with my 1150..... So certainly looking around for somethin Sent from my phone, because I'm probably bored somewhere
