FZS600 as a winter snow bike

[sasu]

Just bought a pristine FZS 600 to use as my winter ride.

Spiked tires and heated grips installed, others changes in the pipeline.

I will document my experiences in a blog http://winterride.com.

[darrsi]

Wow, that's rather impressive, or mad, whichever way you want to read it. 


As you say i reckon your battery could be your enemy here, they're as keen on very cold winter mornings as i am, and you'll have another -25 degrees to contend with.


Good luck anyway, bike looks good, and nice blog. 

[His Dudeness]

Fair play that's serious commitment! The Fazer is a really solid bike and it looks like you got a good one so it shouldn't let you down. One thing to check on them is the front sprocket nut. The original sprocket nut hasn't got enough threads and has come lose on a lot of Fazers and damaged the output shaft so Yamaha have made a larger nut with more threads. If you've got the original smaller nut you should replace it with the bigger one. You'll get it at any Yamaha dealer. Another thing to do is clean the rear brake caliper regularly probably once every month or two as brake dust builds up in them and they stick on. You should probably think about getting a larger front screen too as the standard one tends to direct the wind into your face and if you're in really low temperatures that could cause you problems.

I wonder if he could get a 130 wheel to fit on the bike? Lining up the chain could be a problem and I imagine it would make the handling quite twitchy but if might be better to have a 130 wheel for the 130 ice tyre rather than a 160 wheel with a 130 tyre on it

[limax2]

Full credit for that    and nice bike. I would suggest you fit fork gaiters to protect the tubes and save the fork seals from damage. I also fitted an aluminium shield clamped to the two middle exhaust pipes. This prevents the front of the engine and exhaust pipes getting direct spray with all the road crap.

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[positron]

Do you have to take the forks apart to fit those fork gaiters? Or is there an easy way to it?

[Deefer666]

nope, you put the bike onthe centre stand and either tie the back down or wedge a crate under the down pipes. then remove the brake calipers, then the front wheel, then the mudguard. loosen the pinch bolts on the top & bottom yokes, slide the forks out and put the gaitors on, slide the fork legs back in and re-assemble....easy

[positron]

nope, you put the bike onthe centre stand and either tie the back down or wedge a crate under the down pipes. then remove the brake calipers, then the front wheel, then the mudguard. loosen the pinch bolts on the top & bottom yokes, slide the forks out and put the gaitors on, slide the fork legs back in and re-assemble....easy

Thanks sounds easy alright. Ah wait, I can't reach bike keys without getting up from the couch.. oh well, another time then. 

[andybesy]

Welcome sasu, nice bike and tyres, and looking forward to your blog and will follow with interest! Maybe a video for YouTube?

Great mods limax2 and thanks Deefer for the fitting info.

I've been planning to fit gaitors myself, nice to see them in place. Any link to the particular Gaitors you used?

And any further details of how your mud-guard is fitted? Did you have to drill anything or is it fitted to existing mounts? Looks like radiator mound, but is that lower one standard?

Thanks, Andy

[fazersharp]

I would of thought that a better bike for snow would be one that is easier to pick up off the floor.

[alan sherman]

I was just thinking the same thing (picking up).  But then a nice off roader as used by the 'baddies' in any action flick has a certain appeal to me as a second bike.

[darrsi]

One with stabilisers would be more my type.

[limax2]

One with stabilisers would be more my type.

 
 
But leaving the bike in the garage is my choice  .

[limax2]

Welcome sasu, nice bike and tyres, and looking forward to your blog and will follow with interest! Maybe a video for YouTube?

Great mods limax2 and thanks Deefer for the fitting info.

I've been planning to fit gaitors myself, nice to see them in place. Any link to the particular Gaitors you used?

And any further details of how your mud-guard is fitted? Did you have to drill anything or is it fitted to existing mounts? Looks like radiator mound, but is that lower one standard?

Thanks, Andy

Answers to your questions Andy.
This is where I got the gaiters http://www.pyramidparts.co.uk/pages/motorcycle-fork-gaiters . As so often in life things aren't always straight forward. The gaiters I got were listed for the FZS600 and the size was 42 x 60 x 250 long. These turned out to be too long and would have been beyond coil  bound on full compression. I could have sent them back but an easy solution was to cut two (or was it three?) convolutions away, starting two convolutions from the top, and jiggle the remaining two parts together with two convolutions overlapping. The result is a good seal and undetectable when complete. No glue etc required. You might find shorter ones for sale but I couldn't at the time.


I did a post about the mud-guard on the old site but after much searching I can't find it, however I did find the drawing and photo's in my archive so will post them on here when I have had my tea  .


Fed and watered so as promised here are more details of mud shield.
No drilling etc required to bike. The top of the guard uses the radiator single bottom mounting point but with a longer 6mm bolt. As far as I know it is the same on a Foxeye like yours but you can check that. The ant-vibration mount and spacer I used at the top was something I had in stock, but any suitable rubber grommet and washers would do. You need a spacer though so you can tighten the bolt solid. It's just to prevent the thin aluminium sheet developing a crack. Having said that the mountings to the exhaust pipes are solid, because of the heat, and I've not had any crack yet.
Later shields I made were a bit longer at the bottom to give more protection to the exhaust collector box.
The drawings don't seem too clear on here but I think you can see the outline and dimensions etc.

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Next is side view showing stand off from exhaust pipes.

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Note the exposed thread on bolt which is where you mount the guard.

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Details of the two lower mounting parts.

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The ant-vibration mount I used at top, but rubber grommet with suitable spacer and washers could be used instead.

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Hope all that helps but any questions just ask.

[Ruby Racing]

I wonder if he could get a 130 wheel to fit on the bike? Lining up the chain could be a problem and I imagine it would make the handling quite twitchy but if might be better to have a 130 wheel for the 130 ice tyre rather than a 160 wheel with a 130 tyre on it

Rather you than me. But respect anyway.


I agree with His Dudeness. I'm guessing riding on snow is like riding in the rain, you have to keep all your inputs smooth to avoid upsetting the bike. Whilst I doubt you'll be getting your knee down, I suspect that any sudden movements as the bike goes over the edge of the tyre could be enough to loose what little grip snow gives.

[Jules-C]

I used to enjoy riding my Honda 250 Superdream on snow. The nice stuff we used to get in the old days that stayed white was surprisingly grippy. Now I'm far to old and worried about hurting myself to enjoy it

[Hedgetrimmer]

No, no, those aren't snow tyres. These are snow tyres! :




 

[andybesy]

Hi limax2,

Thanks ever so much for your detailed post, that's great looks like a very professional job. I'll be looking closely at this over next couple of days - think this might have to be my first winter fabrication project!

Also watching vids on dropping the forks to fit gaiters, think I can handle that as my confidence has been steadily growing with the servicing side of things over past 2.5 years, but need to get an abba stand first.

Andy

[sasu]

Got my first experience on ice today, but no snow expected for at least a week. Ice was a non-event today, still made me ride verrry carefully.

Received engine crash bars in the mail today, brand is Fehling.

I started thinking maybe it is cheaper to replace engine covers than bend the frame when the crash bars hit something. These Fehling bars do not attach directly to the frame but via two steel plates and one clamp - those should have enough give to protect the frame tubes from bending. At least I hope so.

By the way, the Fazer is a super bike! I had never considered it, just bought it for the low price, but boy oh boy it is a nice bike! I almost regret my plans to expose it to the winter elements - salt, freezing cold starts, possible crash(es).

[Ruby Racing]

But if you go through an engine case the motor could ingest case fragments, dirt, stones, etc and really ruin your motor. You'd potentially be paying for a lot more than a new engine case.


Crash bars will be the safer option. Plus, even if your frame did get bent, you could still probably ride it home. You couldn't if you lunched your motor.

[Earache]

Got my first experience on ice today, but no snow expected for at least a week. Ice was a non-event today, still made me ride verrry carefully.

Hi Sasu, nice little experiment there, your from scandinavia i guess, perhaps Finland?

[sasu]

Yep, I am in Finland.

No snow expected at least for a week. 0...+4 C temperatures. The only problem is visibility in the darkness with rain on the visor.

[darrsi]

Yep, I am in Finland.

No snow expected at least for a week. 0...+4 C temperatures. The only problem is visibility in the darkness with rain on the visor.

Ideally you need one of these but with your temperatures don't blame me if your finger falls off!
They're brilliant in just rainy weather though. 


http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xvee+wipe&_nkw=vee+wipe&_sacat=0

[Earache]

Yep, I am in Finland.

No tervehdys Sasu, niin mä vähän arvelinkin... meitä on siis nykyään kaksi täällä, Mä asustelen tosin tätä nykyä Espanjassa.


Sorry guys for writing Finnish, it just happens that me and Sasu are both Finnish.

[limax2]

No tervehdys Sasu, niin mä vähän arvelinkin... meitä on siis nykyään kaksi täällä, Mä asustelen tosin tätä nykyä Espanjassa.


Sorry guys for writing Finnish, it just happens that me and Sasu are both Finnish.

c


I hope you are not insulting the  rest of us !!! 

[Earache]

No tervehdys Sasu, niin mä vähän arvelinkin... meitä on siis nykyään kaksi täällä, Mä asustelen tosin tätä nykyä Espanjassa.


Sorry guys for writing Finnish, it just happens that me and Sasu are both Finnish.

c


I hope you are not insulting the  rest of us !!! 

Haha, no, we are nice people