Putting it through the paces

OK...just got my bike recently and have been digging in for the long haul. Did a lot of stuff so far but in particular added Lucas upper cylinder lubricant to clean and lubricate associated parts...flushed and changed over to synthetic oil also. It was time to blow this puppy out and to put it through the paces finally. I took it easy for about a half hour of riding and then got on it hard. I had no mercy on it until I decided to pull over and choke down a cigarette & rest a bit to let it cool down. It started back up hard after about 20 minutes and had to apply the choke to get it running. I started in on it again off and on until I got back home. I think I was out for about two hours or so total. I don't think the guy that had it before me ever put high R's on this thing. I had thick baked on carbon deposits on the end of the muffler...kind of resembled the burnt crap you see at the bottom of ovens from food dripping and spilling over. I was going to try to remove it soon but when I got home...it was gone!!! It must have shook loose along with all the other crap that was built up inside of the pipes. The poor bike was babied way too much and maybe there is such a thing as "killing it with kindness". The bike came through it all like a champ and I couldn't be happier. Now it's time to dig in the motor to check valve clearances and pull the wheels to check things over in there. I have a long way to go before I feel settled in to this bike and have been devoting a lot of time lately to it. So far I am very pleased with these FJ's.

 

I never baby my XJ. I'll ride er, "normally" until I see an opportunity to let the horses run free, then I'll wail on it. The bike seems to like it, as you mentioned. This on a bike with 43,000 miles! This bike loves to rev and really comes alive above 7K!

 

I do believe also that it does like to be to run above 7K. I think that with good maintenance practices and the proper fuel additives, that high R's will keep my bike cleaned out and lubed up to minimize tear downs. There is a fine line between abuse and running it like it is meant to run. As long as you do the maintenance and don't over heat it, reaching the higher/safe threshold's is good for it.

 

These bikes thrive on high revs. Stop & go driving with a high revving 6 speed like a Seca requires a LOT of shifting to prevent lugging the engine. What some people consider "babying" their bike is actually doing more harm than good.

 

Ditto. Don't exceed redline, but don't "baby" the motor. They love to rev and it helps blow the carbon fouling out of the jugs.