[RetroFit]

Well, it's been a pretty fun month of catching up on maintenance with my (new to me) '07 109. To date I've done the following:

• Oil/Oil filter change
• Radiator fluid change
• Final Drive oil change
• Fuel strainer replacement
• Pair Valve plug (didn't spring for the block-off plates... just plugged the holes & removed the pluming). The bike has the Freedom pipes & Spike intake, but they never bothered to do the pair valve. The popping/back firing was agonizing. I guess the previous owners didn't care or liked it.

Next up:

• Front motor mounts (New, stiffer mounts should arrive in a day or two. I've got some bad "clunking" and vibration going on on some of these VA back-country roads that's a bit disturbing. I'm pretty sure they're toast. I've got 15k on the 9 and judging by what I've seen maintenance wise so far I can all but guarantee they're the original stock mounts.)
• Metzelers on front and back. Will probably go to the 260. Have the 250 Dunlop now, but I like the idea of a more rounded rear wheel so we'll see. There's enough for one more season but dang, it's pretty sketchy in the rain. I didn't like that ride a week ago. Until I get new shoes I don't think I'll be riding when it's wet again. Think I'm going to end up changing them out myself as there isn't really any local MC repair shops around here. I've done lots of dirt-bike tires, but never a big guy like what's on the 9 so we'll see how that goes I guess.
• Rear brake rotor (pretty bad rattle/squeak) Will likely go with a Galfer, but can probably wait till end of season. We'll see. It makes sense to do it when I put the new tire on.. My wife's eyebrow is starting to twitch already w/what I've had to buy. Think she was hoping it would be more "ready to go" than it was when she bought it for me as a surprise. (love that woman!)
• PC5 map. I think it was running too rich. When I did my oil change I smelt a lot of gas in the oil. I don't know what map they had as there were no details when I plugged into the PC, but I downloaded the zero map from PC and loaded it for now. The nearest dyno for me is in Princeton WV, a little over an hour away. I don't want to ride it out there until I get the motor mounts changed though.
• Maybe the Factory Pro shift star at the next oil change.. I don't know yet. I'm sure it'd be worth while. I want to get more miles on it before I decide one way or the other.

All in all I've been really happy and I can't wait to see how it feels after I get the mounts replaced. I have high hopes based on the various threads I've read so far. I'm still rubbing my lucky rabbits foot each day hoping I was one of the lucky ones with the transmission. I can do a lot, but a full engine rebuild is pretty terrifying. I only have about 100 miles on the bike since getting it and so far I haven't had any gear disengagements. Just going to keep the fingers crossed I guess.

This forum has been super helpful though. I wish some of the really old posts still had the photos and video links, but anything is better than nothing. I hope to contribute more myself even though I'm sure most things that can be done and documented probably already has been!

-RetroFit

 

[Dr. D]

Good amount of work. Take pics and let us know how it goes. I just did the front engine mounts. Wasn't all that hard, but time consuming. Would have been way easier getting the frame bolted back up if I had a motorcycle jack and not an automotive floor jack + 2x4's lol.

Add the debeaver to the list? Looks like it may already be done, can't tell for certain.

Luke

 

[UVATom]

That's pretty common for the rear rotor on the older models. If it still measures in tolerance then I have heard of some taking a slightly bigger pin or ball bearing and pressing it through to spread the rivets back out again to tighten it back up.

There are thousands of posts on tires and sizes. If you go down that rabbit hole just be sure to set aside most of the day if not days.

 

[RetroFit]

That's pretty common for the rear rotor on the older models. If it still measures in tolerance then I have heard of some taking a slightly bigger pin or ball bearing and pressing it through to spread the rivets back out again to tighten it back up.

There are thousands of posts on tires and sizes. If you go down that rabbit hole just be sure to set aside most of the day if not days.

No Joke! I needed my 5 year old daughter to pull me out of that hole!

 

[Joe RC51]

If you've never done a tubeless street tire , you're in for a treat , they're a real son of a bitch , REALLY tight.

 

[Zoom]

That's a lot of work to have done in a short period, Congrats!
When you did the PAIR valve block and removed the plumbing, did you leave the PAIR solenoid hooked up electrically? If not you will get a check light. You can remove all the hoses, just need to leave the solenoid hooked up and operational.

 

[RetroFit]

That's a lot of work to have done in a short period, Congrats!
When you did the PAIR valve block and removed the plumbing, did you leave the PAIR solenoid hooked up electrically? If not you will get a check light. You can remove all the hoses, just need to leave the solenoid hooked up and operational.

Yep! Thanks for checking. It was connected and I didn't touch it. Thankfully my wife came home right at the moment I was reaching my patience threshold for trying to get the hose clamp back onto the vacuum plug for the front cylinder. Even with the radiator bolts removed I couldn't get my hands in there to both pinch and push it back on. I'm no surgeon and trying to use my long-nosed plyers wasn't working either. Her little hands did the job for me and, seeing as how she loves to work on cars & anything automotive she got to exercise her "Tom-boy" side (are we allowed to say Tom-boy anymore?? It's probably "something-phobic" these days). I might even have stored up some more capital for more parts purchasing!!! Thankfully I was able to get a small hose-clamp on the plug for the airbox and a long enough screwdriver to tighten it on. I rode around the block and I didn't get a check light. It may have been quieter. I didn't go far enough to really get a sense for any improvements just yet. We'll see once the motor mounts come in and I get them installed. I'll be able to take it out for a longer drive to see then.

 

[Zoom]

Excellent, glad you got it done and it's always good when the wife helps. My wife loves to help me on mine, so I'll usually leave something small for her to do. She likes using the torque wrench and its hard to mess that up.

I guess the technical term today would be Tomperson? Nah, that doesn't sound right either. ⚰

When I did the PAIR valve on mine the first time I didn't remove the hoses. I found a marble or steel ball, don't recall which, and just put it in the T off the PAIR solenoid to block the flow. Later on I made a couple plates to block the inlets on the head and removed the hoses. It all works.

 

[Sledge]

Rather than spending money on a dyno, I strongly recommend an ECU flash by BCS. He is on this forum as well as the Facebook M109R groups. He is located in Florida and has a very fast turnaround. The flash will do everything a PC will do and much much more. I left my PC installed so that I could connect a Dynojet quick shifter. I also loaded the zero map.

 

[RetroFit]

Rather than spending money on a dyno, I strongly recommend an ECU flash by BCS. He is on this forum as well as the Facebook M109R groups. He is located in Florida and has a very fast turnaround. The flash will do everything a PC will do and much much more. I left my PC installed so that I could connect a Dynojet quick shifter. I also loaded the zero map.

Thanks! I actually would prefer that solution. Unfortunately FL is quite a haul from VA. Realistically I think a tune is going to be an easier/cheaper solution (factoring in travel) unless I somehow find a place around here that can do it but I'm doubtful.

 

[UVATom]

You just either mail him your ECU and he sends it back or pay a little more and he will mail you one and you send yours back after installation.

 

[RetroFit]

You just either mail him your ECU and he sends it back or pay a little more and he will mail you one and you send yours back after installation.

Mind blown.. Ok, but now I'm confused. Is the flashed ECU just universally better regardless of what modifications are installed on any particular bike? I understand the point of the Dyno tune as it in theory optimizes air/fuel across RPM/gears to bring out the "best" for a specific configuration of the bike. But what are you getting with the flashed ECU that Sledge indicated does everything the PC does and more? Upon receiving the flashed ECU does it essentially "jailbrake" the bike? How does my specific bike needs get reflected in the flashed ECU?

 

[UVATom]

He has multiple flashes for different configurations. He has a dyno himself and uses his bike and others as test subjects. You just tell him the mods you have and he takes it from there. There are a bunch of forums where he explains it. Just search ECU but be aware, that's another rabbit hole that is very very deep. I don't remember how much he charges but I think it's in the $125 to $150 range. It is cheaper than buying aTRE and fuel management controller. I already had both before he started flashing or I would have done it myself.

 

[RetroFit]

He has multiple flashes for different configurations. He has a dyno himself and uses his bike and others as test subjects. You just tell him the mods you have and he takes it from there. There are a bunch of forums where he explains it. Just search ECU but be aware, that's another rabbit hole that is very very deep. I don't remember how much he charges but I think it's in the $125 to $150 range. It is cheaper than buying aTRE and fuel management controller. I already had both before he started flashing or I would have done it myself.

Cool. I DM'ed him. Hopefully he's still around and up for this work. That is a lot cheaper than the $3-500 quote I got from the "local" Dyno tuner (over an hour away). I appreciate the info!

 

[UVATom]

I was a little off in the price. It was more like $200 and that was a few years ago. Below is what he told me then but thus is before he got his dyno.

Both IAP and TPS fuel maps are tuned
Ignition Timing maps are tuned
Secondary Throttle Plate Maps are tuned
Rev Limiter raised to 7500 RPM
Cooling fan Cut in / Cut out lowered.

 

[RetroFit]

I was a little off in the price. It was more like $200 and that was a few years ago. Below is what he told me then but thus is before he got his dyno.

Both IAP and TPS fuel maps are tuned
Ignition Timing maps are tuned
Secondary Throttle Plate Maps are tuned
Rev Limiter raised to 7500 RPM
Cooling fan Cut in / Cut out lowered.

Fair enough!

 

[RetroFit]

Well, I’m definitely glad I decided to do the motor mounts. Check these guys out. If it isn’t obvious the old ones are on the left. Time to reinstall and get her buttoned back up.

 

[Zoom]

Yup, that's about what mine looked like when I changed them at around 20,000 miles. The good thing about changing them early is it helps prevent wear on the upper and lower rears. The upper rears aren't any harder to change than the fronts, but the lower rears are.

 

[RetroFit]

Wat a huge difference those new mounts made to the ride! So happy I got that done. Thanks everyone for the tips and feedback.

 

[Zoom]

Glad it helped. Some folks say they didn't make any difference, some say it vibrates more, some say it made a positive difference. Glad you are in the latter.