Hi all,
So finally I took my "new" FE 390 first time out on the weekend. The bike felt great, but a couple of things bothered me leading me to this post. I did a lot searching and reading, to not waste your time, but sometimes trying to piece meal the answer, as conditions differ is not easy.
The bike is pretty much as stock as it can be, with an exception of Recluse clutch (which I loved btw ... never had a bike with one).
It was basically slow trail riding in very sandy terrain. A couple of difficult hills leading to me getting stuck. The bike laying on its side for a minute or less. Both times I believe on its right side .... gas and coolant came out.
I let it cool down (I needed a break anyway) .... bike started after that with no issue. I didn't open the rad cap though to check coolant level, it was still too hot for that. I have no idea whether the coolant was fully up to the rim at the start of the day (my mistake ...). It was a lunch time, so with the bike fully cooled down, I opened the cap with no sign of coolant. I was able to add about 0.5l is my estimate (I am guessing, but I don't think this is the amount which came out which was a lot less in my estimate). Rode the rest of the afternoon with no issues. Got home and starting to think ...
1) Why did the gas come out with the bike on the side? I thought the cap would have a one way valve? Possible that the previous owner removed it, correct? Otherwise gas has no business to come out (my carbed DRZ used to do it to a degree) on a bike with EFI, am I right?
2) Why did the coolant come out with the bike on the side? Unless the bike coolant was basically boiling, the rad cap should have been sealed and keep the coolant in. So perhaps, I was low on coolant, the rad cap opened and with the bike on the side the coolant came out easily? Is that the theory? In another words, bike on the side was not really causation for the coolant getting out ...
3) The coolant temp sensor, as I read in the manual .... does it really work as a warning, or is it just rather too late when the FI light start blinking indicating the coolant temp is too high? BTW, this never happened on my bike I am just curious.
4) What is the list of mods new owners should absolutely consider when getting a "new" used FE390 bike?
What I have seen/read seems like:
a) fan kit
b) use Evans coolant
c) tank anti-heat wrap ... bike actually came with one, but the owner never installed it. He said he never had an issue. I don't know what kind of rider he was, so it doesn't mean much
d) header/mid pipe wrap
e) competition fuel map .... my bike came with three way map switch. I read in another post here how the competitive map is better (not as lean) as the "green" map .... this is a bit confusing. Because my map switch, reads "mild", "stock" and "wild" .... getting back to trail riding after 10 or so years, I kept mine at stock (and it was making plenty of power for me ...
). Does "competition" map equal "wild"? Or is that apples and oranges?
Sorry, about the long post, I just didn't want to create 5 different posts.
Thanks
So finally I took my "new" FE 390 first time out on the weekend. The bike felt great, but a couple of things bothered me leading me to this post. I did a lot searching and reading, to not waste your time, but sometimes trying to piece meal the answer, as conditions differ is not easy.
The bike is pretty much as stock as it can be, with an exception of Recluse clutch (which I loved btw ... never had a bike with one).
It was basically slow trail riding in very sandy terrain. A couple of difficult hills leading to me getting stuck. The bike laying on its side for a minute or less. Both times I believe on its right side .... gas and coolant came out.
I let it cool down (I needed a break anyway) .... bike started after that with no issue. I didn't open the rad cap though to check coolant level, it was still too hot for that. I have no idea whether the coolant was fully up to the rim at the start of the day (my mistake ...). It was a lunch time, so with the bike fully cooled down, I opened the cap with no sign of coolant. I was able to add about 0.5l is my estimate (I am guessing, but I don't think this is the amount which came out which was a lot less in my estimate). Rode the rest of the afternoon with no issues. Got home and starting to think ...
1) Why did the gas come out with the bike on the side? I thought the cap would have a one way valve? Possible that the previous owner removed it, correct? Otherwise gas has no business to come out (my carbed DRZ used to do it to a degree) on a bike with EFI, am I right?
2) Why did the coolant come out with the bike on the side? Unless the bike coolant was basically boiling, the rad cap should have been sealed and keep the coolant in. So perhaps, I was low on coolant, the rad cap opened and with the bike on the side the coolant came out easily? Is that the theory? In another words, bike on the side was not really causation for the coolant getting out ...
3) The coolant temp sensor, as I read in the manual .... does it really work as a warning, or is it just rather too late when the FI light start blinking indicating the coolant temp is too high? BTW, this never happened on my bike I am just curious.
4) What is the list of mods new owners should absolutely consider when getting a "new" used FE390 bike?
What I have seen/read seems like:
a) fan kit
b) use Evans coolant
c) tank anti-heat wrap ... bike actually came with one, but the owner never installed it. He said he never had an issue. I don't know what kind of rider he was, so it doesn't mean much
d) header/mid pipe wrap
e) competition fuel map .... my bike came with three way map switch. I read in another post here how the competitive map is better (not as lean) as the "green" map .... this is a bit confusing. Because my map switch, reads "mild", "stock" and "wild" .... getting back to trail riding after 10 or so years, I kept mine at stock (and it was making plenty of power for me ...
). Does "competition" map equal "wild"? Or is that apples and oranges?Sorry, about the long post, I just didn't want to create 5 different posts.
Thanks
