PART 1

Click here to go to Part 2  :

The bike was purchased in 1994 at Parkway Yamaha in Collingwood, Ontario.  I had originally, believe it or not, taken the day off from college to go and purchase a 750 Intruder in Simcoe.  However, hours before I left, my Dad called me to say that over the weekend, he had been down at Wasaga Beach, and had seen the Yamaha with the colour scheme I liked.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The first modification I performed on the bike was to remove the airbox and replace it with the individual K&N filters.  At the same time, I installed the K&N Stage III jet kit, a Vance & Hines Supersport 4-1 pipe, Accel Supercoils, and a Factory 5-degree ignition advancer. 

The bike dyno’d 113 horsepower to the rear wheel. 

Here are my opinions on the following:

Black Sunshine

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

1)   K&N filters:  A good purchase, as they free up tremendous space under the gas tank.  Of course, they work well, too.  They are easy to take care of (wash once a year in warm water with soap, and then re-oil them with filter oil when they are dry).  However, I would suggest not to purchase the actual filters intended for FJ’s.  The outside two filters (for carbs #1 and #4) do not fit – they hit the subframe, and vibrate off very easily.  This can be somewhat fixed by installing them upside-down, but it still is not reliable.  Phone K&N – they can supply you with custom-sized units.  I did that, and had no trouble throughout the entire period I used them.

2)   K&N Stage III jet kit:  Also a good purchase.  I followed the instructions, and installed the main jets recommended (and supplied) with the kit.  Very easy to install.  I installed the springs, as well as the needles and shims at the #2 setting, as recommended by the kit.  In my opinion, however, the bike runs better, and idles better with the needles at the #3 setting, so that’s where I kept them.

3)   Factory 5-degree ignition advancer:  The bike ran smoother with this mod, and to me, seemed to run hotter, as most people believe.  I don’t really have any proof, but it’s just the impression I received.  Installing it is a bugger without an air wrench, but it’s not impossible.  I found I had the best results by putting the bike into 5^th gear and standing on the rear brake.  I did this sitting on the bike with my face damn-near kissing the gas tank.  While you’re at it, throw away the lousy Philips screws that secure the cover and replace them with allen-heads.  They won’t strip that way.  I actually replaced every bolt on the bike with stainless allen-heads.

4)   Vance & Hines 4-1 Supersport pipe:  Not a very good pipe.  First of all, you lose drain plug access, which is a major pain in the ass every time you want to change the oil.  The manifolds are not very resistant to road grit or wear, either; The manifolds on my pipe began to chip and rust after the first season.  I was not impressed with the sound, either.  To me, every Vance & Hines sounds tinny and high-pitched, or whiny every time I hear one go by.  I tried the V&H race baffle, and it made no difference.  The bike now had a noticeable flat spot at around 3,500 RPM’s, too.

5)   Accel Supercoils:  They were neat, but they don’t fit where the stock coils are supposed to go.  They are too large in diameter.  I relocated them to under the seat, and lengthened all of my wires to them.  However, one of them failed after about 3 months of use.  Lesson One:  Do not put something on your bike that is sold at Canadian Tire stores, or is also available for Harley-Davidson.  I purchased a set of Dyna ignition coils, and Taylor plug leads.  I am VERY impressed with this product.  They fit in the existing coil brackets (I had to use longer bolts, though). Knock on wood, mine have been in there for 6 years without so much as a burp.

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I at first tried using a 180-sized rear tire, but found that it rubbed against my chain.  I ended up settling for a 170, and have used that size ever since.  The PM wheel is direct-drive; that is to say there is no cush drive hub, and the sprocket bolts directly to a raised portion of the rim.  You do notice a slight difference when you drop the bike into gear from a stop at intersections, but other than that, I couldn’t feel anything different between shifts.

And now for my favorite part of all:  nitrous oxide.  I must say, the only experience I had prior to installing it on my bike, is from Mad Max movies.  I had already decided, at the beginning of my second season with the bike, that I was going to do the motor up.  However, I wanted to put the nitrous on, and had at least an idea of what it would do to the motor, so my logic was this:  might as well put it on a stock motor, blow it up, and rebuild it the way I want anyways, rather than ruin a freshly-rebuilt motor (and have to rebuild twice).

The basic kit for a bike is around $1000 Canadian.  You get everything you need, and the kit is a one-hit.  When you push the button, you get all the power at once.  There is not a progressive controller that only lets out so much at varying RPM’s.  Those controllers are still around $600 still, and I now add about 80 horsepower to the rear wheel, and can use it as I go into second gear.  I can control the bike without the progressive unit, so why bother?

The basic operation of the motorcycle nitrous oxide kit (the way mine is hooked up, anyways), is like this:  1) Turn the tap on the bottle to full-open.  2) Turn on the switch in the dash (I located mine in the coin holder) to send power to the in-line mercury switch at the carbs (solenoids) & secondary fuel-pump 3) Go full-throttle – there is a mercury switch activated by the throttle arm on the carbs that will not permit the system to activate unless the throttle is wide open.  The premise here is that it assumes the crank is spinning as fast as possible.  4) Hit the horn button (the actual horn is disengaged at the same time).  As long as you hold the horn button down, and are wide open, you keep on the juice.

Remember when I mentioned about all of the room created by removing the airbox?  What a perfect place for the fuel & nitrous solenoids, lines, electronics, and extra fuel pump!  Everything tucks away quite neatly.  The kit recommends installing the nitrous/fuel fogger nozzles by drilling holes into the carb intake boots (between the carbs and the cylinder head), and inserting the nozzles into the holes, and sealing them up with some goop you get with the kit.  This works for about one season, and then the intake boots begin to crack.  If you have ever priced out replacement intake boots, you will find this installation method unacceptable.  Fortunately, for about $300, APE sells “manifold plates” – ½” thick anodized blue plates that mount between the intake boots & cylinder head (you will need to supply the longer bolts), made directly for FJ1200 cylinder heads.  The fogger nozzles thread directly into them.  This adaptation will not work with

 an airbox, as the carbs must be moved back ½”.  It is very trick, and works exceptionally well.    ------------------------>

                     Nitrous & Purge Switch

I would also recommend a purge kit, which will get air out of the system prior to it’s use (and no costly backfires, and more importantly, FIRES).  This kit runs you about $300 again.  I did have a slightly explosive backfire once prior to having this kit, and I had to rebuild my carbs because of fire damage, so I know it does happen.

I was not happy with the bottle mounting method, and ended up with a setup as is on the bike today.  First of all, buy a second bottle bracket.

With only one, the bottle flops around too much, and the siphon tube inside constantly breaks from the vibration.  Remove the siphon tube, go to the end of your driveway, and throw it as far as you can.  Mounting the bottle upside-down, and angled backward works best (and is also a possible method mentioned in the kit).  Also, as you increase the jet sizes in the fogger nozzles, you use more and more nitrous.  I only get three 9-second (approximate) hits out of a bottle, so I installed two.

           -------------------------->

Use:  I used the smallest kit, which added about 26 horsepower to the rear wheel, and started off by hitting the button in 5^th gear, at around 100-odd km/h.  The sensation was merely like changing gears. Eventually, I got used to it, and upped the jet sizes in the fogger nozzles, and began to use it earlier.  Using nitrous is not as is depicted on “Biker Boyz” or “The Fast & The Furious”, or any movies, for that matter.  You will not be able to jump over bridges that are out.  It is very controllable, and the FJ does not behave badly or squirrelly.  I settled on my bike making just over 150 horsepower at the rear wheel, on the gas.  It was enough that when I hit the button in the lower gears, I would be jerked backwards.  I also removed the ignition advancer, as you can’t use it with nitrous setups.

Shortly thereafter, I had my seat re-upholstered to resemble more of a solo cap, as I kept sliding backwards.

Many things happened during the season of nitrous oxide use.  My motor did not explode, like the rumours say.  Not exactly.

I burned a hole in my number one piston.  I burned up my valves.  Badly.  Worse still, I stripped out the threads of my axle-adjusters on the swingarm, and managed to slightly twist my sub-frame.  I stretched my stock chain to its’ limit.  Here is where installing a nitrous oxide kit gets expensive.

First, we should discuss my absolute most favorite modification to the bike:  the rear swingarm. 

I am an avid reader of Streetfighters Magazine.  It caters to individuals with my tastes.  I happened across the JMC advertisement, and their prices were not too bad, even with the UK-Canada exchange and shipping costs.  What sold me on JMC, however, was their customer service.  They returned all of my phone calls (despite the time zone difference), and even gave me a courtesy call after I took delivery to make sure I had no concerns or issues with the fitment.

 I requested a swingarm with a permanent 4” extension. Looking back, I should have asked for 6”, because the front end can still be lofted under some circumstances.  I fell in love with the eccentric adjusters that were on my Dad’s ZX-11, and asked for those to be installed.  I wanted the swingarm to be top & bottom braced (more for looks rather than rigidity), and finally, mirror-polished.  The final price was around $1200 Canadian, once I got it.

Shortened signal

I cut the rear fender of the bike to make room for the wheel, which  was now back further.  While I was at it, I flipped the bracket that holds the license plate on upside-down.  This gives the plate a more rakish angle.  I re-used the stock signals, but shortened the stalks and hid the extra wiring. I tried previously using the small Lockhart-Philips turn signals, but the bulbs burn out frequently, due to vibration and heat buildup.

The thing simply bolted right in.  No machining, nothing.  It came with its’ own axle, and everything went together like it was meant to be there.  JMC even relocated the swingarm portion of the bracket for the torque arm (thereby retaining the same distance) so that it could be re-used.  Grease fittings were included, so I didn’t have to do any major removal, etc, to keep the bushings lubricated.  I no longer had a use for my chain guard, so it was removed, and I went with a Tsubaki Sigma 530 chain.  It is an o-ring chain, and Tsubaki makes a 125-link chain that wil accommodate the extra length and sprocket combination I have (after that, custom chains were required that increased the price).  I believe I have around 123 links.

The biggest issue with the swingarm mod was the shock.  I doubt there would have been a problem if the stock length was retained, but because the rear tire was moved backward, the ass end of the bike had to be lifted.  I tried many different taller shocks (and doggy bones to match, of which I fabricated many), and found that the VFR750 shock off a single-sider worked best.  It took a bit of grinding and the fabricating of spacers for up top to get it to fit, but it worked.  This lasted for a couple of years, and then the shock blew.  I don’t know if it was because I carried the extra weight of a passenger, or what.  I solved this by removing the spring, and replacing it with a solid aluminum collar, turning the bike into a true dragbike hardtail.<SOLID SHOCK 1.JPG>  Advantage:  all of the power is immediately transferred to the rear wheel.  Disadvantage:  you fly off the seat if you hit a bad bump.  There was not a comfort issue here, however; I put in several 800-km days with the bike like this, and had no complaints.  It is still holding up. It may also be due to the fact that I used Class 9 steel bolts at the doggybones, and top clevice.  Make sure your measurements are correct – they have to be, because now you can’t compress the rear-end to make the shock fit.

As for the motor, I purchased the Wiseco 1219cc kit, which was also a product I was very happy with.  I went with the 1219cc kit because there was no modification required to the cases or head, and I wanted to leave myself with enough cylinder block to accommodate future rebores, if required.  The kit comes with wrist pins, circlips, pistons, rings, etc.  I shipped my block and the pistons off the McBride Cycle, in Toronto, who looked after the boring job.  The sleeves do not have to be removed for this kit, either.  At the same time, I had the cylinder block bead-blasted, and have not touched it since.  These pistons have also been in for several years now, with no ill effects on compression.  Wiseco generally makes the least-expensive forged pistons on the market, so I would suggest buying from them before going anywhere else.

At the time I did the cylinder head, Fast Company was still catering to the general motorcycle public (Scott Millar had not yet disembarked on the professional race circuit).  He has a great deal of experience working on FJ cylinder heads, for either Legend cars, or drag bikes.  He flowed the head, trued it, and then set about polishing & porting it.  I opted to install stainless valves (might as well do it once and forget about it) with a 5-angle valve job, and heavy-duty springs & retainers.  I am quite flattered to get to brag that Scott Millar machined the cylinder head on my bike.  If you know who he is, you will know why.

I assembled the motor using the Cometic gaskets that come with the Wiseco piston kit.  It should also be noted that my FJ has never experienced the second-gear problem that several of them have been afflicted with.

With the motor assembled, the headwork done, and the new pipe on, the bike dyno’d somewhere around the 125 mark.  Not exactly what I had in mind with the amount of money I’d invested.  However, you had to keep in mind that I still retained my stock carbuerators, which really held the bike back.  I installed a dual-output Pingel hi-flow tap, and this eliminated fuel starvation at high RPM’s when the bike was on the NOS.

I removed the stock oil cooler and purchased an Earl’s model, based on the advice given to me by Clint Komenda, a long-time member of the FJ list, who also has an ’88, which makes a ton of horsepower.  The new cooler from Earl’s is about twice as thick, and 1½ times taller, and the same width, as the stock unit.  It has bolt holes at either end through small brackets (which look like flaps) that you can use for mounting.  I made a thin rectangular base plate for the bottom, with two small “L” brackets that could use the stock mounting holes on the frame.  I slotted the holes on the L-brackets so that they could pivot.  This made fitting easier, especially since the oil cooler sits at an angle, rather than perpendicular to the ground.  For the top, I made a small plate, and welded two rods to it.  The plate bolted on to the oil cooler, and the rods slid into the rubber grommets that used to accept the stock cooler. By doing this, I eliminated the need for any welding on the frame of the bike.  The oil cooler itself was around $300 Canadian.  I also purchased two anodized oil fittings for the cooler, and then had my own braided oil lines made at a local industrial hose outlet.  If you can go this route, I highly recommend it.  I did this for the oil lines, and the braided nitrous lines.  I had to wait while they ordered in stainless fittings, but by not buying braided lines from a performance shop, I saved 2/3 of the price.

Everything was going well.  The bike ran great, looked good, and made an impressive amount of power.  I chromed the gas tank (a la Streetfighters), and various parts.  I removed the stock mirrors, and installed a set of black Napolean bar-end jobbies.  The insert bolts didn’t fit, as they were too large, so I used pieces of fuel hose between the lock nuts, and the mirrors worked fine. Their fitment depends on the position you prefer your brake and handlebar levers, though, as in some cases pulling the levers all the way back would contact the mirrors.  It wasn’t a fit I was happy with, but the bar-end mirrors were much more aesthetically pleasing than the stock ones.  Hell – take a look at the cover of the Clymer manual – the bike in the photo even has its’ stock mirrors removed for the photoshoot! 

At one point during one of my riding seasons, the stock clutch went to meet its’ maker while up on a dyno during a horsepower shootout.  It is well-known that the diaphragm clutch on the FJ is not exactly the strongest unit out there.  Mine was returned to me in a small Ziploc sandwich bag.   However, it had been an issue of pride; a rival shop had put their bike up on the dyno to compete (the juiced-up YZF 750/1000 which had previously belonged to Neil Jenkins), and I certainly couldn’t allow them to win, and win I did.  Hasta la clutcha.

 I purchased the heavy-duty billet clutch hub and spring conversion kit from APE.  They are beautiful, with the conversion kit being anodized red.  At the advice from Scott Miller at Fast Company, I used stock Yamaha friction and drive plates.  Scott told me that was what they raced with.  He was right; I have never had a problem since.  I braided the clutch line (purchased from White Bros.), and installed the master cylinder rebuild kit.  I also replaced my slave cylinder as well (the whole unit is only a hundred bucks). It worked like a charm.  Yes, I did notice that it was difficult to pull the clutch in now, but any problems have ceased.  Unfortunately, the billet hub kit and spring conversion kit are a tad pricey; at the time I made this modification, both kits were over $300 USD each.

At this point, I began the show circuit.  My gas tank was chromed, as were many other parts.  I actually began showing the bike by accident.  I was taking some night school courses at Conestoga College, and happened to drive the bike to school.  One of the guys in my class, Carlos, happened to be one of the co-producers for the Kitchener show.  He invited me out, and I began to understand how the show scene worked.  Lesson One:  get stanchions and chain so people don’t paw all over your baby.  I won my class, and thus began my show circuit career with the bike.

One thing I learned that gets you ahead in the bike shows:  shameless self-promotion.  I had previously sent some photos of the bike to Streetfighters Magazine, in England, and in December 1997, the bike made it into their “Fan Mail” section. I also sent some pics to Cycle Canada magazine, and the bike found its’ way into the “Showcase” section of the March 2000 issue.

I decided to become more serious with my approach to the bike shows.  The bike was well-received, and was beginning to become recognized when I drove it out in public.

Black Sunshine's trophy cabinet

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

I decided to change the paint.  This was a difficult decision for me, as I really liked the pearl white/silver/red scheme that was the 1988 model year.  At the recommendation of Racer’s Choice, the shop I deal with in Brantford, I went to see Cooper, of Coop’s Custom Scoots.  We chose 1997 Anthracite Pearl, which is a black pearl over Jaguar green with a gold metal flake.  In daylight, you can see the gold hue.  In my opinion, nothing goes better with chrome than black.  It was more a bike-show based decision than anything else; to be honest with you, I liked the original color scheme better, but a black and chrome bike does much better at the shows.  The year 2000 saw her leave drydock with a new paint scheme.

It was now time to name the bike.  It was something I had played around with for a while, and then it had suddenly come to me.  I chose the moniker “Black Sunshine” for a couple of reasons.  First of all, White Zombie is one of my favorite bands.  They have a song called “Black Sunshine” which describes a mythical, evil, black 5.0L Mustang that prowls the highways.  The lyrics matched the reputation of my machine. And finally, my little sister’s nickname was “Sunshine”.  She was a member of the Canadian Olympic Speedskating Team, and was training for the Winter Olympics in Nagano when she died.  Kathleen, or “Kit” as I called her, was one of the fastest speedskaters off of the line in her favorite race, the 500m.  No one could beat Kit when she launched, and the same could be said of Black Sunshine when I hammered the juice.

Once more, the rest, as they say, is history.

ACCOLADES:

• 2003 National Motorcycle Show, Toronto;            1^st Place, “Foreign Sport Bike”

• 2003 Barrie Custom Motorcycle Show, Oro;         “Best in Class – Sport Bike”

• 2003 London Motorcycle Show, Woodstock;         1st Place, “Street Asian”

• 2003 International Motorcycle Supershow, Toronto; 6^th Place, “Builder Class”

• 2002 Central Ontario Motorcycle Show, Barrie; “Best in Class – Sport Bike”

• 2002 London Motorcycle Show, London; 3rd Place “Special Interest”

• 2001 Cycle Craft, Waterloo;                 “Best Import”

• 2001 Cycle Craft, Waterloo;                 “Best in Class – Sport Bike”