FJowners.com

I've wanted and FJ since I was in High school (for ref, I was in High school when they were released on the public in 1984).

For various reasons, I never got the opportunity to own an FJ; No money, life's too busy, too many bikes already, too many cars, no space, practice wife got in the way, etc.

But now I've got a neglected 1989 model. Rather than type it all out again, I'm just going to re-post my intro and then carry on from there:

Quote from: great white on May 14, 2015, 06:44:26 PM
Yes, it took a long time, but I finally have an FJ in the garage! I'd lusted after one in 84 when they first came out. I was in high school and the FJ was the newest and hottest WMD in the sportbike world. Unfortunately, the 5-6 grand they cost at the time was far outside of my reach. So I had to settle for having the sales brochures all over my walls and weekend trips to the dealer to stare, sit and drool. The salesmen at the shop very soon knew me by first name. They were good guys: they knew I could never afford it but they let me sit on it and would start it up for me now and then. Ah, youth and lack of funds......

I went through a long list of yammy 2 strokes (RD/RZ 350/400), and a few other used sport bikes such as a GS550ES and a first gen V45 Interceptor (still have the interceptor, although it's pretty modified now and haven't ridden it since 09). I even used to race RD's at shubie in amateur, but I was a better at building hot bikes than riding them at race speeds. After wadding a couple RD's and one spectacular get-off that made everyone in the pits think I'd killed myself, I admitted to myself I just wasn't a racer. I wasn't horrible, i was just never going to be great and it was getting expensive to build bikes only to eventually turn them into paperweights.

I was a "sport bike" kinda guy then and still sort of am. But at 50 years old and a 26 year career in Helicopter Search and rescue operations, my broken and battered bod is no longer "sportbike friendly", so the search for a more agreeable steed began this year. We had also moved into a house with a single+ car garage, so my car projects (83 mustang, 62 TBird, 2004 300m Special) had to go. It was time anyways. Need to downsize, retirement is just around the corner.

I came across an 1983 Venture while surfing Kijiji for my high school lust bike (like I always do), an 1984 FJ1100. The FJ1100 had become that "bike that got away" for me. Over the years it turned into a "bucket list" thing for me.

The Venture ad was very simple: 1983 Yamaha Venture, 31,000 kms, $2650 (CAD), "see it to believe it" and a single picture of it in summer by some water:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/_27_zps04evb1qa.jpg)

The ad was a couple months old, but I sent an email out of curiosity anyways. The bike was still for sale and he sent me a phone number.

As it turns out, he's got a bit of a story with the bike. He's the original owner. As a young single guy he worked a 6 week on, 6 week off job. He would take his XS1100 all over NA in his off time until it finally wore out around 200,000 kms. He traded it on the Venture new, intending to keep riding.

VERY shortly after, he changed jobs to a regular 7 day a week cycle and shortly after that came marriage and kids. No more taking off on long road trips, and the Venture ended up in his heated garage under a cover. He only got it out less than a 1000 kms a year-ish. He always stored it IAW the local bike shop recommendations (ie: oil cylinders,change oils, etc.). He still cared for it as he had the clutch repaired/replaced and the front brake master rebuilt when the seals (apparently) dried out.

He also said he wanted it to go to a good home and would let it go to the right guy for $2150.

The only problem is he was in PEI and I was in NS. Almost as far away in NS as you could get. 6 hour drive one way, 12 hrs round trip. I made arrangements to drive over on the weekend and look at it.

Now here's a twist: I had a long running "want add" on Kijiji stating I was looking for a mint condition 84 FJ1100 and would pay top dollar for one (high school lust bike/bucket list thing). I also stated I would consider all other years depending on price or condition. Not barely an hour after hanging up the phone, I get and email from a guy saying he has an 89 FJ1200 he would be willing to let go, cheap. I call the guy up and after a few minutes of chatting he says he's had it for a year, doesn't really want the bike (took it on part trade for a car) and was thinking of asking $1000 but would let it go for $850. The kicker is he's also on PEI and about 20 mins away from the guy with the Venture. Almost like it was meant to be! He agrees to meet me same day as I'm over to look at the venture. Sure,it's not an 1984 FJ1100, but it's still an FJ. Maybe better than an 84 since by 89 they had sorted the #2 shift issue and fitted proper brakes on modern 17" wheels. And at 850 bucks I'm not ruling it out as an option/good buy to put a tick mark in the box on that bucket list....

So the day comes, I borrow a friends 6x10 steel deck trailer, hook it up to my 3/4 ton diesel, drop the missus in the passenger seat and head out.

I get to the venture and the guy leads me into his garage. It's bloody mint! Well, as mint as a 32 year old bike can be. I'll let pics do the talking:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/Bike2_zpshadfykl4.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/Bike3_zpstemardie.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/Bike4_zpskjzo58ef.jpg)

Engine cases need a strip and polish and there's some paint fade on the top surfaces but that's about it.

One of the perks of him being the original owner was everything the bike came with was there. Lock chain, tool kits,manual, etc. even his original warranty card. All of it looks like the day Yamaha put it in the crate and shipped it from Japan.

Needless to say, I handed him the $2150, loaded the bike on to the trailer and shook his hand good bye. I got a heck of a steal...err, deal. I didn't beat him up on price because he had already dropped 500 bucks on his asking and he threw in the bike cover and a couple helmets. The bike is well worth the $2150 price around these parts.

I drive over to the FJ guy and he's waiting for me. The FJ1200 is in pretty distressed condition. Not really trashed, but it's just gone through some hands that didn't give it a lot of TLC. But, I can tell it's never been down (not even the foot peg feelers are scratched), it runs half decent and it's all there. It runs a little rough and dies when dropped in gear (kick stand switch, but someone has tried jumpering the clutch switch). But there's no obvious signs of engine distress (IE: smoke, noise, etc). It sounds like it just needs a good round of carb work as most carbed bikes do when they've been left to sit more than a couple months. I'll let pics will tell the rest of the story again:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/image6_zps3xjcrbiw.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/image4_zpsfhyantg0.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/image2_zps2ltv1sah.jpg)

The gent starts talking about the things on the bike (I think mostly so I don't try and beat him up on price). As he's talking, I just pull out $850 bucks and hand it to him. He gets a big grin on his face and says thank you very much. I probably could have haggled him down a bit more, but his price was fair and I'm a straight shooter. He'd already dropped $150 off his asking before I even got there. I don't see the need to "p" a guy off for a few dollars. It's only money after all. We shake hands and part as friends.

We load up and head out. The trip home is uneventful, other than we decide to stop overnight in Amherst rather than push the last 4 hrs.

Yet another twist: I guy I had sent an email to about parting an 86 Royale calls while we are driving. It's on the truck's Bluetooth speaker so the missus can hear it. He says he has a whole bike minus the engine, final drive, radio head and top box luggage. I tell the guy I don't really have much more than a couple hundred to spend since I'm out buying bikes at the moment (already had the venture on the trailer). He just pops out a couple hundred would be fine for everything that's left, he just wants it out of his way. I look at the missus, she gives me that look and says "go get it". Love that woman! It's a parts bike, but what the heck. My 83 is essentially a stripper, I might look to see if I can put the Gucci stuff like Air suspension and cb on it. The VentureCruise control would be nice, since I broke my wrist doing my job and my hand goes number after holding the throttle for 15 minutes. Anyways,nothing wrong with having parts. I'll just break it down into bin-able sizes and store it in the garage loft. *jump ahead a week - picked up the parts bike, seemed good enough when I looked at it. Turns out closer inspection on the breakdown into parts revealed it was a turd. Very little useable left on it at all. Yeah, I got taken. Win some, loose some *

I get the bikes home:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/BDF4CDE5-6928-4B78-9B76-F9DE510E0E78_zpsyo4l9egi.jpg)

and roll them into the garage:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/72FBD07A-F559-4477-99F8-6C7E04797CBC_zpsebxs36pm.jpg)

While I'm waiting to register and insure them, I fixed a few little niggles like a couple broken tabs on the venture side covers and I pulled the gawd awful tail piece luggage rack of the FJ. The rack really messed up the tail fairing. Not sure if I'm going to try and plastic weld it or just replace it. I also notice they have the wrong year mufflers on it and have added a couple pieces of exhaust pipe to span the gap between mufflers and collector box (I'll fix that this winter by relocating the brackets welded on the mufflers).

Once legal, the Venture reveals it's got an issue on the first ride. Big miss, really big. Huge. I figure it's a combination of old gas in the carbs gumming things up and probably carbon fouled plugs from idling on choke in the guy's garage a lot. I had noticed it ran a little rough when I first looked at it. Looking back, I think the guy was a little nervous when I was looking at it, probably worried it was something wrong and I was going to haggle on it. Small potatoes for me to find and fix it, even if it was a carb rebuild (I had already figured on a bare minimum drop them in the ultrasonic and sync job since it had been sitting so much). I had picked up some plugs the day before as I was pretty sure they would be knackered from sitting/idling all those years.

Man o' jezz boy! Are those plugs a PITA to get out! Worse than the V4 in my Interceptor and that's saying something! I get 'em out and sure enough, carbon fouled. But the biggest surprise was the LH front spark wire: went to pull it off and the wire wasn't threaded into the plug cover! Bingo, miss found.

Back together and a ride up the street reveals the miss is gone. Runs pretty good. It's still got a roughness to it,but that's likely the carbs needing a good fettling and balance. Too much freeplay in the throttle makes it hard to be smooth at low speeds. The rear brake master is seized on, rusted pivot holding the pedal on. A quick disassemble and cleaning sorts that out. 120 KPH reveals it to be rock solid and it actually seems to suck down to the pavement. Pretty sure the carbs need a good going through as once it gets fully up on the main jets it runs smooth and pulls like a freight train.

So that's where the Venture sits. Rideable, but needing work. This weekend will see a good going through for adjustments and fluid/grease change/lube.

The FJ12, however, ran like poo when I got it home. Who-ever's hands it had previously passed through either didn't want to spend the money or didn't know what to do with it mechanically. Very likely why the gy is happy to let it go for 850 bucks (and the it won't run in gear thing). 5 minutes fettling with carb adjustments and it's running almost as smooth as the day Yammy made it. While a bit beat up, it still pulls hard enough to flatten your lungs against the back of your rib cage! My lungs get several rounds of bruising on that first ride....love it! :)

Prolonged riding on the FJ won't be a normal option for me though: 10 mins of ripping around and my wrist is bothering me, both wrists. I'm not sure who hung the "sport tourer" name on this bike but it feels like full sportbike crouch to me, wrists are screaming, back is protesting and it feels like my knees are in my crotch. I can't image being on one of the newer "repli-racers"...ouch.

So the FJ12 will just be a fun "hair on fire" weekend rip on local roads bike. A recapturing my youth sort of deal. Lots of great roads here for that and I'll be able to let that big four howl to it's heart's content - that sound is pure food for the soul.

This winter will see the FJ12 torn down to the frame and properly sorted. Cosmetics will be addressed and I'll probably do a variation on the red/silver paint scheme of my high school desire. Drivetrain seems solid, so I'll just tear the carbs down, drop 'em in the ultrasonic and give them a going through. But not a lot of plans other than that for the drivetrain.

3 grand, 2 bikes. A solid touring bike, a bucket list item checked off, a nice winter project and a small overnight trip with the missus.

So, over all pretty good!



P.S. If you're reading this part, thanks for hanging in for the whole, long story!

When I bought the FJ, the ODO showed around mid 40,000 kms.

I was thinking it was low, but not an unusually low number for a Canadian bike. It did seem pretty neglected for a 40,000 km bike though.

I had noticed a few things like a Province of Quebec certificate/sticker on the rear inner fender but still thought nothing of it.

On a random google search, I ran across this from 2013:

http://motorcycle.brick7-ca.com/Givi+Fj1200 (http://motorcycle.brick7-ca.com/Givi+Fj1200)

(http://motorcycle.brick7-ca.com/media/ca/132601_132700/132618_30801cd2d8665e5f.jpg)

(http://motorcycle.brick7-ca.com/media/ca/132601_132700/132618_555c179779ab7da1.jpg)

1200 bucks or partial trade for a PS3! ughhh....

Then, armed with Rimouski and 1989 FJ1200, I found her from a better day here:

https://www.bikepics.com/members/floydman37/89fj1200/ (https://www.bikepics.com/members/floydman37/89fj1200/)

(https://www.bikepics.com/pics/2009/01/05/bikepics-1531053-800.jpg)

Same bike, no doubt about it. The pictures show the same exhaust pipes with the same joint piece and muffler clamp it has on it right now. Someone once loved it enoguh to buy a cusom seat.

The next time I can find it surfacing is when I bought it:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/image6_zps3xjcrbiw.jpg)

So, it's either 145,000 kms or someone rolled the ODO back. I'm going to assume it's at least over 100,000 and likely 145,000.

I am a little disappointed the KMs are so high, but it runs tight and doesn't smoke at start or on when down shifting so that's something.

At any rate, it seems a healthy enough steed to warrant a good going through and setting back to right.

:)

So after fettling with the carbs, chasing down some vacuum leaks and assorted other irritations, I now have a bit of riding time on the old hack.

Gotta say; I'm loving the old girl!

The torque and acceleration slots right into my style of fast riding. We work well together. The sound is just intoxicating! Soul stirring. At least it is for me. I've been diagnosed with PTSD (I'm military) and a quick blast down the twisty side roads here has me back in a proper state of mind in seconds. The FJ seems to be the perfect Rx for me.

It give just enough wind protection but not too much for hot days (I prefer to ride the FJ in hot weather instead of the Venture, which sits you in a warm still air envelope).

But, I've also broken my right wrist when I was younger. That keeps me from riding the Fj any more than 10-odd minutes at a time.

So, it's a throttle lock or some other more complicated form of cruise control so I can let go of the grip and "shake it out".

That brings us up to date and I'll copy my cruise control thread over to this project thread and just carry on....:)

Quote from: great white on August 06, 2015, 09:50:35 AM
A little background: I broke my right wrist a long time ago. My problem is I can't hold the throttle very long without my hand going numb. About 10 mins tops. Throttle locks are all well and good and they do let me "shake it out" to prolong riding time, but don't do much for you on up or down hill grades.

I was looking at my 89 FJ12 and noticed it's got a funny little blanking plate right in the middle.

Oddly enough, it looks just like the slot on my Yamaha venture cruise control throttle housing. Actually, the entire housing looks pretty much the same. would probably even swap if I cared to try.

That got me wondering if it would be possible to retrofit the Yamaha VentureCruise system on an FJ. It's all pretty self contained, all it needs is power and a speed sensor signal.

I've got pretty much a complete 1985 spare system in the parts loft From a venture I scrapped this year.

The throttle cables even look like they would work.

There's a vacuum pump and pot to hide, but the FJ12 has a big enough fairing to get it in there (easily).

Just spitballin' at this time, but has anyone else done anything similar?

My Venture has lots o' torque to pull a cruise system, the FJ has at least as much.

An electronic cruise seems like such a good match for a bike like the FJ12 that's billed as a "sports tourer".....

:scratch_one-s_head:

Quote from: great white on August 06, 2015, 04:08:40 PM
Heres a pic of what got me thinking about the venture cruise swap:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/C46BDA5C-F638-4021-8BA3-84FBEF829324_zpsfbhd5mzc.jpg)

Suspiciously similar, no?

:)

Quote from: great white on August 06, 2015, 07:53:31 PM
Nah, not going aftermarket. I'd just do a throttle lock for 30-40 bucks first.

I'm just intrigued by the venture cruise and the similarities in the throttle cables and bar controls.

I've gone through whats needed to do the swap on my Venture to an 86+ cruise control (has accel/coast/resume vice the 83-85 on/set/off)and the Yamaha system is actually pretty simple.

The 83-85 venture cruise isn't much more than an electronic/vacuum throttle lock, except that it maintains speed for wind and hill loads.Not accel/decel/resume functions.

The only real hangup I see is the throttle cable and the speed signal.

As can be seen here:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/venture%20cruise_zpswg1wg855.jpg) (http://s1174.photobucket.com/user/justonepict/media/venture%20cruise_zpswg1wg855.jpg.html)

It really is simple. I gave all the components so why not give it a go?

The switches and throttle quad are easy peasy. Looks like a direct swap. The boxes, pump, dump valve and vacuum actuator are a simple weld a few brackets on in the right places and bob's yer uncle.

I don't have the wiring harness, but that's not a big deal. I'll just go with weatherpak connectors and make my own disconnects.

The brake and clutch switches are dual channel on the Venture cruise (ie: switches have 4 wires vice 2) but htat is easily handled with a couple relays triggered off the FJ's 2 wire switches.

The big question is the speed sensor and the throttle cables.

I think the speed sensor might not be a problem, as the FJ has what looks like the same sensor on the back of the speedo as the Venture. Visible here on the FJ cluster:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/109d6dbc-8ac1-4de9-af89-3c0e10c5f40d_zps1kmo0etv.jpg)

Need to dig deeper on that one though. The FJ service manual calls it a reed switch and the Venture manual calls it a speedo sensor. Even if the sensors are sinilar, if one is putting out a diffeerent PPM (pulse per mile) thant the other one, the cruise is going to be all messed up.Not so much the maintaining speed (it just looks for change) but it only activates between 50-130 KPH. If it thinks the bike is doing less/more than that whem you try to switch it on, it's not going to work.

The throttle cable for the venture will obviously be too long to the handle bars, but the lower portion from the splitter might work fine as is. They even habve the same bend down to the carb linkage. I might be able to use the short FJ splitter to handle bar cable portions with the venture lowers. You can see the differences here.

FJ:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTU3N1gxNjAw/$T2eC16Z,!yEE9s5jGKDiBQk22W(r!w~~60_57.JPG)

Venture:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMlgxNjAw/z/1jQAAOxyNo9Ss8AJ/$_57.JPG)

I may get lucky and the cable from the venture fit the FJ as is, but I doubt it. They are most likely just too long.

Even so, the junction box in the Venture cable comes apart and there's a wheel assembly in there that joins them all together and makes it work. If the FJ cables don't work with it, I'm sure there's a set of cables out there that are the right length. I've just got to find them.

This is all concept stage at this point. I'd like to work on the FJ this winter, but most of the off months (and money) will be eaten up by the Venture project. Amongst other things, it's getting VMax heads and cams, a 2002 Venture star transmission, VMax rear differential, etc. Basically, I'm building a VMax inside a Venture touring bike. Should be a fun ride....

:)

Quote from: great white on August 08, 2015, 07:32:51 PM
Did a little bit of work on it today. Mainly, just did the handlebar switch and wiring.

First thing I did though was run up to the Bay of Fundy to a little place I know for a nice hearty breakfast by the water:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/94B7D756-3A58-45C4-B859-57F94E3B8DC5_zpsqfdor88y.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/1118a908-bacf-4d73-90cd-ba3fb5b47731_zpsh9sgsvzb.jpg)

Belly full and fast rid back down the mountain to the valley. I tore the bike apart.

I would like to say it was just drop the venture throttle housing on, but it wasn't quite that simple. Seems there were a few connector changes between 85 and 89. The venture throttle was not a plug in deal.

I blew both housings apart. The basic castings had the same part numbers, and the switches were same same. But i had to strip the FJ switches and wiring and transfer them over to the venture housing in order to use the venture cruise switches.

Then I had to pull all the pins out of the FJ connector and pull the sleeve off the wiring harness.

With that all done, I had to splice (soldered and heat shrink-ed) the power feed for the cruise to the keyed power wire for the "on/off" switch. It is done the same way on the venture, so I'm not re-inventing the wheel here.

Then it was try to get all that loose wiring back in to the OEM FJ wire sleeve. I ended up using a long length of 20 thou safety wire to pull the wires back and forth through the sleeve.

Finally, it was throttle cables and bolt it back on to the bar.

The finished product looks pretty simple, even if it took me a couple hours to sort it:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/5AABE3C0-7054-4CF3-9D6A-35F2662C16C6_zpsrxe8h13n.jpg)

While I was into the guts of it, I cleaned and lubricated all the switch contacts and pivots. Works like new.

I also cleaned the buttons and repainted the letters and indicators with white paint.

I had a look a the throttle arrangement. It's going to be a bit of a problem.

The junction box isn't the problem, it's the cables.

The stock FJ cables are too short at the the FJ coupler to work with the Venture cruise junction and the venture cables are far too long and don't have the right ends on the sheaths.

So I'm kind stumped. I think I can use the stock FJ cable sheaths, as they line up nicely with the Venture cruise box. I can probably pick up a knackered old set cheaply somewhere. I may end up having to make my own cable innards though.

I haven't cast lead in quite a while, but I may have to brush up on those skills.....

Just so you know, the "Reed Switch" that you circled on the back of the FJ speedometer, is used to "Self-cancel" the turn signals when you reach a certain speed (or a certain length of time above a certain speed)  :scratch_one-s_head:

Quote from: Firehawk068 on August 09, 2015, 09:23:05 PM
Just so you know, the "Reed Switch" that you circled on the back of the FJ speedometer, is used to "Self-cancel" the turn signals when you reach a certain speed (or a certain length of time above a certain speed)  :scratch_one-s_head:

Yep.

The venture uses the same switch for speed sensing and cancelling also.

Same-same.

:)

Quote from: Firehawk068 on August 09, 2015, 09:23:05 PM
Just so you know, the "Reed Switch" that you circled on the back of the FJ speedometer, is used to "Self-cancel" the turn signals when you reach a certain speed (or a certain length of time above a certain speed)  :scratch_one-s_head:

The turn signals will cancel out after a certain amount of time. Or they will cancel out after a certain distance because of how many times that reed switch is switched on and off by the magnet spinning by it driven by the speedometer cable. The faster you go the shorter amount of time the signals will stay on because of greater distance covered. The FJ will go over 100+ with the turn signals on. Don't ask me how I know.    :pardon:   Dave

Quote from: great white on August 09, 2015, 12:34:48 PMProlonged riding on the FJ won't be a normal option for me though: 10 mins of ripping around and my wrist is bothering me, both wrists. I'm not sure who hung the "sport tourer" name on this bike but it feels like full sportbike crouch to me, wrists are screaming, back is protesting and it feels like my knees are in my crotch. I can't image being on one of the newer "repli-racers"...ouch.

GW,

If you install a handlebar adapter, you can install almost any handlebars in the bike shop, to get your back straighter and the wrists comfortable.  You may need longer lines to the handlebar controls, with some handlebars.  This is one popular kit:

https://spieglerusa.com/controls/handlebar-conversion/model/fj-1200.html (https://spieglerusa.com/controls/handlebar-conversion/model/fj-1200.html)

On the chance that some of your wrist/hand numbness or discomfort comes from engine vibration, almost any foam grips might be helpful.  You can also get bar end weights from several sources, and these are about the best for the FJ:

https://www.rpmracingca.com/products.asp?cat=39&filter=vibranator (https://www.rpmracingca.com/products.asp?cat=39&filter=vibranator)
https://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AFoamGrip (https://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AFoamGrip)

RPM is a dedicated FJ vendor, and should have the grips and Vibranators on hand. 

Lastly, you may want to check out peg lowering options, to get the ergos correct for your legs; just don't decrease your lean angle too much with them.

Cheers,
Red

Quote from: red on August 10, 2015, 10:08:58 AM

Quote from: great white on August 09, 2015, 12:34:48 PMProlonged riding on the FJ won't be a normal option for me though: 10 mins of ripping around and my wrist is bothering me, both wrists. I'm not sure who hung the "sport tourer" name on this bike but it feels like full sportbike crouch to me, wrists are screaming, back is protesting and it feels like my knees are in my crotch. I can't image being on one of the newer "repli-racers"...ouch.

GW,

If you install a handlebar adapter, you can install almost any handlebars in the bike shop, to get your back straighter and the wrists comfortable.  You may need longer lines to the handlebar controls, with some handlebars.  This is one popular kit:

https://spieglerusa.com/controls/handlebar-conversion/model/fj-1200.html (https://spieglerusa.com/controls/handlebar-conversion/model/fj-1200.html)

On the chance that some of your wrist/hand numbness or discomfort comes from engine vibration, almost any foam grips might be helpful.  You can also get bar end weights from several sources, and these are about the best for the FJ:

https://www.rpmracingca.com/products.asp?cat=39&filter=vibranator (https://www.rpmracingca.com/products.asp?cat=39&filter=vibranator)
https://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AFoamGrip (https://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AFoamGrip)

RPM is a dedicated FJ vendor, and should have the grips and Vibranators on hand.  

Lastly, you may want to check out peg lowering options, to get the ergos correct for your legs; just don't decrease your lean angle too much with them.

Cheers,
Red

Thanks for the suggestions and links, but I've been down this road before.

My wrists, knees and back are more a result of previous injuries than the bike's ergos.

Nothing can help my right hand from going numb except letting go of the throttle and shaking it out. It's because it's not quite healed right from a break long ago. I've got a throttle lock I'm going to throw on the bike until I can get the venture cruise system done. That way I can let go without the bike going into compression braking every time.

There's already foam grip on it, and I absolutely hate them. Too "squishy". I'll be swapping them out for some superbike gel grips soon.

Bar end weights? Already has them factory, but I can just spin up a set myself if I want to add more weight. It's nice having your own lathe, even if it is just an  old manual one. :)

My knees are ratched from kneeling in the helicopter while hoisting. I have no bursa sacks left. They can even hurt walking up and down steps.

The back? Bulged L4/5. Neck is bulged C4/5. Helicopter again.

Don't get me wrong; the bike ergos don't help. But it's only ever going to get so good for me. Even my Yammy Venture hurts me to some extent, although I can go a lot longer on the Big V than the FJ.

I've pretty much just learned to live with the pain and discomfort.

I enjoy the FJ for what it is. I could get a little more comfort by switching things up but I don't want to loose the FJ's flavor and character as it is.

I've managed to just "toughened up" a bit by building up to riding the FJ longer. Except for my wrist, I can do about 45mins to and hour before I'm looking to get off...:)

I installed some cbr600rr mirrors I had lying around on the fj.

First thoughts were I was conflicted on the look. After a few minutes, I decided they actually went better with the bike than the stickers.

Jumped on and it seemed there was even better rear visibility.

Well, rode it today and while it is better, I'm still looking at too much elbow.

I just finished recovering the seat and once I've taken a bit of a break I'm going to go out and look at either extending the mount at the fairing or adding length to the arm.

Either is pretty easy for me as I have a lathe in my garage and lots of scrap. I can either make new arms or just splice a length into the existing arms...shouldn t take much. Maybe another 2 inches or so....

I don't know whether to say "Yay!" Or "Crap!"

I'm a big fan of radials on my bikes. A set of radials on CBR rims totally transformed my 85 interceptors handling.

But my 89 FJ, as we all know, isn't quite ready to take them "as is". Luckily, my current tires aren't that bad, although the rear is pretty flat spotted from the PO doing a lot of highway miles (I'm guessing).

So I was on the hunt for some new rims.

I found a gsxr rear rim for 50 bucks locally. Bit of a score.

But the front wheel was providing to be problematic. Then I ran across an 88 fzr750 front rim on eBay. Seller wanted 60 bucks USD, and 75 bucks in shipping. Exchange rates made that stupid high for an old rim.

He had a " make an offer option" so I chucked in 30 bucks.

He took it and now I'm paying 140 CAD for an 88 fzr750 front rim. Just the rim, no discs or axle. Hopefully my discs will bolt up and the axle from the fj will work. I can make an axle on the lathe if I have too....

Jeez, the wife is gonna kill me......we just had a talk the other day about going easy on the bank account with bike parts.

I really didn't expect the guy to accept 30 bucks...... :shok:

Quote from: great white on August 10, 2015, 02:06:18 PM
I installed some cbr600rr mirrors I had lying around on the fj.

First thoughts were I was conflicted on the look. After a few minutes, I decided they actually went better with the bike than the stickers.

Jumped on and it seemed there was even better rear visibility.

Well, rode it today and while it is better, I'm still looking at too much elbow.

I just finished recovering the seat and once I've taken a bit of a break I'm going to go out and look at either extending the mount at the fairing or adding length to the arm.

Either is pretty easy for me as I have a lathe in my garage and lots of scrap. I can either make new arms or just splice a length into the existing arms...shouldn t take much. Maybe another 2 inches or so....

Consider looking into the CBR250 OEM mirrors .  They are about $40 bucks each and have better glass and a longer stock.  The FJ mount can be modified with an angled wedge under the mount or some have modified the mounting holes on the mount that comes with the CBR250 mirrors.  Either way, you'll never go back to the stock or the CBR 600 mirrors.  The search function will lead you to a few write ups on this mod. with part numbers and sources.

(Jumping in here from the cruise control thread...)   :hi:

For custom throttle cables try Motion Pro - they are very used to building custom cables and know all the right questions to ask in order to get it right.  https://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/custom/ (https://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/custom/)

I ordered  a simple 8-inch over set of Hayabusa cables online -- before they would build them they wanted to talk to me over the phone to ensure they had all the details right.   :good2:

Chris

first i was going to comment on the gmt400 then i noticed the vfr...hold the phone is it...sure the hell is, the GREAT WHITE!!!! Nice project man!

Quote from: Bearcat91 on August 11, 2015, 01:18:23 PM
first i was going to comment on the gmt400 then i noticed the vfr...hold the phone is it...sure the hell is, the GREAT WHITE!!!! Nice project man!

Yep, I'm still around.

Minding my own business in yet another corner of the web.....:)


(it's a VF by the way, not VFR, although you probably could hang the "R" on it an mean it now!)

I've been back and forth on a paint scheme for my 89.

I was seriously considering the blue/white and the Red/Silver (wife's favorite).

But after finding pics of it on the web from when it was "new":

(https://www.bikepics.com/pics/2009/01/05/bikepics-1531053-800.jpg)

I'm finding myself feeling like I should return it to the stock silver/white colors.

The bike has been through such hell from PO's (neglect and abuse), it just seems to feel right to me to bring it back to it's "glory days".

Silver/white is also one of my front running choices with the blue.....

Quote from: great white on August 11, 2015, 01:25:24 PM

Quote from: Bearcat91 on August 11, 2015, 01:18:23 PM
first i was going to comment on the gmt400 then i noticed the vfr...hold the phone is it...sure the hell is, the GREAT WHITE!!!! Nice project man!

Yep, I'm still around.

Minding my own business in yet another corner of the web.....:)


(it's a VF by the way, not VFR, although you probably could hang the "R" on it an mean it now!)

ah my bad! vf1000?

Quote from: Bearcat91 on August 11, 2015, 01:28:53 PM

Quote from: great white on August 11, 2015, 01:25:24 PM

Quote from: Bearcat91 on August 11, 2015, 01:18:23 PM
first i was going to comment on the gmt400 then i noticed the vfr...hold the phone is it...sure the hell is, the GREAT WHITE!!!! Nice project man!

Yep, I'm still around.

Minding my own business in yet another corner of the web.....:)


(it's a VF by the way, not VFR, although you probably could hang the "R" on it an mean it now!)

ah my bad! vf1000?

Nope.

V45.

Same one as before. I've had it for better than 15 or so years now.

It's just a "touch" modified.....:)

Quote from: fj1289 on August 11, 2015, 12:46:04 PM
(Jumping in here from the cruise control thread...)   :hi:

For custom throttle cables try Motion Pro - they are very used to building custom cables and know all the right questions to ask in order to get it right.  https://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/custom/ (https://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/custom/)

I ordered  a simple 8-inch over set of Hayabusa cables online -- before they would build them they wanted to talk to me over the phone to ensure they had all the details right.   :good2:

Chris

I've considered it.

Going to make my own first.

If they work, I may go to them for more "permanent" ones.

I have to get it working first though. I want to keep costs as low as I can while "prototyping"....:)

So I held the Venture side boxes up to the FJ today to see how they would look.

First impressions are they seem a little big for the available space, but the shape flows nicely with the FJ's lines.

The turn signals are all wrong, which is disappointing as I have hoping the cut outs in the Venture boxes would line up.

The Mounting pegs are far too high as is the lower bag mount.

The mufflers look to be shooting at the bottom of the boxes, which with them being abs, isn't the best arrangement. Probably would at least need to fab up a heat shield.

It's not a dead idea yet, but I've got some serious figurin' to do if I want to make 'em fit.

Figures, nothing I ever do is lucky enough to fit the way I want with out some customizing...... :sarcastic:

Thanks for the update on the Venture side boxes. I was curious about how much they would intrude on the space above the passenger foot pegs and how close they would be to the mufflers. Too bad they are not a little smaller, there is a boat load of them on eBay for some pretty reasonable prices.

Joe

Quote from: Country Joe on August 12, 2015, 01:12:21 AM
Thanks for the update on the Venture side boxes. I was curious about how much they would intrude on the space above the passenger foot pegs and how close they would be to the mufflers. Too bad they are not a little smaller, there is a boat load of them on eBay for some pretty reasonable prices.

Joe

Oh, I'm sure they will go on and they will fit the lines of the bike very nicely.

Passenger room isn't a concern for me, I have the Venture to haul the missus (and she's not that into bikes anyways). But, because of the shape of the front of the boxes (IE: angled to fit passenger leg room on the venture) I'm sure it could be made to work with a passenger on the FJ. I should think all that would be needed is some careful placement when you build the brackets to hold them.

Muffler room I'm thinking is acceptable with maybe a heat shield on the bottom of the box for good measure (might be fine without one). Again, where you place the boxes and brackets will determine how well they work.

The rear portion of the bags are problematic in that they block the rear light from the sides and take up any room that could be used for turn signals. The "jog" in the rear is made for turn signal to protrude on the Venture, but it's too high on the FJ. The "jog" is up over the ducktail so it's no good for turn signal placement, but it does make for an interesting "styling statement".

I do have a loose plan in my head for detachable turn signals. Basically, use a couple weatherpak connectors to "quick disconnect" the OE stalks, have brake and turn lights incorporated into the boxes and just plug them in when using the boxes. It's still a concept, but I think I've pretty much got the final form figured. I know it's hard to picture from a description, but it should look good and function well if I pull it off like I'm thinking. The turn signals will actually be a little further apart than the stockers and it will add more rear brake/running lights. More from the side as well.

I'm also working out a plan in my head for minimizing the bracketry needed and possibly have it quick disconnect. Possibly even just use a couple slotted tabs. I really don't like the look of saddlebag brackets on the bike when not using luggage and I'd like to minimize or eliminate them as much as possible. Maybe even using them to double up as bungee hook points when the bags are off. Dunno, still a concept....

The FJ isn't my long distance bike and to be honest, I don't think I'd trust it yet anyways. It's still too beat up and neglected from PO's and needs too much attention. It seems to have got a decent heart, I just need to go through it before I'd trust it any more than fairly local blasting.  

So the boxes are a low priority project. The Venture is the long distance cruiser and I'm going to be working on that this winter (getting a VMAX heart, new transmission, VMax final drive, 86 wiring harness and air suspension, etc). But I'll be picking at the FJ this winter too and might make some headway on mounting the boxes.

Watch this space for more as it happens.....

(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/bike/sexy-biker-smiley-emoticon.png)

Quickly strapped the Venture side boxes to the FJ and snapped a couple iPhone pics:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/C482A149-79B6-4464-9E20-B854F3E3936E_zpszb4m4f5c.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/1399DD56-0243-4F4A-B4F2-60D2B238DD00_zpsrkyq27d2.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/3705136E-D413-400A-9223-C70D20CDC820_zpsmvbr22uy.jpg)

Well, definitely not just a bolt on. But I think there's lots to work with there!

Could look pretty bitchin'!
If boxes ever could be called bitchin' that is.....  :shok:

I'm not sure if you could get any more volume on there (short of adding a top box, but I'm just not going there!) without it looking way too big.

Funny thing is: those side boxes actually seem a bit small on my Venture when I'm on a trip!

:sarcastic:

Well, that's it: the FJ is laid up hard for now.

Let me explain a bit.

I've noticed a tendency for the bike to "snap" into a lean. I though it was just old worn tires and learned to live with it.

Then I noticed a tendency for it to do what I call a "chassis wiggle" if I hit a road irregularity while......*ahem*..."husseling" though a sweeper..

Still; old tires. A little bad handling made sense and they're was nothing scary or dangerous about how it handled. A quick "just in case" check of wheel bearings, headstock and swingarm revealed no slop.

Yesterday, I was ripping down a country road at about 60 mph and seemed to feel a shake in the bars. I flipped on the throttle lock and lifted both hands off the bars.

Yep: there it is. Headshake. Bars wiggling back and forth just enough to feel but not upset the entire bike. Put my hands back on the bar and now I can feel it working against my hands. Now that I'm aware of it, I can feel myself almost unconsciously damping it out with my arms.

So today I dropped the triple and lowered the forks out of the headstock.

Bearings - rusty.

Races - rusty.

I clean em up,  grease em down and slap it back together.

Yep, now that it's rotating somewhat freely and there's not rust dust filling the low spots, I can feel the wear in the races. Probably just about the biggest "notch" I've ever felt in headstock bearings.

So there it is. The snapping over was overcoming the notch as I learned it in, the mid corner wobble on poor pavement was it fighting the notch or jumping/dragging bearings and the wobble was the notch and rust for sure.

So, the FJ is a garage queen until I get some new bearings. With any luck, the local jobbers will have them in stock.

Good thing the Venture is always standing by, fresh and begging to go......or I'd have too drive the truck until the fj was fixed.

:boredom:

Well, I did some fishing around.

Seems everyone is either selling lower end bearings (IE: KMF, etc), has to order them from somewhere far away or wants too much for them.

Checked RPM's site but they're out of stock.

After several other places, I called a local carquest and they crossed the bearing numbers (32005 and 32006) up to some NTN's. NTN is good quality stuff. No seals though, but mine is still in good shape.

Carquest can also have them here by 0900 tomorrow.

The price?

32 for the upper and 35 for the lower.

Not cheap, but not bad either. Everyone who had Timken or SKF wanted in the 50 bucks range and RPM prices were fair but shipping would have driven it up around 50 bucks and then exchange rate would have just kicked the snot out of it and ended up in the 65 CAD range. Rpm kit would have gotten me a set of fresh seals though, but I also would have had to wait a week.

So, it's all pretty much a wash. I'm getting quality bearings and they're going to be here tomorrow morning.

I'm ok with that.

:)

Did you check for the HONDA '79 GL1000 seal PN 53214-371-010 ?

This works fine and may be more available.

Quote from: Arnie on August 13, 2015, 08:58:19 PM
Did you check for the HONDA '79 GL1000 seal PN 53214-371-010 ?

This works fine and may be more available.

I can check the local Honda place tomorrow, but my seal still looks good.

Well, I have some blue dot calipers for my Venture to install this winter.

But I'm now considering putting them on the FJ and putting the FJ calipers on the Venture instead.

I can still de-link the brakes and the blue dots will be a nice step up for the FJ and the FJ calipers will be a nice step up for the Venture....

Concerning the Venture side cases. Those should look great on the FJ. Another member went a similar direction that you are. He fabbed up a complete frame and used a set of Goldwing bags.


(http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o145/aviationfred/Halifax-20120424-00159_zps0dqfbbke.jpg) (http://s119.photobucket.com/user/aviationfred/media/Halifax-20120424-00159_zps0dqfbbke.jpg.html)


Fred

Just finished changing out the steering head bearings.

I've probably done the job 50 or 60 times in my life and I gotta say these were probably the most PITA ones I've ever done!

I cut and pounded on the upper race for what seemed like and hour. I finally resorted to making a special hook/tab on a piece of bar stock, then I hardened it and after another 20 min or so of pounding the race flew up and out to somewhere in the back of the garage. What a bastard! I couldn't even get it to snap with Dremel cuts.

Well, that was enough of that BullSpit!

Out came the MIG and fired off a couple short beads around the bottom race. As it was cooling, I used a punch to grab one of the weld turds and.....Pop! came right out first whack.

I tell ya; if I ever have to do an FJ steering bearing job again, the first tool that is coming out is the welder!

:mad:

Took it out for a run today to check the steering after the bearing change.

Seems to transition better. Got it up to 100 HPH (~62 mph), flipped the throttle lock on and lifted my hands off the bars. No wobble, nearly dead smooth.

There's an almost imperceptible bit of movement visible out at the bar ends. I'll either not bother chasing that or maybe try a touch more preload on the bearings. 

I'll just run it for a week or two and then re-check the preload.

I also picked up an 89 ZX7 rear wheel today in prep for the conversion to 17" radials:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/339D8FEB-A80F-4E71-8599-F3E0783A98CE_zpsr54khnrt.jpg)

88 fzr 750 rim showed up today:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/CA585986-982C-443B-9860-B7E511BE8FF7_zpscxylal1i.jpg)

Is it a perfect cosmetic match for the ZX rear rim?

Well...no.

But it's so bloody close I'm willing to say once they're painted and installed on the bike (IE: brake discs installed, buried behind the brake calipers and mufflers, etc) it's going to be damned near indistinguishable as two different rims.

Those who know what they're looking at will probably be able to tell, everyone else is probably not going to know spit.

That "Kawasaki" casting is also getting machined off that rear rim spoke.... :sarcastic:

Planning to keep the New Mexico red chili/green chili theme going?! :lol:

Seriously though - looks like the ZX mode is a good setup for the stock swing arm - kudos on jumping in and figuring it out.  What wheel bearings does it have?  (interested in the OD of the bearings)

Quote from: fj1289 on August 21, 2015, 12:38:28 PM
Planning to keep the New Mexico red chili/green chili theme going?! :lol:

Seriously though - looks like the ZX mode is a good setup for the stock swing arm - kudos on jumping in and figuring it out.  What wheel bearings does it have?  (interested in the OD of the bearings)

Don't know, haven't looked.

It's go the same diameter axle so it's going in complete.

I'll check though when I clean and repack them.

Well, I had to switch to using the zx7 wheel for a shaft drive hub conversion for my Venture.

But luckily, I found an fzr1000 17x5.50 rim on eBay for 46 bucks!

And it's a perfect cosmetic match for the fzr750 front rim I already have waiting to install.

Kinda worked out well after all.

:)

Long time no posts.

The FJ has been pretty much a stalled project. Not because i don't want to or its not worth it, but because I tore the venture apart this winter.

I've dubbed it project: Heavy Cruiser.

Seems to fit. Heavy cruisers were naval ships and generally defined as fast long range large ships with max 8" guns. One step down from battleships of thier day. Well, this thing is going to be fast, capable of long range, large and generally one step down from the 1800 touring bike battleships of today. Although, we'll see about not having the same firepower...

:)

I bought a wrecked 86 Royale for parts, a bunch of Vmax bits, a sprinkling of Royal star venture parts and started the DNA splicing.

Starting from the front of the bike and working my way back:

1. 1986 front forks. Allowed my to bolt up R1 brake calipers and 1986 rotors.
2. Tossed the linked brakes. I hate linked brakes. Works much better with isolated front and rear control. Not looking to discuss it, it you prefer linked brakes, that's cool. I don't. Chucked on the 86 master cylinder in order to get the proper sized piston for the R1 calipers.
3. Cartridge emulators. The aren't racetech ones, they're knock offs I actually bought off ebay for 30 bucks. I was pleasantly surprised when they arrived as they are quality units. They were listed for a Harley something-or-other-model on ebay, but that model had the same diameter forks as my Venture when I looked it up. I took a chance and am glad I did, they work fantastic! It also made the original anti-dive non-functional, but that never really worked anyways and the emulators work great in that capacity.
4. Big chunk of a fork brace. Combined with the cartridge emulators, it really tidied up the front end handling.
5. Tore down the 86 wiring harness and parsed out the things I didn't want (radio, CB, etc). But I kept:
a. The 86 instrument cluster for the clock, gear indicator, dim-able lighting, etc
b. The Electronic cruise control. It is a touring bike after all
c. The CLASS air suspension. It's a touch taller than the standard suspension and this thing needs ground clearance. Air adjustable is not my preferred suspension, but hard to argue it's practicality on a touring bike that can be 1 or 2 up at any time and/or empty luggage or loaded to the gills
6. I removed the glass fuses and went to a standard ATO fuse panel. Easier to find replacements and a bit more reliable panel. Moved it the the LH fairing compartment instead of leaving it under the fake tank cover. Easier to deal with looking for a blown fuse under a dark overpass in  the rain somewhere...
7. Ditched the OEM spark box (TPI) and went with an Ignitek V88 controller. Other than being programmable, the reason why will show up a few items down the list.
8. Went to coil on plugs from a CBR600. Ignitek runs these without any resistors, just the flick of a flag in the programming. High tension wires and plug caps are a major source of trouble on a stock venture, not a problem anymore.
9. I dropped a set of Vmax heads (complete, cams, etc) on the engine. Bolt on change, easy peasy.
10. A complete VBoost system. This is run by the Ignitek and makes the VBoost completely programmable.
11. Custom Airbox. Really not much more than a modified Venture airbox to get it to fit with the taller intake manifolds.
12. complete 2002 Royal star venture transmission. This gives me a deep 5th overdrive for the highway and all the transmission improvements. Although my 83 transmission wasn't skipping, 2nd gear is no longer an issue waiting to happen. I also get the improved shift sector which eliminates the "pins falling out" issue. Working with #13, it gives me a slightly lower overall ratio 1-3, 4th is the same and 5th is a deep overdrive highway gear.
13. Vmax rear differential. Lower gearing than the OEM venture. Helps get my 700-800 lbs moving better.
14. Polaris series Reg/Rectifier. Better charging, easier on the generator.
15. Generator cooling kit. OEM Yamaha service bulletin part.
16. 86 rear subframe assembly. Needed to fit #17.
17. 86 side luggage. (near 100% capacity increase over the 83 luggage)
18. 85 top trunk. I went with 85 because it is still removable like the 83-84, but it is the bigger size of the 86-92 trunk. Pretty much a 1 year option, I was just lucky to come across one for cheap
19. Yamaha R1 mufflers. Made my own intermediate pipes to join the stock collector to the muffs. They're a bit of a "tart it up" item, but it also dropped a good 16 lbs off the rear of an already "arse heavy" bike. R1's are Ti, Venture's are boat anchor weight chromed steel. They sound pretty mean too. They new pipes also let me suck the centerstand up higher too. That was a good thing as I would often end up levering the rear end up on it in hard left handlers.

I'm currently waiting for some jets to show up as it's running a bit rich. Won't pull cleanly from the lower RPMs  and it will foul the plugs after a week or so. For the mains I went to 140's as a first try (oem VMax is 152.5 and the Venture is 117.5), but it's still a bit much and if the mains aren't right: nothing is. I suspect it's my stuffed up exhaust that's calling for smaller jettng. More tweaking is needed.

But even running a bit off, I can drift the front wheel on nothing but throttle in the first two gears. I can get it up in 3rd if I'm trying. Vboost is programmed to hit at the oem 4750 RPM and it feels like a two stroke coming on the pipe! Great fun! But you better be pretty much upright and pointed at where you want to go cause when Mr Max makes his presence known behind all the Venture plastic; the scenery goes into serious fast forward mode.  If you hit it at juuust the wrong time the rear wheel is going sideways and you better be good at "riding the slide". This thing goes from superslab tame to ex wife crazy in the blink of an eye. It does not suffer fools lightly.....respect will be given.

It lopes like a heavy cammed small block at idle. Sounds seriously nasty. I've already had a couple guys come over in a parking lot to see what it was.

This winter will see the completion of a 17" radial conversion, a Royal Star venture starter clutch assembly, a HD hinging backrest (I'm broken remember) and HID headlight.

I'll just drop some progress pics here if anyone is interested in taking a look.


(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/DF2DEE33-EFE9-425D-A445-7BE51FAE8991_zpsdzpofhdz.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/304C554C-3805-4005-A34A-03046A6E6333_zps53bvsaxw.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/59987AFB-EB5D-4EF5-871C-A7C5C1D6A1DA_zpsjppvhbzq.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/6A6CA391-6546-4882-971B-178EAF6A759D_zps4tkfpohi.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/700FB1DB-5854-4A13-9F60-5029F54ED459_zps4i4vb5yz.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/C1C3EDEE-43EF-48E6-9B04-CE5D72731BFE_zpsedsmalxo.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/3550E4C3-CDB4-4760-9CE1-D51494986000_zpscmv6wwk6.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/E1578AED-CCD9-40DC-80D5-9BB9889F96DE_zpssvdcfcbl.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/BE959B18-99E0-4FFB-9AD6-30E584936502_zpshblwsfve.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/8EA71C20-3137-46B6-85FC-D5460AA059DC_zpseackoorj.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/29EA0235-C99B-4C4D-9C8F-72B3D4E82DD2_zpsr0akyhha.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/5D884F18-E733-4865-8709-020AB90A0F20_zpskakxrgpr.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/95C2A86F-310B-4B2E-95E3-2E114486B43E_zpsrbgzxllc.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/09B7FB2C-5380-4B84-9048-1E7EF6E4DBDA_zpscb5fvqhp.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/F7B8E778-F82E-46B2-9388-45EB5F6C1E24_zpslmbr0kya.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/00F29818-4608-4924-9973-0799AD005A09_zps8mqpuzwx.jpg)

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/E9BF6B56-02DD-4CCC-B1BC-B2BA9956A695_zpshlnxfm45.jpg)

As it currently sits waiting for paint to harden up enough to not mark and jetting adjustments:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/4B0840F7-92B0-470C-BBCC-1FC7843B46D0_zps5fmdfaha.jpg)

I'm also building a 302 and T5 for my 83 Mustang:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/C8DB9788-4D91-4777-9414-42BEC1F803CE_zpsqdruwl8e.jpg)

that will share time with the FJ for project attention, but the FJ is the slow/long term project so progress will be slow. I just had the carbs pulled tonight and had them in the ultrasonic.

Interested??? Hell yes!  This sounds like fun.  A Mad Max dressed like a touring bike bike sounds too good to be true.

I hadn't planned to put the FJ on the road this year, but when the wife redid our insurance she paid for the FJ as well. So I guess I'm riding it this summer.

Last year it was a real bitch to start. Always an iffy situation shutting it down anywhere except home.

So I pulled fhe carbs apart and sunk them in the ultrasonic.

I pulled the fuel pump apart on spec (was acting a little funny also) and found the points nearly worn clear through. I pulled an old pump from the 1986 Venture parts bike pile and found it uses the same points. Near perfect shape so I swapped them in. Runs great now.

Then I went and bought a new ATM battery as the old bat was slow cranking even after charging.

I also made a small heavy foam spacer block to fit the air cleaner in properly (oem rubber block is long gone).

Ran the pump a few times to fill the bowls and it fired off on the first crank. I let it warm up and it hot starts just as well as it does cold. It actually works on choke now and no need to do the throttle open when cranking.

It even sounds better running. I'm thinking that old battery just didn't have enough reserve to feed the electronics and starter circuits. Carbs were actually pretty clean inside, but I'm sure the ultrasonic helped it along too.

The sound of that big four purring away also got right into my heart again when I heard it. Something just stirs my soul when it's rumbling. Cant wait to take it for a burn!

Good progress so far!

:)

Well, after a long winter of working on the Mustang, I'm back to the FJ.

Mustang is far from done, but I wanted to get rolling on the FJ again since it's a relatively quick fix for most of it's isues and then I can enjoy it all summer.

I've decided to put it in new paint. Wife also said go ahead so that's good to go!

I ordered up some new (used) plastics, since some of the current pieces have broken tabs, are cracked or otherwise abused by PO's (tail piece has three holes drilled through the top of it where someone had bolted a rack on).

So ebay turns up a rear fender, a rear tail piece and a RH side cover. That takes care of the plastic.

Once it's all here, it's off to the painter for the whole bike since someone has sprayed it all a "sparkle-y" white.

Now I have to decide between the original white and silver paint scheme or the Blue and white of the newer models....

Covered the messed up inner fender panels with some vinyl wrap:

(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/361EABE2-455C-4C9C-B78E-7D9DE8210E33_zpslwvmlklo.jpg)

Then ordered a new gauge glass form yamaha.

Some of Randy's bits will take care of a few things around the bike like the missing grommits and reset button.

Also ordered up one of Randy's oil filter kits. 

Just to bring the thread up to date.

Grabbed a set of new/used footpegs off eBay:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTYwWDEyODA=/z/UcoAAOSw32lYvejH/$_57.JPG)

Ordered a new gauge "glass" though my local dealer. Ordered a kph cluster through ebay.de:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/TpcAAOSwLnBX2Vkh/$_57.JPG)

Canada is kph and staring at the speedo and straining to see the tiny little kph numbers on the inner ring was really getting annoying. I loose mph, but I don't really care about that because I'll never need it. I'll never have the bike outside Canada and if for some strange reason I do, I'm smart enough to do the math if I have to.

Grabbed a couple new/used side covers off eBay to replace my cracked and missing tabs current ones:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/lfsAAOSwl9BWL7dV/$_57.JPG)

I picked the ones I did because they were clean and had all thier tabs intact. But since they're both blue, I may just do a quick spray bomb blue on the rest of the bike for the summer since it's all currently painted all stark white. I'm planning a full paint job this coming winter, so this only has to be "respectable" for the current summer riding season.

Ordered a new chain (rk) and sprockets (jt) from fortnine.

Grabbed a set of used kerker slip ons from eBay:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/JrQAAOSw4CFYvu2R/$_57.JPG)

Grabbed an eBay fork brace:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTg0WDg1MA==/z/nDgAAOSwoudW8NgE/$_57.JPG)

Grabbed an early brake lever off eBay so I can replace the 89 steel one with aluminum and tell myself I can be happy with dropping a couple ounces off the bike:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/IxwAAOSwX61ZC08J/$_57.JPG)

And just for grins, a set of r1 calipers:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/umsAAOSwdjNZFM2X/$_57.JPG)

I hunted for a set of r1's instead of r6's. I have blues on my Venture-VMax hybrid, I wanted r1's on the FJ. I told myself it was to save a few ounces of unsprung weight, but it's really because the gold will! Go with the gold bits (I: rotors, chain, etc) that are already on the bike.

;)

Oh dear.

Ran across an FZ1 swingarm on ebay for 35 bucks. Had everything right from the axle and brake bracket to the plastic chain guard.  

After shipping and exchange it came out to 100 bucks CAD.

Yeah, well......I bought it......

:Facepalm:

GW, there are bunch of photos that are now missing from the topic from photobucket.

eg.
(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/DF2DEE33-EFE9-425D-A445-7BE51FAE8991_zpsdzpofhdz.jpg)

Are you going to be pulling them, if so I will go through and delete the removed photos.

Randy - RPM

Quote from: racerrad8 on May 26, 2017, 01:11:57 PM
GW, there are bunch of photos that are now missing from the topic from photobucket.

eg.
(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/private/DF2DEE33-EFE9-425D-A445-7BE51FAE8991_zpsdzpofhdz.jpg)

Are you going to be pulling them, if so I will go through and delete the removed photos.

Randy - RPM

Those are from a couple years ago. Probably broken links from changes made in my photobucket....

Quote from: great white on May 26, 2017, 03:02:41 PM
Those are from a couple years ago. Probably broken links from changes made in my photobucket....

Do you want me to delete or do you want to send me the new links and I can update them.

Let me know, Randy - RPM

You might as well delete the picture links if you wish. I doubt I could figure out which are which or even if I still have them.....

Awwww, I like the cat....

So, old post but I'm still working on the old girl. With the rim swap and fz1 rear swingarm sorted, its time to make the bike purdy.

Tear down to the frame begins:

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/314e9610.jpg) (https://servimg.com/view/19980774/888)
(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/293bb310.jpg) (https://servimg.com/view/19980774/889)

Not planning anything radical, just a nice factory white and silver like any other "run-of-the-mill" 1989 FJ1200...

Tear down almost finished:
(https://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/45c5f810.jpg) (https://servimg.com/view/19980774/890)
(https://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/19f81810.jpg) (https://servimg.com/view/19980774/891)

Ordered up some parts yesterday. Four emulsion tubes and the redesigned starter chain oil nozzle. Exchange, taxes and shipping made it pretty painful: 235 bucks CAD. But, the emulsion tubes are needed as the originals are so worn you don't even have to look very close to see how "ovaled" the needle hole is.

I also realized that I neglected to do a compression test before yanking the engine. So I had to do it cold, which isn't ideal but it's still an indicator. All cylinders pumped up to about 140-145 psi. Except for #1 cylinder, that pumped up to 105 psi and that was after an extended crank cycle. the carbs are off, so no restriction there.

Seemed odd to me that one cylinder would be so much lower than the others. It's certainly possible that only #1 might have bore damage, but it's not a likely failure mode.

So I decided to check the valve clearances. #1 is tight, very tight. It's not zero, but it's close. At dead cold the intake is .004/.005 on the base circle and the exhaust is about .005/.006 thou. Such tight clearances could explain why it takes so long to pump up the cylinder and why it's not holding as much compression as the others. I'm considering a leak down test, mainly because I don[t have a valve shim removal tool (it's on order) to check/change the valve shims. I thought I had bought one a while ago, but it;s not in my shim kit. the tool for the VF750F (useless really) and the tool for the xvz/vmx cams are there, but not the FJ one. I either lost it or never ordered it.

A leak down test might be the best way to go for the immediate future. I was really hoping it would mostly just be a cosmetic refurb on the engine and I really would rather not have to pull the head or have to bore oversize. But that's not up to me....that decision will be made by the condition of the engine.

Makes me a bit nervous as this old hack has either 98,000+ kms (approx 60k miles) on the clock or it's 193,000 Kms (approx 120k miles). There's no real way to tell because the odo has 93,000 on it, but I've found this bike in old "for sale ads" where the odo is listed as 98,000 kms and that was more than a decade ago. If the high mileage number is correct though, I'm surprised the compression is as good as it is on 2,3, and 4 cylinders.

Here's hoping #1 is an easy (ie: inexpensive) fix to get it up to the other cylinders....

Well, decided to ditch the OEM ignitor box. Ordered up an Ignitech TCIP4. I run one on my vmax/venture cross breed and its a great piece of kit. It will run with the map sensor as is and has the capability to take in data from a TPS, which I will add later on down the road. Adding a TPS to the throttle will give me the ability to make a 3d ignition map and fine tune all areas under throttle, most especially part throttle settings. 

Well crap.

Valve shim tool showed up today and I was able to shim #1 cylinder to within specs. Ran a quick compression check and no difference. #1 only pumps up to 90-100 psi.

I dropped a teaspoon of 10W oil in the bore and cranked it over again.

150 PSI easily.

Right now, I'm just gutted. #3-4 is a good 140-150 psi, but #1 has some type of cylinder or ring damage/issue.

Which means the engine has to come apart to at least investigate, which means more money. If I end up having to pull the cylinder block, at a minimum, I'm in for a new set of rings for all 4. Plus gaskets and such. Not to mention, as soon as you open up an old engine, it becomes a never ending stream of replacement parts.

Can't even look at it right now. I need some time away from it to gather my emotions back up to where I can may good decisions again.

On another note, I got a text message from my ex wife (yeah, no one ever is happy about that). We broke up about 20 years ago and other than my daughter, we've had no contact. The text message said to come and get my motorcycle if I wanted it or she was going to have it taken away for scrap. I was surprised she still had it, I expected she would have "purged it' when she did the vengeful ex thing of tossing anything connected to me out, or burning it in the back yard whatever she didn't toss. Turns out she pushed it out behind the shed and it's been out there for the better part of 18-20 years. It's in pretty hard shape:

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/fr_37510.jpg)

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/fr_37512.jpg)

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/fr_37513.jpg)

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/fr_37514.jpg)

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/fr_37515.jpg)

It started life as a stock 1982 CB650SC:

(https://i.servimg.com/u/f17/19/98/07/74/1982_h10.jpg)

It's a fairly "amateurish" build, as I didn't have a lot of fabrication tools back then to do things like turn out spacers, parts, welders, etc. The front and rear end are from an Yamaha RD500R, the engine has (had) oversized pistons and a dynojet carb kit, k&n pods, MAC 4 into 1, converted to rear monoshock, a Kawi ex500 fairing and a sprinkling of assorted other parts.

Now, everything is faded, worn, or seized. The white blobs you see is either white paint (from painting the shed) or big plops of pine tree sap. Someone along the line has also been robbing parts off it. But strange things, like someone took one of the front lower engine mounts and bolts off it and the odd bolt/nut here and there.

Not sure what I'm going to do with it. It's a snappy looking machine, but it's going to literally need everything torn apart and refurbished. I'm kind of afraid to take the seat off and see whats living under there and I have no idea if the engine even turns over anymore. It's definitely not going to be worth the money I'd have to put into it.

I'll probably just push it into the back of the shed for now and maybe look at it again in another year or two...

After a little sit down, I think I might try dropping some seafoam or acteone/atf into the offending cylinder and letting it sit for a week or two. Might free it up if the problem is carboned up ring lands. Lord knows it was running pig rich for who knows how long due to the "ovalized" emulsion tubes....

Quote from: great white on April 14, 2022, 03:00:33 PMWell crap.
Valve shim tool showed up today and I was able to shim #1 cylinder to within specs. Ran a quick compression check and no difference. #1 only pumps up to 90-100 psi.
I dropped a teaspoon of 10W oil in the bore and cranked it over again.  150 PSI easily.
Right now, I'm just gutted. #3-4 is a good 140-150 psi, but #1 has some type of cylinder or ring damage/issue.

Great white,

Yamaha makes a product called Ring-Free (intended for their outboard motors).  A number of riders here have reported good results with it; Ring-Free is a gastank additive.  Follow the label directions.

Quote from: red on April 14, 2022, 08:35:20 PM

Quote from: great white on April 14, 2022, 03:00:33 PMWell crap.
Valve shim tool showed up today and I was able to shim #1 cylinder to within specs. Ran a quick compression check and no difference. #1 only pumps up to 90-100 psi.
I dropped a teaspoon of 10W oil in the bore and cranked it over again.  150 PSI easily.
Right now, I'm just gutted. #3-4 is a good 140-150 psi, but #1 has some type of cylinder or ring damage/issue.

Great white,

Yamaha makes a product called Ring-Free (intended for their outboard motors).  A number of riders here have reported good results with it; Ring-Free is a gastank additive.  Follow the label directions.

Thanks for the recommendation. I am aware of yamalube's "ring free" product. Right now the #1 cylinder is soaking in seafoam top end cleaner. I'll let it sit for a couple days and try a compression check again. If it improves any, I'll try a leakdown test. Might dig out my boroscope and have a look too. Only problem is my boroscope has a cracked lens, so the image you see is pretty marginal at the best of times.

I'm really hoping its just carbon fouling on the top ring land that can be cleared without pulling the engine apart to the base gasket.

But, with my luck, I'm not holding out too much hope...

Quote from: great white on April 14, 2022, 10:29:27 PM

Quote from: red on April 14, 2022, 08:35:20 PMGreat white,
Yamaha makes a product called Ring-Free (intended for their outboard motors).

Thanks for the recommendation.  Might dig out my boroscope and have a look too. Only problem is my boroscope has a cracked lens, so the image you see is pretty marginal at the best of times.

Great white,

Amazon has lots of borescopes, waterproof fiber optics with dimmable LED lights.  This is a (selectable)1280 pixel version, focal length 3~10 cm.  Amazon has many more, from US$10 and up.  This one is US$21 with a five meter cable, and free shipping if your Amazon order is over $25.  You can cut costs by using a laptop, tablet, or cellphone as the display screen, or the more expensive versions will have a dedicated display screen.  You may want one that is auto-focus/re-focus/manual focus.  Check that they will work with your display device; some are not Apple-friendly.

https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/ (https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/)

Quote from: red on April 15, 2022, 11:43:25 AM

Quote from: great white on April 14, 2022, 10:29:27 PM

Quote from: red on April 14, 2022, 08:35:20 PMGreat white,
Yamaha makes a product called Ring-Free (intended for their outboard motors).

Thanks for the recommendation.  Might dig out my boroscope and have a look too. Only problem is my boroscope has a cracked lens, so the image you see is pretty marginal at the best of times.

Great white,

Amazon has lots of borescopes, waterproof fiber optics with dimmable LED lights.  This is a (selectable)1280 pixel version, focal length 3~10 cm.  Amazon has many more, from US$10 and up.  This one is US$21 with a five meter cable, and free shipping if your Amazon order is over $25.  You can cut costs by using a laptop, tablet, or cellphone as the display screen, or the more expensive versions will have a dedicated display screen.  You may want one that is auto-focus/re-focus/manual focus.  Check that they will work with your display device; some are not Apple-friendly.

https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/ (https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/)

My boroscope is purely optical. Ziess optics. Used to use it to scope axial compressors and turbines. I really ahould see if I can order a new lens for it. I don't use it often anymore, but when I do use it it's a great tool.

Quote from: great white on April 15, 2022, 12:34:22 PM

Quote from: red on April 15, 2022, 11:43:25 AM

Quote from: great white on April 14, 2022, 10:29:27 PM

Quote from: red on April 14, 2022, 08:35:20 PMGreat white,
Yamaha makes a product called Ring-Free (intended for their outboard motors).

Thanks for the recommendation.  Might dig out my boroscope and have a look too. Only problem is my boroscope has a cracked lens, so the image you see is pretty marginal at the best of times.

Great white,

Amazon has lots of borescopes, waterproof fiber optics with dimmable LED lights.  This is a (selectable)1280 pixel version, focal length 3~10 cm.  Amazon has many more, from US$10 and up.  This one is US$21 with a five meter cable, and free shipping if your Amazon order is over $25.  You can cut costs by using a laptop, tablet, or cellphone as the display screen, or the more expensive versions will have a dedicated display screen.  You may want one that is auto-focus/re-focus/manual focus.  Check that they will work with your display device; some are not Apple-friendly.

https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/ (https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/)

My boroscope is purely optical. Ziess optics. Used to use it to scope axial compressors and turbines. I really ahould see if I can order a new lens for it. I don't use it often anymore, but when I do use it it's a great tool.

Correction on last: its an olympus fibrescope. You don't want to know what it cost new (several tunes more than my fj is worth)...

Personally - with riding season coming up, I'd put it on the road and ride the hell out of it! 

Then, next winter do a rebuild/upgrades.  Go cheap and go for a 1219 kit (bores in the stock liners) - or maybe one of the 1250 kits using Yamaha pistons Robert at RPM has put together.  Have a good valve job done, replace the valve seals, and have fun!  Or go a bit bigger with a 1297 "drop in" kit, or open up the cases for 1314 or 1350, XJR rods, add a little head work (JMR on here comes to mind) and maybe mild cams (that can retain shim over bucket)  to the valve job ... lots of fun and very little if any loss in reliability or added maintenance!

Frame is out for powdercoat atm, so no real work on the fj right now.

Currently wrenching on another project that rolled in the door a while ago:

(https://i.ibb.co/SJn3kzr/BEC9-A844-C7-B8-424-F-808-E-31-FCDBBFF616.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JC7sY9Q)

(https://i.ibb.co/X7K56pD/D3352764-3-F94-434-D-A560-22-B9-C52-B62-C4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gSfWQwd)

Thats an old 1982 cb650sc I've had hanging around forever. Starting to do some work to it.

That has the potential to be gorgeous. I'ma huge CB650 fan, having owned one for many years and put 60,000 trouble free miles on it.

Once I got my first FJ in 1986, I kept it so that my parents could go on it and join me on rides any time they wanted - that didn't work out as planned because they'd usually get up much earlier than me, Leave me a note telling me where to meet them at lunch time.......... And take my new FJ, leaving the old 650 for me  :sarcastic: :sarcastic:

It then got loaned out to a couple of friends who couldn't afford their own bikes but were desperate to get back into riding and touring - that 650 was ridden all over Europe many times in the company of my FJ (the most memorable journey was by road through East Germany (along the "Transit Route" to Berlin, before the wall came down).

I eventually sold it a few years later to a work colleague when it had 83,000 miles on it (with no engine work at all) and then lost track of it.

Great memories.........I'll dig out some old photos !

What's the go with the rear wheel, looks like it's off a shaft drive bike. How are you going to convert it to chain drive?

Quote from: Bones on April 27, 2022, 04:35:33 AM
What's the go with the rear wheel, looks like it's off a shaft drive bike. How are you going to convert it to chain drive?

Rear wheel is there just as a placeholder. I have a matching r6 rear wheel on the way. That wheel is from a zx7 and is a project for a rear wheel for my vmax engined yamaha ventilure.

Quote from: Millietant on April 27, 2022, 03:15:34 AM
That has the potential to be gorgeous. I'ma huge CB650 fan, having owned one for many years and put 60,000 trouble free miles on it.

Once I got my first FJ in 1986, I kept it so that my parents could go on it and join me on rides any time they wanted - that didn't work out as planned because they'd usually get up much earlier than me, Leave me a note telling me where to meet them at lunch time.......... And take my new FJ, leaving the old 650 for me  :sarcastic: :sarcastic:

It then got loaned out to a couple of friends who couldn't afford their own bikes but were desperate to get back into riding and touring - that 650 was ridden all over Europe many times in the company of my FJ (the most memorable journey was by road through East Germany (along the "Transit Route" to Berlin, before the wall came down).

I eventually sold it a few years later to a work colleague when it had 83,000 miles on it (with no engine work at all) and then lost track of it.

Great memories.........I'll dig out some old photos !

I've owned this one since 91. But, its an odd story.

A fee weeks ago I got a text from my ex wife (who doesn't love getting texts from ex wives?) to cone and get my old bike of she was going to have it hauled away for scrap. Now, we broke up close to 20 years ago and I assumed she had gotten rid of it long ago, either by dumping it or (as was her tendency back then) burning it in the back yard. Turns out she had pushed it out of the shed and left it outside under the pine trees for pretty much 20 years.

When I went to pick it up (while she was at work) it was a mess. Literally everything was seized solid except the wheel and steering bearings. Faded, corroded covered in pine sap and even big blobs of white latex paint (they had painted the shed a couple times and obviously didn't give a rats behind about the bike).

Looked like this:

(https://i.ibb.co/51YqjVz/A6172-A64-429-E-47-C2-805-B-C9-E7670-A163-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WHDSz1d)
(https://i.ibb.co/mqZZdVg/02-C3-D1-DE-3149-4-A0-A-8-BAB-153599-CBD3-CC.jpg) (https://ibb.co/1qyyBtj)
(https://i.ibb.co/jbDKVVZ/B612-B8-FD-4-E3-F-4179-81-E9-C1-CAD352-EADB.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tQDfZZP)

Got it home and tore into it. Carbs were junk and it took a couple days in the ultrasonic to get them clean again. Tank is a rusted mess, so that will have to be stripped and coated. The engine, surprisingly, turned over with a strap when on the rotor. I thought for sure the rings would have rusted to a cylinder or two.

From there it turned into a project to resurrect the old hack and thats where it sits today. Not sure if I'll keep it or sell it on, but I feel like I just wouldn't be doing the right thing by junking it. Gave myself a $500 budget and I'm almost out, but I've got most of what I need to finish between left over parts lying around and used parts off ebay and the like.

Looking forward to the progress reports.

As mentioned, here are a couple of "mouldy" old photo's of my CB 650 Z (we got this as well as the SC, I think the other model you got before the SC, came with wire wheels and a single disc brake).

These were from a tour in 1982 with my kid brother on pillion when he was 9 (in Switzerland and the Black Forest)