Hellooooo, Fellow FJ Owners! :greeting:
And greetings from where it's as cold as outer space, aka Minnesota! (Twin Cities, baby!) I am currently 24 years old and I bought my FJ on September 19th, 2019. I already owned a 1980 Kawasaki KZ440 LTD D, but she's my cruiser and I've been slowly restoring her for a while now. I was looking for something from the 80's (b/c I'm a sucker for 80's bikes) that had more get-up and would be happy runnin down the highway, and I found her. Named her Farrah, been in love with the power since. However, another thing that I'm a sucker for is improvement. She runs good, but good isn't good enough for me when I know there is work to be done!
So, I thought it would be fun to open this post up so anybody who was bored or interested enough could follow my progress! I am determined to get my FJ looking and running in tip-top shape. I'll start with the list of things that have been completed. Most of them are in my signature also, and these were completed by someone who I'm sure was a member of this site at one point.
Work/Mods Completed
- Yamaha FJR master cylinders installed
- '93 FJ1200 front fork and brakes installed in place of original OEM's
- RaceTech fork valves installed
- RPM Racing bar risers installed
- Progressive Suspension rear shock installed
- Old rubber brake lines replaced with Stainless braided lines
- Heated grips (thank u to whoever put these in)
- Vance and Hines 4 to 1 exhaust installed
- Stage 3 jet kit
- K&N High Flow Air Filter Kit
- SAFETY WIRED PETCOCK
- Replaced Broken Choke Cable Assembly [me]
- Fixed damage wires resulting from the dreaded Red Plug Problem [me]
- Degreased and cleaned terribly neglected rear wheel cowl [me]
- Installed New Lead Acid Battery [me]
Work to be Done
- Install BOSCH IB301A Voltage Regulator Transpo Modification
- Fix/Splice Wires leading to Dash Gauges [Connector/Wires are fried and melted, causing it to flicker like mad]
- Dynamically Synchronize Carburetors
- Replace Worn Rear 16 inch Tire
- Replace Blown Head Cover Gasket
- Retap Damaged Cylinder 4 Spark Plug Hole
- Repack Vance and Hines Exhaust [God, it is loud as heck]
- Replace Malfunctioning Brake Light LEDs
- Replace Rear Foot Pegs [rivets are destroyed so they hang loosely]
- Replace Front Brake Rotors [front left especially, its "floating" far too much]
- Replace Single Rear View Mirror With New Set of Dual Mirrors
- Set Ignition Timing Dynamically
- Replace Spark Plugs with Iridium Plugs
- Restore Overall Aesthetic of the Bike
- Replace Standard Oil Cooler with RPM Upgraded Oil Cooler
I've already initiated the process tonight by purchasing the BOSCH IB301A Adjustable Voltage Regulator. I will install it within the days following it's arrival. My number one passion in life has emerged to be working on and restoring old motorcycles, so I am very much looking forward to this. I will update you all on my process as I progress! I can't wait to begin! :i_am_so_happy:
Thanks for reading!
Until the next update,
Gabe :bye:
She should come up nice with the work you have suggested. I have an 84 FJ with pretty much everything you listed plus the 17" wheel upgrade front and rear. Made it whole different bike to ride.
I am now in the process of giving the same treatment to a 92FJ. hours of fun in the shed.
Good luck and happy modding.
Mark
Alright, so I know this isn't much later, but quick update #1!
I got trigger finger, and purchased a new set of Red LED brake light bulbs for $23.77 (including shipping and handling) from superbrighleds.com !
Here's a link to the one's I purchased if anyone is interested: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1157-led-bulb-dual-function-27-smd-led-tower-bay15d-bulb/2625/12880/?year=1986&make=105&model=2451&scc_id=1953&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6KrtBRDLARIsAKzvQIGz3HiIQNbe0pTHvnOEzIBFB-ifT7cbUymkEqbIv6iMq7-U-FX8gF8aAjYyEALw_wcB (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1157-led-bulb-dual-function-27-smd-led-tower-bay15d-bulb/2625/12880/?year=1986&make=105&model=2451&scc_id=1953&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6KrtBRDLARIsAKzvQIGz3HiIQNbe0pTHvnOEzIBFB-ifT7cbUymkEqbIv6iMq7-U-FX8gF8aAjYyEALw_wcB)
So, I've got the BOSCH Transpo voltage regulator and new replacement LED tail light bulbs on the way! Exciting! :yahoo:
Quote from: Urban_Legend on December 18, 2019, 09:04:32 PM
She should come up nice with the work you have suggested. I have an 84 FJ with pretty much everything you listed plus the 17" wheel upgrade front and rear. Made it whole different bike to ride.
I am now in the process of giving the same treatment to a 92FJ. hours of fun in the shed.
Good luck and happy modding.
Mark
Mark,
I'm glad that you think so! That was something I forgot to mention; my front wheel has been upgraded to a 17" wheel. That's why I went out of my way to say I had to replace the 16" rear wheel, lol. :lol: And man, is that 16" tire
expensive to replace, but I'll get around to it. It's on the higher side of my priorities before riding next season. Perhaps I should add the 17" rear wheel upgrade to my list of work to be done.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to tackling the issues!
Best,
Gabe
You'll hate that V&H header every time you have to change the oil. I canned mine and bought the RPM exhaust.
When you get to setting your timing, do a search for the timing advance mod.
Have you adjusted your valve clearances? If not, that should be on your to do list.
Joe
Quote from: Tuned forks on December 18, 2019, 09:56:38 PM
You'll hate that V&H header every time you have to change the oil. I canned mine and bought the RPM exhaust.
When you get to setting your timing, do a search for the timing advance mod.
Have you adjusted your valve clearances? If not, that should be on your to do list.
Joe
Joe,
So I've heard tell. I usually like to keep everything as original as possible, so I'm not terribly happy about the 4-into-1 V&H exhaust. For now, I'll put up with it and channel the money into other parts/repairs that need to be made, but I'm not looking forward to changing it before next riding season.
I wasn't aware the was a timing advance mod, so I will definitely look into it before hand! I want to do this right and in a way that lasts.
As for the valve clearances, it is funny that you ask that. I was literally researching how to do this, as I write this up. It's been something that I've shied away from for awhile. But since I have to replace the blown head gasket cover, I figured I might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone and adjust those if necessary. If you happen to have any good links to resources discussing the process/procedure, feel free to share them. I'll figure it out eventually, but I have yet to purchase a manual for working on these old girls, so any help is always appreciated. Thanks!
Best,
Gabe
Search ebay and Craigslist plus the classified section of this forum for original exhaust systems. Most people don't want them. They are OMG heavy.
Just a way to advance the timing a bit for better performance.
Have you acquired a service manual yet? The instructions and clearances are there. I highly recommend you rent the valve shim kit from RPM.
Joe
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on December 18, 2019, 09:10:46 PM
I got trigger finger, and purchased a new set of Red LED brake light bulbs for $23.77 (including shipping and handling) from superbrighleds.com !
Gabe, the LED lamps you listed do not have a built in resistor. This will look to the bike like the bulb is burned and cause a "Fast Flash" to your turn signals. Adding a resistor will trick the system so you get a normal flash rate.
Quote from: FJmonkey on December 18, 2019, 10:59:46 PM
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on December 18, 2019, 09:10:46 PM
I got trigger finger, and purchased a new set of Red LED brake light bulbs for $23.77 (including shipping and handling) from superbrighleds.com !
Gabe, the LED lamps you listed do not have a built in resistor. This will look to the bike like the bulb is burned and cause a "Fast Flash" to your turn signals. Adding a resistor will trick the system so you get a normal flash rate.
I think it's only the brake light bulbs he's replacing not turn signals.
Only thing with the RED brake lamps is that you don't get a "white" illumination tail light on your number plate, (if that's a problem there), in Australia it needs to be "white" on number plate
To Joe,
No, I have not yet. I've been lazy about picking one up, I will admit. I will be certain to check out renting the shim kit from RPM to get the job done, and buy a manual very soon.
To FJmonkey,
Luckily, all my turn signals are still good and working correctly. The rear turn signals have even been replaced with an LED set! I'm using these the 1157 LEDs that I bought just for my tail light because several of the lights have gone out in them and sometimes flicker, which I don't like. Also, I just switched my order from Red to Natural White colored LEDs... turns out it's required by law here.
To Sparky84,
you just saved me some serious time and frustration, so thank you. I looked into it and it appears that it is indeed the law in my state that a vehicle's rear registration plate be lit with a WHITE LIGHT. So I went in, cancelled the red LEDs, and instead chose the Natural White colored ones. Thank you very much for bringing up the possibility of that, lol. That could have been upsetting!
For the stripped spark plug thread google TimeSert. Outstanding product.
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on December 18, 2019, 11:42:58 PM
To Joe,
No, I have not yet. I've been lazy about picking one up, I will admit. I will be certain to check out renting the shim kit from RPM to get the job done, and buy a manual very soon.
Factory GYSM are expensive so I don't fault you for not owning one. You can go here however, if you want to buy a new one. Yes, this link is for a different year but I'm confident you can figure that out.
https://www.yamahapubs.com/results.php?cat-id=3&year=1993&family=FJ1200&lang=en (https://www.yamahapubs.com/results.php?cat-id=3&year=1993&family=FJ1200&lang=en)
Let us know if you need something copied or Pat Conlon has the downloadable manuals in his signature line. Robert, at RPM, is also a valuable resource as well. If you become a contributing member to this forum, then RPM offers incentives. Ask Robert or Randy as I'm not sure about the details. The shim kit is awesome as it comes with almost any shim you could need and you only pay for the shims you use plus it has the spring compressing tool.
Joe
Quote from: FJ_Hooligan on December 20, 2019, 11:30:22 AM
For the stripped spark plug thread google TimeSert. Outstanding product.
Thanks for the suggestion! I looked it up and it looks like a very promising product. That is one serious price tag, but I'll keep it in mind because it's a job I'd really like to get right on the first try.
Quote from: Tuned forks on December 20, 2019, 11:55:19 AM
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on December 18, 2019, 11:42:58 PM
To Joe,
No, I have not yet. I've been lazy about picking one up, I will admit. I will be certain to check out renting the shim kit from RPM to get the job done, and buy a manual very soon.
Factory GYSM are expensive so I don't fault you for not owning one. You can go here however, if you want to buy a new one. Yes, this link is for a different year but I'm confident you can figure that out.
https://www.yamahapubs.com/results.php?cat-id=3&year=1993&family=FJ1200&lang=en (https://www.yamahapubs.com/results.php?cat-id=3&year=1993&family=FJ1200&lang=en)
Let us know if you need something copied or Pat Conlon has the downloadable manuals in his signature line. Robert, at RPM, is also a valuable resource as well. If you become a contributing member to this forum, then RPM offers incentives. Ask Robert or Randy as I'm not sure about the details. The shim kit is awesome as it comes with almost any shim you could need and you only pay for the shims you use plus it has the spring compressing tool.
Joe
Joe,
Thanks for the link. Yeah, they're pricey and I'd rather pump the money into parts or required tools at the moment. I really enjoy using this forum, so I'll look into that for sure. As for the shim kit, I will very likely pick up the one from RPM. This is the one you're referring to, correct? http://rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Tools%3AVSKit&cat=39 (http://rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Tools%3AVSKit&cat=39)
Best,
Gabe
Yup, dem's da one.
Joe
Gabe, do not buy a shim kit....rent it
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8968.0 (http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8968.0)
UPDATE 1/09/20
Transpo Voltage Regulator Mod has been installed! I meant to do this much sooner but the holidays were crazy busy and it was very cold outside. Rest assure though, the job is complete and working. No more boiling batteries for me!
I've attached two pictures. One of the bridge wire that I installed, and the second with the new voltage regulator installed under the left hand side panel. I've the the wires running all over, but I'm going to tape them up to keep them together. I used heat shrink tubing on the connectors where I spliced wires to protect them.
The regulator seems to be working great! No more 15+ volts at 1.5k RPM. I didn't realize, since I'm new to the electrical stuff, that the voltage regulator would not put out 14.4 volts (where I set it) regardless. It won't let it go past that, but I found that when my engine settles down completely, it drops lower than the 14.4, but I believe this is expected. I'm satisfied with the change, and now I will move on to installing the new tail light LED bulbs. I'll get the job done today and post an update either later tonight or tomorrow. :good2:
Good on ya Gabe, your AGM battery will thank you!
I've been running my Transpo for over 12 years now, no problems.
I mounted my VR in the same location as you and to prevent any chance of chafing the wires I put those 3 wires in a piece of fuel hose which I then zip tied to my subframe.
Cheers
Quote from: Pat Conlon on January 09, 2020, 10:04:16 AM
Good on ya Gabe, your AGM battery will thank you!
I've been running my Transpo for over 12 years now, no problems.
I mounted my VR in the same location as you and to prevent any chance of chafing the wires I put those 3 wires in a piece of fuel hose which I then zip tied to my subframe.
Cheers
Thanks, Pat! I moved slower than I wanted but I'm very determined to get my FJ where she needs to be, so whatever it takes. That's a great idea, though! I think I might adopt that instead of taping them all together!
UPDATE 01/17/20Work completed since last post:Work in progress since last post:
- Carburetor Cleaning
- Fixing Flickering Gauges
Hello, all! It has been very cold (no surprise) in Minnesota so this has been slowly moving, but it
IS moving. I replaced the tail light bulbs with the new ones that I purchased, and boy am I glad that I did. They're much better, brighter, and do not flicker at all. Below is a picture of the before and after (featuring my '90 KZ440 in the background).
I attempted to fix the damaged connector to take care of the flicker gauges problem, but I realized that one of the wires is 18 gauge and didn't have any connectors to fit on hand. I have since purchased the necessary gauge connector and I'll get out there to finish the job soon. Maybe even today or tomorrow. You'll find a picture of the fried connector below as well.
I did pull the carbs out of the bike. I've been going slowly over them because #1, I'm working on these inside because it is just too cold out there to do it, and #2 the ventilation isn't the greatest inside so I'm going in small parts to avoid too many fumes in the air. I'm aware this is slightly risky, but I'm taking every precaution I can to make it as safe as I can. That aside though, I'm very glad that I did pull them because I found out a few things...
- 1) I noticed when I lifted the tank that the right side of my fuel line was pinched pretty good. I put a picture of w hat it roughly looked like below (I'm holding it in position to show it)
- 2) I found some black chunks under the float needle seat, in front of the screen which fuel passes through. I do believe this would cause issues (lol), so I'm very happy to be removing it and cleaning it all out.
- 3) The o-ring around the float needle seats were in very bad shape. I discarded them, and I'm going to buy some fuel resistant ones somewhere locally to replace them.
In addition to that, I began cleaning the outside of the carb bodies, since they were dirty. I also purchased a carburetor synchronization tool, which I've been wanting for a long time, that way I can tune them after reinstalling them. There are some before and after pictures of some of the cleaning and the new tool below. The one that is cut into 6 panels is the same cap for the carbs. First image is off the bike, second is the first cleaning, and the 3rd is after the final clean.
I also purchased a Clymers manual, finally, and a spark plug thread chaser for my stripped spark plug hole. I opted for the Clymer because I already own one for my Kawasaki 440LTD, and I like the way it's set up. As for the thread chaser, I went with a highly rated one that I found on Amazon. I have high hopes for it.
My next purchase is likely going to be the valve cover gasket, because that really needs to be fixed. I also need to see to the fuel line that was pinched, and see if I can't route it in such as was that it won't do that anymore. I'll re-update once I get a few steps further. Thanks for reading!
- Gabe
Also, before anyone asks the plates on the bike are Michigan plates because I moved to Minnesota with the last year and I haven't changed over to full residency yet! It's something I've been lazy about. :blum1:
Gabe, make sure you also check the rubber carb diaphragms against a strong light, to check for any pin-holes where the rubber folds once the slides are back in the carbs - they can be easily missed and can make getting your bike running properly/smoothly, otherwise impossible. :good2:
Quote from: Millietant on January 17, 2020, 02:55:53 PM
Gabe, make sure you also check the rubber carb diaphragms against a strong light, to check for any pin-holes where the rubber folds once the slides are back in the carbs - they can be easily missed and can make getting your bike running properly/smoothly, otherwise impossible. :good2:
Certainly! I've played that game before when fixing up my KZ440. It was not fun :negative:. I'll give them a inspection before reinstalling. :good2:
UPDATE 01/19/20
This one isn't a huge update but I just purchased the Valve Cover Gasket from RPM. I also ended up buying a set of float needle seat o-rings from RPM, because it turns out those are difficult to track down otherwise, lol. Thank God for that them because they're making life much easier.
I should receive my new Clymers manual soon (I'm thinking Monday or Tuesday), then I'll start to check the valve clearances. I believe I'll measure for discrepancies first before looking into the shim kit. If it turns out that they are out of spec, I'll reach out to see what option is available for me as far as the renting kit goes. Either way, I am very excited! :good2:
- Gabe
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on January 17, 2020, 02:42:38 PM...I also purchased... a spark plug thread chaser for my stripped spark plug hole.
I hate to rain on your parade but if the threads are truly stripped, chasing them won't help. Timesert as previously recommended...
Bill
Update 04/02/20Hello again, everyone! I've been dormant for awhile and have been bad at updating this thread, but the weather is finally getting nice again in Minnesota and I've been workin on the FJ again!
Work Completed
- Fixed damaged wiring
- Replaced Tail Light
- Installed Transpo (adjustable) Voltage Regulator Modification
- Replaced damaged o-rings on all Float Needle Seats
- Fully cleaned and reassembled/Installed Carburetors
Work in Progress
- Replacing Valve Cover Gasket
- Removal of Front Fairing for gasket replacement
After replacing the o-rings on the float needle seats and fully cleaning the carbs, my FJ no longer dies out when given throttle at low rpms, which is great. However now her idle is out of wack, so I need to do that, but first things first is the valve cover gasket....
The top of my top end of my engine block has some
serious oil sunk down into the cooling fins from the leaking cover gasket. I'm not even sure how to clean the oil out, without dousing it in "GUNK" de-greaser or something similar in nature. Not sure if that's safe to do though, since I'd have to run water over it until it was all washed off.
Secondly, my front fairing is not in very good shape. There several cracks/breaks on it and I'm afraid that if I pull off the scoops from the bike, it might break further or bust to a point that I won't be able to put them back on. I'll be so mad if I have to convert the bike into a street fighter. So, I'm taking my sweet time with it for now.
Anyway, that's all for now! Hope everyone is staying safe during this whole pandemic thing going on, and I'll update again when I make progress. :good2:
Gabe
UPDATE 04/16/20
Hello, people! Got some new news for ya. I measure the valve clearances on my FJ1200, and they're not up to par. I measured 3 times to be sure, lol. They're came out to the numbers listed below. (measurements are left to right, valve wise)
Cylinder 4
- Intake: 0.11mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.07mm and 0.16mm
Cylinder 3
- Intake: 0.10mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.14mm and 0.15mm
Cylinder 2
- Intake: 0.12mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.12mm and 0.12mm
Cylinder 1
- Intake: 0.15mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.11mm and 0.12mm
6/16 are within spec...
I've read around here that these engines tend to go towards the tight side of the scale but dang. The only solace I take in this is the hope that after this is finished, she'll run better for it. So, the time for adjustment has come. I just made an additional contribution to the website so that I can qualify as a bronze contributor and begin the process of renting the Shim Kit (and because this is a great place with lots of good people who are willing to help!). So, I suppose my next step is to wait for my contributor status to reflect my latest contribution and then I'll add myself to the Shim Kit loaner's queue. I'm excited to get this part over with, lol.
The only other roadblock I'm running into is removing the rest of my front fender, because I absolutely want to replace my meter lights. There are two bolts I'm supposed to remove in the bike, under the instrument cluster and they are very difficult to get to. I'm also having a hard time understanding exactly what electrical components need to be disconnected, but I'll hopefully get that handled soon. That's all for now though, I suppose. I hope that I can get these valves turned around quickly though, because the weather is on the brink of being excellent and I want to ride already, lol.
Gabe
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on April 16, 2020, 02:44:05 PM
UPDATE 04/16/20
Hello, people! Got some new news for ya. I measure the valve clearances on my FJ1200, and they're not up to par. I measured 3 times to be sure, lol. They're came out to the numbers listed below. (measurements are left to right, valve wise)
Cylinder 4
- Intake: 0.11mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.07mm and 0.16mm
Cylinder 3
- Intake: 0.10mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.14mm and 0.15mm
Cylinder 2
- Intake: 0.12mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.12mm and 0.12mm
Cylinder 1
- Intake: 0.15mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.11mm and 0.12mm
6/16 are within spec...
I've read around here that these engines tend to go towards the tight side of the scale but dang. The only solace I take in this is the hope that after this is finished, she'll run better for it. So, the time for adjustment has come. I just made an additional contribution to the website so that I can qualify as a bronze contributor and begin the process of renting the Shim Kit (and because this is a great place with lots of good people who are willing to help!). So, I suppose my next step is to wait for my contributor status to reflect my latest contribution and then I'll add myself to the Shim Kit loaner's queue. I'm excited to get this part over with, lol.
The only other roadblock I'm running into is removing the rest of my front fender, because I absolutely want to replace my meter lights. There are two bolts I'm supposed to remove in the bike, under the instrument cluster and they are very difficult to get to. I'm also having a hard time understanding exactly what electrical components need to be disconnected, but I'll hopefully get that handled soon. That's all for now though, I suppose. I hope that I can get these valves turned around quickly though, because the weather is on the brink of being excellent and I want to ride already, lol.
Gabe
You might get lucky and be able to swap a few of your existing shims. Document the shim sizes for future reference.
Good luck!
Quote from: FJ1200W on April 16, 2020, 04:41:10 PM
You might get lucky and be able to swap a few of your existing shims. Document the shim sizes for future reference.
Good luck!
I thought about that but I don't actually own a valve adjuster tool, so I don't think I'm able to remove the shims to check, unfortunately. But I most definitely am documenting all of this for future recall. :yes: I just want to get this old girl back on the road again. Thanks!
Gabe
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on April 16, 2020, 05:17:49 PM
I thought about that but I don't actually own a valve adjuster tool, so I don't think I'm able to remove the shims to check, unfortunately. But I most definitely am documenting all of this for future recall. :yes: I just want to get this old girl back on the road again. Thanks!
Gabe
You can do without the tool. I use an insulated copper wire, some people use zipties. You stick it in the spark plug hole and let the valve bite down on it, and it keeps the bucket down so you can pull the shim.
Quote from: JPaganel on April 29, 2020, 12:16:35 AM
You can do without the tool. I use an insulated copper wire, some people use zipties. You stick it in the spark plug hole and let the valve bite down on it, and it keeps the bucket down so you can pull the shim.
Wow, that's actually really clever. I'll have to keep that in mind for next time, but I actually already rented the tool and have performed the valve adjustment. :yahoo: I'm going to post another update on all of the work I've done over the past 2 weeks with some pictures here in a little bit so stay tuned! :good2:
UPDATE 04/29/20Hello, all! Since my last update, I have replaced all of the light bulbs located on the front side of the bike which includes my headlight, blinkers, and all 10 instrument bulbs (I had to go to three different stores to get them all, lol) which completely took care of my flickering gauges problem :dance2:. I have also successfully replaced my blown valve cover gasket, and just finished up adjusting my valve clearances back to within specification with the help of the RPM Shim Kit that I rented out! I think it went pretty well for my first go at adjusting shim style valves. I'll get into some specifics below the lists of work completed/in progress.
Work Completed
- Fixed damaged wiring
- Replaced tail lights
- Installed Transpo (adjustable) Voltage Regulator Modification
- Replaced damaged o-rings on all float needle seats
- Fully cleaned and reassembled/installed carburetors
- Replaced blown valve cover gasket
- Valve clearances adjusted back to spec!
- ALL forward light bulbs replaced with new ones (gauges, blinkers, headlight) which stopped my flickering gauges!
Work in Progress
- Extract and replace snapped gas tank bolt from the frame
- Extract and replace snapped valve cover bolt from camshaft cap
- Check carburetor synchronization
- Investigate carburetor issues?
So, I did get all the valves set correctly and I checked many times to be sure. The good news is that I definitely notice a performance difference! She's idling more consistently for sure and sounds as if it's running better. Now, on to some not so good news....
1) I was trying to torque down the valve cover bolts to their torque spec and I accidentally torqued off the head of one of them. I'm hoping it will be somewhat easy to get out.
2) I sheared off the head of one of the gas tank bolts, and it needs to be replaced. I was tightening it down, but I wasn't ripping on it. It just sheared off like butter.
3) The bike suddenly won't run at all if the choke is turned off.
:dash1:
Addressing 1) I probably shouldn't have used such a large torque wrench on somethin with a torque spec of 7.2 ft-lbs. It looks like some of the bolt is exposed from the top of the camshaft bearing cap so hopefully the extraction won't be too difficult. I tried to find the bolt on RPM but couldn't locate it, other than the rubber grommet for it. I may have to use bikebandit, I suppose.
Addressing 2) This ease with which the bolt sheared off was surprising. I had a normal sized socket wrench and I was not putting a whole lot of force into it. I also looked on RPM for this bolt, but could only find the rubber tank damper. I'm expecting this to be pretty easy to extract.
Addressing 3) This has me confused a bit. Let me preface this by saying that I have not checked the carb sync since I finished adjusting the valves, but prior to the adjustment they were perfectly in sync so I'm worried. I pull the choke knob out, she starts and warms up. I push the choke about halfway, the idle slows down to a little over 1k. I push the choke all the way in, she slows to a crawl before stalling. I just spent weeks going through the entire set of carbs and had all parts soak in carb cleaner over night and cleaned the heck out of everything, so I find the notion of the Pilot Jets being clogged very perplexing. I'll check the new sync on the carbs today, and report back what the outcome is. My fear is surrounding the stage three jet kit that the bike has. I've never rejetted and this was done by the previous owner, but I don't know if the mixture screws need adjusting maybe or what. We'll see what the sync looks like and go from there.
That's all for now, friends. Thanks for reading my novel of a post! I'll post some pictures below of the latest work!
- Gabe
Some pictures to go with the latest update! :good2:
When you push in the choke Gabe, if you keep just a little bit of throttle on, does the bike still run and does it respond to throttle input properly?
Don't take this wrong way and it may be a stupid solution.....but.......If so, and it just stumbles and stops on a low idle, maybe you just need to adjust the idle speed up a bit.
Re the gas tank bolts, just pop to your nearest engineering supply shop/hardware store and just pick up a couple of M6 x 25mm (or 30mm) long, stainless cap head Allen bolts, to replace your standard tank bolts. They'll cost you literally pennies - no need to go to a bike parts specialist for those.
Quote from: Millietant on April 29, 2020, 01:03:48 PM
When you push in the choke Gabe, if you keep just a little bit of throttle on, does the bike still run and does it respond to throttle input properly?
Don't take this wrong way and it may be a stupid solution.....but.......If so, and it just stumbles and stops on a low idle, maybe you just need to adjust the idle speed up a bit.
Re the gas tank bolts, just pop to your nearest engineering supply shop/hardware store and just pick up a couple of M6 x 25mm (or 30mm) long, stainless cap head Allen bolts, to replace your standard tank bolts. They'll cost you literally pennies - no need to go to a bike parts specialist for those.
You know, that's a good question. I'll give that a try here soon right before I hook up the synchronizer tool. As for the bolt, thank you very much for info! I'll definitely go that route to save money and time.
Is there any tips/tricks to easily adjust the idle adjuster underneath the carbs? Even with my K&N filters off I can hardly get 2 fingers underneath there, let alone move it. I tried using some pliers to better reach, but that didn't help a whole lot either.
- Gabe
Stick your hand through the right center into the center of the bike underneath the frame. Goes straight to it and wide open. (FWIW wear a glove if it is hot or be prepared to have a slight burning sensation on your hand)
Just don't do it with armored gloves while sitting at a traffic light.
Quote from: RPM - Robert on April 29, 2020, 04:01:50 PM
Stick your hand through the right center into the center of the bike underneath the frame. Goes straight to it and wide open. (FWIW wear a glove if it is hot or be prepared to have a slight burning sensation on your hand)
Thanks for the tip, that made it much easier. FJmonkey, thank you as well, lol.
Quote from: Millietant on April 29, 2020, 01:03:48 PM
When you push in the choke Gabe, if you keep just a little bit of throttle on, does the bike still run and does it respond to throttle input properly?
Don't take this wrong way and it may be a stupid solution.....but.......If so, and it just stumbles and stops on a low idle, maybe you just need to adjust the idle speed up a bit....
Millietant, this did allow the bike to stay running longer but I wouldn't say there was normal throttle response. The carbs start to make this kind of aggressive "sucking" sound, like the diaphragms are having a hard time rising and can only maintain the idle. Even after adjusting the throttle comically far upwards.
I put the bike on the synchronizer after trying that, and the gauges were all in sync. Maybe even a little more so than they were before the valve adjustment. However, the motor is now backfiring very frequently and the carbs backfire some every so often too. Not the same carbs each time though. 3 and 4 seem to do it the most, but I saw carb 1 do it as well. The damn thing makes that "FPHTP" sound as it inhales sharply. (I hate that sound)
To top this off, probably around a 4 or 5 table spoons of oil started coming through the gasket at the top left hand side of the valve cover. This is annoying considering that not only is this a new gasket, but this is
exactly where the worse part of the oil leak was on the original gasket as well. I'm not sure if it's worth noting but when I took the valve cover off originally, that top left portion where it leaks was warped upwards a bit. So the valve cover as a whole did not just sit flush against the surface of the cylinder head until after I bolted it down a little at a time to try and ensure a smooth press against the gasket.
I'm not really sure where to begin here shy of pulling the carbs again and hoping that cleaning out the jets and passages, yet again, and hoping that helps some how. Anybody got any ideas?
- Gabe
Sounds like it runs too lean. Lean symptoms :will not run without choke ,lots of backfiring vague sluggish throttle response. bougs down when throttle applied .Try to adjust the mixture screws half a turn
out at a time .Check sparkplugs if white or very clean it runs too lean,but you have to drive a little first.
The valve covergasket take it off and look for big scratch or damage on the cylhead surface if it is the use a tiny bit of rtv silicone there .i always also use a
very very thin line of rtv where the the half moons is.
UPPDATE: When i look at the pick of your cylhead i can see the valvcover gasket is defect at the left side of engine in front a piece is broken off ,dont think it can be fixed with rtv but mayby as temporary fix
Quote from: Old Rider on April 30, 2020, 12:16:35 AM
Sounds like it runs too lean. Lean symptoms :will not run without choke ,lots of backfiring vague sluggish throttle response. bougs down when throttle applied .Try to adjust the mixture screws half a turn
out at a time .Check sparkplugs if white or very clean it runs too lean,but you have to drive a little first.
The valve covergasket take it off and look for big scratch or damage on the cylhead surface if it is the use a tiny bit of rtv silicone there .i always also use a
very very thin line of rtv where the the half moons is.
UPPDATE: When i look at the pick of your cylhead i can see the valvcover gasket is defect at the left side of engine in front a piece is broken off ,dont think it can be fixed with rtv but mayby as temporary fix
Thanks for the reply! I'll give the mixture screws half a turn today and see what that does. Fingers crossed it helps smooth it out. As for the valve cover gasket, I see what you're looking at in the picture. I'm not sure why it has that weird reflection that makes it look like a small piece is missing from the top but the whole gasket is there. I've attached a closeup that I took of that portion of the gasket and it seems to all be there, semi-unfortunately. Maybe I should try to degrease the gasket somehow and then put it back on completely dry? Oil definitely got all over it while I was messing around with the valves, but would that even effect it's ability to seal properly or would it not make a difference?
Also, does anybody have a clever way of effectively cleaning out the top cooling fins? The previous bad gasket leaked oil down into them and I'm sure this is not helping the notoriously hot FJ engine run any cooler. I was thinking of just taping off sensitives with a plastic bag and masking tape, taking off the lower fairing and blasting "Gunk" Engine Greaser, attempting to agitiate the oil with a tooth brush or somethin, then just running water over it until its cleaned out. All of this being done with the engine 100% cold, of course.
Quote from: RPM - Robert on April 29, 2020, 04:01:50 PM
Stick your hand through the right center into the center of the bike underneath the frame. Goes straight to it and wide open. (FWIW wear a glove if it is hot or be prepared to have a slight burning sensation on your hand)
A good tip for this, or any procedure where you can't see and do at the same time is to eyeball it first, with a mirror if necessary (such as on the headlight globe clip) If you can see in your minds eye what your fingers should be feeling it makes it a lot easier.
Also, with the idle speed adjustment, if you crack the throttle slightly while adjusting it, it will lift the adjusting screw up, taking the load off it and making it much easier to turn.
Noel
Quote from: ribbert on April 30, 2020, 09:44:01 AM
Quote from: RPM - Robert on April 29, 2020, 04:01:50 PM
Stick your hand through the right center into the center of the bike underneath the frame. Goes straight to it and wide open. (FWIW wear a glove if it is hot or be prepared to have a slight burning sensation on your hand)
A good tip for this, or any procedure where you can't see and do at the same time is to eyeball it first, with a mirror if necessary (such as on the headlight globe clip) If you can see in your minds eye what your fingers should be feeling it makes it a lot easier.
Also, with the idle speed adjustment, if you crack the throttle slightly while adjusting it, it will lift the adjusting screw up, taking the load off it and making it much easier to turn.
Noel
That's great advice, especially about cracking the throttle slightly to take the load off. Thanks!
Well, I warmed up the bike and I tried to move the mixture screws.
I tried turning the mixture screw...- 1/2 turn to the right
- Result: The bike seemed to run a tad longer when I turned off the choke, but nothing substantial at all. This could be wishful thinking on my part, as well.
- 1/2 turn to the left
- Result: The bike still ran with the choke on, but seemed to die faster than when it was set 1/2 turn to the right.
- 3/4 turn to the right
- Result: The bike ran similarly to how it did at 1/2 a turn to the right, with no real change that I was able to observe.
When I turned the screw 3/4 of the way to the right I had some resistance, as if it was already near it's limit on how far it could be screwed outwards but I thought that they can be fully removed?... When I removed and cleaned the carbs, I inspected everything and there was nothing that I saw which obviously needed replacing other than the needle seat o-rings (which I did in fact replace). But I guess at this point I'm not sure what else to do other than pull the carbs again, go through cleaning/inspecting them again, pull the valve cover and check the clearances one more time before I send back the RPM shim kit rental, and then hope for the best. :scratch_one-s_head:
- Gabe
The screws has to be turned anti clockwise (out) to get it to run more rich. i think the best thing is to first screw all srews clockwise ( in ) util they seat ,but be very careful so you dont break anything. then screw them 2 and a half turn out that should get you in the ballpark.
here is a link to a good video of how to tune mixturescews. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLldmBzqR_s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLldmBzqR_s)
Are you letting it warm up enough to run without choke?
Do you have the vacuum port caps on all intakes?
[quote author=iWant2RideMyBike
When I turned the screw 3/4 of the way to the right I had some resistance, as if it was already near it's limit on how far it could be screwed outwards but I thought that they can be fully removed?...
- Gabe
[/quote]
Turning it to the right is screwing it in. The resistance you felt was it fully seated.
If you turn it to the left all the way it can be removed.
Noel
The thing about valve cover bolts is that they really need to be barely more than hand-tight. Exact torque does not matter, and tightening them more doesn't do anything. They are not compressing the cover gasket, they seat on the camshaft cap.
The seal depends on the tension of the gasket and the rubber donuts on the bolts.
The idle adjuster knob is metal and has ridges. You can turn it by carefully poking it with a long flathead screwdriver.
Quote from: JPaganel on April 30, 2020, 10:07:00 PM
The idle adjuster knob is metal and has ridges. You can turn it by carefully poking it with a long flathead screwdriver.
This method, if not done "carefully" as mentioned above, can bend the adjuster screw. :dash2:
Quote from: FJmonkey on April 30, 2020, 10:37:21 PM
This method, if not done "carefully" as mentioned above, can bend the adjuster screw. :dash2:
Do I detect the voice of experience?
:D
Quote from: JPaganel on April 30, 2020, 10:07:00 PM
The thing about valve cover bolts is that they really need to be barely more than hand-tight. Exact torque does not matter, and tightening them more doesn't do anything. They are not compressing the cover gasket, they seat on the camshaft cap.
The seal depends on the tension of the gasket and the rubber donuts on the bolts.
The idle adjuster knob is metal and has ridges. You can turn it by carefully poking it with a long flathead screwdriver.
Yeah, I guess I learned that a little bit too late about the valve cover bolts. I'm not sure why I can't get the gasket to seat right. It's brand new, and hasn't saw more than 20 to 30 minutes of use. I was patient in slowly putting the cover down and making sure everything stayed lined up. We'll see if I can't get it the next time around. I plan on taking the cover off tomorrow to check the valve clearances one last time, so I'll have another opportunity to get it right.
- Gabe
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on May 01, 2020, 03:56:15 PM
Yeah, I guess I learned that a little bit too late about the valve cover bolts. I'm not sure why I can't get the gasket to seat right. It's brand new, and hasn't saw more than 20 to 30 minutes of use. I was patient in slowly putting the cover down and making sure everything stayed lined up. We'll see if I can't get it the next time around. I plan on taking the cover off tomorrow to check the valve clearances one last time, so I'll have another opportunity to get it right.
- Gabe
Gabe, the valve cover must be flat at the sealing surface, if it is not that could be the issue. Secondly, looking at the photos, there does not appear to be any threads in the #1 exhaust cam cap where the valve cover bolt screws into. It could just be the flash, but the threads in #2 are clearly visible.
And as already mentioned, if the valve cover bolt grommets are bad, they will not apply the proper tension to the valve cover gasket and it will leak. If they don't look like the new ones, they need to be replaced.
(http://www.rpmracingca.com/prodimages/large/2GH-1111G-00-00-1.jpg)
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on May 01, 2020, 03:56:15 PM
I'm not sure why I can't get the gasket to seat right. It's brand new, and hasn't saw more than 20 to 30 minutes of use. I was patient in slowly putting the cover down and making sure everything stayed lined up. We'll see if I can't get it the next time around. I plan on taking the cover off tomorrow to check the valve clearances one last time, so I'll have another opportunity to get it right.
- Gabe
Are you laying the gasket on the head and putting the cover on top? If so, that could be your problem.
The best way is to stick the gasket to the cover with something. Some people use silicone, but I like gasket shellac. That way, you are sure it's positioned correctly in the groove and is flat on the head.
Quote from: JPaganel on May 01, 2020, 09:36:30 PM
Are you laying the gasket on the head and putting the cover on top? If so, that could be your problem.
The best way is to stick the gasket to the cover with something. Some people use silicone, but I like gasket shellac. That way, you are sure it's positioned correctly in the groove and is flat on the head.
As a matter of fact, yes I am. I already used a little silicone on the machined recesses of the cylinder head. I'll carefully pry it up, clean up all the edges and try again, this time applying the gasket to the cover first. Is there a preferred way of getting old silicon off of cover/out of the grooves? I did notice the previous gasket left some behind. Maybe a scotch-brite pad and some elbow grease?
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on May 02, 2020, 09:23:32 AM
As a matter of fact, yes I am. I already used a little silicone on the machined recesses of the cylinder head. I'll carefully pry it up, clean up all the edges and try again, this time applying the gasket to the cover first. Is there a preferred way of getting old silicon off of cover/out of the grooves? I did notice the previous gasket left some behind. Maybe a scotch-brite pad and some elbow grease?
Scrape it with a credit card, or very stiff plastic brush. Maybe try gasket remover spray.
This is why I like shellac - it dissolves with rubbing alcohol. Nobody really uses it any more, it used to be a very oldschool gasket material, but stores always carry it.\
Chunks of old silicone are a good way to a new leak.
Quote from: RPM - Robert on May 01, 2020, 04:05:48 PM
Gabe, the valve cover must be flat at the sealing surface, if it is not that could be the issue. Secondly, looking at the photos, there does not appear to be any threads in the #1 exhaust cam cap where the valve cover bolt screws into. It could just be the flash, but the threads in #2 are clearly visible.
And as already mentioned, if the valve cover bolt grommets are bad, they will not apply the proper tension to the valve cover gasket and it will leak. If they don't look like the new ones, they need to be replaced.
(http://www.rpmracingca.com/prodimages/large/2GH-1111G-00-00-1.jpg)
Robert, that very well might be my problem then, because the cover absolutely does
not sit flush without being bolted down. The furthest left corner (cylinder 1) bends upwards a few millimetres then the rest. Perhaps, just to cover my bases, I'll purchase all new grommets. I pulled the cover again today, to check my clearances one last time before shipping back the kit on Monday and it was a good thing that I did because 3 of the valves where still out of spec. Maybe I didn't fully seat the shims on those by accident. I'll try to get the cover on cleanly this time but if it still leaks I might have to buy a used valve cover or somethin. Fingers crossed.
Quote from: JPaganel on May 02, 2020, 03:22:32 PM
Quote from: iWant2RideMyBike on May 02, 2020, 09:23:32 AM
As a matter of fact, yes I am. I already used a little silicone on the machined recesses of the cylinder head. I'll carefully pry it up, clean up all the edges and try again, this time applying the gasket to the cover first. Is there a preferred way of getting old silicon off of cover/out of the grooves? I did notice the previous gasket left some behind. Maybe a scotch-brite pad and some elbow grease?
Scrape it with a credit card, or very stiff plastic brush. Maybe try gasket remover spray.
This is why I like shellac - it dissolves with rubbing alcohol. Nobody really uses it any more, it used to be a very oldschool gasket material, but stores always carry it.\
Chunks of old silicone are a good way to a new leak.
Okay, I'll give that a try! I've got a few old cards laying around and a stiff brush so I'll see what I can do.
Gabe, with the valve cover gasket not installed, does the valve cover sit completely flat on any flat surface?
Or is that corner raised?
If raised and not flat, you need a new valve cover.
Randy - RPM
Quote from: JPaganel on May 02, 2020, 03:22:32 PM
This is why I like shellac - it dissolves with rubbing alcohol. Nobody really uses it any more, it used to be a very oldschool gasket material, but stores always carry it.
Clearly it's not everyone's favourite, I found this on the net.....
"This is an absolutely true story, I can still remember my excitement the first time I pulled an engine apart that had been assembled with silicone, it was that big a deal. I just picked up one corner and the whole thing lifted off, it was crankcase halves on a motorbike. The shellac for engine use is impervious to solvents and has to be scraped, often in place. The bottle had a twisted wire stem with a mop on the end to paint it on with, there was no finesse in the application of it, it got slopped everywhere. I still see plenty of old cars with runs of it down the sides of joins. You've got no idea what it was like working full time on cars and bikes put together with that shit."
Noel
Quote from: ribbert on May 03, 2020, 08:41:37 AM
Clearly it's not everyone's favourite, I found this on the net.....
"This is an absolutely true story, I can still remember my excitement the first time I pulled an engine apart that had been assembled with silicone, it was that big a deal. I just picked up one corner and the whole thing lifted off, it was crankcase halves on a motorbike. The shellac for engine use is impervious to solvents and has to be scraped, often in place. The bottle had a twisted wire stem with a mop on the end to paint it on with, there was no finesse in the application of it, it got slopped everywhere. I still see plenty of old cars with runs of it down the sides of joins. You've got no idea what it was like working full time on cars and bikes put together with that shit."
Noel
I can tell you about the many times I had to pick chunks of silicone off of everywhere in the engine. Never ever had it "lift off in a sheet".
Nobody says you have to slop it around.
Quote from: JPaganel on May 03, 2020, 11:53:38 PM
Quote from: ribbert on May 03, 2020, 08:41:37 AM
Clearly it's not everyone's favourite, I found this on the net.....
"This is an absolutely true story, I can still remember my excitement the first time I pulled an engine apart that had been assembled with silicone, it was that big a deal. I just picked up one corner and the whole thing lifted off, it was crankcase halves on a motorbike. The shellac for engine use is impervious to solvents and has to be scraped, often in place. The bottle had a twisted wire stem with a mop on the end to paint it on with, there was no finesse in the application of it, it got slopped everywhere. I still see plenty of old cars with runs of it down the sides of joins. You've got no idea what it was like working full time on cars and bikes put together with that shit."
Noel
I can tell you about the many times I had to pick chunks of silicone off of everywhere in the engine. Never ever had it "lift off in a sheet".
Nobody says you have to slop it around.
Quite right, I agree entirely.
Noel
Quote from: racerrad8 on May 02, 2020, 07:48:36 PM
Gabe, with the valve cover gasket not installed, does the valve cover sit completely flat on any flat surface?
Or is that corner raised?
If raised and not flat, you need a new valve cover.
Randy - RPM
You were correct! This is definitely causing the issue with the oil leaking. I attached an image of the cover sitting flat on a table, and you can see right underneath it. I'm going to assume something like this happens over time due to prolonged exposure to high heat?
Gabe
Nope, not heat.... What happened was a bone head (like me) used Yamaha Bond *on both sides* of that valve cover gasket (the fucker did not leak) then...20 thousand miles later, you needed a pry bar to lift the cover off the glued gasket.
Using that pry bar tweaked the cover..... :dash1:
Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 06, 2020, 02:46:43 PM
Nope, not heat.... What happened was a bone head (like me) used Yamaha Bond *on both sides* of that valve cover gasket (the fucker did not leak) then...20 thousand miles later, you needed a pry bar to lift the cover off the glued gasket.
Using that pry bar tweaked the cover..... :dash1:
Sometimes that's the only way we learn :morning1:
I learned lessons many moons ago with "Indian Head" shellac - I still have a bottle of that stuff in a drawer somewhere -
Leaking.......
You know Steve, we should start a section just dedicated to the stupid shit we have done....
We could have 2 subsections, 1) FJ related stupid shit and 2) all others....
We could call it, The Wall of Shame.
I'm going to write some stuff down....
1) gluing down the VC gasket.
2) using Permatex on the clutch cover gasket
3) starting the engine with the clutch slave off
4) mis counting the index marks on the rear tire alignment....wondered why she turned left so much easier than turning right.
5) smashing and mis aligning the nylon jet needle spacer.
6) Laying a Morgan Carb Tune on it's back then wondering why your bike runs worse than when you started.
7) Using the old style mercury carb balance stick, giving your engine a quick rev to clear her throat, then wondering where all your mercury went...
There's more.....
forgetting your riding boots at your first FJ rally and having a periwinkle rear wheel on my ambulance colored 86.
Or cutting the banjos off my Galper (Galfer?) stainless lines because they didn't line up properly only to find that the banjos swivel to fit.
Or spraying some low expansion foam into a hole in my mirrors to stop the weight from moving around. My idea of low expansion obviously differs from theirs. Blew the glass right out of them.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 06, 2020, 02:46:43 PM
Nope, not heat.... What happened was a bone head (like me) used Yamaha Bond *on both sides* of that valve cover gasket (the fucker did not leak) then...20 thousand miles later, you needed a pry bar to lift the cover off the glued gasket.
Using that pry bar tweaked the cover..... :dash1:
That would make sense to me, lol. As far as your list of dumb mistakes, I've got one for ya. When I got my first bike nearly 5 years ago I went for a ride and then thought to myself, once I had returned home and shut the bike off, "I wonder if this pipe is hot?". The pipe I was referring to was the exhaust pipe where it exits the cylinder head... I then proceeded to place my hand on it to check. I don't think I've ever removed my hand from something so fast in my life, but damn did that still burn like hell. Dumbest thing I ever did, motorcycle related. I was lucky to not get any intense scarring or bubbling. It just turned very red where the pipe had been across my fingers and stayed that way for a few days. I ran it under cool water for a very long time, lol.
Hoo boy...
- Don't drop a rack of carbs with bowls off
- Watch where your thumb is if you use compressed air to push a piston out of a caliper
- Make sure floats, needles, and other small parts are off the carbs before using compressed air
And the eternal classic"
- Watch where the holes are when spraying carb cleaner so it doesn't hit you in the eye
Quote from: JPaganel on May 06, 2020, 07:12:51 PM
Hoo boy...
And the eternal classic"
- Watch where the holes are when spraying carb cleaner so it doesn't hit you in the eye
Oh hell yea, take your carb spray and spray down that brass tube on the side of the float bowl, and it comes out a hole in the bottom....right into your eye!
Carb cleaner in your eye....so much fun!
Sorry for the thread drift Gabe....I'll separate out all these "stupid shit" posts into a new topic after everyone is done....
Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 06, 2020, 07:38:17 PM
Quote from: JPaganel on May 06, 2020, 07:12:51 PM
Hoo boy...
And the eternal classic"
- Watch where the holes are when spraying carb cleaner so it doesn't hit you in the eye
Oh hell yea, take your carb spray and spray down that brass tube on the side of the float bowl, and it comes out a hole in the bottom....right into your eye!
Carb cleaner in your eye....so much fun!
Sorry for the thread drift Gabe....I'll separate out all these "stupid shit" posts into a new topic after everyone is done....
No problem at all, Pat, lol. I haven't pulled my carbs (again) yet or found/ordered a new valve cover so no progress to report on my project so far. Figured the thread would be vacant if not for your fun topic. Gotta say though, I definitely sprayed carb cleaner in my eye a few weeks ago by accident. I was so pissed, lol.
See, Pat? This here is important information. :D
UPDATE 05/25/20Work Completed
- Fixed damaged wiring
- Installed Transpo (adjustable) Voltage Regulator Modification
- Replaced damaged o-rings on all float needle seats
- Fully cleaned and reassembled/installed carburetors
- Replaced blown valve cover gasket (CORRECTLY this time)
- Valve clearances adjusted back to spec!
- ALL light bulbs replaced
- Removed broken bolts from gas tank and valve cover
- Replaced warped valve cover (causing oil leaks) with "new" valve cover!
- Recleaned carbs quickly
Work In ProgressHello again, everyone! It's been a second since my last update. I found myself feeling discouraged to work on my FJ because more issue kept arising and I felt like I wasn't getting any give on the bikes end. Two days ago, I decided to just start easy by buying a screw extractor set to remove my snapped gas tank and valve cover bolt. The small win gave me some motivation and I kept going from there.
I was able to replace my warped valve cover with a "new" one sent to me from RPM along with a new bolt to replace the one I snapped so a HUGE thank you to them! This completely fixed my top end oil leaking problem, so that was a relief. I used the opportunity to clean the oil out of the top of the cylinder head's cooling fins. I was moderately successful but I need much smaller brushes to get in between the fins than the toothbrush that I had. Either way, it's much better than it was. :yes:
I also, on a frustrated whim, decided to spend around 2.5 hours doing a speed clean of the carbs. I removed all of the jets except for the emulsion tube after the first one because everything was spotless from the months I spent cleaning the carbs during the winter. I was just throwing stuff at the wall hoping something would stick essentially, but I'll be damned it helped! Once I got everything back together and installed, she fired right up and after only a few minutes of warming up I pushed the choke in and she didn't die out! She idled very consistently I was able to take her out for a 30 mile spin! I was very happy. :yahoo:
However, I noticed something else. I noticed on the way there that at around the 25 to 40 mph range, unless I was giving her throttle to accelerate, she'd kind of make more of a sputtering sound like it was trying to backfire as I held my speed. Giving her more fuel would smooth it out completely, but when I let off the gas she would begin to backfire on the way down. The bike did this even when I first bought it but this felt more pronounced than before still. I also turned the bike off at one point to stop by a family members house for 15 mins, and she didn't really want to start at first. No biggie, got her going and rode home with no issues shy of the backfire on deceleration. However, once I got home, she died on me in the driveway as I was rolling up.. :dash2:
I'm going to see if she starts this morning. I'm imagining that she's a bit low on oil from the leaking top end so I'm thinkin of pullin the Vance & Hines off and changing that, although I know this won't solve any issues that I was experiencing yesterday. Does anyone have any suggestions that could possibly help? It's a major step in the right direction, but I've clearly still got work to do.
Best,
Gabe
UPDATE 05/27/20Work Completed
- Fixed damaged wiring
- Installed Transpo (adjustable) Voltage Regulator Modification
- Replaced damaged o-rings on all float needle seats
- Fully cleaned and reassembled/installed carburetors
- Replaced blown valve cover gasket (CORRECTLY this time)
- Valve clearances adjusted back to spec!
- ALL light bulbs replaced
- Removed broken bolts from gas tank and valve cover
- Replaced warped valve cover (causing oil leaks) with "new" valve cover!
- Recleaned carbs quickly
- Changed engine oil
- Replaced oil filter
- Cleaned up front side of the engine a bit
Work In Progress
- Carb tuning?
- Idle adjustment
- Figuring out fuel starvation issue?
Hello everyone,
Did a little more work on my FJ. I managed to change the engine oil and the oil filter. I was warned that this was going to be a pain in the ass because of the Vance & Hines 4 into 1 exhaust system, but
DAMN that sucked ass. It was so frustrating as hell, took me waaay too long to get the pipes off and even fricken longer to put the pipes back on. I had to use a hammer eventually to get these bent ass exhaust holder things back on the cylinder head exhaust ports. It was nightmare and for 2 days I had fiberglass all over me from the stupid exhaust wrap. It was painful. :dash2:
Moving on, I also found way more metallic in the oil than I was hoping for. There was some stuck to the drain plug magnet too, but not too much on that. Mostly in the oil itself.
I ended up using 10W-40 Valvoline motorcycle oil after reading about the great debate on the subject. After changing the oil, she seems to run a bit smoother and a bit quiter, but of course this is not the end of my issues.
The bike is definitely running better, that's for sure, but there's more work here to be done. I tried adjusting the idle up a bit since it will sometimes idle for minutes with the choke off, a little below 1k rpm, but eventually the motor stumbles and dies. During my attempt, I noticed that it didn't seem to be doing much of anything. It was then that I realized, the idle adjusting screw was all but fully turned in and it was barely touching the throttle! I searched, but I'm not really sure how to fix this because it sure seems like the throttle cables are fully relaxed when I backed the idle screw out until there was visible space between the throttle and the screw. Is this typical with FJ's or is something effed up/out of adjustment here?
Also, I keep having this phantom issue... I take the carbs out and clean them, put them back in and then when I try to start the bike it pukes fuel from carb #1. Some dripping from the drain screw and what looked like some draining from the area between carb #1 and carb #2. So, I clean up the fuel then leave it over night. The next day, I go to try and diagnose the problem and the damn thing won't leak anything. Not a drop. Not sure what is going on here either.
However, after pulling the tank to try and play with the throttle, I did notice that once again there was some minor dropping from the fuel line where it connects to the petcock and the right side fuel line into the carbs (#3 and #4) was slightly bent. I routed the line like the manual says, but I'm thinking the fuel line is just a little too long. It can't help but bend because it's got too much slack in too short an area, so I think I'm going to snip off half an inch to an inch and see if that helps that problem.
Lastly, I started the bike without the tank on because I wanted to play with the idle adjustment screw for a moment with visibility, and the bike began to back fire consistently with large lurches in pressure, indicated by the vacuum line which goes to the petcock surging with a hiss. This is what happened last time when I was trying to sync the carbs, but when I had the tank on earlier today and the bike was running it didn't backfire even once. It only was backfiring on deceleration during lower medium to high speed deceleration.
:ireful:
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know because these particular issues are very confusing. Sorry for the novel again. I'll post some images of what I talked about here below.
Here's the images. One of the bike when I was changing the oil, one of the front of the motor before I cleaned it up a bit, one after cleanin it up a bit, one of the metallic slivers I found in the oil, one of the minor visible fuel leak, then one of the line route where you can see it begins to pinch up.
When I bought my 86 back in 2005, first oil change had sizable chunks of metal in the out going murkiness. Oh well, I thought, this wasn't a good buy, looks like I've been had. Might as well just ride it until it self destructs.
That was 15 years and over 100,000 miles ago.
These are amazing bikes.
Quote from: andyoutandabout on May 27, 2020, 09:57:43 PM
When I bought my 86 back in 2005, first oil change had sizable chunks of metal in the out going murkiness. Oh well, I thought, this wasn't a good buy, looks like I've been had. Might as well just ride it until it self destructs.
That was 15 years and over 100,000 miles ago.
These are amazing bikes.
This gives me hope, lol. When I wrote that update last night, I was feeling pessimistic from my ongoing battle with the FJ. However, I have confidence that if I can just get this beast to fully behave, it'll be absolutely worth it. Every time I've gotten on the highway and rolled on the throttle, I forget all the frustration and remember why I love this bike. Never quite felt effortless power like that before!
I grenaded the transmission on my '05 GSXR 750 track bike. I pulled a handful of metal out of the oil pan. I ran that bike (after fixing the transmission) for 3 years. I mean all this was at high revs full tilt. Never gave me another problem. That metal mesh screen on the bottom of the oil pump pick-up is there for a reason. :yahoo:
Quote from: Motofun on May 28, 2020, 08:27:06 AM
I grenaded the transmission on my '05 GSXR 750 track bike. I pulled a handful of metal out of the oil pan. I ran that bike (after fixing the transmission) for 3 years. I mean all this was at high revs full tilt. Never gave me another problem. That metal mesh screen on the bottom of the oil pump pick-up is there for a reason. :yahoo:
Well then I'll lay my concern to rest when it comes to that.
Now if I could just get this idle down so I can lay that to rest too, that would be great. lol
Update 05/28/20
Last night after I recognized that having the tank off was causing the bike to backfire, I decided that to truly check the effects of adjusting the mixture screws, I'd have to adjust them and then put the tank back on. And then repeat this as many times as necessary.
Fast forward: 1 full turn back on all 4 screws, some idle adjusting, and some fuel line shortening/careful routing....The bike is no longer dying when the choke is in. It also seems to be ready to ride much quicker than ever before! I just went for a quick 17 mile ride. I hit the highway (70 to 80mph), some back roads (45 to 65mph), some city streets (25 to 30mph) and then intentionally hit some stoplight areas. The bike had no screw ups what so ever! It was phenomenal!
There was a very slight backfire on deceleration, but I put stress on slight! Last week it sounded like someone was firing a gun at me while decelerating at 70mph down to 15 mph. Today though, it barely backfired at all and only at speeds around/underneath 40mph. And at stoplights/stop signs, the RPM gauge sat humming right at the 1k mark. I'm very happy.
:yahoo:
It also feels like the bike is cooling better than before, after I changed the oil, oil filter, and then cleaned out the oil that was caked in the cooling fins. I'm going for a much longer ride after work today to put her to the test.
:i_am_so_happy:
Quote from: Motofun on May 28, 2020, 08:27:06 AM
I grenaded the transmission on my '05 GSXR 750 track bike. I pulled a handful of metal out of the oil pan. I ran that bike (after fixing the transmission) for 3 years. I mean all this was at high revs full tilt. Never gave me another problem. That metal mesh screen on the bottom of the oil pump pick-up is there for a reason. :yahoo:
But you got the splash effect also from crank throwing unfiltered oil up on the cylinderwalls....
Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 06, 2020, 07:38:17 PM
Quote from: JPaganel on May 06, 2020, 07:12:51 PM
Hoo boy...
And the eternal classic"
- Watch where the holes are when spraying carb cleaner so it doesn't hit you in the eye
Oh hell yea, take your carb spray and spray down that brass tube on the side of the float bowl, and it comes out a hole in the bottom....right into your eye!
Carb cleaner in your eye....so much fun!
Sorry for the thread drift Gabe....I'll separate out all these "stupid shit" posts into a new topic after everyone is done....
Here's one I learned from this forum: When filling the crankcase with fresh oil be sure to have the drain-plug installed. Really, I swear I had never made that mistake until reading it, and it was the very next oil change that I got burned.
:Facepalm:
Well everyone, my last update with enthusiasm was squashed pretty quickly. I've been busy lately with work so I kept forgetting to update.
So I'm cruising down the highway at 65 to 70mph when I come up on a big utility truck, so I switch lanes and speed up to about 80mph to pass him quickly. Well, the bike backfired a few times coming down from 80mph back to 70mph and then I noticed I was losing power. I gave it throttle and I was not goin anywhere. Just made a weird noise like it was running out of fuel, so I coasted down and pulled to the side of the road. Bike idled fine but when I gave it throttle, it would make that weird noise like she was out of gas or somethin. I had half a tank but I flipped on the reserve switch anyway. Let her idle for about 2 minutes, bliped the throttle and she was responding normally again.
I hoped on and turned around about 500 feet down the road. I sped up and was cruising at the 65 to 70mph range again. I got probably 2 or 3 miles max and the same damn thing started happening! Acting like it was running out of gas, gave it throttle and zero power delivery. Just the noise. This time the bike died shortly after pulling off to the side of the road. I started it up, jumped right to life. Let her idle for 2 mins, then she was responding normally to throttle again. Rode her the rest of the way home, speeds of 60 to 30 mph without any issues.
I waited a day, then tried turning the mixture screws back in 1/2 a turn to see if it helped. All that seemed to change was that the bike hard a harder time trying to maintain idle and it backfired more at lower speeds. Going to try turning them a full turn out today, making my total adjustment from where I got the bike to 1.5 turns out. Just to see if that helps more or if the problem persists.
sigh.
If that happens again, try opening your gas cap and listen for an influx of air. Sounds like your gas cap is not breathing. I had a similar problem on my 86
Quote from: big r on June 02, 2020, 12:48:49 PM
If that happens again, try opening your gas cap and listen for an influx of air. Sounds like your gas cap is not breathing. I had a similar problem on my 86
I'll tell you what. I just went and fully seated all the fuel mixture screws, then backed them out 2 and 1/2 turns just to make sure they're all "even" at the least. I put the tank put back on to see how it affected the running condition. I let it idle high for maybe 2 minutes max (1.5k rpm) to warm up, then set her down to idle for probably another 2 minutes if that.
Seems pretty healthy but once I killed the motor the fuel tank started whistling. I've read that this is relatively normal, but that seems kind of quick to already be whistling. Also, around 2 weeks ago I came back from a test run, and the thing was whistling like nuts. I put my key into the tank keyhole to try and release pressure and gasoline started
spewing like a mini-geyser from the keyhole around my key. I immediately took the key out and it just whistled. I started recording video on my phone to capture it and tried again, with the same result. Gas spewing.
Sounds like this could be a related?
I think so.Not getting enough air into the tank. This will starve the carbs, I have had this happen to me. Check the files section and look for the flapectomy file
Quote from: big r on June 02, 2020, 02:57:43 PM
I think so.Not getting enough air into the tank. This will starve the carbs, I have had this happen to me. Check the files section and look for the flapectomy file
I will certainly take a look. Thanks!
Update 06/04/20Green highlights = Newly completed. I'll post some pics of the work later.
Work Completed
- Fixed damaged wiring
- Performed Transpo Voltage Regulator Mod
- Replaced damaged o-rings on all float needle seats
- Fully cleaned carbs
- Replaced blown valve cover gasket
- Valve clearances adjusted to spec
- All light bulbs replaced
- removed snapped bolts from gas tank and valve cover
- Replaced warped valve cove with "new" valve cover
- Carbs (speed) cleaned again
- Changed engine oil
- Replaced oil filter
- Repaired cylinder 4 spark plug hole with thread chaser
- Replaced spark plugs
- Carbs fuel mixture screws adjusted
- Performed "Flapectomy" on fuel tank (removed plastic breather assembly)
Work In ProgressNext Possible Work
- Change fork oil
- Replace front brake rotors
- Replace worn rear tire
- Change brake fluid
- Repack Vance & Hines suppressor
Hello again, folks. Great news! First off, I decided to stop fearing Cylinder #4's spark plug hole. I was warned that the thread chaser I bought to repair the threads might not work, but I decided to try and use it on all the plug holes, ending on 4. It helped tremendously! I had a hard time getting all 4 in last time, and after using the thread chaser, all the new plugs went in smooth as butter! I was careful to not to let any shards fall into the cylinder while using it. Cylinder #4 hole had a decent amount of chewed up metal, but after working the chaser through several times, I found success. Also, I got cheap this time, and just installed standards plugs instead of iridium like I planned, lol. Maybe next time.
Secondly, I decided to seat all the fuel mixture screws and back them out 2.5 turns like suggested here. It helped, big time, but it felt a little too rich. So I turned them in 1/2 a turn, but then it started backfiring more (at least it sure seemed like it). So then I turned them out 1/4 a turn and the bike seems to be very happy here.
Right after I did that, and carefully routed the fuel line back, I decided to perform the "Flapectomy" on my fuel tank as it was suggested to me. I want to note that I did not remove the screw with the tiny spring and ball, but the damn thing still jettisoned when I moved the key hole. I used a magnet on the floor for a minute and was able to find the spring, but that bearing is long gone. Whatever.
I reinstalled the tank lock and assembly, pulled the clutch in and started the motor. She hopped to life instantly, sitting at about 1.5k rpm. I let her sit there about 1 min, then I pushed the choke halfway in. She settled down a bit, livin between 1,250 and 1.5k rpm for about another minute or so. I then pushed the choke all the way in, nearly holding my breath to see what would happen... She settled down to just under 1k rpm and just happily chugged away there. I was blown away. I used to have let her sit for almost 10 minutes before she'd be ready to hold idle, and even then she'd die if I didn't ride away within a minute or two of closing the choke.
That wasn't enough evidence. I had to take her out for a spin. Lets fast forward 90 miles of testing at all types of speeds. The old girl hasn't missed a beat! She's running so well! Never has the bike run like this for me, and it's so phenomenal. I took her out again this morning and it didn't event take 3 minutes before I could shut the choke off and she was ready to go. For the first time ever, I feel confident enough in my FJ to take her on a real run. Hell, I used to rev her a little at a stop light after 20 minutes of riding and she would almost die. I feel so good, man.
She still does "cackle" a bit on the way down, but I'm not really willing to mess with it any further. My FJ is finally performing like a beast and I'm so happy! However, most of my major issues have now been solved. I'm not in the middle of doing any work to her, so now I need to come up with the next bit to address. I've listed some of the things I'm contemplating. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions! But for now, I'm gonna ride.
:yahoo: :dance2:
Apologies that I haven't gone back the history of the thread to check exactly how your FJ sits today, but if you're still running OE rubber brake hoses, get your credit card out and order a new set of braided ones from RPM.
After that, if all service items are done and good, just ride :good2: :good2: :good2:
Quote from: Millietant on June 04, 2020, 12:23:36 PM
Apologies that I haven't gone back the history of the thread to check exactly how your FJ sits today, but if you're still running OE rubber brake hoses, get your credit card out and order a new set of braided ones from RPM.
After that, if all service items are done and good, just ride :good2: :good2: :good2:
This sounds like what I need to do!
Quote from: Millietant on June 04, 2020, 12:23:36 PM
Apologies that I haven't gone back the history of the thread to check exactly how your FJ sits today, but if you're still running OE rubber brake hoses, get your credit card out and order a new set of braided ones from RPM.
After that, if all service items are done and good, just ride :good2: :good2: :good2:
No problem at all! Luckily my FJ does have stainless braided brake lines. :yahoo:
Quote from: Waiex191 on June 04, 2020, 02:19:23 PM
Quote from: Millietant on June 04, 2020, 12:23:36 PM
Apologies that I haven't gone back the history of the thread to check exactly how your FJ sits today, but if you're still running OE rubber brake hoses, get your credit card out and order a new set of braided ones from RPM.
After that, if all service items are done and good, just ride :good2: :good2: :good2:
This sounds like what I need to do!
If you want to keep a fairly stock appearance, the lines can be had with a black rubber sleeve.