First ride ever! but heres the problem...

[Carterc]

so i took my first ride EVER today the bike is awesome. I left in the day, came back at night, and here's what i noticed.

1. the speedometer is about 15 mph off. it shows 65 when going roughly 50, is this an easy fix?
2. the light behind the speedometer/tachometer is visible in the middle but fades on the edges of the gauges to where i cant read what speed i'm going.
3. not so smooth on the idle speed, how do i know if it needs a carb sync?
4. headlights are bright, step on the brake and boom, they're practically off.
5. brake light doesn't come on when brake lever is squeezed.
6. muffler is a 4-1 straight exhaust (super loud), can i just buy a baffle the diameter of my exhaust pipe and shove it in?

problems 2-5 all seem to do with the lights, is that a tell tale sign of some sort? brand new battery btw

thanks in advance!!

[RichBaker]

1.  Normal, do the calculation mentally.  My speedo is 9% high, I subtract 10% from my speedo and use that.... most Japanese bikes from the era are optimistic speedo-wise, typically 10%.
2. You have several blown bulbs, need to pull the cluster to replace, use 194LL bulbs.
3. What is the idle speed?  It takes 10-15 minutes for anFJ to get to temp, and it will be a little rough 'til it gets there. Idle speed should be 1000-1100rpm when fully warmed up. If it is still rough, your carbs need sync... assuming valves are adjusted and no other problems.
4. Bad switch or open wire....
5. Maybe, depends on manufacturer and how "handy" you are at improvising...

[Harvy]

so i took my first ride EVER today the bike is awesome. I left in the day, came back at night, and here's what i noticed.

1. the speedometer is about 15 mph off. it shows 65 when going roughly 50, is this an easy fix?
2. the light behind the speedometer/tachometer is visible in the middle but fades on the edges of the gauges to where i cant read what speed i'm going.
3. not so smooth on the idle speed, how do i know if it needs a carb sync?
4. headlights are bright, step on the brake and boom, they're practically off.
5. brake light doesn't come on when brake lever is squeezed.
6. muffler is a 4-1 straight exhaust (super loud), can i just buy a baffle the diameter of my exhaust pipe and shove it in?

problems 2-5 all seem to do with the lights, is that a tell tale sign of some sort? brand new battery btw

thanks in advance!!

Can't help you with 1.
There is more than 1 globe on the cluster to light it......maybe you have a couple not working?
See Marsh's comments re syncing in the msg immediately b4 your post. If your carbs are sync at partial throttle open, then in all likelyhood it will be a bit rough at idle.
Dull headlight with the brake light on is fairly typical, but usually only at idle when the charging system is not keeping up with power usage. At anything over around 1500rpm it should not be noticable. Do the headlight relay mod if you intend to ride a lot at night.
There is a micro switch beneath the front brake lever on the body of the reservoir that is probably not working, so It doesn't activate the brake light.
If the exhaust racket concerns you (I bet the neighbours love it), you could probably find an old baffle from a 1000cc+ bike that would fit in there, how you keep it in is another thing entirely. I'd be inclined to hunt around for a complete replacement for the can.


Harvy

[RichBaker]

1.  Normal, do the calculation mentally.  My speedo is 9% high, I subtract 10% from my speedo and use that.... most Japanese bikes from the era are optimistic speedo-wise, typically 10%.
2. You have several blown bulbs, need to pull the cluster to replace, use 194LL bulbs.
3. What is the idle speed?  It takes 10-15 minutes for anFJ to get to temp, and it will be a little rough 'til it gets there. Idle speed should be 1000-1100rpm when fully warmed up. If it is still rough, your carbs need sync... assuming valves are adjusted and no other problems.
5. Bad switch or open wire....
6. Maybe, depends on manufacturer and how "handy" you are at improvising...

Too late to edit, I left #4 out..... But it looks like Harvey covered it pretty well.