Electrical: Bike won't start. 86.

[movenon]

I second Pat Conlon's post. A little explanation of a typical problem along with the possability of a faulty side stand safety switch. The wire's route up from the side stand switch and go around a tight area next to the oil filter housing. When changing oil it is very easy for that wire bundle to get caught under the filter housing and get pinched upon tightening the housing down, most of the time you find that out when the oil leaks out upon start up. Anyhow those wires get crushed and damaged. There is a possability that the wire is either cut or shorted out at that point. That is one of the reasons that a lot of FJ's convert to a spin on oil filter.
So if you trouble shoot the switch do it up at the top connector as Pat said.
On another subject please dress warmly.... Recommend winter riding gloves, rain jacket or suit, boots, helmet, good coat etc.. Here in Idaho we are seeing night time temps of 34 degree's. Seattle will be warmer but moister/humid. Still cold on the bike in the AM. Hate freezing fingers.....

Washington also has an "open visor" law. The best I can explain it is if you are riding along on a nice day with your visor cracked open, a cop with not much else to do can stop you and issue a ticket... OK, now IF your visor is open and you have eye protection on (glass's) then you are "OK", if your bike has a windscreen then you are "OK" with your visor open. Sport bike windscreens are still a topic of discussion. Not much eye protection I guess. I think if a cop see's your visor open it gives him or her an excuse to stop you. Sport bike riders have taken a lot of heat off the Harley guy's and gal's. The Harley guys and gal's are now down right civilized . They ware the American flag and cross's on there leather jackets and putt on down the road. The sport bike types are getting a little extra "evil eye" from the law. The open visor law is stated as I understand it, so you might ask or if someone else has more accurate information then please chime in. Just a heads up,  another strange law a little out of the norm. Have a safe trip.

[fj11.5]

what's the theory behind that insane law, , getting something in your eye and crashing ? , how do the fine the open face helmets if no glasses are worn,

[FJmonkey]

The visor might be up for a while....Till that one little wasp fails to avoid your fast moving helmet. Now the wasp goes from a life of content to WTF??? Someone is gonna pay for messing with my groove and spilling my martini. This looks like a soft sensitive part of ones ear. Lets see how a few jabs with my stinger teaches some respect for my might and messing with my life of ease!!!

Don't ask me how I know, but I have passed through swarms of bees since then and only had the sticky guts to deal with after, no panic stops in traffic....

Stock 86', no real wind protection. Life teaches us if we are willing to learn, otherwise it just feels like abuse.

[FJSpringy]

Don't ask me how I know, but I have passed through swarms of bees since then and only had the sticky guts to deal with after, no panic stops in traffic....

hey finally something interesting in this thread 

[fintip]

As far as the sidestand switch stuff, thanks for the info. I've just never troubleshooted a safety switch before; all my bikes have had them circumvented before by a PO at some point, so I've never had to deal with them. I've read about them, seen them on diagrams, and that's about it. Just wondered what it looked like in the real world.

As far as warm weather gear, I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Will definitely do some more research on that (that thread up is interesting) and be sure to pack warm. (Any other suggestions on that front welcome, I'm from Texas, so I haven't had to deal with this much. I do own a balaclava and a pair of light longjohns and gloves, a rain suit as well that always goes with me, but I think I'll need to step it up a notch...)

That open visor law sounds awfully random. I generally only open my visor for brief stops or low speed travel. I also wear glasses underneath, couldn't tell if that matters or not? But regardless, thanks for the heads up.

As far as the 86 windshield... I've never had a windshield or fairing on any bike I've owned, and I did a 600 mile day at high speeds (90ish mph) not too long ago and didn't find myself bothered. So I can't miss what I've never had. Still, I might look into one of those little windshield riser adapter things I see occasionally that stick onto the top of the windshield, looks nice.

Sounds like a pretty unlucky set of circumstances, monkey. Have yet to have anything more than the occasional bug splat on the visor, thank goodness. (My visor is usually pretty gross on long rides...)

As far as my hotwiring/bypass procedure, does no one have feedback on that? Did I broach a taboo topic or something? Any anticipated problems wiring the battery straight into the main fuse?

Thanks,
Kyle

[movenon]

what's the theory behind that insane law, , getting something in your eye and crashing ? , how do the fine the open face helmets if no glasses are worn,

Lots of insane laws out there.... World wide.. I forgot to mention. You are going down the road with all your gear on, your shaded face shield down, doing under the speed limit, the sun has just set and life is good.  Guess what, in the State of Washington you are busted...... "After sunset your face shield has to be clear" no tinted shields...

All I was trying to relay is that if they see you riding down the road with your face shield up and no windshield then it gives them "cause" to stop you. From there it can be a down hill slide.... Proper paper work, proper plate display, are the rear turn signals modified, headlight working, then there is the oh shit when they search your bag and fine the concealed gun, got a permit ? is it valid ?

All that said and its my understanding that in the State of Washington that motorcycle insurance is NOT required.... Crazy.

I will bring this post to close on my part because it probably belongs in General Disscusion .

[zz28zz]

In regards to cold weather gear, I take a thick toboggan or sockhat; cut a large slit in the top, and pull it over my head so it wraps around my neck. Tuck the bottom inside my jacket and the top into my helmet. Makes all the difference in the world. Works well for snow skiing too. Obviously, some really good gloves are a must.

As far as open-shield riding goes, I do it 99% of the time. Only problem I had was once catching a wasp between my temple and the helmet padding. I could feel him kicking around. I quickly turned my head in the direction of the wasp as far as I could and the wind sucked him out. Whew! Close one!!

[fintip]

Another Austin member! 

When I get back, we should do a ride, yeah?

The thing you discuss, reminds me of a common israeli hat/thing, that's kind of like a tub with a drawstring at the top, used similarly. I was just given a scarf here in Mexico made by someone's mom, though, so I'm thinking I'll try that, and like I said, I also have a balaclava. I'm thinking together they might work pretty well for head warmth (we'll see!).

I'm not sure how good of gloves I will need. I have some that have always done fine for me, but if it's not enough, maybe I'll try buying handwarmers or something? Or stuffing newspaper in there? No idea, not much experience with cold weather in general, much less cold weather riding.

[fintip]

Back on topic and adding for completeness... putting in a new battery got the dash to come on and blinkers to work. Following that, the bike could be turned over (and started) by bypassing the solenoid. Starter button won't crank the engine, however, and shorting the kickstand and clutch safety switches didn't fix that. Will now be shorting out the yellow/black wire in an attempt to ground out the relay unit itself, which would effectively bypass all safety switches (the third--last?--of which is the neutral safety switch, and this also eliminates the possibility that I did the shorting out of switches incorrectly.)

This issue is discussed more thoroughly on 'Prospect Purchase' in the same section on the forum, mostly starting after page 7 or 8 or so.