New member, new bike, new issues to me.

[RD56]

I have spent last several days reading posts and just wanted to congratulate you guys on maintaining such a valuable resource for lovers of one of Yamahas' great work horses. Been riding for years, my first Yamaha was a 1968 YR2 350 Grand Prix two stroke. Purchased new, what a great bike.

Just traded for this 85 FJ a couple of weeks ago and need some help on a couple issues. Bike has been sitting for a few years, so I am not going to attempt to start until I pull carbs and do a thorough cleaning.

1st question: clutch master has been leaking, will a rebuild kit typically fix this problem or do I need a new master. Slave looks OK but would probably be smart to rebuild as well. Randy is obviously go to guy for this stuff, just wondered whats best course of action.

2nd: Bike went down on right side very little damage to anything other than some metal  and small three screw cover over what looks like access to the end of the crankshaft. The small cover is missing and enough metal has been ground down that one or two of the screw holes are gone. There is a rubber plug exposed but not damaged,( Plug, Blind 1, part # 4H7-15167-10-00). Does not appear to be any oil leaking, but can this bike be ridden like this or will cases need to be replaced. A mystery how PO could have done this kind of damage without hurting any other part of bike.

Many thanks for any help. I'm sure I'll be back to the well many more times.

[keand3]

Hi.

Don't have much experience related to your second question.  Others will surely chip in on that.

Regarding your clutch M/C, a repair kit from Randy will make it as good as new. While your at it, replace the slave cylinder with a new one from Randy.
Even though a rebuild kit would make it function probably it cant compare with a new one. They are known to leak. Others might disagree, but that's what i find most convenient.

Welcome to the forum. Introduce your self in the introduction section and tell us a littel about your self  

Cheers
Ken

[Pat Conlon]

Hey welcome new guy, we are on a first name basis here, what should we call you?

Yeppers, Ken's advice is spot on. If your clutch master is leaking it is a sure bet that the slave is not far behind.
Kits from RPM will do both just fine if the (soft aluminum) bore on your slave is not corroded. If so, just get a new slave like Ken recommends.

Re: right side cover. Happened to me, I ground mine away on a low side accident. The rubber crank journal plug is the important part and the cover just protects it from road debris. If needed, the rubber plug can be removed and replaced without splitting the case. The cover does not supply any support to the journal plug so you really could ride the bike with the cover off.
For my repair, first I needed a new cover, available from RPM, then I used the JB Weld 2 part epoxy putty to build up the base area which was ground away by the street. The stuff is easy to work with, and can be filed and sanded and painted and dries rock hard.
From the outside, my repair looks indistinguishable from the case.
If one of the screw holes are gone from the base, I would try and build a base with the epoxy and before the epoxy sets, install a small threaded stud in the epoxy that lines up with the holes on the cover. Get some small stainless steel acorn nuts and use those to hold the cover on to the studs. You don't need a lot of clamping force on the cover.

Take a picture and let's see what you're starting with.  

Also, being a new guy you get to listen to my usual rant:
1) replace those oem rubber brake lines right away, and
2) safety wire your petcock.

Welcome again. Cheers Pat

[movenon]

+1 on the safety wire for the petcock !
George

[Harvy]

AS Pat and Ken have said, but let me add - purchase a set of Rentec engine guards from Randy as well...... if you do ever decide to throw your FJ down the road instead of riding it, your engine will thank you. DAMHIK-IJK.

Harvy

[RD56]

Great advice, thanks...Rick

[FJmonkey]

Welcome to the club Rick, the collective here has fixed nearly everything on these FJs. Looks like you know your way around the search engine, we will help you around the FJ engine. Happy to have you on board.

[RD56]

Thanks for the welcome, will definitely need help around the engine.

Rick