Yearly Safety Anouncement

[Dan Filetti]

For those that did not see the other thread, or follow the thread links, I thought it would be a good idea to yet again, post and account of my ill-fated FJ experience with the hopes that others will not suffer the same fate.  (sorry for the redundancy).

CTRL-C/ CTRL-V from an earlier thread:

My FJ died an untimely death, due to a poorly designed "L" fitting/ outlet in the fuel line coming off of the petcock.  The fitting worked its way loose while I was riding and the bike continued to run on the fuel in the float bowls.  The still-attached vacuum line kept the petcock happily open and pumping the gas onto the hot motor.  I came to a stop at a stop sign, began to accelerate away and the back tire slipped a bit.  -"Must be oil on the road" I thought -when in fact it was my own fuel I had just slipped on.  The bike stalled a hundred yards later, out of fuel, finally having exhausted the fuel in the float bowls.  A woman drove by me and asked if I needed help -I answered that I did not my house was .5 miles away and it was down hill.  (what I should have said was "I think I have a bent rod, can you help me straighten it out?" but I didn't)

As I looked down at the bike under me, blinking, as it had always been so very reliable, and I knew I had enough gas when I notice the smell of gas for the first time (and waaaaay too late).  An instant later, I and the bike were completely engulfed in an 8 foot fire ball, or so says the lady who had just passed me -who saw it in her rear view mirror.   She stopped and got out of her car expecting to find me dead.  In the meantime I abandoned ship, somehow, like a cat jumping straight back and landed on my feet behind the bike.  I watched in amazement and horror as my now-burning FJ fell over and crunched to the ground.  The woman called 911 and it took 15 minutes for the fire truck to arrive. 

In that time the bike met it's maker -never to be run again.  When the tank burned through, flames shot high into the air (30' +/-)  In fact, the fire got hot enough to melt the aluminum clutch cover into the clutch housing (I saw this after they had gotten the fire out.)  There was nothing left besides metal, the bike was unrecognizable.  My beloved FJ was unceremoniously dragged onto a tow trailer and trucked off, never to be seen again. 

I was given a little less than I had paid for the bike 5 years earlier by the insurance company...

I post this, as I sometimes do, to let everyone know that the early FJ's simply press-fit those rigid aluminum "L" / outlet fittings into the petcock.  They can, and do come loose.  Glue and Wrap a twist-tie around it to ensure they do not.

Doing this simple thing may well save you from suffering the fate I did, or worse.

My $0.02

Happy New Year Folks.

Dan

[craigo]

Dan,

Is this about what your FJ looked like after she burned?





CraigO
90FJ1200

[Mark Olson]

For those that did not see the other thread, or follow the thread links, I thought it would be a good idea to yet again, post and account of my ill-fated FJ experience with the hopes that others will not suffer the same fate.  (sorry for the redundancy).

CTRL-C/ CTRL-V from an earlier thread:

My FJ died an untimely death, due to a poorly designed "L" fitting/ outlet in the fuel line coming off of the petcock.  The fitting worked its way loose while I was riding and the bike continued to run on the fuel in the float bowls.  The still-attached vacuum line kept the petcock happily open and pumping the gas onto the hot motor.  I came to a stop at a stop sign, began to accelerate away and the back tire slipped a bit.  -"Must be oil on the road" I thought -when in fact it was my own fuel I had just slipped on.  The bike stalled a hundred yards later, out of fuel, finally having exhausted the fuel in the float bowls.  A woman drove by me and asked if I needed help -I answered that I did not my house was .5 miles away and it was down hill.  (what I should have said was "I think I have a bent rod, can you help me straighten it out?" but I didn't)

As I looked down at the bike under me, blinking, as it had always been so very reliable, and I knew I had enough gas when I notice the smell of gas for the first time (and waaaaay too late).  An instant later, I and the bike were completely engulfed in an 8 foot fire ball, or so says the lady who had just passed me -who saw it in her rear view mirror.   She stopped and got out of her car expecting to find me dead.  In the meantime I abandoned ship, somehow, like a cat jumping straight back and landed on my feet behind the bike.  I watched in amazement and horror as my now-burning FJ fell over and crunched to the ground.  The woman called 911 and it took 15 minutes for the fire truck to arrive. 

In that time the bike met it's maker -never to be run again.  When the tank burned through, flames shot high into the air (30' +/-)  In fact, the fire got hot enough to melt the aluminum clutch cover into the clutch housing (I saw this after they had gotten the fire out.)  There was nothing left besides metal, the bike was unrecognizable.  My beloved FJ was unceremoniously dragged onto a tow trailer and trucked off, never to be seen again. 

I was given a little less than I had paid for the bike 5 years earlier by the insurance company...

I post this, as I sometimes do, to let everyone know that the early FJ's simply press-fit those rigid aluminum "L" / outlet fittings into the petcock.  They can, and do come loose.  Glue and Wrap a twist-tie around it to ensure they do not.

Doing this simple thing may well save you from suffering the fate I did, or worse.

My $0.02

Happy New Year Folks.

Dan

Dan, I took your warning to heart the first time I heard it .

your safety announcement has not been in vain.

[andyoutandabout]

Meaning to do it, haven't done it, will do it. Thanks for the reminder

[Kopfjaeger]

that looks realllly painful.

[Dan Filetti]

Dan,

Is this about what your FJ looked like after she burned?

Yup, notice that the aluminum has melted away -amazing amount of heat!

Dan

[Travis398]

those are some pretty bad pictures, I too, have been too lazy to take my tank off and check it. I give you permission to say " I told you so" if it burns before I check it out.

I do appreciate the info though, and will look it over next time I pull the tank.

[Pat Conlon]

Thank you Dan.  Sorry for the loss of your bike but you're ok, that's most important. Here's a little diddy I've been meaning to put together for awhile now, so....thanks for the reminder!   If I missed something, let me know.....Cheers!
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=3265.0

[racerrad8]

FYI,

There is now not a single 84-86 FJ petcock that was installed new from Yamaha that is not 30 years old. The glue used to hold the nipple in ages and deteriorates. The removal of the fuel tank dislodges the fitting and the filter is usually shrunk up and not sealing properly.

A new petcock from RPM is cheap insurance, it does a couple of things.

1) It is a new petcock which is safety wired, with S/S wire for added security.
2) It also ensures the petcock is working properly, both sealing at shut down and flowing while running.
3) Gives you the proper filtering with a new screen.

84-85 Yamaha Fuel Tank Petcock
86-88 Yamaha Fuel Tank Petcock

Randy - RPM

[mr blackstock]

After I first read the original post, I went out to the bike, lifted the tank off and after barely a wiggle, the elbow popped straight out.  Saved at the last minute.  It has been wired ever since.  One of the best tips on the site,

cheers, Gareth