Joining from Holland

[dikkiedikkie]

Good morning all,

Just joined the forum, and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Bas, 25, and live near The Hague. This weekend I picked up my first FJ1200, a '93 model without ABS. Lovely bike, there have been significant updates done by a previous owner (Stainless headers, blue dot upgrade, alu swingarm etc). I ordered a carb overhaul set (only a few seals/filter/floatbowl needle), and after getting the carbs cleaned and reinstalled, sychronized and new fuel hoses on, I suspect it will drive just great! Was very impressed with the short test ride I did. Previous bike was a GSX750F, so I'm used to heavier sport-touring bikes  .

Looking forwards to the fun discussions!

[red]

Bas,

Welcome to the campfire! Pull up a seat, and be among friends.  Your bike looks fine, and it has probably been well kept.

Before you take the carbs apart, you may want to run a can of fuel injector cleaner (carb cleaner) through the gas tank, mixed as the label instructions say.  In the USA, a good carb cleaner is SeaFoam, but ask other riders for a local product there.  Add the carb cleaner to the gas tank at the fuel pumps, just before fueling the bike, to mix it well with the fuel.  Carb cleaner can give you magic results, but it is not instant magic.  Give the product a few tanks of fuel, to do the job of cleaning the carbs.

If you start the bike when cold, you can touch each header pipe in turn, very carefully, to check that each cylinder is running well (and getting hot equally).  A remote InfraRed thermometer is a good tool for this check, too.  They don't cost much, or maybe you can borrow one.

Cheers,
Red