92 Rebuild and Modernization

[jscgdunn]

As winter sets in in earnest (-15 with a blizzard warning), it is, just as in Norway (Ken) a "good time for modding".  To be honest, I am a bit intimidated to start this thread given the past extensive posts which are so informative and detailed.  I am not enrolled in the 12 Step MA (Moditis Anonymous) program.  I really do not have the problem that bad...er maybe just a bit.  I for sure do not have a fetish for polishing aluminum...it seems to afflict retired FJ owners for the most part; but I digress.



Axiom's R1 conversion was an inspiration (post 3148) and the money just started flowing from there.  The 92 in question was the second FJ I purchased.  The PO was about 35 and had had four boys under six.  For some reason he could not find time to ride.  The bike had been sitting for over a year.  I picked it up in March.  I filled it up with gas, charged up the battery, made sure (after a bunch of cranking) the choke was completely out, and it fired tight up.  We ( my sons and I) put about 10,000 KM over the past two summers.  The problem the bike (we thought it had) had was the shifter nut falling into the frame.  Removal of the footpeg bracket found that one of the lower frame bolts was broken off also...hmmm.

Spent a few hours stripping it down to the frame.  Found the second problem which I deduce may be related to the one above.  The rear, upper weld was cracked.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7405/11177391183_e74f7c7b50.jpg

[jscgdunn]

Ok, hit the post instead of preview so you have the start....always takes me while to figure out the "monkey-flickr" process....more tomorrow with pics (or it didn't happen, right?)

[ribbert]

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[jscgdunn]

Ok here is the pic:



The crack extended all the way around in this.  Other wise the frame was in good shape.  Got a note form Noel and he says the crack probably is not related to the broken bolt a he has seen many of the bolts broke with a frame crack. Definitely defer to his experience.  It might be worth checking these frames though.

And here is the welded up crack:


Parting out did not cross my mind.

Swing Arm
My goal was to modernize the suspension and wheels by installing parts from the R6 and R1.  For the swing arm I started with a 2008 R6.  This appeared to be a bolt on, as the width is the same as the FJ.  Note the thickness where it bolts on as compared tot he FJ.


Here are the through bolts and bushings for the swing arm.  The top two items are the R6 parts.  The third from the top is the FJ bushing, and finally the FJ through bolt.


This shot shows the FJ bushing inserted inside R6 bushing...perfect fit....off to the races!


The shock is also about the same length as the FJ shock
Even got it all mocked up:


But wait, the top of the shock needs to bolt to something......

[jscgdunn]

"Other wise the frame was in good shape.  Got a note form Noel and he says the crack probably is not related to the broken bolt a he has seen many of the bolts broke WITHOUT a frame crack. Definitely defer to his experience.  It might be worth checking these frames though.

Fixed it...better get to work.

[giantkiller]

Great find with r6. If it works I hope you don't mind if you get copied. This place is the greatest. How did you? Find out they were the same width? 

[movenon]

I like the conversion Jeff. Looks great. I see you are using what I think is R6 wheels ? Do you have the width of the R6 swingarm at the axle. I guess what I would like to know is can an FJ or GSXR rear wheel fit into the swing arm ?
George

[andyb]

Dumb question.

Here, it's perhaps around freezing.  I am afraid to work on the motorcycle.  Plastic goes snap, metal is frosty cold.  Norway is probably comparable temperatures (Chicago is similar to Oslo in terms of average temps, for reference!).  How do you work on things?

Wife says motors inside means I don't get inside her, y`know?  

Still need to look at a trans swap for the kawi, and the FJ needs the valves peered at...  How do you work out there in the shed in the cold?  Do you just freeze, or is there a good heater?

[jscgdunn]

I know a guy who wrecks a lot of the 600 class bikes, R6, GSXR, etc that he buys from insurance companies.  Seems like any bike with 600 CCs and an "R" in the name has a pretty short life span.  I took an FJ swingarm over and just lined them up together.  My goal was adapt the 5 spoke wheels and change the look with the  modern swingarm.  I guess if I was still young and limber I would drool over a new R6/R1.  The later model R6 swingarm, I think, is the most dramatic, so that is where I started.

But the plot thickens.  Okay back the R6 swingarm.  With R6 dust caps on it slid in pretty good with a "washer width" gap which could easily be managed. 



If you look back at the pic of the two swingarms, note again how thick the R6 swinger is where the through bolt is.  Because of this thickness, the top of the shock simply cannot to the mount to the frame.  This is further complicated by the offset in 3XW model.  It felt sacrilegious to contemplate changing the shock mount by cutting and welding (but I have to admit I am getting there).  I even cut the tab off the back of the mount which was liberating.  But you can see the problem.  That's is a BMW K1200 shock in there.  The beautiful R6 shock with it's downslung piggyback also interfered with the top of the swing arm at a "normal" ride height (about 15.5 inches to the center of the swing arm bolt).



Finally, my conclusion is to make this work, you would have to cut off the old shock mount and remount it over the center of the hole in the swingarm.  If a person were to do this, the new mount should accommodate a shock with a 13 inch center to center length (the Fjs are about 12).  It might be worthwhile as Hayabusa shocks would be a nice option in that case. 

So back to the drawing board, well, rather back to the wrecker.

The next non-cut-and-weld-option was a 2003 R6 (and later model R6s) swing arm.  Basically mounts up the same way except the hole for the shock is elongated and the piggyback drops into the hole.  Here is it mounted up.  This is a single dogbone set up. I needed to use an R1 dogbone as it is a bit longer than the R6 one.



The clearances are still pretty tight and I continue to muse about the moving the shock mount and going back the 2008 R6...just like it better.

These guys:

http://www.customfighters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42929

have no fear when it comes to cutting and welding.

Paint:  I use this.  Very durable, resistant to cleaners, and has a bit of a textured finish like powdercoating....except I can touch up a will.



More to come: chain alignment: looks like the Honda VF1000 offset combined with flipped rear sprocket will to the trick.

George: I will get a measure of the swingarm width later this week. It is a 5.5 inch wheel and pretty was interchangeable form the 2003 R6 to the 2008 R6.
Andy: I have a heated farm shop (36X48ft).  I can understand how bringing the motor in the house may cause issues.  Last night I assembled the carbs (cleaned in the ultrasonic) at the kitchen table and she-who-will-not-be-trifled-with was wrinkling her nose at the faint smell of sour gas.  Not as bad as the time I boiled a set on the stove in vinegar, but that's another story. Looking forward to comments and advice.

Jeff

[racerrad8]

Jeff, If you make the shock mount "longer" to accommodate the shock you will be adding a lot of leverage to the bracket to apply to the cross tube. It looks like you will have to double the bracket length and that might add more than that in twisting/torsional force.

You might check that out before you go cutting. Make something you can use as a long lever and seen what deflection you get with the stock mount. Then see if you can add the bracket and use the lever again to see how much more deflection you will see with the longer bracket.

You might have to add additional support to the longer bracket to keep the frame from twisting too much and possibly breaking.

Looks good, just do some checking first.

Randy - RPM

[fj1289]

Beware that "washer sized gap" is probably just the frame flexing out with the motor mount bolt and swing arm pivot bolt removed -- I'll bet the stock swing arm has the same amount of clearance too.

Yay!   Another build thread!   I like watching the progress and learning new ways to approach things

Good luck!

[jscgdunn]

Have not checked for the frame flex at the swingarm mount but will be interesting the see if there is that much.  Randy great idea on checking the flex at the mount.  Frankly, pretty nervous about crossing the Rubicon to cut and weld; no decent return from there. 

[jscgdunn]

George,
In terms of the swingarm width, the FJ is actually wider, at about 252 MM.



The 2003 R6 is 240.



In terms of flex at the swingarm bolt, this really should be minimal.  The Fj swingarm fits very tightly into frame, and I have had the same experience with a my other 92 and our 86. 

[jscgdunn]

Chain Alignment

Here is the countershaft sprocket finger tight showing the amount of thread:


Loosened off to align the chain.  Measurement of the offset required was 6MM


Not too scientific, but the chain looks aligned with this offiset

[jscgdunn]

Front End
The front end is from a 2009 R1.  I chose it because I read on here that "it gets the chicks".  There is lots of infor on the FZ1 forums on this as well as Axioms post regarding his conversion.  I choose a 2009 FZ1 top triple and bars.

The R1 triple stem was pressed out and replaced with an FJ stems, just as in Axioms.




You have to make some parts.  For the top washer, my machinist buddy took a large washer and spun it on the lathe to fit.  Here are the measurements.  In the top photo you can see he even cut a bevel to match the triple.






The top hat bushing is a bit more complicated.  More to come later.