'86 FJ Restoration

[fj johnnie]

Here is the 86 bike that I am restoring. My intention was to document the whole journey however it seemed as though I never remembered to take pictures.  I purchased the bike for 450 bucks and stripped it to the bare frame. The frame, tail section, faring stay, kick stand, and motor mounts were powder coated. I spent approximately 5 hours off and on over the course of about a month or two detailing the engine, polishing the stainless exhaust, and fork tubes. All the swing arm bearings were in great shape. The wheel bearings and steering head bearings were replaced. New fork seals installed. Carburetors were rebuilt and cleaned by Paul Wagar. Within the next month it will be complete.

[movenon]

The flying FJ looks nice !  Looks like it will be ready for spring time. 
George

[Swifty]

Hey there fj johnnie,
Looks like we have the same project in mind! I am new to the forum and wondered how do you add pictures?
Keep us posted,
Swifty

[rktmanfj]

Hey there fj johnnie,
Looks like we have the same project in mind! I am new to the forum and wondered how do you add pictures?
Keep us posted,
Swifty

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=341.0

[fj johnnie]

  This is my first attempt at doing a complete tear down. I did not do anything to the motor other than clean it. I was fortunate to start with a bike in very good condition. The frame was rusty and the bike was very dirty however the PO had actually kept very good care of it mechanically. I also received a factory FJ manual with a complete service history .  I have no clue what I will do with it. If anyone is interested in a very nice 86 I may sell it. I am under no illusions that it is worth a whole lot, nor will I make any money on it. It has been a project that I simply enjoyed doing.
As far as posting pictures my son did it for me. He was " showing me how", however I didn't learn much in the 12 seconds it took him to do it. I remember something about photo bucket, or maybe he wants me to kick the bucket I don't know.

[Vsekvsek]

you need to take pictures of what exactly that thing is being held up by. That a concrete garage with steel attachments up there?

[fj johnnie]

 Okay I will post some pictures. I have a 12 inch steel beam sitting on concrete block walls that separate one garage section from the other. I have a friend who runs a company that rents equipment in the mining industry. He had a trolley made for me with a 3 ton capacity. I bought from him an electric chain fall. My idea was to only use it for lifting the frame onto the motor. However ,once I had the motor in it was so handy to raise and lower it or drag it back and forth, that it has been hanging ever since. When I leave the shop I simply lift it up as high as it will go, and it is safe and sound. I have a lift as well which I will eventually drop the bike onto.

[Joe Sull]

FJ Johnnie; Did you get a chance to drive it before you took it apart. I think if you feel the majestic attitude of this machine you my change your mind. I've had two 1100's before and for some reason they didn't compare to the FJ. It's not the speed or the power.
It's like napalm smells like victory!

[Joe Sull]

I just realized that you already have an FJ and that you've been around here longer than I have. Sorry.

[fj johnnie]

 No apology needed. I like the way you encouraged me to keep it!! I am in no need to sell it. I am recognizing that I may have a problem however, as there are a few other bikes in my garage as well as three FJ's. 90,86 and a recently acquired low mileage 84 that is in very nice condition . It needs the same treatment as the 86 you see hanging.

[fj johnnie]

Here is my lift for hanging the bike.

[movenon]

Looks like you got it covered !  Nice trolly lift and it looks like you are parked on a motorcycle lift to boot.  If I had that many FJ's it would keep me broke  They would probably send me off to some kind of a support group.......................
All kidding aside that is a nice bike. Keep the project going. 
George

[racerrad8]

You know it is cold when the snow plow still has snow on it in inside the building...

Randy - RPM

[fj johnnie]

 Thanks George. It is moving along. In a previous life I left a trail of unfinished projects. Now I will not start another until the last one is done.
You are very observant Randy. It has snowed the last two days. I cleaned my driveway four times since Monday. Last year I cleaned it four times total. The funny thing is that with the woodstove on, and the tunes on as well I can spend the whole day there, cleaning something that no one will ever see. And I love every minute of it. It was -15 Celsius today and it is not possible to ride. So the next best thing is to spend time getting prepared. Do every job that needs doing.

[fj johnnie]

Here is the frame after powder coating


After zee big air cooled monster is securely attached in its old home.

Oops I am posting these pictures all jumbled up, similar to my conversations. Bouncing back and forth. This is the motor and bike as I disassembled it




The stainless pipes re-installed.



She's alive!!! The old girl purrs like a Kitten. I forgot to plug the vacuum line for the petcock so idle was a little funny.




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All that is left is to install the stainless lines for the brakes and clutch, and stop the vacuum leak at the fuel petcock. The petcock works fine however will not hold vacuum. It seems the seal around the wires is leaking .

And in addition this old girl showed up last fall. 25,000 original k's. $380 bucks how could I say no?