Brembo calipers standard? And front spring rates..

[tmkaos]

Hi all, hoping one of you might be able to answer a question I've got...
Bought my FJ about 3 years ago, freshly imported from Japan. It was sold to me as a 1990 but when the paperwork came through it seems it was a 1992. I'm in NZ, there's bugger all FJ's around down here, hardly ever see any on the roads. The front calipers are gold coloured Brembo's, 4 pots. I assumed this was standard for them but after having a quick look through a few posts it seems maybe they aren't.. Can anybody shed some light on this? There hasn't been any mods to the front forks, they attach on the obviously factory mounts. I'm wondering if this was a Japanese option as most of you folks seem to be in the USA, or whether someone has fettled it prior to my owning it. Seems quite likely as it has Rendal moto-cross bars, and non standard billet alloy footpegs, and had a slip-on muffler from a 250cc bike on it.. (90db from 2m away at 4000rpm thank you very much whoever fitted that!)  Also, I'm getting the front shock's re-springed as I assume they still have the factory units in them and it pitches something shocking under heavy braking, not helped by the fact I'm 6'2 and 108kgs myself. I'm looking at springs which have been reccommended to me with about a .8kg rating, factory having about .45kgs, apparently. Can anyone suggest a good rate for someone my size, for everyday use, and the odd 2-up weekend away? Cheers...

[Arnie]

Hi Tmkaos,

I've not seen any FJ's with Brembo brakes, but Brembo make a lot of brake calipers and obviously someone somewhere has found a set that fits - maybe.  It is also possible that someone has changed the forks or maybe the whole front end to a setup from an other bike.  This possibility is added to by the fact that you have Rendal [ Renthal ? ] moto-cross bars on it.  All FJ's that I know of came with 'clip-on' bars except for some police units which were probable done locally.  Send a few pics of calipers, forks, axle mount area and many of us should be able to ID the forks for you.  There is an 'old-timer' FJ'er in Auckland who could also give you some insight if you're in that end of the country. (Ned, are you reading along?)
Yes, the stock FJ forks are woefully undersprung.  Most common spring change is to Race-Tech or Sonic springs of 0.9 - 1.0 kg/mm.  If you're more interested in comfort than race-ready handling, the 0.8kg/mm will be a great improvement.  There is an online spring rate calculator on the Race-Tech.com website, if you want to play.  They usually advise a bit on the 'stiff' side IMHO.
You may be able to quiet your bike by making and fitting some restrictor tips to the exhausts (you do have twin exhausts, right?).  Any (car) exhaust shop should be able to take a piece of exhaust pipe and swage one end OD up to the ID of your current "muffler" exit.  Most won't even charge you.  I've done this on other bikes and it works well.
Any more Q's, just ask away.  BTW  I'm just on the other side of the ditch, near Geelong.

Cheers,
Arnie

[tmkaos]

Cheers Arnie,

Hey thanks for that, I'll have a look into the forks, they are away at the mo having the seals and awaiting some springs when the guy gets to it. I think the forks are standard, I've got a clymer manual off the net, and all the pics look pretty similiar to what I've got.. Good info on the spring rates, can't remember the brand name of the ones the guy had in stock but they were American.
The exhaust has been extensively fiddled with, it went 4 into 1 out of the head, then a large 2 1/4 single back to this rather pissy little straight thru can, when I took it apart the bike had blown all the packing right out of it, I've since replaced everything from the headers back with a 2" stainless pipe of my own design and make (toolmaker by trade) and bought a factory muffler from a 2007 CB1300, the mount lined up spot -on with the rear footpeg mount. This has quieten it down some, no more ringing ears on the long rides but I've lost a little of my bottom end. Not really much of a problem, and i still have the straight thru for track days and down the strip when i feel the need. :-)

[tmkaos]

Oh yes, the Renthal bars... I'm not sure of the terminology but the there are 2 plates that clamp the shocks, one either side of the headstock. The top one has been replaced with a  billet aluminium piece that the Renthal bars attach to. I've never ridden a stock FJ so i cant compare what it's like but I find it quite comfy.

[junkyardroad]

The top one has been replaced with a  billet aluminium piece that the Renthal bars attach to. I've never ridden a stock FJ so i cant compare what it's like but I find it quite comfy.

I would like to see that when you have time for a pic.

[tmkaos]

i seem to be having trouble attaching pics... i have uploaded them to my gallery but i can't seem to get them into a post? anyway, you can have a look in my gallery if you want or if someone is kind enough to explain I'll chuck 'em in here  

[andyb]

There's the salient bits.

[Adam FJ]

Here in the UK you can sometimes get hold of Brembo Calipers from the Yamaha TRX 850, they are like gold dust though, very good calipers so I have been told.

Adam.

[andyb]

To me it looks as someone modded it, I'd imagine they did the brakes and the bars.

The stickers on the top triple clamp and arm are probably your best bet towards figuring out exactly what you've got.  Suprised a bit that they put bars on it, the FJ is damned comfy in stock form, nearly a perfect riding position (at least for me, and I'm short, so YMMV).

[tmkaos]

I'd be interested to ride a standard FJ and see the difference for myself, but I don't see many of them around in Auckland where I live. Not huge amounts of them for sale either, I think once people buy them they tend to hang on to them. I'm certainly not planning on getting rid of mine anytime soon. They have a good rep.

I was just interested to find out what had been modded from standard on my bike. I find it pretty comfy as is, and i think if I were to go to standard bars I'd find myself hunched over too much, I'm fairly tall so more upright works for me. I get a bit of buffet around the helmet, but I don't want to mod the screen as I like the way it looks. It has the kick-up screen on it.

[junkyardroad]

FJ is damned comfy in stock form, nearly a perfect riding position (at least for me, and I'm short, so YMMV).

Just the opposite for me. I have a hard time getting comfy. In fact, imagine seeing monkey humping a basketball, thats me.

Someone with some talent made the triple clamps and bar mounts on a bridgeport or cnc mill.  If you figure out who it was, please post.  The mounts on the calipers look just like my stock 4 pots. 

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm gonna run down to speak to the machine shop dude and get his take on making some.

[tmkaos]

FJ is damned comfy in stock form, nearly a perfect riding position (at least for me, and I'm short, so YMMV).

Someone with some talent made the triple clamps and bar mounts on a bridgeport or cnc mill.  If you figure out who it was, please post. 

There is a label on the triple clamp, WORKS QUALITY, if that helps some. I'm an engineer by trade, run a Haas cnc milling machine, it wouldn't at all be a hard component to make. I've made a few bits and pieces for my FJ, I'll have to post some pics when I figure out how, I've got a program for engraving the FJ1200 logo (the same as it appears on the side of the bike) , which looks quite good... 

[tmkaos]

Here's that engraving I mentioned, just got to build myself some parts to put it on now!

[junkyardroad]

That is very cool.  I have very limited experience on a bridgeport, and am always impressed with guys who make it look easy. And guys like you with CNC skills make me look at my big hammer and chisel with an unhappy expression.

[tmkaos]

What makes you think i don't have a large hammer and chisel in my toolbox?