Aussie 1100's new life

[ribbert]

....... Last check he has almost 600k's on his bike (original crank!!!),

Holy cow! What sort of oil does he use?

Hmmm, If you need to double up the clutch springs say, every 80,000km's, to stop it slipping, that would make................  My God! He must have replaced all the clutch plates with just a stack of clutch springs by now.


Seriously, that is an incredible feat, not only of the FJ's longevity, but riding. Most riders will never get anywhere near that in a lifetime's riding. Good on him. I'm sure there must be a great story behind all that, not only the mileage, but doing it on one bike! (and where the hell does one get that much time to ride?)

You could not possibly spend that much time on the road, on a bike and not have a great collection of yarns to tell.

I for one would love to hear about it.

Noel

[Troyskie]

Thanks Noel, I'm going to forward this to him to try and motivate his typing digits!

[Troyskie]

Ok, last post of the project.
Dyno run was fun, never done that before. A little intimidating seeing my Effie get hammered in a small room.
Much noise and a little smoke yielded some interesting results (and a crowd wondering what an antique is doing in the 'sport bike area' )
After 31 years, three owners, one nasty little high-side, and a number of other scrapes I expected her to have lost a few of her horses.
Not so, she peaked at 104 horse power.
Dyno guy showed me on the chart that the clutch slips at 7500rpm and she's probably good for 110 or 115, possibly 120 if I fool with the jets & needles.
I'm mighty surprised as factory is 100 or 101 depending on spec, so my Effie has some more life than I expected.
I'll be onto the clutch very soon, but will be perusing the clutch files here first.
Enjoy the dyno pic, I'll try and get a better print so it is more readable.
Kookaloo!
Troy

[Troyskie]

Ok, looks like there will be a couple of more posts to really finish what I said I'd do.
The new seat from Corbin arrived today. Didn't fit as easily as the original, but WOW it is the business!! A very similar feel to the firm sporty seats in my car. I'm looking forward to a longer ride to see if it is as comfy as I hope.

[Troyskie]

The clutch plates have arrived, so these will be installed, possibly next week.
I have decided the front springs are too soft.
I've perused the forum for fork spring topics and will be going for stiffer standard springs with emulators. This method is, interestingly, what the 'experts' are advising as well.
My original preference was for progressive springs as this is what I'm familiar with, but technology has improved, and it seems that progressive springs, like anti-dive, are being surpassed.
I should have this done in the coming weeks and will post each step.
Troyskie

[Troyskie]

Well, took a few days extra, but we have all the parts, the some lost time to work...too busy in the office to attempt this myself, plus some impatience included so, off to Glenn's she went for the new clutch friction plates and stiffer std springs with emulators,...here are the pics...

[Troyskie]

Massive difference!
Once the old springs were removed they were actually progressives!
I knew within 50m of moving off what a difference I'd have. Beautiful front feel, very close to a stiff 1200 front end sans anti-dive.
By the way, the AD is still connected, but with the emulators I can't feel any/much difference between hard and soft.
The best part is, I'm on setting 1 for the pre-load! Lots of stiffness left for loads and lunacy.
Bad news was the diaphragm plate in the clutch looked a little worn, so when time permits I'll sneak out to the back roads and bang the kookaloo zone to see if I get any slip.

[Troyskie]

Holly Kookaloo FJ Man!

A bummer with the weather for some planned non-FJ fun allowed me to hop out onto the back roads this arvo for a clutch and front suspension test.

A quick recce found a couple of contract plods parked and making cash, now for the clutch test.
High winds made really high speed cross-wind testing dangerous, so I settled for a few runs into and with the wind.
Wound her up to about 7500 on the RPM in 3 & 4th, and in each case, I had the chance to really bang the throttle open. I think there is some small slip, but not a great deal, I mean in 3rd I think I also felt the front wheel lift on some of the surface irregularities. The road (whoops I mean 'track') surfaces are complete shite in my area so I really am not sure if, by redline, the clutch is slipping or the back-end is slipping due to bounces.

There are some decent stretches of 'track' nearby & I will ensure they get a turn each, after a recce to check the condition of the 'track'.
With the crap surface the silver lining is I accidentally was able to get a good 'feel' for the new front suspension.

It just felt right.

There were a few coit clutching moments where my anus had a better grip on the new Corbin seat than my hands did on the handlebars & my balls had retreated either right up to side of my heart (which I think they were trying to re-start). Thankfully this was not because of any issue with Effie, but with the amature built tracks we pay for that are supposedly 'roads'.

Our German FJ members would be scandalised by the condition of what we call roads and the speeds we are allowed to travel down them.
But the silver lining was a serious test to the new springs and emulators.

They performed as advertised. This might not seem like high praise, but with all the claims and advertising malarkey, they are as advertised. I'm not as discerning, or good a rider as most of you, but the difference between flogged out progressive springs, and stiff standard springs with these 'emulators' is significant even to me, plus I'm still on number 1 for the pre-load.

So, back to the dyno to see if the clutch is slipping still....perhaps a few more posts to this will see it done, then I can shrink that chicken strip real small.
Troyskie.

[ribbert]

Holly Kookaloo FJ Man!

....... so I really am not sure if, by redline, the clutch is slipping or the back-end is slipping due to bounces.
Troyskie.

Troy, I have experienced the back wheel skipping at high speed and full throttle but it feels nothing like a slipping clutch. It is a very rapid, small and jerky rev flares as opposed to the smooth increase of revs in excess of the speed you are gaining with a slipping clutch and there are not many roads around with a surface that will do it, as opposed to isolated bumps which produce easily identifiable and singular rev increases.

If you are only putting it on the dyno to check the clutch, there are simpler ways to check it without the expense.

What sort of oil are you running?

Sounds like you had fun. It's sad that here, redline in only 2nd gear is enough to get your bike impounded, lighten your wallet by $1000+ and see you walking for 6 months.

I was lucky enough to spend a reasonable amount of yesterdays ride cruising at around 160kph (yes, near your place Arnie), just like the old days, it feels great. I reckon the FJ's sweet spot though is around 145.
I also established my recently fitted top box lid does not "float" at 220kph unlatched.

On the news tonight, a road safety "expert" claimed checking on children in the back seat while driving is twelve times more distracting than using a mobile phone and we all know, because the "experts" told us, that using your phone while driving is as bad as DUI.
We also know the Govt is only concerned about our safety and not revenue, so I guess confronted with such overwhelming evidence, they will have no option but to ban children travelling the rear seat.

The more likely outcome is they will introduce a complicated law that no one understands that says they can be seated there but you're no allowed to look at them etc. Fines could range from $100 for glancing at them in the mirror to $400 for a head check.

They could make a fortune from this, maybe even recoup some of the money they've spent unsuccessfully trying to introduce front rego plates for bikes.

Sorry, got a bit carried away. I have paid the Govt $1000 in the last month in traffic related offences and I'm not feeling kindly towards their war on the motoring public and the recent enforcement on low level speeding - 4kph over is now enough to get booked. For God's sake, that's not even walking speed. Roadside discretion is no longer applied, everyone gets booked, so you don't have to fake being pleasant when pulled over any more.

I did however offset this with a win in court last week on a speeding fine.

Noel

[X-Ray]

Yep, have to agree with the speeding nonsense. Next time I get done, I will be telling our safety officials what a crock our speed limits are, and doing 5 kph over it on a dead straight, nearly deserted road is NOT going to kill anyone, no matter what our stupid govt keeps trying to feed us.  $1000.00 Noel!!!???     I'm still pissed over contributing $227.00 recently,  

[Troyskie]

So far so good, not had a fine or points in over 15 years. I do admit most of that time I've not had a bike  .

[Troyskie]

No progress as I've been having too much fun sneeking in a quick ride when I'm not working or doing family stuff.
Bike feels great.
I still have the feeling the clutch might be slipping, a tiny bit, but not likely to be a problem, so I'll leave it be.
I discovered the gearbox breather hose that goes to the airbox has come apart.
Much fiddling to no real result, the hose is just kind of sitting closed, but not connected.
I checked a couple of threads here for connecting this hose, but without dropping the motor, pulling the carbies, or building special tools I might leave this be as well.
Any suggestions (aside from emission compliance) if this needs to be fixed, or can it wait till I need to do some serious work? (given how reliable FJs can be this might be a while)
Troy.

[Bozo]

So far so good, not had a fine or points in over 15 years. I do admit most of that time I've not had a bike  .

Troy, I also avoided fines for around 10+years and its not because I ride at the speed limit.

My embarrassing moment was when my son's friend (who is a cop) came over for a visit. They were talking near my FJ when my son turned on the key and proceeded to press the buttons on my Speedhut GPS speedo till he got to the top speed. The cop proceeded to yell " I didn't see that, I definitely did not see that", considering the GPS is accurate at all speeds he was looking at 2.5 digits. So I now learnt to erase the speed every weekend.

[Arnie]

Troy,

Not having the breather hose connected may leave untidy oil mist residue on your engine, but its not going to harm anything unless you try to ford deep streams or a child trys to hide small stones in the open hose.  Although re-fitting the hose is a pain, it can be done. Remove the airbox lid and the filter so you can get to the hole from the inside to guide it in.

Bozo,

My 'little' bike has that max speed attained "feature".  I make sure to re-set it after every ride :-)
Knock on wood, I'm currently riding with a clean license.

Arnie

[Bozo]

Troy,

Not having the breather hose connected may leave untidy oil mist residue on your engine, but its not going to harm anything unless you try to ford deep streams or a child trys to hide small stones in the open hose.  Although re-fitting the hose is a pain, it can be done. Remove the airbox lid and the filter so you can get to the hole from the inside to guide it in.

Bozo,

My 'little' bike has that max speed attained "feature".  I make sure to re-set it after every ride :-)
Knock on wood, I'm currently riding with a clean license.

Arnie

Arnie, glad to hear from you, I'm trying to remember the speedo you used, can you jolt my memory. I believe it had a similar magnet pickup to a bicycle, so if a cop pulls you over and checks just say it reads double the actual speed.