Frankenstein Overhaul

[GhostMerc]

I've got an 86.  Early one fall I laid it down going around a corner.  Valve stem broke on the rear tire, lost all my air, and slid into a curb.  Thoroughly trashed the side of the bike, and tore some cartilage in my knee.  To get it back up and running I bought the motor from an 89.  This needed a different ignition system.  I bought a Dyna 2000? for it and put it all back together.  Luckily I had a parts bike and was able to salvage a fairly nice set of plastic for the thing.

It's a number of years later and now it's time for some upgrades and plastic repair.  Last summer I was having an ignition issue also.  During long rides or after sitting all day in the sun, it would only run on two cylinders.  1-4 to be exact.  The headers coming out of 2-3 were cool to the touch if I made it all the way to my destination on just 2 cylinders. Sometimes the issue would go away while riding, or come back on it's own. 

I'll be putting on:
92 forks
89 front wheel
blue dot calipers
F4i rear shock
CBR mirrors

Things I'll probably put on:
Engine bars
Pod filters (Time to get rid of that air box and make gas line routing easier)

Things to work on:
Front fender plastic
Upper cowling plastic (Lots of noise on bumps)
Carbs
Coil 

Now onto some bike pr0n:

[GhostMerc]

Well I've been pretty busy lately so I haven't had much time to work on anything FJ related.  I have managed to get my forks pulled apart and cleaned, along with new seals and oil.  Blue dots and R6 master are mounted.  The new wheel I got from eBay said it was from a '90 FJ.  It measures at 3.5" wide though.  It's all mounted up and everything fits.  I've got a couple of pictures I'll post later.

I've got all my plastic glued back together.  For some of the finer detail joining I used a 2-part plastic bonder from Loctite.  It worked great.  After that I used a plastic grade epoxy to gusset up some of the areas.

Just got my box of parts from Randy yesterday.  Pod filters, engine bars, and new pilot jets. 

Before I start bolting things back together I've got to troubleshoot an ignition problem I was having last summer.  Every so often I would lose two cylinders, specifically 2 and 3.  It would happen most often after work.  Sitting all day in the hot parking lot.  Or, it would happen on my way home from class.  Bike still warm from the ride to school.  I took a tester to the electrical system a couple of years ago and ended up replacing the spark plug caps and the plugs.  The caps were the only thing out of spec at the time.  Other than the grey wire going to the tach, are there any other thoughts on the problem?

Also, does anybody have any extra discs for a supertrapp?  I seemed to have misplaced mine.

[FeralJuggernaut]

Start with the simple stuff first... 

Check the ground on the coil that serves the missing fire.   The bottom of the coil (stock coils anyways) is the grounding path.  Brighten and clean that up.

On a general principle and advice of a very high mileage FJ friend, make a nice ground strap from the frame to the negative terminal to help the electrical flow.

If you are still having the intermittent issues and have the patients and wiring skills, swap the coils.   See if the missing fire stays on the same cylinders or switches with the coil.   If it switches, replace that coil.   If it stays the same, give all the wiring loom a looksie all the way back to the Dyna 2k.   You basically have to eliminate everything else as a problem then it is the Dyna.   I've had good luck working with Dyna support, but I have been thru 1 blue box...    You didnt say where you are in the world, but if you can find someone willing to swap dyna for a test that can be a path to riding/troubleshooting bliss.   There are at least 2 'generations' of Dyna 2000s so pay attention to specifics on the wiring layout.

Keep the questions coming, we are your support group and please be sure to post any finding and/or solutions so your data point can be added to the collective.

[jnimbostratus]

+1 on coil ground. Had this happen after painting my frame. Luckly it clicked in my head immediately. I was able to jump ground with alligator clips to confirm.

[Firehawk068]

On a general principle and advice of a very high mileage FJ friend, make a nice ground strap from the frame to the negative terminal to help the electrical flow.

You mean like this one...........

[GhostMerc]

Alright, I'll add a ground strap to the frame and clean up the one going to the engine.  I'm going to wire up the coils with a relay too before I get it back on the road too.  Bottom end of the coils looked fine, but I did clean up everything there as well.

Whenever it would drop cylinders it wasn't just an annoying miss.  I would lose them for miles at a time.  Get home, let it idle on the side stand for a few minutes, then they'd all be back to functioning.

Currently working through the carbs while I put the new pilot jets in.