Fall FJ Ontario Clinic

[Bikerbob]

Well guys, I would love to join in.

I have 2 issues though.

1. I run a retail business and right now going into the fall I am open 7 days a week - maybe if I had someone watch the store.

2. My FJ needs to get the fork seals done. Third time in less than 10k of riding (mostly 2 up with my wife).

Anyway when a date firms up, I will see what I can do.

As a point to the clinic.. when doing the seals do most of you do the bushings as well?? really hard to tell when those need replacing.

James

[Country Joe]

Well guys, I would love to join in.

I have 2 issues though.

1. I run a retail business and right now going into the fall I am open 7 days a week - maybe if I had someone watch the store.

2. My FJ needs to get the fork seals done. Third time in less than 10k of riding (mostly 2 up with my wife).

Anyway when a date firms up, I will see what I can do.
James

As a point to the clinic.. when doing the seals do most of you do the bushings as well?? really hard to tell when those need replacing.

I can't help you out on the retail sales help........but I have an opinion on the forks.

If you have gone through 3 sets of seals in 10K, you either have nicks or scratches on the fork tubes that need to be addressed before new seals go in, they can be polished if the scratches or nicks did not go through the chrome or replace or rechrome the fork legs if they are really that bad. There are several tutorials on the forum that give a good overview on polishing the fork legs. As far as the bushings, if you do not see any brass through the teflon coating on the ID of the top bushing or the OD of the bottom bushing, then you should be good to go with the old ones. But since you really do not know how many miles you have until you get through the Teflon coating, I would just put in new bushings while I have the forks apart. Just my .02$, YMMV.

Joe

[PaulG]

Paul if ya remember can ya bring your carb sync so we can adjust some carbs...
Thanks

I also have the same tool - still in the package -  I can bring mine too... if I remember ...

[paulfj03]

Paul if ya remember can ya bring your carb sync so we can adjust some carbs...
Thanks

I also have the same tool - still in the package -  I can bring mine too... if I remember ...

Perfect! Bring it out...

[Sabre093]

Ok Gents we have a carb Sync tool coming any one else need something done let us know so we can arrange to get it done...
Topic for Fall clinic is Winter Storage...From fuel additives to battery tenders...
Get your thinking helmets on...
For those who are not riding your more than welcome to come meet the guy's and pick the brain of our resident FJ Guru ....Wee Man from Napanee!!!

[Bikerbob]

Well, issues I have with my bike are not something we can easily fix at the meet.. I dont think.

1. Need to find a good seat recoverer - for a corbin saddle.

2. Starter - This one I have not seen referenced and it baffles me. Great when cold - but when HOT and I mean after a good long hot run.. HARD to start .. crack throttle and maybe, but if it gets too hot, I cannot get it to turn over - its like there has been an increase in compression.. like an old 500cc single kick start.. very weird.

3. Fairing Repair. The only guy I knew that did welding in Oshawa is gone. Anyone? I have a WEST SYSTEMS plastic repair kit I might try.

4. Fuel tank Sender - Fuel guage works, but sender is not close to correct.

5. Instrument cluster plastic cover.. SOMEHOW ended up with spidercracking.. just doesnt look good.

6. RPM guage sticks.. but works after a couple of good revs.

The rest of the things I would like to do are more mods...  Hey 22 years after the last one was made and this group still seems to be doing great.. missed an awesome 90 in my area for $2200 asking.. really thought about it, just to have a complete spares bike. I will keep my eyes out.

James

[Sabre093]

Come on out meet the guys we can help answer any questions you have and you can also see what guys have done
Rich

[paulfj03]

Hey James,

Looking forward to meeting you at the clinic on Saturday.  I think the fixes you are asking about are popular ones for the FJ and other bikes too.  That is a good thing because the solutions are readily available here in discussions and the files section.  At the clinic we can discuss where to get your seat recovered.  Fj johnnie and fuel80guy have used local guys and are happy with the results...

The hard starting when hot is a popular problem and there is lots of info and discussions on here for the fix or fixes.  The voltage regulator, the infamous melted red connector, ( and /or other connectors), a bad battery, and a worn out starter can all contribute to a slow spinning starter when its hot.  ... a handy volt meter helps to find where the problems are.

I would love to be able to plastic weld.... just finding the time to learn and do it is a challenge... actually..... it would be nice to be able to weld metals, too!

These clinics are a great way to meet the other guys and see their solutions and where to get the parts..... a win-win situation!.... EXCEPT!........
Moditus has been know to spread at these get togethers, too.... I'm sure you have heard that before somewhere.... it seems to be most contagious at these clinics and rallies for some reason...

Cheers

Come on out meet the guys we can help answer any questions you have and you can also see what guys have done
Rich

(Rich beat me to it.... )

[PaulG]

Well, issues I have with my bike are not something we can easily fix at the meet.. I dont think.

6. RPM guage sticks.. but works after a couple of good revs.

James

I have a similar (but opposite) intermittent issue with my rpm signal.  Having no garage/shed, the bike sits outside under a m/c cover.  On damp dewy mornings upon start up, the rpm guage reads double what it should.  This started a couple of years ago, and would go away after a few minutes - then hrs - then days.  I finally traced it to the ignitor box.

There are a set of wires that go from the coils to the box, which then sends the signal to the rpm guage.  I found the connectors had oxidized and were screwing with the signal.  I used some contact cleaner, some emory paper, and a glob of electrolytic grease and it cured the problem for the last two seasons.

Until two weeks ago when I started it up to go to the Camp-n-Ride.  Riding around all day Friday seemed to fix it, as it was normal on Saturday morning start-up.  Given time, this is something I would like to check at the clinic next week.  It's a pain to get at as it's under the front fairing and I have some other things to address too.  Maybe your problem could be similar.  That would be the "easiest" thing to check first before checking the cluster itself.

Even if you've got nothing to fix or are unable to, due to time/parts, it's worth coming out if you can.  At the last one at fjjohnnie's, my bike wasn't even on the road yet but I still learned a lot and met up with some (mostly) decent guys 

[Charlie-brm]

I might as well put out my winter storage experience now - can't make the clinic guys (work schedule).
My two bikes since 2005 got a lot of outdoor storage or unheated, including last winter in a farm shed.
I was more worried about rodents in the shed than I was with the bike totally outdoors under only a fabric cover.

Like most free advice, some of this will seem really obvious or you might differ in opinion (again, think unprotected, unheated):
- add fuel stabilizer (Stabil, etc.) and run the engine the prescribed amount of time to get through the fuel system. Shut if off. Top up the tank and store it that way to avoid condensation rusting of the inside.
- I like to use the center stand to keep all the fluids/sediment settling on an even keel.
- bring the battery indoors and maintain it regularly.
- good time to pull the spark plugs, put anti-seize on the threads and thread them back in place.
- if there is any possibility of rodents, bring the seat indoors. If you have those soft foam grips (yecch) do something to protect them. I bet they smell yummy to a mouse from the leather and sweat.
- again with the rodents, pull off the side panels and place packets of moth balls in the air box intakes / tape them over, whatever . . . You don't want your air filter to become nesting material.
And then the crap gets sucked into carbs on startup and we have new topics for the spring clinic.
- mist some proper storage coating spray where you suspect things will get corroded if the atmosphere is damp. Do not use WD40 - it's not for that. Please don't start a WD40 thread on the forum

I think that's about it. It's 10 degrees Celcius, pissing rain, and shortly I'm driving 2 hours to a fishing tournament for 2 hours of video taping, then turning around.

[PaulG]

... I bet they smell yummy to a mouse from the leather and sweat....

. . . You don't want your air filter to become nesting material....

Not to digress off topic too much, but...

Last year my brother went outside to start up his Yamaha Stratofortress-er-Stratoliner for a rare ride with the Mrs. and the starter wouldn't engage.  Did the usual checks to see if battery was flat, and wondered if his solenoid was shot.  Then he noticed some wiring hanging down under the tank.  He pulled out part of the iginition harness that the resident red-tailed squirrel had chewed through.  Cost him $80 for the OEM part and 2 wks delivery from Japan.

After installing it he tried to start it again, and it sputtered and began pissing gas from under the tank.  Seems the same squirrel was busy chewing through the fuel injection line between the twin throttle bodies.  That cost him over $100 to replace.  The squirrell never reappeared after that since I'm sure a mouthful of gas would have put him off motorcycles for a while.  Maybe after huffing that he elevated to meth.

In 1989 I bought a '78 BMW R80/7 with only 1,200 km on it. The only bike I never should have gotten rid of.  Anyhow, I rode it around for a couple months before I even checked the air filter.  It had been turned into a rodent condo.  The only thing missing was a jacuzzi.  Don't know where the rodents went.

So yes, these things do happen!  It's true - you just read it on the internet!   

[Sabre093]

Well it looks like Mother Nature decided to make the clinic a bust ....
Sucks!!!!

[paulfj03]

Well it looks like Mother Nature decided to make the clinic a bust ....
Sucks!!!!

Nope. We are an hour away. Weather is nice here and rain is just spotty. The FJs are humming along nicely. 
See ya soon.

[Sabre093]

Clinic was pissed on bye Mother Nature but finally let us enough to to get a good ride in,we're actually into a full drunken rebuild on Paul's FJ...hmmmmmm think we need more booze...pic to come!

[paulfj03]

Clinic was pissed on bye Mother Nature but finally let us enough to to get a good ride in,we're actually into a full drunken rebuild on Paul's FJ...hmmmmmm think we need more booze...pic to come!

Where is my fj? What happened to it?  

Seriously, I made it home and the ride went great.