New Bike

[AppleJack]

Hello All,
So, I was given a 1985 FJ1100 with title.  Been sitting several years but odo shows only 7,800 miles!  Guy has family now and had to move so bike became expendable.  I'm going to try to bring it back to life - hopefully with your help as I've never owned a Yamaha.  Rode a '79 GS 1000 Suzuki for twenty years but that was 10 years ago. 

Pulled battery, added water, and put on charger- fingers crossed on that.  Took cover off front brake master cylinder and found yellowish powder?!  Hoping to just clean it and pump some fresh fluid through by disconnecting lines at the calipers.  Understand this doesn't bode well for rear brakes and clutch master cylinder also.   What fluid is recommended /preferred? 

Has correct plugs so I'll brush them up / verify gap, and I've added some oil on top of each piston for now.  Will try to gently rock it in gear tomorrow. 

Fuel tank bone dry so I'm thinking I'll just slosh some gas around, pour that out and try fresh.  I know - carbs will most likely have to come off.  I've done that job before on the Suzuki so if I have to I think I can handle it.

Sound like fun, eh?  Thanks in advance for any advice, tips...Jon

[FJmonkey]

Hello All,
So, I was given a 1985 FJ1100 with title.  Been sitting several years but odo shows only 7,800 miles!  Guy has family now and had to move so bike became expendable.  I'm going to try to bring it back to life - hopefully with your help as I've never owned a Yamaha.  Rode a '79 GS 1000 Suzuki for twenty years but that was 10 years ago. 

Pulled battery, added water, and put on charger- fingers crossed on that.  Took cover off front brake master cylinder and found yellowish powder?!  Hoping to just clean it and pump some fresh fluid through by disconnecting lines at the calipers.  Understand this doesn't bode well for rear brakes and clutch master cylinder also.   What fluid is recommended /preferred? 

Has correct plugs so I'll brush them up / verify gap, and I've added some oil on top of each piston for now.  Will try to gently rock it in gear tomorrow. 

Fuel tank bone dry so I'm thinking I'll just slosh some gas around, pour that out and try fresh.  I know - carbs will most likely have to come off.  I've done that job before on the Suzuki so if I have to I think I can handle it.

Sound like fun, eh?  Thanks in advance for any advice, tips...Jon

Welcome Jon, sounds like you know how bring an old bike to life... Keep posting, pics will will lift our spirits...

[Country Joe]

Given a FJ?? Very good deal. Ask any questions after searching the files, most  questions have already been asked and answered. Oh, welcome to the digital campfire!

[balky1]

Hello All,
So, I was given a 1985 FJ1100 with title.  Been sitting several years but odo shows only 7,800 miles!  Guy has family now and had to move so bike became expendable.  I'm going to try to bring it back to life - hopefully with your help as I've never owned a Yamaha.  Rode a '79 GS 1000 Suzuki for twenty years but that was 10 years ago. 

Pulled battery, added water, and put on charger- fingers crossed on that.  Took cover off front brake master cylinder and found yellowish powder?!  Hoping to just clean it and pump some fresh fluid through by disconnecting lines at the calipers.  Understand this doesn't bode well for rear brakes and clutch master cylinder also.   What fluid is recommended /preferred? 

Has correct plugs so I'll brush them up / verify gap, and I've added some oil on top of each piston for now.  Will try to gently rock it in gear tomorrow. 

Fuel tank bone dry so I'm thinking I'll just slosh some gas around, pour that out and try fresh.  I know - carbs will most likely have to come off.  I've done that job before on the Suzuki so if I have to I think I can handle it.

Sound like fun, eh?  Thanks in advance for any advice, tips...Jon

I think DOT4 fluid is the one to use both in brakes and clutch, if my memory serves me. Long time since I checked this in a manual.

One thing I had had problems with when my FJ sat for year or longer: stupid diaphragm in fuel petcock used to stick to the aluminum housing of the petcock. And bike died from fuel starvation while I thought it was dead forever.
Keep this in mind if you get any similar problems. I wouldn't recommend that you disassemble the petcock before you notice the problems if you don't have all new O-rings. I've done that and it was big mistake. Old rubber tends to brake when you do such thing. 
And, SAFETY WIRE THE PETCOCK. All info about it can be found here. http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=3265.0 http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=14382.0

Wish you good luck and hope that you ride soon.

PS: don't forget the air filter.

[novaraptor]

Congrats, and welcome. Ask, and all your questions should be answered. If it's happened to an FJ, then someone here as fixed it, modded it, changed it, or chucked it... And, I'll say it first, once you get up and running, change your brake lines...they are 30 years old...

[AppleJack]

Thanks Gents
Agree with brake fluid idea and will get to brake lines once running.  Rear brake works fine, however.
Here's what I learned today.  Good news is that engine's not seized.  And, against all odds, the battery took a charge - last registration was '09.  So it will turn over with the key now. 

Fuel tank really needs attention.  Anyone out there who can refurbish this old tank that's full of some serious gunk? 

Carbs are off and they are really bad as well.  Heads broke off two of the main jets, so I'll be replacing them once I get EZ-Out and remove them.  Things are really gunked up so a solvent soak sorely needed. 

Finally, what's the metal strip laying in the front brake master cylinder for?  Thanks again...

[pdxfj]

Yuck!

The metal strip is a splash guard..for lack of a better term..  When using the MC the fluid can squirt back into the reservoir.

Might I suggest the large, heated ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight.  It'll do wonders on that MC, and the carbs.  Of course you can only fit one carb at a time in there, but they will come out super clean.

Recently used mine to free up a rusted brake caliper.  20 minutes later, I was able to pull the piston out of the bore with little effort.

[AppleJack]

Thanks pdf

So, I snapped the head off of two of the main jets trying to remove them.  RPM only shows jets for the FJ1200.  Can I use these?  Is there another source?

And also, what number jet do I need?  Is this number the orifice inside diameter in thousandths of an inch?  

Carbs really gunked up, can't move throttle plates yet - they're stuck in place now because of the old gas. 

[FJmonkey]

The jet sizes are dependent on both what air filter type you have and exhaust you have. If you have the stock exhaust then use stock jets. But I would recommend upping the idle jets to #40 or better. Makes starting and idling much nicer. If you have un-restricted your air flow with both, open pipes and open air filter then you will need to make some changes to accommodate. Randy at RPM can help you sort it out.

[AppleJack]

Well I'll give Randy a call then.  Thanks so much...