Project "Half Jay" 84 FJ600

[Big Chuck]

Went looking for an FJ1100 or 1200, something like I used to have many years ago, and came across this instead.










Traded for a hand gun I had about $175 invested in, so not too bad a deal.
Still had registered tags on it, had been running last summer, but the starter relay was out.

I almost asked about push starting it, or just jumping the relay to verify that it would indeed run, but decided it wasn't worth the risk of upping the price if it did run!

Had it home about an hour, charged the battery a little bit, jumped the relay ... and wham! it started right up!

http://vid51.photobucket.com/albums/f377/fastcoasty/Bikes/WP_20150811_010_zpsjqmk6lza.mp4

Ran it down the street enough to know that it does indeed move (and its rather fast!) and that it needed work on the brakes.
One front caliper was locked up and the other rotor was warped!

So far...

I have removed the very squishy forks, blasted the lower tubes, painted and cleared them, replaced the springs and oil.




I picked up a lower chin scoop and a new side cover off ebay, sanded and primed all but the tank and upper fairing.



Spent a couple hours polishing the haze out of the gauge cover ...

Didn't come out too bad.

The factory bolt on handlebar things were a mess. One was bent and the other had an end weight cut off with a hack saw.
So I machined the top tripple tree flat for risers (and a normal handlebar)...


Then I made some risers at work on the mill ...


They are quite "Hefty", but they will get the job done.
I clearanced them to sit on the milled tree top...


Have new rotors in for the front, waiting on rebuild kits for the calipers.
Did clean and paint the front wheel while it was off. There was just too many nicks and too much corrosion on the aluminum to clean and re-use the rims as they were.
Trying them out in a "Graphite" grey color.


Don't know if they will stay that color, but its interesting for now.


Not sure exactly where this project is going, it may end up being a "restoration", or it may get a little more custom than that, we will just have to see what develops!

[fj1289]

glad to see more of these 600's popping up...but you did scare the hell out of me - thought that was going to be the new paint scheme!  Reminded me of the really bad "Barbie and Ken" paint schemes the manufacturers had in the late 80's...

[FJmonkey]

Wow! This is looking good. It is good to see another (rare) FJ600 get back on the road and showing off the FJ spirit. I am looking forward to your updates.

[Arnie]

Hey! Big Chuck,

Reads like you know what you're doing with that Half Jay.
Could be a fearsome weapon in the mountains there.
Welcome aboard.

[Big Chuck]

glad to see more of these 600's popping up...but you did scare the hell out of me - thought that was going to be the new paint scheme!  Reminded me of the really bad "Barbie and Ken" paint schemes the manufacturers had in the late 80's...

It's scary, right?
Sad thing is, it was some very good quality paint work that went to that color scheme! Someone worked hard to get it that way.

I am debating what I will do with this bike in the end. No hurry to decide right now. I just want to get it together and safe to ride around a bit, sort it out well this year, pile up a few bits over the winter, and pull it apart for frame, engine and body painting next spring.



#1. Going back to original Red on Silver colors?         This might require painting on of the factory "decals", as no one makes reproduction decals for this color set. There are however, new decal sets available (from Italy) in the original colors for the Red and Silver, but they say XJ600 on the side decals instead of FJ600. That might be interesting as well, have a Euro look? Not sure.



#2. Change it up to the red on black colors?      This does look good, and reproduction decals are available for this color set. Makes it real easy to do!



#3. Change it to the black on red variant (mostly seen on Canadian FJ600's)      I think this can be accomplished using the decal set for the red on black bike, and simply painting over the one color that is different on that bike's decals (red to black). (I would clear coat over the decals any way).
I kind of like this, but I like to be different (my wife pronounces it "difficult").
           

And just to be a little bit crazy! ....

I have thought about how much this bike looks like a RZ350 ....


Either painted to look like the RZ, with it's own upper half fairing ... or the RZ350 mini fairing can be made to fit (especially since I am swapping in handlebars!), and they make reproductions of it........ Crazy, right? 

[jo-sommer]

I don't think the look of the RZ is "crazy".
IMHO this look is the best of those choices; that's what I would do.

Cheers, Jo

[great white]

Nothing wrong with the Kenny Roberts era stripe!

But, I'd go red and silver if it were me. Just looks right....

[rktmanfj]

FWIW, if you take detailed pics and measurements of the decals for the red/silver paint and send them to Diablo Cycle (www.diablocycle.com), they will usually add them to their catalog.   

[rlucas]

I've always been partial to that KR scheme; it looks good on everything I've seen it on. But that black-on-red variant is pretty sweet...

[giantkiller]

Do the KR paint scheme only red in place of the yellow and use fj upper fairing. Not the rz. That would look very cool.

[Big Chuck]

Do the KR paint scheme only red in place of the yellow and use fj upper fairing. Not the rz. That would look very cool.

This intrigued me, so I did some googling ...

Like this..


Or this ..


I am quite taken with the second one myself ... just something about it that looks good.

[Big Chuck]

Managed to get the new rotors on and mounted the tire and fender back on ...


Still need to finish the calipers and hoses, but she sits on her own feet now.


Front forks feel MUCH better now! Before they were very mushy, and would squat down way too far with my weight on the bike. Removed about half (3 inches) of the soft part of the progressive springs and replaced it with a bit of PVC pipe. Perfect spring rate now!

Turned some bar end weights on the lathe the other night, should look good and similar to stock on the ends of the new bar.


Waiting for primers and paint to dry before I get to put it all together.
I need to decide on grips to use ... I have (and love) heated grips on my KLR, but that bike gets a daily workout, and I ride it down into the 30's in the winter. Not sure if this bike will need them, or if it will be a bike I ride enough to need them.
I could add them later on, but it would be nice to build them (and their wiring) into the  bike now, if that's what I will eventually want.

[Big Chuck]

Not a lot of movement on this ...
In the middle of replacing the siding and windows on the house before winter sets in.
The boss lady said it was more important than the bikes!

Finally found some stainless hardware and mounted the risers and the super bike handle bar...


Not the best picture, and it looks too wide without any controls or anything on it, but I just LOVE the positioning!
Its not as turned down or pulled in as the factory bolt on things. Still clears the windscreen nicely and makes for a comfortable riding position.

[Big Chuck]

Its been too long since I posted any progress...

Its slow going, one part at a time.
Received new turn signals in the mail, had to modify the mounts on the bike to fit them.
I like the look of them, they look like factory pieces, but are not as huge as the old ones.


Mounted up they look really good.


Front ones will mount up too, but I have the fairing and its frame off for repair.
Cut up an extra fairing to get a replacement piece for the best of the two...



Fitting new levers and cables, working on the dents in the tank, some other things too.
Its killing me not to pull it completely apart and do everything at once, but I told myself I would keep this project together and running as long as possible, try to get all the mechanical, electrical and whatnot done before I disassemble it for paint and powder-coating.
Too many projects (and a few of mine) have never been finished because they became to big a job too fast. Don't want that to happen to this one.

[Mark Olson]

Progress is good , just keep plugging away and you will be done in no time.