FJ11 85 Winter Project

[Alexis Wenzel]

Hello brothers, good day!

With the end of our riding season, my first Canadian project begins! =)

I'm no expert and I'll need a lot of help from you guys. Everyday I'm looking for tips and ideas here and I believe this bike will be awesome after everything is done. The idea is to have a café racer or street fighter look, to use on urban areas only. Something like a blend of these two:





With the idea in mind I started to strip down the bike to restore the frame and already thinking about the suspension and paint jobs. So far after 3 nights of work:

Removing the fairings:





Removing Air filter box, exhaust, ECU/wires and back section:





Noticed problems:

1) Rear shock: need a new one. What do you think its better: go for a completely new swing-arm or just change this shock?;
2) Cosmetic damage all over the frame caused by clutch oil leak and some rusty spots: need to "sandpaper" it and apply new paint. Any recommendation, or just sandpaper, primer and paint?;
3) Rejet carburetors to work with the cone filters;
4) Since the bike will be all disassembled I want to go ahead with the suspension/brake upgrades using an inverted fork and a "taller" back suspension with probably a single rider seat only and the "open laterals" look;
5) Possible upgrade on the oil heat exchanger, I'm thinking to use the bigger model from RPM.







Before the job started the bike was running pretty good with no issues at all. The only problem was the infamous 2nd gear...

The idea today is to remove the motor and separate the swing-arm from the frame...probably. hahaha...

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks, and new pictures will arrive on each new step!

[Pat Conlon]

1) Rear shock: need a new one. What do you think its better: go for a completely new swing-arm or just change this shock?;
2) Cosmetic damage all over the frame caused by clutch oil leak and some rusty spots: need to "sandpaper" it and apply new paint. Any recommendation, or just sandpaper, primer and paint?;
3) Rejet carburetors to work with the cone filters;
4) Since the bike will be all disassembled I want to go ahead with the suspension/brake upgrades using an inverted fork and a "taller" back suspension with probably a single rider seat only and the "open laterals" look;
5) Possible upgrade on the oil heat exchanger, I'm thinking to use the bigger model from RPM.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Big question: Do you have a budget?

Here's my recommendations:

1) Definitely a new shock. Height adjustable. Keep your aluminum swing arm but on your swing arm linkage replace ALL the '84/85 grease bushings with the '86/87 needle bearings. Plug and Play.
2) Wire brush and strip the frame. Powder coat if you can, if not prime and paint. Prior to powder coat/paint, I would get some JB weld putty and fill in the nasty exposed corner welds and sand smooth. The frame will now exposed. Unlike Bondo, the JB Weld putty holds up well to the heat cure of power coating.
3) If you know your way around the Mikuni CV36BS carbs, go for it. Suggest 40 pilots, 117.5 mains and a shim under the needles. If you do not want to work on the carbs, you can box them up and send them to RPM. Robert/Randy will do you right.
4) USD forks: Much has been posted about this mod. Read, read, read. http://www.fjmods.co.uk/
Whatever you do, do not cut the front cross over bar that ties the 2 sides of the lateral frame together. You will die.

Here's a tutorial on fixing your 2nd gear: http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=666.0

Cheers laddie!  You are gonna have some fun... pictures, pictures, pictures....

[Alexis Wenzel]

Hi Pat, good afternoon!

Awesome, thank you very much for the links and comments! They'll be very useful! 

I just read your post regarding the petcock and I remember seeing this while I was removing my tank:




Lucky me I didn't remove the "security device" holding everything together eh...hahahaha...

I also noticed some minor leakage from the petcock when I was removing the hoses. I believe it's normal since this is assembled by pressure only, right?

[Pat Conlon]

...I also noticed some minor leakage from the petcock when I was removing the hoses. I believe it's normal since this is assembled by pressure only, right?

When no vacuum signal is present, the petcock is in the closed position, NO fuel (at all) should dribble out the petcock. None. Zip. Zilch.
If it does dribble or drip fuel, it will only get worse (never better) and it can and will flood your engine and spill on your garage floor.  

If you have some weepage on the exterior of the petcock, invest a couple of bucks and replace the gasket between the petcock and tank.

Cheers

[FJmonkey]

When no vacuum signal is present, the petcock is in the closed position, NO fuel (at all) should dribble out the petcock. None. Zip. Zilch.
If it does dribble or drip fuel, it will only get worse (never better) and it can and will flood your engine and spill on your garage floor.  

If you have some weepage on the exterior of the petcock, invest a couple of bucks and replace the gasket between the petcock and tank.

Cheers

For clarity, fuel dripping out and stopping is OK. A drip that keeps dripping is a leak and will only lead to potential disaster (think flaming disaster).

[Pat Conlon]

Exactly....thanks Markus!

[PaulG]

Cheers laddie!  You are gonna have some fun... pictures, pictures, pictures....

BIGGER PICTURES PLEEEZ.   

Yes the budget.  And time. How patient are you?  You could spend a lot of time and money for something amazing, or you could go with the rat-bike or steam-punk look, equally amazing.  Two divergent paths that could end you up in the same place.

Oh decisions, decisions...   

[andyoutandabout]

As for frame tickling, I went the truck bed liner route. What?? I hear you exclaim. Yep, read several bike forums and the word was using spray on truck bed liner. It was cheap. Ten bucks a can. I used three. It gives a texture finish with a slight sheen and looks awesome with the gloss engine black. After three rallies, and ten thousand miles, there are no chips on the frame. I got rather carried away with it and did a few other parts all of which are holding up well. Only the swing arm has flaked a bit. I think that's due to chain lube.
Anyway, truck bed liner scores a recommended.

[Pat Conlon]

Yes, Andy Your frame looks great.....however....

If you spray that polished swing arm, I will piss in your corn flakes....

[giantkiller]

If you are doing a street fighter just buy a manual (pingel) petcock from Randy. He has the correct mounting plate included. And never have to worry about it. I have it on the 1350. I just bent the screen down on the left side panel for access through the top slot. Don't even notice the screen is missing.

[fj1289]

As for frame tickling, I went the truck bed liner route. What?? I hear you exclaim. Yep, read several bike forums and the word was using spray on truck bed liner. It was cheap. Ten bucks a can. I used three. It gives a texture finish with a slight sheen and looks awesome with the gloss engine black. After three rallies, and ten thousand miles, there are no chips on the frame. I got rather carried away with it and did a few other parts all of which are holding up well. Only the swing arm has flaked a bit. I think that's due to chain lube.
Anyway, truck bed liner scores a recommended.

Agreed - same thing I used on the 84 race bike frame and swingarm.  Holds up well - not as well as powder coat, but a lot easier and less expensive

[Alexis Wenzel]

Hey guys, good morning!

Awesome, thank you very much for all the ideas!

Tomorrow I'll remove the engine and start to work on the frame, sanding it and preparing to apply the truck bed liner.

Andy and fj1289, great idea with the truck bed liner! I'll use it now. As far as I read it's way better than regular primer+paint eh! Awesome, thanks!

Markus and Pat, as far as I could see the dripping happened only when I moved the tank...and there is no leakage, only a couple of drips. I also left some gas inside the tank and put the tank on the ground with paper beneath it to see if the dripping was bad...the paper continued clean after a couple of days...

giantkiller, thanks for this idea to go with the manual petcock. Added to the "to buy" list. =)

PaulG, sorry for the small pictures man...I'm using the site "postimage" to host the pictures and this is the way they appear on the forum board...like miniatures. But if you click on the images here it will open another window with the big image. =)


During this weekend I'll also prepare the package to send the carburetors to Randy probably...I don't want to mess with them so it's better to send it to the master eh...hehe. In the meantime, the engine will be prepared to receive a new paint layer also!

Thank you guys! More pictures to be added during the weekend!

[Alexis Wenzel]

Good morning fellas!

On Sunday I took another couple of steps towards the engine removal: Oil, levers, foot pegs, heat exchanger and carburetors...gone. =)




The idea is to get it removed until Friday, then remove the swing arm and the front end.

And I'm still looking for a good front end with inverted forks...if anyone knows where I could find a good kit, please let me know.

Thanks guys, and have a good week!

[Alexis Wenzel]

Friends, I came across this option yesterday, do you think it could work?

It's a 1990 750 Ninja front end. The overall length is 32 1/4" while the FJ11 is 33", from top to the centre of the axel this one has 31" and FJ has 32".

It seems to be in good shape and the price is good, CAD300...what do you think?

[Pat Conlon]

A quick check on the Race Tech website shows information on the type of front end for the 1990 Kawasaki Ninja ZX7 ...
http://www.racetech.com/ProductSearch/2/Kawasaki/ZX-7%20Ninja/1989-90

So....you have cartridge forks: good. I suggest some Race Tech cartridges so you can adjust the shim stack for heavier springs (per below).
The stock Ninja spring rate .809 kg/mm and is too light for the heavy FJ so you will need heavier springs ~.95kg/mm or 1.0kg/mm

The Ninja's stanchion tubes are 43mm vs the FJ's spindly 41mm tubes so you can do a couple of things here, 1) mill out the FJ top and bottom triple clamp to 43mm or 2) use the Ninja's top and bottom triple clamps on the FJ. The problem with this option is the Ninja's steering stem. Is it compatable (diameter and length) with the FJ neck? Probably not, so it's back to option #1.

What are you planning for a speedometer? Does the Ninja have a mechanical speedo drive you can hook a cable to, or are you going electric?

A 1'' difference in fork length will mean that your bike will have much, much quicker steering. The bike will want to fall into corners. This will get worse if you raise the back end.

Hope this helps.... Pat