Barn-Find Ressurection..............1984 FJ1100

[Firehawk068]

A few weeks ago, a fellow reached out to me on Facebook (thank you Fred for steering him in my direction), asking if I would be willing to take on a project to bring this FJ back to running/ride-able condition.
After a couple discussions about what would be involved, and what it was, of course I agreed!

It turns out that Robert (the Gentleman who contacted me on Facebook) found the bike for his long-time friend JD, who was searching for a motorcycle to get into.
This particular FJ was tucked in a garage with a bunch of other motorcycles. After looking it over, and doing a little bit of research, JD purchased the bike.

I'd have to say, that he couldn't have purchased a better project-bike, although due to the circumstances involving how it was stored, there was obviously going to be some challenges.
Basically it was simply parked, full of fuel, and there it sat for around 20 years.............

One can only guess what 20-year old fuel smells like, but I can assure you it's not pleasant........
What I drained out of the fuel bowls stunk up my whole garage!
Luckily, they had already taken the liberty of having the tank cleaned out before it was brought to me........
There was no longer any fluid in the clutch system, and most moveable items were "stuck" in place........

Anyway, the FJ was dropped off at my house on October 30th.









This particular FJ was last registered for the road in 1994!



Obviously fork seals are needed.



20+ year old tires needed to be replaced.........



But the very best part of this project bike...............................It wasn't ridden much in the first 10-years it spent on the road!



More to come...................

[giantkiller]

That's how my 86 was. My friend said it was 10 years or so. But after a while we figured out it was 16 or17 years. It had a full tank when he parked it. There was an inch or so of nasty  stuff left. I cleaned, and cleaned the tank. Then I proceeded to clean the carbs. Over and over and over. It would run great for a while. Then something would break loose. And plug a jet off come the carbs. finally. Only have to do it every once in a while. You should probably show them how to clean the carbs. Or convert it to fuel pump. So you can run a filter..
Mine Had 10,465 miles on it.  Everything that had brake fluid. Was junk. So rather than rebuilding the forks and front brakes completely. I decided to take all the money I would spend rebuilding everything. And put it towards the inverted front end.

But that bike looks complete, and mint. Would be good to restore. Mine already had the supertrap exhaust. And air box out. Stuff like that. Looks like a great project.

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

Get the carbs overhauled, replace brake lines rebuild/replace brake slaves, seals, tires of course and you are have gem. Too much trouble? Sell it to me That's like NOS man. (just learned that acronym).

[Davo231481]

I'm gob smacked that that bike has just been sitting in someone's shed for a very
long time. How does this happen? Mine was also a barn find but after driving down his dirt road I can understand why it got put away. Any reason why your bike has been hidden away for so long?

[Firehawk068]

I'm gob smacked that that bike has just been sitting in someone's shed for a very
long time. How does this happen? Mine was also a barn find but after driving down his dirt road I can understand why it got put away. Any reason why your bike has been hidden away for so long?

I'm unsure of the exact circumstances of why it was parked for so long. From what I'm told, it changed hands at least once during that time, but wasn't ridden.
The person that it was purchased from is a "Motorcycle Guy" that had a garage full of bikes.
My guess is that since it didn't run at the time, it was just relegated to a spot in the garage until the time came for someone to get to it? Turns out, that took 20+ years..........

Anyway, the bike isn't mine. I wish it was!
It's a project that I've been paid to do.

[Firehawk068]

I was unable to work on this FJ for a few days after it was dropped off, due to me receiving a stomach-bug the very next day.
I was out sick for the next 3 days..........

Since we were waiting a couple days for the initial order of parts from Randy anyways, it wasn't really an issue.

When the following Friday rolled around, I was feeling good enough to get out in the garage and spend some time on it.

The first thing I did was remove the back wheel, and strap the bike to the floor so that I could work on the front end.
Removed the front wheel also, and called Robert to come get the wheels so new tires could be fitted, and he could drop off the parts from Randy.



Next, I removed the forks for the obvious rebuild they needed.





Of all the FJs I have ever seen, I've never noticed a factory KYB sticker on any of the forks.
While cleaning these, I noticed this bike still had one on the back of the left side fork lower.
I took care while cleaning to make sure it stayed on there.



That evening, I pulled apart the forks for cleaning/inspection.



The bushings looked good. We didn't worry about replacing them. With only 8300 miles on the bike, I would hope they weren't worn yet.



There was a bit of dirt in the bottom, but all the parts looked perfect.
After a bunch of cleaning all the parts, I re-assembled them using a little fresh fluid and new seals.
Super shiny, and ready to go back on the bike!




The next day when Robert dropped off the wheels with new tires mounted, I showed him what the steering felt like with no load or forks mounted.
It wasn't good. 
It was very tight, and felt rough near the center, so apart it came!



This is what the upper race looked like after cleaning it. (yes this is clean)



The lower bearing and race were fine, just the upper one was bad.
You wouldn't think that with only 8300 miles on the bike it would have an issue with the steering stem bearings? 
My guess is that someone early on in the life of this FJ tightened the steering stem nuts too tight for some unknown reason? 
Then it did sit for 20+ years like that.........

While I was waiting for Robert to return with a new upper bearing and race, I cleaned all the grime off the wheels and brake rotors.
They came out nice!





I then set about trying to remove the upper race from the frame.
I got my longest punch, and BFH.
After a number of good hard blows, I could tell that the race wasn't going to budge. 
I very carefully cut a slot in the race with my Dremel, and after a very light tap with the punch and hammer it popped right out.

[X-Ray]

Wow what a project, looks great ! So you have to give this bike back when you are finished, what a keeper it would be

[balky1]

Tell the man that the engine is toast and offer him what he payed for it. 

[andyoutandabout]

Nice find Al. Those old tires were easily the worst I've seen, but the rest looks ready to roll

[Firehawk068]

After receiving the new upper Stem Bearing, I used my driver set to install the new race neatly in place.







I then used my Auto-Bearing-Packer to fill the bearing cone.
I also cleaned and re-greased the lower bearing.
One thing I noticed. The new upper bearing has an integrated seal on the top of it. The old bearing did not.









Re-assembled the Steering Stem, and mounted the forks back on the bike.





Now it was time to fill them, so off come the fork caps/adjusters one last time.
This was the fluid that Robert provided.



Since there is no fluid level measurement specified for 1984 FJ, I just used the 14.3 US ounces spec.



I got it close, at around 14-1/2.............



After buttoning the forks up, and since it has the stock progressive-rate springs from 1984, I set both the pre-load and damping on Max (3).
I explained to the owners the reasoning on this, and that it would be easy to adjust it back if needed.

I then moved on to the front brake calipers.
Removed all the pieces and old brake pads, and cleaned all the grime and fork oil out of them with an old toothbrush.
Inspected them, and verified that the pistons move like they are supposed to.





At this point, I inspected the front wheel bearings, cleaned the seals really good, and put some fresh grease on them.
I assembled the front wheel back on the bike, and un-strapped it from the floor.
It was now sitting back on the front suspension again.





I then carefully cleaned out the master cylinder reservoir.
There was a bunch of dirt in the bottom.



I reassembled the front calipers using new Yamaha factory brake pads, and mounted them back on the fork legs.





Using my vacuum bleeder, I flushed the complete front system until fresh fluid ran clear through each bleeder.





I cleaned up the front fender, and mounted it back on the FJ.
This has to be the most pristine front fender I have ever seen. All the mounting tabs were perfect! Not a crack or deformed plastic anywhere!

[giantkiller]

Looks in way cleaner shape than mine was. With only 2000 less miles than mine.

[aviationfred]

After your service..... The old beast will be rolling the same as if it just rolled out of the dealership. I am sure Robert will have a huge smile in his face every time he rides.


Fred

[Pat Conlon]

Good job Alan.  
When you get to the swingarm linkage you will notice that the pivot points do not have the typical needle bearings like the '86 and later FJ's enjoy. The 84/85's just have bushings that absolutely must be clean and greased. If your client wishes you can remove those stupid bushings and install the '86/87 FJ needle bearings in the '84 swing arm which are plug and play.
How about talking him in to some new black ss brake lines? They look oem.

Cheers lad

[Firehawk068]

Good job Alan.  
When you get to the swingarm linkage you will notice that the pivot points do not have the typical needle bearings like the '86 and later FJ's enjoy. The 84/85's just have bushings that absolutely must be clean and greased. If your client wishes you can remove those stupid bushings and install the '86/87 FJ needle bearings in the '84 swing arm which are plug and play.
How about talking him in to some new black ss brake lines? They look oem.

Cheers lad

Honestly, the rear swing-arm and linkage pivots weren't really discussed.
There was an initial list of items that the owners wanted done, and then I added a few items that I considered mandatory as well. A price was agreed on, and then the bike was dropped off.
I did check to make sure there was no roughness or side-play in the rear pivot while I was back there.
Since there was only 8300 miles on it, I didn't think there was a possibility of them being worn yet, and it doesn't come up in the service schedule until 12,000 miles.
I will suggest it as something that should be looked at and maintained going forward. (at this point in time, I don't want to jump too far ahead in the project but the bike is back in the owner's possession and being ridden)

I did make the suggestion about SS-braided brake hoses. I prefer them, but left it up to him to decide.
I did inspect the originals really well. I know they are old, but there is absolutely no signs of cracking, drying out, or failure on any of them. I can't say they look new, cause they are 30+ years old, but they appear fairly new.............
It might have been a different story if this bike had been stored outside in the weather, but luckily it appears at least it was stored in a fairly stable, indoor climate.

[Firehawk068]

After the front end was finished, I turned to the clutch system.

This is exactly how much fluid was left.


The owner had purchased a brand-new slave cylinder to install, so I didn't have to worry about rebuilding the original.



I cleaned all the dirt out of the master cylinder, installed the new slave, filled and bled the system with fresh fluid.
Works perfectly!



I then turned my attention to the rear of the bike.

While the back wheel was still off, I cleaned the chain with a little kerosene and my grunge-brush.



It took very little effort, and the chain looks new!



Following my rule: (if it comes off the bike, it gets cleaned before it goes back on)
I cleaned the chain guard, and cleaned up the swing-arm of old chain lube, grime, and 20+ years of garage dust.





I then inspected the rear wheel bearings, put some fresh grease on the seals, and mounted the rear wheel back on the bike.
I adjusted the chain tension, and alignment using my chain-tool.





I lubed the chain at this point.
It's starting to look like a complete bike again, however there was more challenges to come.







When the time came to flush/bleed the rear brake system, I ran into trouble.
The caliper pistons would move just fine. I could push one in, and the other one would come out, but I couldn't draw any fluid through the system with the vacuum pump.
Nor could I push any fluid out of either bleeder screw by pushing on the brake lever.
I called Robert and told him the rear master cylinder would have to come off, and either rebuilt or replaced.

When I took the snap-ring, and the pushrod out, it was obvious what the issue was.
The piston was stuck all the way inside the bore, and would not return via the spring.

A sharp rap on the floor and it popped right out.



The bore didn't look too bad. It just had some stuck-on bits of rubber from where the seals were stuck.



I used the flex-shaft attachment on my Dremel, and a very worn mini flap-wheel. I used just enough speed to turn it inside the bore, and made a couple passes all the way inside.



It cleaned up perfectly.
I let Robert know to just order the rebuild kit.



I knew that I still had a bunch of work to do on the bike, so waiting a few days for a rebuild kit wasn't going to be an issue.

I removed the front sub-frame bolts, loosened the rear bolts, and pushed the sub-frame back enough to remove the air-box.



Then I removed the rack of carburetors from the engine.



At this point I noticed that all the overflow and vent hoses were just bundled up underneath the carbs, and weren't routed down behind the case like they are supposed to............
I wasn't sure what I would find once I got inside them? 
Since this particular FJ already has a 4-into-1 Supertrapp exhaust on it, had someone messed with the jetting at some point also?

I removed all the hoses and the throttle cables, and drained what was left in the fuel bowls.
What came out was a very foul-smelling, orange syrup! 



Since I had the carbs off the engine, I took a peek down the intake ports.
Quite a bit of carbon in there.





This set of carbs was by far the worst I have seen out of everything I have ever worked on!



The slides were completely stuck in place.
The Choke pistons wouldn't budge.
The throttle shafts were locked solid!
Everything was completely gummed up with sticky varnish.........................Oh Boy, this is going to be fun!