First time FJ1200 owner from SoCal

[Tarkus]

Greetings everyone,

Got my 1986 FJ1200 delivered last week all the way from the shores of lake Michigan. I have been fascinated with these bikes for some time now, and finally was able to get one. What a machine!!

Glad to join the FJ community.

[aviationfred]

Welcome to the forum. 

Great looking FJ. Did they pull it out of a motorcycle museum? Your bike looks amazing. 


Fred

[Pat Conlon]

Welcome Tarkus, there are a few of us sprinkled through out SoCal if you need any help...
https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=724879#
Take a moment and pin your location.

Report back to us your riding impressions of your FJ. What other bikes have you owned?

Cheers  Pat

[FJmonkey]

Very clean looking '86, welcome.

[fjbiker84]

Wow!  Looks great!  Would like to know more about it: mileage, history, how you found it, etc.

[Heinrich535i]

I'm a first time owner from Michigan as well, might I ask what part of Michigan you had your bike shipped from? It's so original and untouched!

[Tarkus]

Thank you all for warm welcome,

I got the bike from the western shores of lake Michigan, Milwaukee to be precise. Found it on Craigslist. The guy who I bought it from was the first owner and meticulously (almost obsessively) maintained the bike to the highest standards. Everything is stock except for the windshield, however the original windshield was also included. The bike has only about 17000 miles, and is in pristine mechanical and cosmetic condition.

By the way Pat, I followed your advice and the first thing I did was safety-wired the petcock, thank you for that.

I would also appreciate recommendations from Los Angeles area FJ owners as to where to take the bike should I need service in the future. I know dealers do not service older bikes and I would want to take it to a shop that's experienced with these machines.

[FJmonkey]

What kind of service are you thinking you need? Many of us have learned to be our own mechanics. Even you find a shop that will work on your FJ the mechanic is likely younger that your bike. Depending on schedules I can show you how to adjust your valves and even mount and balance tires, many other things are quite easy on the FJ.

[Tarkus]

Thank you FJmonkey,
Seems like I have to learn a new skill. You're right, I was talking to this repair shop owner and he said that most of his young apprentices have not even seen a carb 

Speaking of repairs, I just noticed some fuel leakage under the bike. Seems like it started after I safety-wired the petcock. So it begins!

[simi_ed]

Very nice looking Ambulance! Congratulations on joining the FJ collective.
As far as your new fuel leaks, try shutting off the fuel, run it dry and then turn the fuel back on. This may flush any crap out of the needle valves. Otherwise it may well be failed o-rings on the needle seats. The fix requires Randy's magic SS screw kit and also O-rings, for ~$20.  It's a PITA to install but it is doable in a few hours.

Where in SoCal are you located? I'm about 45 min west of Mark-FJMonkey.

Ed

[Tarkus]

Thanks Ed,

I am in Burbank, several blocks away from FJ MIKE. I will pin my location on the map.
The fuel is coming from the petcock, seems from where the 2 wires are (guessing capillary action brings it there). Could not pinpoint the exact location, will try tomorrow with fresh mind.

[FJmonkey]

A good place to start is the valves. The bike may be low miles but a tight valve will burn. It is not that difficult and taking ones time will be 2 to 3 hours. An hour just to let the engine cool down, don't check vales on a warm engine.

[fjbiker84]

You may want to replace your petcock with a new one from RPM.  They are cheaper than ordering an OEM petcock and come already with the safety wiring.  Yours is a gravity feed petcock like mine.  I've replaced mine twice in the past few years (before knowing about RPM as a good source for parts).  While parked overnight I had yet another fuel leak at the WCR even with the new petcock.  These gravity feed petcocks are fickle.  With advice from Randy, mine corrected itself after pulling the vacuum hose and sucking/blowing on the hose to make the valve activate and, also, after being shown where they are supposed to go, correctly rerouting my overflow/drain hoses from the carburetors to make sure they were functioning properly.  I highly recommend the Fjmonkey garage.  He has been a tremendous help to me with several more complex maintenance tasks.  Recently he showed me how to adjust my valves and sync the carburetors and the bike ran great at the WCR a few weeks ago. Maybe we can schedule a future man-shed day at the Fjmonkey garage.  I've just ordered a new Wilbers rear shock (will take 4-6 weeks) and hope to get help with the install.

[racerrad8]

You may want to replace your petcock with a new one from RPM.  They are cheaper than ordering an OEM petcock and come already with the safety wiring.  

They are the lowest priced OEM Yamaha petcock available and also in stock, so you aren't waiting for the backorder companies to order it and ship it for you.

Plus, we safety wire each one before it leaves the shop.

86-88 Yamaha Fuel Tank Petcock

[paullyd9f3]

You may want to replace your petcock with a new one from RPM.  They are cheaper than ordering an OEM petcock and come already with the safety wiring.  Yours is a gravity feed petcock like mine.  I've replaced mine twice in the past few years (before knowing about RPM as a good source for parts).  While parked overnight I had yet another fuel leak at the WCR even with the new petcock.  These gravity feed petcocks are fickle.  With advice from Randy, mine corrected itself after pulling the vacuum hose and sucking/blowing on the hose to make the valve activate and, also, after being shown where they are supposed to go, correctly rerouting my overflow/drain hoses from the carburetors to make sure they were functioning properly.  I highly recommend the Fjmonkey garage.  He has been a tremendous help to me with several more complex maintenance tasks.  Recently he showed me how to adjust my valves and sync the carburetors and the bike ran great at the WCR a few weeks ago. Maybe we can schedule a future man-shed day at the Fjmonkey garage.  I've just ordered a new Wilbers rear shock (will take 4-6 weeks) and hope to get help with the install.

I had the same issue with the petcock. The elbow that the fuel hose mounts to leaked quite badly (obviously a serious fire hazard). I had a hard time finding an affordable OEM replacement, it was pretty pricey on RPM. I ordered a basic petcock on ebay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fuel-Petcock-Assembly-For-Suzuki-Yamaha-Honda-Kawasaki-44mm-Mount/202582597681?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649) which doesnt have any electric connections like the stock one does but I havnt had any issues with it. I just had to massage one of the mounting holes with an awl so it lined up with the hole on the underside of the tank. Sealed it to the tank with black rtv and sealed the flange on the mounting screws with rtv as well and havnt had any more leaks since.

Not sure if its relevant to anyone in  this thread, but I also deleted the traditional rubber fuel hose setup (no matter how i routed it, it always kinked and caused starvation) and replaced it with a steel line to do all the bends and then ran two shorter, straight rubber hoses to the carbs and a short bit of rubber hose to join the petcock to the steel line.