'86 FJ1200, Just the Beginning

[Pat Conlon]

Gabe, do not buy a shim kit....rent it
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8968.0

[iWant2RideMyBike]

UPDATE 1/09/20
Transpo Voltage Regulator Mod has been installed! I meant to do this much sooner but the holidays were crazy busy and it was very cold outside. Rest assure though, the job is complete and working. No more boiling batteries for me!

I've attached two pictures. One of the bridge wire that I installed, and the second with the new voltage regulator installed under the left hand side panel. I've the the wires running all over, but I'm going to tape them up to keep them together. I used heat shrink tubing on the connectors where I spliced wires to protect them.

The regulator seems to be working great! No more 15+ volts at 1.5k RPM. I didn't realize, since I'm new to the electrical stuff, that the voltage regulator would not put out 14.4 volts (where I set it) regardless. It won't let it go past that, but I found that when my engine settles down completely, it drops lower than the 14.4, but I believe this is expected. I'm satisfied with the change, and now I will move on to installing the new tail light LED bulbs. I'll get the job done today and post an update either later tonight or tomorrow.

[Pat Conlon]

Good on ya Gabe, your AGM battery will thank you!
I've been running my Transpo for over 12 years now, no problems.
I mounted my VR in the same location as you and to prevent any chance of chafing the wires I put those 3 wires in a piece of fuel hose which I then zip tied to my subframe.

Cheers

[iWant2RideMyBike]

Good on ya Gabe, your AGM battery will thank you!
I've been running my Transpo for over 12 years now, no problems.
I mounted my VR in the same location as you and to prevent any chance of chafing the wires I put those 3 wires in a piece of fuel hose which I then zip tied to my subframe.

Cheers

Thanks, Pat! I moved slower than I wanted but I'm very determined to get my FJ where she needs to be, so whatever it takes. That's a great idea, though! I think I might adopt that instead of taping them all together!

[iWant2RideMyBike]

UPDATE 01/17/20
Work completed since last post:

• Tail Light Replacement

Work in progress since last post:

• Carburetor Cleaning
• Fixing Flickering Gauges

Hello, all! It has been very cold (no surprise) in Minnesota so this has been slowly moving, but it IS moving. I replaced the tail light bulbs with the new ones that I purchased, and boy am I glad that I did. They're much better, brighter, and do not flicker at all. Below is a picture of the before and after (featuring my '90 KZ440 in the background).

I attempted to fix the damaged connector to take care of the flicker gauges problem, but I realized that one of the wires is 18 gauge and didn't have any connectors to fit on hand. I have since purchased the necessary gauge connector and I'll get out there to finish the job soon. Maybe even today or tomorrow. You'll find a picture of the fried connector below as well.

I did pull the carbs out of the bike. I've been going slowly over them because #1, I'm working on these inside because it is just too cold out there to do it, and #2 the ventilation isn't the greatest inside so I'm going in small parts to avoid too many fumes in the air. I'm aware this is slightly risky, but I'm taking every precaution I can to make it as safe as I can. That aside though, I'm very glad that I did pull them because I found out a few things...

• 1) I noticed when I lifted the tank that the right side of my fuel line was pinched pretty good. I put a picture of w hat it roughly looked like below (I'm holding it in position to show it)
• 2) I found some black chunks under the float needle seat, in front of the screen which fuel passes through. I do believe this would cause issues (lol), so I'm very happy to be removing it and cleaning it all out.
• 3) The o-ring around the float needle seats were in very bad shape. I discarded them, and I'm going to buy some fuel resistant ones somewhere locally to replace them.

In addition to that, I began cleaning the outside of the carb bodies, since they were dirty. I also purchased a carburetor synchronization tool, which I've been wanting for a long time, that way I can tune them after reinstalling them. There are some before and after pictures of some of the cleaning and the new tool below. The one that is cut into 6 panels is the same cap for the carbs. First image is off the bike, second is the first cleaning, and the 3rd is after the final clean.

I also purchased a Clymers manual, finally, and a spark plug thread chaser for my stripped spark plug hole. I opted for the Clymer because I already own one for my Kawasaki 440LTD, and I like the way it's set up. As for the thread chaser, I went with a highly rated one that I found on Amazon. I have high hopes for it.

My next purchase is likely going to be the valve cover gasket, because that really needs to be fixed. I also need to see to the fuel line that was pinched, and see if I can't route it in such as was that it won't do that anymore. I'll re-update once I get a few steps further. Thanks for reading!

- Gabe

[iWant2RideMyBike]

Also, before anyone asks the plates on the bike are Michigan plates because I moved to Minnesota with the last year and I haven't changed over to full residency yet! It's something I've been lazy about. 

[Millietant]

Gabe, make sure you also check the rubber carb diaphragms against a strong light, to check for any pin-holes where the rubber folds once the slides are back in the carbs - they can be easily missed and can make getting your bike running properly/smoothly, otherwise impossible. 

[iWant2RideMyBike]

Gabe, make sure you also check the rubber carb diaphragms against a strong light, to check for any pin-holes where the rubber folds once the slides are back in the carbs - they can be easily missed and can make getting your bike running properly/smoothly, otherwise impossible. 

Certainly! I've played that game before when fixing up my KZ440. It was not fun  . I'll give them a inspection before reinstalling. 

[iWant2RideMyBike]

UPDATE 01/19/20
This one isn't a huge update but I just purchased the Valve Cover Gasket from RPM. I also ended up buying a set of float needle seat o-rings from RPM, because it turns out those are difficult to track down otherwise, lol. Thank God for that them because they're making life much easier.

I should receive my new Clymers manual soon (I'm thinking Monday or Tuesday), then I'll start to check the valve clearances. I believe I'll measure for discrepancies first before looking into the shim kit. If it turns out that they are out of spec, I'll reach out to see what option is available for me as far as the renting kit goes. Either way, I am very excited! 

- Gabe

[CutterBill]

...I also purchased... a spark plug thread chaser for my stripped spark plug hole.

I hate to rain on your parade but if the threads are truly stripped, chasing them won't help. Timesert as previously recommended...
Bill

[iWant2RideMyBike]

Update 04/02/20
Hello again, everyone! I've been dormant for awhile and have been bad at updating this thread, but the weather is finally getting nice again in Minnesota and I've been workin on the FJ again!

Work Completed

• Fixed damaged wiring
• Replaced Tail Light
• Installed Transpo (adjustable) Voltage Regulator Modification
• Replaced damaged o-rings on all Float Needle Seats
• Fully cleaned and reassembled/Installed Carburetors

Work in Progress

• Replacing Valve Cover Gasket
• Removal of Front Fairing for gasket replacement

After replacing the o-rings on the float needle seats and fully cleaning the carbs, my FJ no longer dies out when given throttle at low rpms, which is great. However now her idle is out of wack, so I need to do that, but first things first is the valve cover gasket....

The top of my top end of my engine block has some serious oil sunk down into the cooling fins from the leaking cover gasket. I'm not even sure how to clean the oil out, without dousing it in "GUNK" de-greaser or something similar in nature. Not sure if that's safe to do though, since I'd have to run water over it until it was all washed off.

Secondly, my front fairing is not in very good shape. There several cracks/breaks on it and I'm afraid that if I pull off the scoops from the bike, it might break further or bust to a point that I won't be able to put them back on. I'll be so mad if I have to convert the bike into a street fighter. So, I'm taking my sweet time with it for now.

Anyway, that's all for now! Hope everyone is staying safe during this whole pandemic thing going on, and I'll update again when I make progress. 

Gabe

[iWant2RideMyBike]

UPDATE 04/16/20
Hello, people! Got some new news for ya. I measure the valve clearances on my FJ1200, and they're not up to par. I measured 3 times to be sure, lol. They're came out to the numbers listed below. (measurements are left to right, valve wise)

Cylinder 4
- Intake: 0.11mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.07mm and 0.16mm

Cylinder 3
- Intake: 0.10mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.14mm and 0.15mm

Cylinder 2
- Intake: 0.12mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.12mm and 0.12mm

Cylinder 1
- Intake: 0.15mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.11mm and 0.12mm

6/16 are within spec...

I've read around here that these engines tend to go towards the tight side of the scale but dang. The only solace I take in this is the hope that after this is finished, she'll run better for it. So, the time for adjustment has come. I just made an additional contribution to the website so that I can qualify as a bronze contributor and begin the process of renting the Shim Kit (and because this is a great place with lots of good people who are willing to help!). So, I suppose my next step is to wait for my contributor status to reflect my latest contribution and then I'll add myself to the Shim Kit loaner's queue. I'm excited to get this part over with, lol.

The only other roadblock I'm running into is removing the rest of my front fender, because I absolutely want to replace my meter lights. There are two bolts I'm supposed to remove in the bike, under the instrument cluster and they are very difficult to get to. I'm also having a hard time understanding exactly what electrical components need to be disconnected, but I'll hopefully get that handled soon. That's all for now though, I suppose. I hope that I can get these valves turned around quickly though, because the weather is on the brink of being excellent and I want to ride already, lol.

Gabe

[FJ1200W]

UPDATE 04/16/20
Hello, people! Got some new news for ya. I measure the valve clearances on my FJ1200, and they're not up to par. I measured 3 times to be sure, lol. They're came out to the numbers listed below. (measurements are left to right, valve wise)

Cylinder 4
- Intake: 0.11mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.07mm and 0.16mm

Cylinder 3
- Intake: 0.10mm and 0.11mm
- Exhaust: 0.14mm and 0.15mm

Cylinder 2
- Intake: 0.12mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.12mm and 0.12mm

Cylinder 1
- Intake: 0.15mm and 0.09mm
- Exhaust: 0.11mm and 0.12mm

6/16 are within spec...

I've read around here that these engines tend to go towards the tight side of the scale but dang. The only solace I take in this is the hope that after this is finished, she'll run better for it. So, the time for adjustment has come. I just made an additional contribution to the website so that I can qualify as a bronze contributor and begin the process of renting the Shim Kit (and because this is a great place with lots of good people who are willing to help!). So, I suppose my next step is to wait for my contributor status to reflect my latest contribution and then I'll add myself to the Shim Kit loaner's queue. I'm excited to get this part over with, lol.

The only other roadblock I'm running into is removing the rest of my front fender, because I absolutely want to replace my meter lights. There are two bolts I'm supposed to remove in the bike, under the instrument cluster and they are very difficult to get to. I'm also having a hard time understanding exactly what electrical components need to be disconnected, but I'll hopefully get that handled soon. That's all for now though, I suppose. I hope that I can get these valves turned around quickly though, because the weather is on the brink of being excellent and I want to ride already, lol.

Gabe

You might get lucky and be able to swap a few of your existing shims. Document the shim sizes for future reference.

Good luck!

[iWant2RideMyBike]

You might get lucky and be able to swap a few of your existing shims. Document the shim sizes for future reference.

Good luck!

I thought about that but I don't actually own a valve adjuster tool, so I don't think I'm able to remove the shims to check, unfortunately. But I most definitely am documenting all of this for future recall.  I just want to get this old girl back on the road again. Thanks!

Gabe

[JPaganel]

I thought about that but I don't actually own a valve adjuster tool, so I don't think I'm able to remove the shims to check, unfortunately. But I most definitely am documenting all of this for future recall.  I just want to get this old girl back on the road again. Thanks!

Gabe

You can do without the tool.  I use an insulated copper wire, some people use zipties.  You stick it in the spark plug hole and let the valve bite down on it, and it keeps the bucket down so you can pull the shim.