My Initial Tear Down and Surprises lol 1992 Fj1200

[Millietant]

I might know a guy who has that stuff in stock.

Oh yeah I for sure know a guy.

Blue Spot Caliper Rebuild Kit
Front Wheel Bearing & Seal Kit 84+ Also fit 87-88 FZR wheel
EBC X Brake Rotor

When I re-did my front end, I wanted EBC discs Randy, but the price was prohibitive for me (the UK price seems slightly higher than the US price). I got a set from an eBay supplier used by some of my FJ Racer friends over here. I ended up paying less than $170 for the pair (admittedly for a EXUP RU FZR 1000) - 18 months on, they've been great in road use and none of the race bikes has had any braking issues.

Jacob - I like the wavy/petal pattern discs better than the standard style  - but I can understand why people go for the standard style EBC types too.

Here's a picture of how my FJ front wheel/suspension with the FZR USD forks, wheel and early R1 blue spot calipers, looks 

[ribbert]

When I re-did my front end, I wanted EBC discs ....but the price was prohibitive.... I got a set from an eBay supplier used by some of my FJ Racer friends over here. I ended up paying less than $170 for the pair (admittedly for a EXUP RU FZR 1000) - 18 months on, they've been great in road use and none of the race bikes has had any braking issues.

Dean, those rotors are in much wider use than you might imagine, both with forum members and the general motorcycling community. It appears they can't be killed even under the harshest use. The Hyabusa track day guys swear by them them. I was one of the first to use them on the forum and mine have done a lot of hard miles since. I've never measured them but I figure when they get too thin they'll let me know.

This is after a couple of consecutive max rate stops from 250kph to full stop (EBC HH pads). This actually left me "greyed out' for a second or two after coming to rest.



You can use and abuse these rotors up hill and down dale, even on the track, and they stay good.

The review below was posted 5 years ago but we have gained a lot of new members since then so it's probably worth posting again.

.....works in a company that performs tests to weldings and metal fatigue in big structures (bridges, railways...) here in Portugal and Spain.
I ordered one of this Chinese rotors and gave it to him for him to test.
I posted the results on the Portuguese Hayabusa Forum
Forum Hayabusa Portugal :: Verificar tpico - Discos em flor opces e preos.

Ok, it is written in Portuguese but I'll can sum it up by saying that the "Arashi" rotor passed every single test. After heating, cooling, twisting, pressing and chemical abuse all came out fine.
One test that is particularly interesting is rotating the rotor in a machine that reads changes in a magnetic field crossed by the rotor thus enabling to "see" into the rotor to check the uniformity of the metal alloy.
By the way, the metal the rotor is made of it's called Martensitic Steel (AISI 420), just like the Galfers, Braking, EBC, etc. .
I've surfed the web and found everything: warped Arashi rotors, warped OEM rotors, warped Galfers, cracked Brembos, you name it. I guess these Arashi rotors are as good (or as bad...) as the others.

On a final note, I just wanted to say that you rarely get "what you pay for". Life does not work like that at all. Sure, the rule of thumb is that the more expensive something is, the better.
But for this type of simple, mass produced items, the final price little has to do with production costs. It has more to do with desire of ownership and pose value. It doesn't matter if a rotor- any brand -costs $1 do make if people are willing to pay $1000 for it.
I'm sure that if I erased the Galfer letters from a rotor set and engraved Chinese rotors with the Brembo logo and gave them to some one in this forum do drive-test them in his bike he would rave about the "Brembos" and trash the "Chinese".
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Noel


Noel

[RevDeal]

Well I have now ordered the wavy discs and a new jt 40t rear sprocket for the gsxr rear.

Still haven't ordered any new rubber. I find there are so many reviews on things it is driving me nuts. I need something that will be a mix between over 3000k mileage and give me some performance benefits while being able to hold two up and gear. Is the GT really worth it over the standard? Looking for opinions.
PR4 GT
PR5 GT
Angel GT

[RPM - Robert]

I have been running the Michelin Power RS on my bike now and am on my third set. I am getting around 5k out of them and they are great. I have several customers on them as well and nothing but great feedback.

https://motorcycle.michelinman.com/motorbike/tyres/michelin-power-rs

Check them out.

[fj1289]

Well I have now ordered the wavy discs and a new jt 40t rear sprocket for the gsxr rear.

Still haven't ordered any new rubber. I find there are so many reviews on things it is driving me nuts. I need something that will be a mix between over 3000k mileage and give me some performance benefits while being able to hold two up and gear. Is the GT really worth it over the standard? Looking for opinions.
PR4 GT
PR5 GT
Angel GT

I wouldn't sweat the decision too hard - it seems tire technology is like electronics - even today's touring focused tires will outperform performance focused tires from say 10 years ago — much less the top of the line tires that were available when the FJ was in production!

[FJ1200W]

I wouldn't sweat the decision too hard - it seems tire technology is like electronics - even today's touring focused tires will outperform performance focused tires from say 10 years ago — much less the top of the line tires that were available when the FJ was in production!

So true. I'm not a good enough rider to be able to tell a lot of difference between certain tires. I do know I prefer bias over radial on the stock FJ wheels.

I've been running Avons for a while, Spirits, mainly because the name reminded me of a band from the 1960's....

Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus comes to mind - Might just be the mornings background music for backgammon.

[RevDeal]

Today began my work on the gas tank to remove the bad Kreem job. I am going to the route of using acetone and some drywall screws to agitate the walls. Following this I will try electrolysis to remove any residual rust. I am not sure at this point if I am going to recoat it. I am leaning toward not recoating it and dealing with surface rust with electrolysis as needed.

Let me tell you what I have learned so far. I did not want the fuel sensor sitting in acetone or the fuel petcock so I removed both of those. I then made plastic covers to go over the holes with rubber from a inner tube to keep the chemicals inside. It DID NOT WORK.

THIS IS WHAT DID WORK. I made a metal plate for the fuel sensor hole with the rubber and then I reused the fuel petcock minus the screen filter with rubber inter tube underneath. So that did the trick. All is sealed and can be shaken and agitated with out issue.picture below.



I do have a question for anyone who had advice. I want to run the exhaust side Givi bag, but I am hindered by the high S22 exhaust. I am thinking about bending using high heat, but was curious if there were other options or suggestions before I give this a go. I figured I would just make a new hanging bracket or an extension for the existing one I found it's new resting place.

Thanks guys,
Jacob
PS. Cant wait to get this tank done and install it.
Gsxr rear wheel conversion coming later this summer and fzr front end conversion as well. Need to rebuild calipers and install new bearings. Lots to do! The fun never ends.

[Pat Conlon]

Keep a eye on that inner tube gasket....

[red]

Today began my work on the gas tank to remove the bad Kreem job. I am going to the route of using acetone and some drywall screws to agitate the walls.

RevDeal,

It would be easier to remove all of the metal later if was a fair length of metal dogchain, instead of screws.

It helps when agitating the tank if you support one end of the tank by a rope to the ceiling (rafters), so you will only need to move half of the weight.  Then change the rope to the other end of the tank, and agitate again.

Seriously ventilate the work area during the work, and store the tank outside under cover, when not working on it. 


.

[RevDeal]

So here is my dilemma. I want to run this exhaust and the givi hard bag on this side. But the upper end of the slip-on hits the bag by a few inches. My thought is to bend the pipe using high heat at one of the points.
1. Red point would drop the whole exhaust, but would not change angle.
2. Green point would be a new bend
3. Blue point has a bend, but it is a corrective bend inward toward the bike. I am not sure if bending it down would be too much of a stress on the springs which would be off.

Any ideas? Cross posted on fb
I have no idea if this will work. These are just my thoughts.

Jacob

[Millietant]

Will you be able to also lift the pannier frames slightly ?

[RevDeal]

Will you be able to also lift the pannier frames slightly ?

After looking up the word "pannier," I have an answer. Haha
I have looked a few times to see if there is a way to raise it, so far my instincts tell me no. There are multiple points where this wingrack bolts to a certain place on the bike. So I don't see it as being adjustable.
Have been doing more work on the has tank. Whatever stuff is in there it is extremely resilient to chemicals.

Jacob

[RevDeal]

Well the bike has been going back together just fine. Putting new fuel lines on and new fuel filter. The only thing holding me back (other than the government quarantine)from riding is the dang gas tank. Whatever liner is in there acetone doesn't really touch it. Power washer can sometimes break it up. Even tried some acid and nothing. About 60% removed at this time. And I am about to throw in the towel and cut the bottom out or find a used one without a liner.

[red]

Well the bike has been going back together just fine. Putting new fuel lines on and new fuel filter. The only thing holding me back (other than the government quarantine)from riding is the dang gas tank. Whatever liner is in there acetone doesn't really touch it. Power washer can sometimes break it up. Even tried some acid and nothing. About 60% removed at this time. And I am about to throw in the towel and cut the bottom out or find a used one without a liner.

RevDeal,

Not sure about the cost of another tank, but I'd try some other solvents, first.  Work outdoors, as some of them are really not healthy for living things, and some will go right through skin or gloves.  Even the fumes can be bad.  Try each one on a small patch.  Soak a different gauze pad (or three) with each candidate solvent.  Don't touch; apply chemical to the pads with a cheap paint brush, and apply and remove the pads using tools.  I'd suggest Methyl Ethel Ketone (MEK), Carbon Tetrafloride, paint strippers, or lacquer thinner, for starters.  Again, some of these are really bad stuff.  The right (experienced) paint or hardware-type folks may have more suggestions for you.

If you have some sealer chips loose in hand, try dissolving them in various solvents in jars, as well.
.

[RevDeal]

Well the bike has been going back together just fine. Putting new fuel lines on and new fuel filter. The only thing holding me back (other than the government quarantine)from riding is the dang gas tank. Whatever liner is in there acetone doesn't really touch it. Power washer can sometimes break it up. Even tried some acid and nothing. About 60% removed at this time. And I am about to throw in the towel and cut the bottom out or find a used one without a liner.

RevDeal,

Not sure about the cost of another tank, but I'd try some other solvents, first.  Work outdoors, as some of them are really not healthy for living things, and some will go right through skin or gloves.  Even the fumes can be bad.  Try each one on a small patch.  Soak a different gauze pad (or three) with each candidate solvent.  Don't touch; apply chemical to the pads with a cheap paint brush, and apply and remove the pads using tools.  I'd suggest Methyl Ethel Ketone (MEK), Carbon Tetrafloride, paint strippers, or lacquer thinner, for starters.  Again, some of these are really bad stuff.  The right (experienced) paint or hardware-type folks may have more suggestions for you.

If you have some sealer chips loose in hand, try dissolving them in various solvents in jars, as well.
.

Red not a bad idea.
I have $30 and 12 days so far. Used tanks are about $200. And new $400.