'86 FJ1200 Refurbish/Rebuild/Repair - Peachtree City, GEORGIA

[kboehringer]

Felllow FJ Enthusiasts,
I recently acquired an '86 and posted up a little bit in the introduction section.  I purchased the bike locally from Craig's for $600

I'm making some progress on the repairs/rebuild/refurbish of this machine and though a thread here would be more appropriate.  I'm not new to refurbishing old Yamaha's with nearly a dozen in my collection, but I am new to the FJ series.   As stated in the introduction area, I have two friends that have strongly influenced my need to own one.   AviationFred & Chris from Jacksonville.

To reiterate from the introduction section, the bike had some carb damage from the PO where he had broken off a post and I was able to fix that pretty easily with a shoulder bolt. 

I purchased the complete rebuild kits from RPM and installed every component.  Although new to this FJ community, I must compliment RPM as their kits were the most complete and high-quality kits I have EVER purchased for ANY of my bikes.   

Many times the kits we find available are poorly made garbage (get what ya pay for!) but these kits from RPM were as good as if not better than OEM Mikuni components!   Thanks RPM!

The bike was purchased with a bent fork (possibly both) so i purchased a replacement pair from Evil-Bay.   


The PO of the Evil-Bay donor forks had painted his lowers white, removed the anti-dive function, and re-assembled them improperly. 


I only needed the tubes anyway so I mixed & matched until I had a decent set.  Since all the Yamaha "protective coating" was yellowed and crappy I decided to give them a polishing.


I heard that my missing fender was going to be as hard to find as "Rocking horse crap" so I decided to repair the back half I had from the PO.  Shortly there after I found a set on Evil-BayUK for a mere $20 and snatched it up..... Should be here in a few days.
Dropping a blob of bondo or fiberglass onto a missing tab area is only going to break off again in a day or two anyway so I needed to add some REBAR...(aka 4d finish nails) into the existing structure.

Using two-part epoxy I glued the nails into holes I drilled for the purpose.

Once dry, covered with some fiberglass & resin

The finished product:

needs a bit of sanding and some spot-putty but works well and is unlikely to break here again!


I've done a bit of other work including rebuilding all the brake calipers, master cylinders, and clutch slave & master.   

Leaking clutch slave had eaten all the paint off the side cover.

Since it's not painting weather here in GA, I just polished this cover (for now).  I will probably paint it later....


I haven't really done a great job of evaluating the ENTIRE machine before I started playing with it but I did decide to check the airbox before I started it....  THANKFULLY, I DID!


I was able to take it for a very short ride around the block and the machine has a TON of power.  Unfortunately, without a current tag yet, I was running a big risk just driving around the block.   I'll get a plate this week or next.

Here's the FJ in current form idling nicely next to his younger brother my FZR1000.   You can see a bit of my collection in the background.....

These guys kinda look like brothers don't they?



That's pretty much where I am with the bike as of today....  Still tons of work to do....

[Tuned forks]

You'll find there is a fair amount of familiarity between the FJ and FZR.  Your Genesis is remarkably clean.  I gave up on cleaning the white wheels and powder coated mine charcoal.

Joe

[Millietant]

I'm seriously jealous that you have the 82 650 Seca, in silver-grey, sat in your garage too !!! I had just bought a SOHC CB 650 F Honda (model not available in the USA, you got the 4-pipe Nighthawk) when the Yamaha came out and always regretted not waiting a couple of extra months before buying that 650.

Welcome to the mad-house 

[Millietant]

Now that you've got both the FJ and the FZR side by side, the real work needs to begin.

Step 1 - remove the complete front end, wheels, brake discs, forks and triple trees, from the FZR and fit them to the FJ.

Step 2 - add risers and handlebars, Blue Spot calipers, FJR Master cylinders for the brake and clutch and stainless braided hose.

Step 3 - remove the rear wheel assembly and disc/sprocket etc from the FZR and fit them to the FJ.

Step 5 - paint both wheels black

Step 4 - go onto EvilBay and find parts to put back on the FZR to return it back to complete.

Job sorted 

[kboehringer]

I'm seriously jealous that you have the 82 650 Seca, in silver-grey, sat in your garage too !!!
Welcome to the mad-house 

Millietant,
Thanks for the complement on the SECA.  I had one of these decades ago and when I saw this one I had to get it.  This was a one-year-only bike in the USA.      The starter clutch (internal) was junk so I had to tear the motor to bits to get in there and replace it.  I performed a complete re-fresh with rings, bearings, etc.   The bike is stone stock except for High-quality stainless brake lines and new Pirelli tires. 

When a bike is able to be saved/restored I will..... If it's too far gone, the sky is the limit!!!

Not too sure about swapping all those parts over to the FJ from the FZR I understand you were just kidding..... The FZR and FJ were both relatively unmolested without cut up wiring for silly accessories, childish stupid irreversible mods, or any "Rattle Can Spray Bomb Work".   So they will both be restored as close as possible to OEM except for bonifide safety upgrades (i.e. Stainless Brake Lines, Better Pads, etc.).  The FZR is basically complete and ready to ride at a moment's notice.  But it does need a LITTLE bit more work.

Thank you for the welcome to the "Mad House" but I think I actually live there now!!!!

That's what some of my family, friends and neighbors think when I pull all my toys out of the garage (FJ1200 & FZR1000 will be added to the next family photo).
All Yamaha except one Little Honda....

[Millietant]

I was only half kidding Kurt, I put a FZR front end, R1 calipers and 17" Yamaha back wheel on my FJ to aid handling/stopping and to enable me to get good modern tyres.

BUT - I have all of the original FJ1200 parts and can swap them back if I ever choose to - when I'm too decrepit to ride it, I might put it back to original for "show"

My thought process was "original is good, but looking original and performing like a newer bike, is better" - to the uninitiated, my FJ looks like it could have come straight from the factory as it is, and still only has Yamaha parts on it 

[kboehringer]

FJ Owners,
It looks like I'm either lucky as heck or these front fenders aren't that hard to find?   

I purchased this on E-Bay UK for £21 ($28), with shipping £19 ($25) the fender cost me $53 and a two-week wait getting it across the pond.  Looks really great, although it is the wrong color.   I planned on doing some painting anyway so no big deal.  The only defect is a small crack on the tail end where the Previous Owner attached an additional extension.  The little crack will be an easy repair.   The extension looks like it might even have been a Yamaha accessory?





Maybe looking overseas for these type of missing parts is a good idea?   As long as the front end of the bike doesn't decide it wants to return to driving on the wrong side of the road I think this one will be fine!

[kboehringer]

FJ Owners,
I haven't posted much lately but I have been working on the bike.   I took a short spin only to find my wheel bearing were total crap.   I wish I had checked this before the lap around the block as this was a bit scary.   I've rebuilt many bikes but NEVER have I seen anything this bad.   

I was too anxious to take a "Quick Spin" and luckily avoided getting hurt.

NEW ACQUISITION: '93 Parts Donor.
After hunting for weeks for a chin spoiler, I found this on Craigs up in Tennessee.



The bike was involved in a SEVERE crash and the frame is twisted up and the motor is JUNK (case & cylinder damage).   I was able to get a nice chin spoiler and a couple other items from this heap.



Some parts were removed from the bike before I purchased it including: Front Calipers & Master, Fuel Pump, and a few other bits.   The tank is decent with a couple quarter-size dings and it needs a good cleaning but no rust and certainly serviceable with a very little bit of work.   The side covers are scratched a bit on the left but no broken tabs and certainly useable.    I'll entertain offers on anything anyone might need off this machine, Except for the chin spoiler



Sincerely,
KURT

[kboehringer]

Meant to post this pic at the end.

[Pat Conlon]

Classic bearing failure from churning.....

[Tuned forks]

Oh no, not the churning thread again Pat?

Kurt, are the air scoops on the sides intact and undamaged?  Is that what you meant by the side covers?  I'm looking for the cylinder head air scoops.  They would have been located where you had the tie downs attached.

Joe

[kboehringer]

Kurt, are the air scoops on the sides intact and undamaged?  Is that what you meant by the side covers?  I'm looking for the cylinder head air scoops.  They would have been located where you had the tie downs attached.
Joe

The one from the left was in there but busted up, the right was not with the bike.  Sorry, wish I could help out.... But there are a couple of FJ12's at the LOCAL bike junk yard.  I'll look the next time I am over there (probably in the next few weeks)  The owner is holding a part for my FZR and I have to go get it soon.

I meant the full length body side covers shown in the pic (tank to tail).

Sincerely,
Kurt

[Tuned forks]

If you see a paint code in the under seat area, please pass it along.

Joe

[CutterBill]

Classic bearing failure from churning.....

[kboehringer]

FJ Owners,
I'm picking away at the crash damaged '93 and pulled these ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL carbs off.   These can't be stock OEM from '93.  These appear to have been professionally rebuilt.   I see some of the PO's HandiWork on this machine and it's clear he couldn't have repaired or rebuild these.  Aside from the fact they were 1000% cleaner than anything around them in the area, the socket head cap screws on the covers seem to indicate a rebuild by FactoryPro  (San Rafael, CA) as I know they do this.  Who ever did these they are like new, floats look new, insides are spotless, and there is not a single screwed up jet or screw from the wrong driver being used.

NOW, I don't think I can use them with my gravity fed '86 unless I pull them apart and install the dual feed?  These are set for the '93 and it's fuel pump which would have no issue keeping them full as needed whereas the gravity fed '86 needs the two fill ports.

I don't SEE anything else different?   I don't really need these and I just installed the complete kits from RPM in my set.  I was hoping for a decent set I could replace my broken post body with but it would be a total waste to bust these up unless ya'll tell me there is something special about these that would improve on my OEM '86's?





Thoughts?