Another new guy

[budgie7622]

Hi just introducing myself my name is Ian from Antrim N.Ireland and i just took delivery of my first fj1200 today for an absolute bargin of £500 it's an 87 with 54000 miles on it. Can't ride at the moment as in need of leg surgery so it will be a few months before i can but did follow previous owner 50+ miles back to my house to deliver it and it pulled well. Seems mechanically sound but it is very scruffy been sitting for 15 years. Previous owner put new tyres on rebuilt clutch master and brakes and bleed it all anything else i should look out for.

[Pat Conlon]

Hello Ian, I'm doing the same thing to my "new" '89 FJ1200 which was stored for 14+years.
I had a long shake down cruise so I know exactly what it needs.
My friend Dan McCoy (aka giantkiller) found a problem with my "Red Plug" on the charging circuit which is common with FJ's so be sure to check your red plug. Open it up for the inspection.
See the Electrical Files for information on the dreaded Red Plug. Dan fixed that for me before my shake down cruise. I also replaced the clutch slave before I left but.....all the rest of the hydraulics on the bike will need to be rebuilt with new seals and lines. All the oem rubber brake/clutch lines have got to go...
RPM has all the stuff I need for the hydraulics.
Rather than spending money on buying two FJ caliper rebuild kits and master cylinder (m/c) I'm going to get some used R-1 blue spots off FleaBay along with a FZ1 front brake m/c (14mm) and if I need to rebuild those, so be it (but maybe I'll get lucky) The upgraded R-1 front brakes will absolutely crash those weak sacked FJ oem fork springs so I'll invest in some new RPM fork valves, .85kg/mm springs and fresh fork seals with a fork brace, besides, the oem FJ damper rod forks suck....on a good day.

Robert at RPM did a great job with his ultrasonic cleaner on my carbies, no worries there.
The tank has a light to moderate amount of rust so, an electrolysis treatment and seal is in order.

I am going to disassemble everything on this bike, down to just the engine and frame, inspect, then lube and reassemble the components. I'll open up the valve cover and do a quick check on the valve clearances and adjust those if needed...not sure I'll need any adjustment, the bike has only 9,800 miles on her.
Always good to check the valves on your new bike...never assume.
Those rubber grommets on the valve cover bolts tend to dry out, harden and shrink so it is always a good idea to install a fresh set.

Down the road I'm going to replace that weak ass rear shock ($$$) and get a proper 17" rear rim and tire.
See my signature line on other tips for your '87 FJ.

Good news, you have only £500 invested so far, so you have some headroom.

Cheers mate, heal up and welcome aboard.

Pat

[FJmonkey]

Welcome budgie, always happy to have one join. Add your year to your signature line. This will help identify if you are Gravity feed or Fuel pump year. What to watch out for....

Safety wire your petcock!!!

Check the red/brown plug on the Left side near the battery. Don't just look at it. Pull it apart to see if it melted internally.

Don't worry about the muffler bearings, only later years were affected.

[Sparky84]

G'day and Welcome Ian

Hope your surgery goes well, then you can really enjoy your New bike

Cheers

[budgie7622]

Thank you for the war welcom. In hospital for 2-3 weeks after surgery then not allowed to do anything for another 6 weeks when i get out but should be able to get a ride sometime this year befor the sun buggers off

[Millietant]

Welcome in Ian,

All I'd really add to what Pat has already said is this -

1) your rear shock, with 54k miles on it and at 34 years old, is probably past its best. I'd buy either a Hagen shock (just under £300) or a YSS shock (just over £300) to replace the original and clean/grease any  mountings/linkages/bearings at the same time.

2) check the condition of the chain and sprockets.

3) check the wheel bearings.

4) there are other Yamaha "blue spot" calipers you can use, not just the early R1 units, so broaden your search parameters to improve your chances of finding good deals - Yamaha Fazer 600 and Fazer 1000 (called FZ1 in the USA), Thundercat, XJR 1300, TDM 900 are just a few that used the same blue spot calipers.

Sock absorber wise, personally, I'd go for the Hagon as you can talk to the factory directly and get the shock set up for your weight/riding by them, and they offer a rebuild/upgrade facility for when yours wears out.

With the YSS, you buy from a distributor (they're made in Thailand I believe) so you don't have direct access to the factory for such help - but they are a great, value, upgrade for your FJ.

Having a bit of time to fully go over the bike and sort out any age/storage/wear related issues hopefully means you'll have many, many, years of trouble free riding on your "sorted" FJ.