Hopeful first time Canadian owner

[MiserMiner]

Hello there!

I just bought an '90 FJ1200 on a whim and I'm hoping it works out to be a reliable daily driver! I particularly love the 80s/90s styling and colour scheme, gonna see less and less of this era as time goes on.

First off, here's an obligatory photo:


As far as I can tell it's in pretty good condition for a bike that's older than me. I travelled a few hours to buy it and had to take the previous owner's word for a lot of it, but it seemed reasonably priced for a running/driving bike (44,000 km/27,000 miles). He said he had been riding it regularly and was originally going to keep it and make some modifications, but I'm unsure how true this was. There are a few issues, some that I knew and some that I didn't, but I'm hoping they are easy to remedy. I'm going to bring it to a shop and highlight a few areas, but also have them give it a once over (they over some reasonably priced inspection/basic tune up packages). I just want to have a rough idea of the time required for these items before getting quoted by the shop.

First thing I knew about is a rattle from the engine at idle/low RPM that goes away with throttle. I'm thinking this may be the starter chain as I've read that such a rattle is common for these bikes. I'm hoping this is remedied a bit by cleaning/syncing the carbs. I know this is a job that's doable at home, but I don't have a garage and don't really want to invest in the tools right now. About how long should this take if I bring it to a shop?

Second thing that I just discovered today is a fork leak. It's dripping off the bottom of the fork, but I haven't inspected it too closely yet. From what I know, fork seals are a very common maintenance item, especially on older bikes that may have sat for a while. Is it possible that this is more than just a compromised seal? How many hours should I expect to pay a mechanic to replace the seals and fork oil? Should I order the parts myself? I may ask the seller for some money back to help with this.

Last thing is a gummed up throttle. I've done this myself before (albeit on a Honda scooter), but may just fork out for the shop to do it since they'll already have hands on the bike. Again, how long should this take an experienced mechanic? I'm guessing pretty quick.

Anything else I should be getting checked out? I'm a little nervous that I bit off more than I can chew here, but I'm hoping everything else is good and I don't have to put more than 1000 CAD into it.

Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated!

[Motofun]

Welcome to the addiction.
The fork seal leak may be easy to fix with a motion pro "seal mate".  They are cheap and handy but you can make your own with a thin stiff plastic.  Ultimately, if I didn't know the rebuild history on a used bike I would probably rebuild the forks over the next winter just for peace of mind.
The FJ has perhaps the easiest cable system to maintain due to the spliter above the engine.  Careful disassembly exposes the cables and allows lubrication to be forced in both directions.  You need to keep track of the small pieces (ie don't drop them!) and buy a can of cable lube with the handy little seal device.  Do the choke cable while your at it.

[red]

MiserMiner,

Welcome to the FJ forum.  Relax, and be among friends.

Yeah, a SealMate tool may be all you need to remedy the fork leak.
Before I would go for a carb rebuild, I would run a can of carb/fuel-injector cleaner through the gas tank (mixed per label specs).
You may have a problem finding a real carb mechanic these days.  RPM (our host and sponsor here) does a good job, replacing seals and screws (with Allen heads).
https://www.rpmracingca.com/products.asp?cat=39
They also have lots of specialty parts for the FJ.

Most bike shops will have a cable-lube tool for you, or it's on Amazon for a fair price.  Cable lube (which is NOT kerosene/WD-40) comes in aerosol cans.  The skinny red straw goes into the small hole, the cable goes into the larger hole.

Keep us posted.     

[Tom Nolan]

A mechanic will probably sync your carbs within minutes. Having the procedure set up, parts removed and remounted etc., I guess it's all done in half an hour by someone who has done it (hundreds of times) before. You seem to be at the same level of experience as me and it'll save you time and maybe frustration having it done right by a mechanic, and so you can enjoy riding the bike instead. That's my experience from the last few weeks. I can imagine the summer in Canada is short enough as it is, so no time to lose. You can if needed learn carb syncing and other things at the end of summer instead (as you don't have a garage it won't be pleasant during winter).

Just in case you want an option, carb sync tool:

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/New-Fuel-Vacuum-Carburetor-Synchronizer-Sync-4-Set-for-Motorcycle-Motorbike/PRD6VFLDA5DXTHD

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003179182920.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.99.5ceb5051yOeis1&algo_pvid=c8600071-ef4a-41ac-a767-6ae6375c9a5b&algo_exp_id=c8600071-ef4a-41ac-a767-6ae6375c9a5b-49&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21EUR%2113.48%218.09%21%21%21%21%21%40212272e216878491045323121d07cb%2112000024527998724%21sea%21NO%210&curPageLogUid=87T1bnv3Ymmn

Instructions: https://fjowners.com/index.php?topic=655.0

[Millietant]

Welcome to the addiction.
The fork seal leak may be easy to fix with a motion pro "seal mate".  They are cheap and handy but you can make your own with a thin stiff plastic.  Ultimately, if I didn't know the rebuild history on a used bike I would probably rebuild the forks over the next winter just for peace of mind.
The FJ has perhaps the easiest cable system to maintain due to the spliter above the engine.  Careful disassembly exposes the cables and allows lubrication to be forced in both directions.  You need to keep track of the small pieces (ie don't drop them!) and buy a can of cable lube with the handy little seal device.  Do the choke cable while your at it.

Welcome in, FJ's are truly reliable and capable beasts that are so easy to ride they make great daily use bikes.

I'd also add that if you undo the screws from the right handlebar switch (with the throttle cables unhooked from the splitter box under the petrol tank), you can take out the throttle tube and remove it from the bars, then clean the bar end and the inside of the throttle tube and lubricate it all before you put it back together. It's just another thing that can cause a sticking or slow-to-return-to-idle, throttle.

The FJ is a relatively simple bike so armed with a Haynes Manual, I'd suggest tackling as much work yourself as you can. A shop will likely charge you $200-$300 to replace the fork seals but you also don't say if you've traced the source of the leak up to the top of the fork-where the dust seals are (around the stanchion). Check where the oil is coming from before you do anything else - it's a long shot (and highly unlikely) but it might coming from the small drain screw at the bottom of the fork.

[VanIsleFJ]

Cool bike!  I just bought one as well.  How is your project working out?