It took 30 years for me to finally get an FJ

[85FJ11]

Hi everyone

First saw an FJ in '94 when I started riding (on an XJ750 Seca), but could never afford one. I have on-and-off wanted one ever since.

I finally found an '85 FJ11 unrideable and in need of lots of TLC in Jan 2014, at a price and apparent condition that would make the effort worthwhile. I've been working on it over winter, and the work continues now into spring.

However, I became a bit impatient about wanting to ride it with Spring here, so I bought a high mileage (103,000Km) '89 FJ12 in reasonable condition this month (April), and have done my first 200Km on it. It needs a bit of work (e.g. instrument panel seems loose, the right mirror rattles, the right indicator maybe has a broken tab, the brakes squeal, the tail light seems loose etc.), but at least it's roadworthy, so I can work on it while I ride.

They say don't meet your heroes, but they were wrong in this case: The FJ is everything as fantastic as I dreamed about over the last 30 years! I hope when I finally get the FJ11 working that the experience is not too different.

[Pat Conlon]

Welcome to the group. It is safe to say the FJ are a great value for dollar, plus a bike you can actually work on, if you wish. We have many owners here with experience and wisdom about the FJ.

Cheers

Pat

[85FJ11]

Thanks Pat, and for the handy links re safety wire and fuel line routing.

The fuel tank has been off the 85 for three months while doing other work, and I bought a new OEM petcock (the old one was missing the filter), and had to rebuild a used fuel sender unit because the one it came with was rusted. The tank is about to go back on, so these links are timely.

[Pat Conlon]

Glad to help. Check out our Files section, lots of good stuff in there.

If you get a chance, post some pictures of the your FJ resurrection.

Cheers

[85FJ11]

Ok.

I see there's a section for that.

I haven't been that good at taking pics over the journey, but there are many stories to tell, and experiences learned from!

[Sparky84]

G'day and Welcome 85FJ11

Good luck with your project, post some photos up as well.

[85FJ11]

Thanks Sparky84!

I will post some of what I have, as well as photos of the six pages in my notebook of everything I have done so far. This to me will be interesting reading in a few years.

I'm beginning to think a bloopers section might also be in order to help keep me humble - there have been some repeat efforts here and there...

New skills learned might also be a highlight - like removing broken bolts and tapping new threads...

[FJmonkey]

Welcome, speaking of bloopers, spearing the cat is going to be on the top of the list.

[85FJ11]

Thank you.

In fear of taking it literally, and feeling sorry for the poor creature, what do you mean by, "spearing the cat?"

[Pat Conlon]

Monkey Mark has resurrected an incident that happened to me many years ago... I had a cat that hung out in the garage with me and would love to rearrange any parts or tools I would be using, nuts, bolts, sockets were her favorites. She would bat them around like flies, on the floor, on the work bench, it didn't matter. Rather annoying when it came time for putting things together as you can imagine. Anyhoo, this creature was not in the least bit afraid of noise. I could start my FJ and she would sit right next to it. One time I made the rookie mistake of starting my FJ with the clutch slave off the engine. There is a push rod that runs thru the engine connecting the clutch slave to the clutch pack. When you start the FJ without the slave installed the oil pressure ejects this push rod, quite forcefully followed by an impressive gusher of oil...and that was the last time I saw my my cat in the garage.
Thus the "spear the cat" legend  was born. It was quite unintentional.

It's a rite of passage that almost every FJ owner has experienced (sans the cat) although most never fess up....

[fj1289]

You've got to love this place!   

[85FJ11]

Hoooooleeeeee! Ya, don't spear the cat!

Fortunately, I wasn't tempted to start the engine on the FJ11 while rebuilding the clutch slave, which was incidentally a two-day job to unseize. I was, however, tempted to pull the rod out, but I wasn't sure I would be able to get it back in, so left things be!

The first start of the FJ11 is coming up, at which point I will determine whether the valve clearances and/or carbs need doing, and whether the clutch works. It will be a happy day if it's all good to go, although I don't rate my chances!

[85FJ11]

In the meantime, while I figure out how to write up the story of the FJ1100 so far, here's a pic of the FJ1200 I bought to be able to ride an FJ while the work is in progress.

She's not the prettiest - lots of tidying up to do - but functionally, as far as I can assess, she gets the job done very nicely.

[Sparky84]

In the meantime, while I figure out how to write up the story of the FJ1100 so far, here's a pic of the FJ1200 I bought to be able to ride an FJ while the work is in progress.

She's not the prettiest - lots of tidying up to do - but functionally, as far as I can assess, she gets the job done very nicely.

Just write it somewhere else then cut n paste into here. 

That pic makes your bike look like a die cast model, looks great.
Just need more pics of the 1100 

[racerrad8]

In the meantime, while I figure out how to write up the story of the FJ1100 so far, here's a pic of the FJ1200 I bought to be able to ride an FJ while the work is in progress.

We have a section just for builds/projects.

https://fjowners.com/index.php?board=63.0

Randy - RPM