Hello From California!

[Logie]

Hello I'm Logie and I picked up a 1990 FJ1200 over the weekend from my uncle's boss! The person that owned it before him was my uncle! My dad had an '84 1100 back before I was born. The bike is in great shape cosmetically, but it sat for about 11 years. The tires look new, but are definitely getting replaced. Already cleaned out the gas tank and slapped a new battery in, but she didn't want to fire. Starter cranks really slowly, any ideas would be appreciated there. Manufacture date is 11/89 so I'm one month older than this bike! I'm looking forward to getting her all cleaned up and it running shape so I can experience what my dad and uncle have been talking about for my whole life, they both love these things. My one car garage is a little crowded with 3 bikes now!

[RPM - Robert]

Welcome.

[aviationfred]

Welcome to the forum 



Fred

[FJmonkey]

Welcome Logie, the carbs are due for an overhaul, a really good cleaning. I cleaned mine once, er more like 4 times (4 carbs). Or Randy and sons at RPM do a great job cleaning carbs. They strip them all the way down and use ultrasonic bath to get all the crud out. Get a faster kit for the carbs while you are at it. The original fasteners are soft and Japanese Industrial Standard. Not a problem if you have JIS drivers. Looks like Philips, but rounds out if you use a Philips bit to drive out the screws.

The slow starter on the 84 to 87 years could be...
1. Crappy 2 brush starter.
2. Poor (corroded) electrical connections. A frequent issue is the reddish/brown connector on the Left side under the side panel. It can fail internally and be hard to spot until you pull it apart. This is more for under and over charging, not specific to slow starter other than a weak battery. 

I am sure others will offer up some really good ideas.   

[Logie]

Thanks aviationfred, RPM - Robert, and FJmonkey! I'm gonna clean the carbs for sure, and I know there is gonna be a lot of learning involved there. I had heard about the soft JIS Fasteners and about RPM, and I do believe they sell a fastener kit unless I'm mistaken. I pulled the starter motor and took it apart earlier this evening and it is indeed the 2 brush motor. Gave it a quick cleaning as it was full of carbon and it cranks over way better now. Got the battery back on the tender and I'm gonna give it another go in the morning! I'll let you know how it goes and I really appreciate the tips!