Joining from Holland

[dikkiedikkie]

Good morning all,

Just joined the forum, and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Bas, 25, and live near The Hague. This weekend I picked up my first FJ1200, a '93 model without ABS. Lovely bike, there have been significant updates done by a previous owner (Stainless headers, blue dot upgrade, alu swingarm etc). I ordered a carb overhaul set (only a few seals/filter/floatbowl needle), and after getting the carbs cleaned and reinstalled, sychronized and new fuel hoses on, I suspect it will drive just great! Was very impressed with the short test ride I did. Previous bike was a GSX750F, so I'm used to heavier sport-touring bikes  .

Looking forwards to the fun discussions!

[red]

Bas,

Welcome to the campfire! Pull up a seat, and be among friends.  Your bike looks fine, and it has probably been well kept.

Before you take the carbs apart, you may want to run a can of fuel injector cleaner (carb cleaner) through the gas tank, mixed as the label instructions say.  In the USA, a good carb cleaner is SeaFoam, but ask other riders for a local product there.  Add the carb cleaner to the gas tank at the fuel pumps, just before fueling the bike, to mix it well with the fuel.  Carb cleaner can give you magic results, but it is not instant magic.  Give the product a few tanks of fuel, to do the job of cleaning the carbs.

If you start the bike when cold, you can touch each header pipe in turn, very carefully, to check that each cylinder is running well (and getting hot equally).  A remote InfraRed thermometer is a good tool for this check, too.  They don't cost much, or maybe you can borrow one.

Cheers,
Red

[dikkiedikkie]

Bas,

Welcome to the campfire! Pull up a seat, and be among friends.  Your bike looks fine, and it has probably been well kept.

Before you take the carbs apart, you may want to run a can of fuel injector cleaner (carb cleaner) through the gas tank, mixed as the label instructions say.  In the USA, a good carb cleaner is SeaFoam, but ask other riders for a local product there.  Add the carb cleaner to the gas tank at the fuel pumps, just before fueling the bike, to mix it well with the fuel.  Carb cleaner can give you magic results, but it is not instant magic.  Give the product a few tanks of fuel, to do the job of cleaning the carbs.

If you start the bike when cold, you can touch each header pipe in turn, very carefully, to check that each cylinder is running well (and getting hot equally).  A remote InfraRed thermometer is a good tool for this check, too.  They don't cost much, or maybe you can borrow one.

Cheers,
Red

Thanks for the welcome Red, I'll do that 👍. We have Wynn's carb/injector cleaner here, which is also the preferred product. Sadly, I dont have my license yet (Ive been riding restricted for 7 years, damn you Holland!), so itll be difficult to get through multiple tanks  . I did just sneak out for a quick little ride, and WOW! Except for the terrible idle (keeps hanging and when grabbing the clutch it shoots up a bit), the bike is So. Comfy. And smooth! Cant wait to ride it for a longer time :O.

This is also why I thought I'd just get the carbs out, dont have much to do in the meantime. The fuel lines attaching to the float bowl are also old and cracked, so I have to be under the carbs anyways 

[Pat Conlon]

Welcome Bas, those non ABS '91-95 FJ's are the best of the breed. The rubber mount engine is superior over the earlier FJ's.

If you have ethanol added to your gas (here it's 10% soon to be 15%) don't leave that fuel sitting in your carbs for long or the moisture leached from the atmosphere by the ethanol will have green shit growing in your fuel bowls.

Cheers and welcome again!

Pat

[dikkiedikkie]

Welcome Bas, those non ABS '91-95 FJ's are the best of the breed. The rubber mount engine is superior over the earlier FJ's.

If you have ethanol added to your gas (here it's 10% soon to be 15%) don't leave that fuel sitting in your carbs for long or the moisture leached from the atmosphere by the ethanol will have green shit growing in your fuel bowls.

Cheers and welcome again!

Pat

Good to know, usually my bikes dont stand for too long, and I tend to get the better fuel anyways (2% ethanol), atleast for my motorcycles. Happy to hear this '93 is one of the better of the series, but I'm sure none of them are actually bad 

[FJmonkey]

Welcome Bas

[captaudi]

Lovely, then again I may be biased on the paint scheme. Looks like you have the MRA touring screen with the laminar lip. I have the same screen, I swap it out spring and fall for the factory part. It does a wonderful job of moving the air off your neck in colder weather. I second Pat, ethanol is a scourge of these bikes. Either ride the wheels off of it, or make sure you park it with the lowest ethanol content possible. Your pilot jets will thank you.