Restoration of 1986 FJ that sat in garage for 15+ years

[86FJNJ]

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone in this group for helping me restore this FJ to ridable condition.  I have been riding for years and am mechanical but I would not have been able to get the FJ going without all of your expert input in various portions of the process.

I got the bike in September of 2024, before that it sat unused in somebody's garage for over 15 years. I was told it "ran when parked", that's all I knew. I worked on it through the winter and took my first ride in May...since then I have about 1,000 miles on it. She smokes a lot at startup, I think because the valve seals are likely bad...but stops smoking after about a minute of idling.  Also it has the "2nd gear issue" where it skips a beat if I lay into the throttle hard enough. At this stage I can deal with the smoke on startup and just ride normal. Those things aside it rides great!

Special thanks to the entire team at RPM helping me order parts and putting up with my barrage of email questions. Also special thanks to Pat for all your technical help.

Below is everything I've done to the bike over the past year. I did all the work myself and I learned a lot throughout the process. Listing it all here in case the info could be helpful to anyone else, I've seen some new members joining doing their own rehabs so maybe some of this info helps others.

New:
Tires - Shinko Verge (I'm very happy with them)
Wheel Valve Stems
Wheel Bearings
530 ZVM-X Chain
Sprockets - started with 17/41 then switched to 18/40 which I enjoy much more than stock.
Clutch slave
Battery
Oil Pan Gasket
Valve Cover Gasket & Grommets
Spark Plugs  - NGK 6193 JR9C
Domino Grips
Brake Lines
Oil drain plug
Fuel Valve (
Sending unit gasket
Intake boots
Throttle Cable Connector
Fuel Filter OEM Yamaha pre-pump


Upgrades:
89 Forks
R1 Gold Dot Front Calipers
R1 Front Master Cylinder
89 Wheels
Fuel Pump OEM
Fuel Pump safety switch (Classic Industries) - Thanks Pat!
Link to fuel pump conversion write up: https://fjowners.com/index.php?topic=21402.0
Golan Super Mini Fuel Filter - 10 Micron - post pump
91 Tank
Heated grips - the $40 stick on snowmobile ones
LED Tail Light Bulb (Silvania)
LED headlight Bulb - LED 5V2-84314-00-XX (eBay cheap and works great!)
Painted wheels added decals
Painted exhaust headers & collector with high heat paint
RPM Spin On Oil Filter Adapter& WIX 51334 Filter
RPM Oil Cooler Kit
Renntec Engine Protection Bars

Setup

Air Filters
   UniPod
   
Exhaust
   Stock Headers/collector
   Cobra F1r Mufflers - Straight Through
   
Carbs
   42.5 Pilot Jets
   Fuel Mixture 3 Turns out
   155 Air Bleed
   120 Main Jet
   HSR Tapered Needles on 3rd clip from top 
   
Oil
(VR1 20w-50 Conventional)

Fuel
Been adding Yamalube Ring Free + Stabilizer - 1oz per 10 gallons in fuel. I have noticed an improvement in my bike running smoother since using this in my fuel. I plan to keep using it with each tank full and it also helps stabilize the E10 fuel I have to use here in NJ.

Before and after pictures below.

[Pat Conlon]

Congrats, you have taken a great motorcycle and made it better....much better!

Old FJ's never die...because we modify!

Cheers

Pat