Steve's 1985 FJ1100 restoration in San Diego

[STLanduyt]

The carbs are with RPM, as already mentioned, and are currently soaking to dissolve "the ethanol gunk in the bowls and carb bodies" per RPM ... meanwhile I removed the exhaust pipes and de-rusted them using Rustoleum Rust Dissolver, which took off the rust and revealed a very shiny dark grey surface on the pipes, albeit with very tiny "pinpoints" of silver all over.

I had initially thought of painting the pipes, but am now thinking of leaving them in their current state.  Any thoughts or experiences out there on just leaving the pipes alone?

Steve

[Waiex191]

I had initially thought of painting the pipes, but am now thinking of leaving them in their current state.  Any thoughts or experiences out there on just leaving the pipes alone?

Steve

Some of the guys have polished their pipes.  They are stainless underneath. 
This is Noel's picture:

[STLanduyt]

The bare stainless pipes are beautiful!  That may be something I will consider in the future, but in the present I am inclined to leave them in their original color.

Another question that I have is how to improve the appearance of the weathered engine. 

The picture below shows a side view of the current exterior condition of the engine, which sat in a carport for many years and suffered serious weathering, as you can see.  The only surviving original gloss black paint on the engine is on the valve cover, which was protected by the tank.  The cooling fins are now bare metal.

What are the options for improving the appearance of the engine while it is on the bike beyond doing a thorough cleaning? 

You cannot view this attachment.

Steve

[86FJNJ]

Most of that looks topical like it would clean off with a sponge and some hot water with dawn dish soap. Then let it dry and spray it down with some foamy engine degreaser. Should look decently good after that. I'd suggest upgrading your oil filter to the RPM spin on oil filter setup. Better look and easier oil changes compared to that rusted stock oil filter bolt you have.

https://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=spinonfilteradapter&cat=39

The sprocket cover can be sanded down to raw aluminum and then painted with VHT Gloss black engine paint and cured in front of a space heater...will look brand new after that, which is what I did to mine.

[FJ1200W]

I had initially thought of painting the pipes, but am now thinking of leaving them in their current state.  Any thoughts or experiences out there on just leaving the pipes alone?

Steve

Jet-Hot is a company I used to coat my header and I have been astounded by the product.
Their 2K product has a black crinkle finish on the outside, not sure it is not lifetime guaranteed, but it is tough. It does not damage by road debris and it clean up easily.
The inside was coated in a ceramic heat whatever substance, see pic #2.
The pipe is cool to the touch within moments of stopping, it works that well.
That heat has to go somewhere, I am not sure of the positives or negatives, I'll leave that to the experts here.
Bike runs great, pipe looks great, I'm happy, it was about $250 with shipping back in 2019 and worth every penny.
Look at pic #1, that's a lot of miles and several years ago.
Options are good.


https://www.jet-hot.com/offroad

[RPM - Robert]

The Yamaha ignition cover and the other side crank cover we have new stock, as well as the clutch cover outer ring and the center part that says Yamaha.

The edges of the fins on the block and head were always raw aluminum. You can tape the frame off and get in there with some small scotch brite wheels in between the fins and scotch bright whatever you want to paint after a good ole pressure washing to get the big gunk off. After you spray it you can take a sanded block and clean up the edges of the fins to be raw aluminum like they should. Working up to a super fine sand paper so it doesn't look all gouged up.

[Millietant]

The Yamaha ignition cover and the other side crank cover we have new stock, as well as the clutch cover outer ring and the center part that says Yamaha.

The edges of the fins on the block and head were always raw aluminum. You can tape the frame off and get in there with some small scotch brite wheels in between the fins and scotch bright whatever you want to paint after a good ole pressure washing to get the big gunk off. After you spray it you can take a sanded block and clean up the edges of the fins to be raw aluminum like they should. Working up to a super fine sand paper so it doesn't look all gouged up.

Great tips from Robert - I always think that bikes with re-painted engines, without the fin edges cleaned of paint, look bodged/half finished, like the owner couldn't be bothered to do the job properly.

That's just a quirk of my character and some people prefer not to have the unpainted edges (less likely to corrode early), but I'm not one of them   

Over here in the UK, Simoniz Gloss Black Engine Lacquer comes highly recommended from owners.