Fuel Gauge and Cracked Fender.

[karl61]

I posted before about my broken fuel gauge. The mechanic put it back on the correct side but it still jumps all over the place when riding. One thing it does do is during stops at a red light it will calm down and read pretty much the correct level of gas but still is a little jumpy but once I take off then it jumps all over the place, but on the correct side this time.  It's sort of distracting. I have been just stopping at the gas station every 125 miles but if it can be corrected without buying a new tank then I would like to find out what it needs. The shop manager said it may be a "chip". I'm not sure.  I also ended the video with a shot of my front fender. Front fenders seem to be very rare so I need to fix mine. As you can see there is a little circle part of the fender that is broken off where the nut and bolt holds it on. Maybe they can create something with a plastic weld and then drill it. any suggestions for any of the issues are greatly appreciated.

tanknfender

[racerman_27410]

the dampening fluid inside the gauge has dried up  letting the needle flop around while you're moving...

you can either try and inject dimethicone into the windings of the stock fuel gauge (the part with the jumpy needle) or just get a new fuel gauge.... i think i paid about 69 bucks for mine.



KOokaloo!

[markmartin]

As you can see there is a little circle part of the fender that is broken off where the nut and bolt holds it on. Maybe they can create something with a plastic weld and then drill it. any suggestions for any of the issues are greatly appreciated.

tanknfender

I had some success repairing busted tabs on my fenders with 2 part - 5 minute epoxy( the type that comes in a dual syringe - can be found at Home Depot etc)  I've also used fiberglass and epoxy with some success.  I made my 'forms' using masking tape, pooled up some epoxy, let it harden, and then filed it to shape, and finally drilled it out.  I would think JB weld would work well also.

All that said, I ended up finally buying a new rear half of the front fender through Zanotti's as I'd have to rebuild the fender every time I removed it. ( It seemed to hold well in between removals)  I've repaired the front half to a lesser extent using the same method and that has held up well so far. 

I installed 'superbrace' fork brace this spring, so now I don't feel like I have to torque down on the stock brace/fender attachment (and inadvertently crack the fender) to get the stock fork brace secure.  Not the best design by Yamaha on that one--they should have separate mounting bolts for those two components.

As for having the shop repair these, it's my opinion that if you're going to spend money rather than doing it yourself, I'd spend the money on the new fender ($100 ? range--I forget exactly) if it's still available for your year FJ.  If you've got the time to do it yourself, well then, it's worth a shot.

Good luck.

[Travis398]

I had my front fender get ripped off at about 80mph. It went about 20 feet in the air and landed right side up on the road. I was able to retrieve it before any cars ran it over, and was a little surprised to see no scratches on the top side, but it had all 4 mounting holes ripped completely off. I did the JB weld method to repair it, it took several coats to make new mounting holes.

I was a little surprised at how well it worked, been on there through most of the summer, which included the rally, and has been put to the bump/speed test several times and still holding strong.

[Harvy]

I'm fairly sure this stuff is available in the USA:

http://www.racewear.com.au/product/subcategory.cgi?sc=34

I've not tried it yet myself, but I have a repair job to do on my main fairing so will be buying some when the time comes.

Harvy

[RichBaker]

Harvey, looks similar to  this or this better

I've had good results with plast-aid, I'm going to get the plastifix and try it next time.

[Harvy]

Harvey, looks similar to  this or this better

I've had good results with plast-aid, I'm going to get the plastifix and try it next time.

Yes Rich....seems they are both similar products......only problem for me is that neither is available in Aus and neither company will ship overseas.

Cheers
Harvy

[Arnie]

Harvy,

You just need to see that as an opportunity.
Contact them and ask if they'd like an Australian distributor.
Then ask about minimum quantities and discounts.  A couple of ads in the Green Horror, Just Bikes etc and you could have a 2nd income :-)

Arnie

[Yamifj1200]

Harvey, looks similar to  this or this better

I've had good results with plast-aid, I'm going to get the plastifix and try it next time.

Yes Rich....seems they are both similar products......only problem for me is that neither is available in Aus and neither company will ship overseas.

Cheers
Harvy

Harvy. as long as its not illegal to ship the product to Australia I'm sure many of your Seppo friends would be willing to help you out. Me included..
When you going to place an order for that Penske shock? I'm still willing to help on that if you need it..


Eric M

[Harvy]

Thanks Eric....yep, I've had offers! I waited all winter for the temperature to get to the point where I could continue my re-paint, then when it did, we got a month of rain and the humidity is to high, so I continue to wait for ideal painting conditions. When they arrive I will get the plastic repair kit here in Aus......it would appear to be the same constituents and process as those you folks have over there anyway.

Unfortunately the Penske is on the back burner again.
My next requirement is to get the Kookaloo back, so its a complete ignition upgrade next month. If truth be told, I should just replace the original plug leads and that would get rid of the artificial 6500 red line I am currently dealing with, but while our dollar is buying more than yours, I will do a Dyna2000 install at the end of this month.

I am still using the shock Steve C sent me a couple of years ago.......it was an OEM in perfect condition and I have it set to max preload and max damping which is going to have to do till probably early next year.

I went for a 5 hour ride yesterday, and apart from the fact that I can't break the legel speed limit in 2nd at the moment, the bike is really nice to ride and I am VERY happy with the 14mm brake master and clutch master. She has now travelled over 100000Km and is performing better than ever.

Having to wait a month from 1 payday to the next sucks!

Hope the recovery is going well mate.

Cheers
Harvy

[Dan Filetti]

My next requirement is to get the Kookaloo back, so its a complete ignition upgrade next month. If truth be told, I should just replace the original plug leads and that would get rid of the artificial 6500 red line I am currently dealing with, but while our dollar is buying more than yours, I will do a Dyna2000 install at the end of this month.

I went for a 5 hour ride yesterday, and apart from the fact that I can't break the legel speed limit in 2nd at the moment.

Harvy

Harvey, you really need sort this out.  The fact that you're bike will not exceed 6500 is amazing, the gixxer will hit an indicated 92 in first, at ~14,500rpm.  There are 5 more gears...

Dan