I NEED HELP!

Carterc · March 14, 2011, 09:46:17 AM

so i just got my FJ1200 this weekend from a Harley dealership, shes a 1986, but when i got it, it had all these switches on it and i asked what they were, the guy said "the previous owner raced drag bikes and so it could be anything, but we don't know because the wires were clipped" so i was curious/concerned and asked for more information, he said "the fuel in the tank is racing fuel, its like pure alcohol, but if you want to put regular gas in it you have to adjust the ______!" i don't know what he said and I'm about to run out of this crazy fuel!

What do i have to adjust for the bike to run well with standard gas??

Flying Scotsman · March 14, 2011, 10:52:17 AM

Im no expert but high octane gas would indicate high comp and advaced timing.Remove the high comp pistons / cylinders and install oem cylinders and pistons.Bring timing back to normal.If you do run low octane in a high octane motor it wont last long.

Carterc · March 14, 2011, 11:02:32 AM

What about if i use lower octane fuel, but not the lowest, i just want to be able to go to a pump and fill up and drive away. would that ruin my engine as well?

Flying Scotsman · March 14, 2011, 11:12:00 AM

Like I said I am not an expert.I would do a compresion test to see what comp is first.What octane is in the tank try and find out.I live in cook county Illinois we can get 100 octane at a few pumps and I know one place with 110 octane at the pump.Most of my know how comes from 2 strokes im just got my FJ last June so im learning.A comp test will tell you a lot my 1100 runs great on 87 octane but I have a stock motor.

Carterc · March 14, 2011, 11:20:24 AM

thanks for all your help, i think im just gonna take it into a yamaha dealer and let them run tests as a watch my wallet become more and more empty haha

Flying Scotsman · March 14, 2011, 11:23:14 AM

Where do you live you might find someone here who could help you.
Put up some pics for us and tell us all about your bike.

Carterc · March 14, 2011, 11:38:59 AM

I live in Jacksonville, Florida
and its a 1986 FJ1200, shes a beautiful bike but its so darn fast, the previous owner raced drag bikes but this bike was his daily commute to work bike so its not meant for drag but he did some work on it to make it run faster.

turbocamino · March 14, 2011, 11:54:04 AM

Quote from: Carterc on March 14, 2011, 09:46:17 AM
so i just got my FJ1200 this weekend from a Harley dealership, shes a 1986, but when i got it, it had all these switches on it and i asked what they were, the guy said "the previous owner raced drag bikes and so it could be anything, but we don't know because the wires were clipped" so i was curious/concerned and asked for more information, he said "the fuel in the tank is racing fuel, its like pure alcohol, but if you want to put regular gas in it you have to adjust the ______!" i don't know what he said and I'm about to run out of this crazy fuel!

What do i have to adjust for the bike to run well with standard gas??

I', going to suggest that it's somewhat critical to find out more info from either the sales bozo (suggesting fuel is like alcohol) or the previous owner regarding motor modifications. If he was running race gas,like C-16, or the like, the motor may have high compression pistons....and if so,pump 93 wont cut it and may case knock/detonation=very bad. Or if it just high timing,not so bad and can be rectified easily.Very nice bike either way..your going to love it!

Carterc · March 14, 2011, 11:59:49 AM

great idea, ill get the info straight from the guy, he has his own business regarding bike mods. but one thing is for sure, the speed of this bike scares the hell out of me, but i know its just this bike because I've ridin a FJ1200 before, but this ones like a freaking rocket ship!

andyb · March 14, 2011, 12:09:28 PM

First off, it's a harley shop. Disregard everything anyone says inside of one.

Second, start by figuring out what you've got. I'd do a compression test, as that'll give you an immediate idea if it's using very high compression pistons, as well as help give you an idea of general health. If it's using high compression pistons, a shim headgasket would be a decent fix for the time being.

Pulling the four screws on the cover on the left end of the crank will show the ignition trigger, and you can post a picture of it, odds are it'll be easy to see if it's advanced or not.

Pulling the valve cover (easier than you'd think) would let you inspect the cams for wear as well as to find out if they're weldups (looking at the side of the lobe, the stock cams are a consistent color, aftermarket cams have a visible bimetal appearance). You can also find out if there's adjustable cam sprockets while you're there.

If it was raced, it might be a good idea to check the clutch to see what's in there and the condition of the fibers/steels. Blued steels is normal, warped steels isn't.

The other thing that'd be a great idea would be to pull the oil pan off, clean off the screen on the oil pickup, and look around for chips of bearings and other nastiness.

The switches were likely for either a nitrous system or an air shifter, or both. Alcohol? Possibly it's jetted for E85 or something. Pop the carbs off and look at the jets. The mains alone would give you an idea of what the guy was doing with it, it should be using something between 110 and 125 jets, if he was running it on alcohol they should be quite a bit bigger than that.

JMR · March 14, 2011, 12:22:18 PM

I highly recommend removing that fuel from the tank and running some pump fuel through your fuel system/engine. Race fuel generally is very hard on fuel system components. I have personally seen valve seats rust/corrode to the point of gluing the valve to the seat. This generally on the exhaust side and can happen in just several weeks of a bike sitting idle. The draining and flushing routine is followed by all Superbike etc teams.

Marsh White · March 14, 2011, 12:22:53 PM

Is there ANY chance they can give you the name and maybe the phone number of the previous owner? One quick phone call to the PO would clear all of this up. He sure was sticker happy! Keep us in the loop and welcome!

Carterc · March 14, 2011, 12:29:25 PM

im trying to find out what the PO's email address is now, i really appreciate all the help! all of you have been a wealth of knowledge. its good to be a part of such a welcoming and helpful community!

Dan Filetti · March 14, 2011, 01:05:03 PM

I don't know this stuff all that well, but is it not possible to run high compression pistons with normal/ slightly advanced timing on pump gas -even high octane pump gas? Does it depend on how high the compression is for the piston in question?

Andy/ Anyone?

Dan

Mark Olson · March 14, 2011, 01:18:06 PM

Quote from: Carterc on March 14, 2011, 09:46:17 AM
if you want to put regular gas in it you have to adjust the ______!" i don't know what he said and I'm about to run out of this crazy fuel!

What do i have to adjust for the bike to run well with standard gas??

fill in the blank . timing or jets.

just put some super pump gas and see what happens. if it pings or knocks you gotta adjust some stuff.

News:

I NEED HELP!