Squid's new toy :)

[squidley63]

As my intro stated I recently picked up a dark bluish(purple or whatever color you want to call it:) 1989 FJ1200 from a couple of towns away.  I paid just over 1,000 for it and am pretty happy thus far with my purchase.  It has it's issues that I will have to sort as things go along as most mechanical things do. 

Not a great picture of the bike, but it's a picture of me lookin at the bike just after I got it off the trailer.  As you can see from this picture it's missing some fairings...here is the better picture of it that day that my son took:

This shows how the fairings are cut...both sides are at least the same amount of mangled

When I got it the throttle was sticking because of very bad adjustments, and it has a tendency to not idle the same all the time, which is probably due to more adjustment needed in the throttle cable that I haven't gotten too.  It almost feels like it's binding up somewhere...could need new cables to fix it, but I've been putting that off until I get a tank of gas run through the carbs.

The front forks are also leaking all over the brakes, so the front brakes aren't very good which makes this bike even more scary when coupled with the good motor and pogoing front end.  I have the fork seals and am waiting for the time to get them done along with the front pads changed out.  Hopefully this weekend if everything goes to plan.

The previous owner was a good guy, but not very mechanical.  He bought the bike from a mechanic which always makes me worry a little bit.  After I got it home I found that the rear cotter pin was left out of the rear axle and the nut was just a little more than hand tight(and I test rode the bike like that).  The chain that was on it was trashed from lack of cleaning and over oiling(he poured gear oil over the chain and caught it in a tray to put back in the bottle from the looks of it).

The turn signals don't blink either.  I checked the bulbs and found 2 of them were suspect so I changed them out, but they still won't blink...if it comes down to it I guess I will install a car style flasher into the wiring to get them to flash because of how expensive the stock units are.

I've ridden the bike about 40 miles on short trips to get used to it and not put too many on before I get the front end squared away.  I already had my first issue while riding it...for some reason the fuel pump that was on it decided to crack along the side and spray gas out onto the engine.  Luckily when it started doing it I was almost to work.  To get it home I was planning on running it without the pump, but it wouldn't go because I'm assuming the tank wasn't high enough(I only filled it halfway and my bypass job wasn't the greatest routing for gravity feeding).  So I did what any redneck would do....I got out the tape and put enough tape on the broken housing to keep the fuel in even with the pump running and got it the 7 miles home without issue.  It was even dry when I got it home...was pretty amazed by the power of the tape.

That is going to be my first modification to the FJ...I've ordered a Airtex pump from my local parts guy to put in place of the one that is in there(I don't believe it is stock judging by the twisted and taped wires that were on it).  Hoping to fit this into the weekend so that I can test out my freshened up front end.

I've also noticed that I may have had or do have a charging issue because there is evidence of battery acid eating some wiring on the side of the battery, like there was an overcharging/boiling issue.  I have checked voltage and revving it up the voltage gets to about 14.9 volts.  I may be ordering one of RPM's kits just so that I don't have to worry about it and installing a volt meter just to keep an eye on it.

Other than that I plan on getting some better/matched tires on it to evaluate what suspension or tire upgrades that I may want to do in the future.  Really appreciate the info I've gotten from this site so far.

[squidley63]

Got the fork oil changed out, the seals replaced and spent the better part of a day getting all the oil and grime off the brakes so that I could install new pads to finally have decent brakes up front.  I would love to take it for a spin to see how the front end is working now, but with my taped up fuel pump I don't want to chance fuel spraying all over the place if it gets past the tape. 

I have the new fuel pump on it's way and will change out the fuel lines while I'm at it just to make sure I don't have any issues with fuel going where I don't want it to go.

[movenon]

Nice project . Lots of information on this site and help when needed. Hard to have a problem that someone else hasn't had or been around with this bike. Because of the resources (information and parts) it is one of the better used bikes to own. At least I think so. I had some of the same issues with my bike. For me I found it helpful to put things back into stock condition and adjust to factory spec's for the most part. At least it makes a good starting point. Yamaha did a pretty good job designing the bike as evidenced by it's longevity. The nice thing about this bike is that it was produced all over the world for around 10 years and it's problem areas have identified and "fix's" well published. Enjoy your project and keep posting your progress. 

[squidley63]

more work got done today on the FJ...got my fuel pump installed...did the airtex one that others on the forum recommended as a replacement.  Why would I have to replace my pump here is why:

Notice the nice crack that formed on the way to work...how did I get it home do you ask...load it into the truck...nope...here is how:

Yup electrical tape works wonders.  It actually didn't lose a drop of gas on the way home(about 7 miles on the interstate).  I was pretty surprised when I got it home.

So as I was saying I replaced it with a ER18S pump as recommended by the forum...I took off the filter that came with the pump off as I already had the one installed under the tank.  I also installed a 90 degree street elbow to the output side to get it going the right way.  It was about time that the fuel lines were replaced so I did that as they needed to be longer anyway.  Here is the installed picture:

I still have some stuff to clean up on the bike, but at least it is safe to run again

I also took some other pictures of the bike while I was at it showing the overall condition of the bike.

Here you can see the hacked up fairing...it's the same way on either side at least, but definitely leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically.

Front view of the bike showing more of the missing fairing.  I just got done replacing the fork seals and found both forks were almost dry and what was left was very dirty.  I flushed it out a bit and got it all put back together along with new brake pads in the front. 

Left and right sides.

from the back.  I need to do some work on the rear turn signal stalks and maybe trim up the fender a little to make it a bit more aesthetically pleasing, but not sure on that yet.

[I make oil]

Looks like it is coming along.  On the rear turn signals, have you thought about replacing with the RPM LED with the built in turn signals?  I plan to install them in a few weeks when I get home from work.  I will remove my old rear turn signals if you want them they are yours.   Just pay for the shipping.

[RichBaker]

A 1/4" pipe union works real well to eliminate the stalks..... there should be a write-up on the procedure around here.

[JMR]

Looks like it is coming along.  On the rear turn signals, have you thought about replacing with the RPM LED with the built in turn signals?  I plan to install them in a few weeks when I get home from work.  I will remove my old rear turn signals if you want them they are yours.   Just pay for the shipping.

Those units will not pass annual inspections in some states (like Massachusetts) and other Northeast places. Not to be a buzz kill but........

[I make oil]

I live in Louisiana.  Won't be a problem.

[squidley63]

I appreciate the offer on the turn signals.  I've been looking around for something else to use and still remain legal....they like to find reasons to pull folks over around here in NY so I want to keep them separate.  I will probably start by shortening them up to make them appear a bit more modern.  I'm also looking for some mirrors that do a better job at letting me see behind me.  I like the cbr mods I've seen here, but as I'm a bit broad in the shoulders and wear a loose jacket while riding I may need something that is a bit wider.  I'm actually thinking of modifying the original mirrors by adding in an extension to the stalks.  I've noticed that there isn't a lot of adjustment to them the way that they mount up so I may do something with that as well.

I guess I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to LED stuff...for some reason the look of them turns me off on them.  I think it has to do with the way they are instant on where a bulb heats up a split second as it comes on and cools down as it goes off.  No argument from me about how much more reliable and brighter they are, but they just don't fit in with my old fashioned thinking I guess

[WhiteBeard]

I'm also looking for some mirrors that do a better job at letting me see behind me.  I like the cbr mods I've seen here, but as I'm a bit broad in the shoulders and wear a loose jacket while riding I may need something that is a bit wider.  I'm actually thinking of modifying the original mirrors by adding in an extension to the stalks.  I've noticed that there isn't a lot of adjustment to them the way that they mount up so I may do something with that as well.

I use these small stick-on wide angle mirrors on my FJ mirrors.
Works great, I can finally see whats going on behind me!

[squidley63]

Took the FJ for a ride today to see how my fork seals and front brakes would affect the ride.  Really happy at the moment with how much of an improvement that was.  Having damping in the front end again and the ability to stop is a good thing. 

I am still having an issue with getting the idle set very well when warm.  It likes to stall out on me as I roll to a stop unless I give it a bit of gas to keep it running, which is kind of annoying.  It has a flat spot off of idle that is a bit annoying taking off after it idles a bit.  Will probably start working on this next.

[JMR]

Check for vacuum leaks at the carb insulators (boots).

[squidley63]

I was actually thinking about that the other day, but somehow never really checked.  The previous owner had taken the carbs off and changed the boots, but when I had it apart I noticed that the clamp screws were all chewed up and even different heads on them.  I bet he chewed the heads up trying to get rid of vacuum leaks and I still have some.  Will have to try and get one off to see if I can source a replacement screw for all of them.

Thank you for the memory jog....sometimes when I get all excited about riding something I forget some of the stuff that I need to pay attention to.

[squidley63]

Well I've tightened up the carbs and it has made a bit of a difference with the off idle hesitation, but I still need to pick up another vacuum gauge to do a synch on it to make sure that isn't contributing to the stumbling.  Hopefully will be able to do this in the next few days.

I had an issue with a softening clutch lever that had the bike creeping a little bit at stoplights.  I of course found another stripped out screw to deal with, ended up using a left handed drill bit to back the screw out of the cover for the clutch master and the fluid was a little low causing air in the system.  I went ahead and flushed out the system with some new fluid and got the air out of the system.  I'm not sure where the fluid could have gotten to as there was no leak on the slave lines or master that I could detect.  I guess I'm going to monitor it for a bit to make sure the level stays up now that it has good fluid in it.

I have put about 150 miles on the FJ during this time and am really enjoying the way the motor pulls(even with the stumble) and the general handling of the bike.  It's not racetrack sharp, but I actually prefer a heavier steering bike as it makes me feel like I'm doing some good while riding in the twisty bits.  I find the handling of the newer bikes to be too twitchy for my liking(even though I do enjoy saddle time on my friends zx10r  

Over the winter I'm going to get some new tires on it and go through the carbs to make sure of what I'm dealing with as far as jets and settings if a carb synch doesn't solve my stumbling.  I'm also planning on a valve clearance check and replace the gaskets on the cover and bolts along with plug change to make sure it's ready to go in the spring. 

[andyb]

While ensuring the synch is correct and there are no vacuum leaks are both great ideas, doublecheck the fuel height/float level.  Between the lot, you'll probably fix it.