Prospect purchase

[fintip]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/mcy/3290840975.html

$1299

If you were looking for an FJ, you know about the history of the legendary granddaddy of sport touring.
The torquey in-line four, comfortable riding position enhanced by a Corbin saddle and rock solid stability
I am the 3rd owner of this FJ and had enjoyed it until it developed an electrical issue.
Given the symptoms of my troubleshooting, I suspect a shorted connection somewhere in the wiring harness.
Because of the nature of it, taking it to the shop is out of the question, and I don't have the facilities to do it myself.
I do believe that for someone who enjoys tinkering on motorcycles, this would be a worthwhile project and they would be getting a fun ride when they were done.

The particulars;
67k miles, (FJ's typically exceed 100,000 miles)
New starter and solenoid, battery is solid
Tires in good shape
Givi rack and Monokey saddle bags that will hold 2 fullface helmets each, and they detach to become suitcases
Rare Yamaha tank bra, (I have never seen one for sale), and small Cortech tank bag
Have never experienced the 2nd gear issue widely reported in FJ's.

Like I said, bike ran great till the electrical problem, (I have a dyno report done 5 years ago showing 112 HP at the rear wheel)
It's been garage kept it's entire life; the bodywork is all original; has the original toolkit, owners manual, a Clymer shop manual and the original saddle.

I'm willing to negotiate on the price, but I am not willing to give it away.

Said one day he tried to turn it on and it just sounded weak. Next time, later, nothing. Mechanic quoted him about a grand in parts and labor. A grand of starter and solenoid later, the lights now come on, but nothing. They want more to just start looking at $90/hour. He can't afford that. He let it sit a year.

He's had it 4 years if I remember right. Put about 10k on it in that time.

I'm not afraid of electrical issues, but does that ring a bell with anyone? I mean, a random short one day--not intermittent--sounds odd. My next guess would be coils, but both dropping out together sounds kind of weird as well. Anything I should know to be worried about? I talked with the guy, I have friends in Seattle, I'm pretty serious about this one.

[fj11.5]

probably a dead battery and or dirty starter motor ,, carbs will need a gooood clean out , , how much , , Ahh hell. just buy it and fix it,, them get your kookaloo in

[andyoutandabout]

By the looks of the pics, I'd buy it.
Mine cost 1200 and was a standard 86 (the best color scheme)
However, mine was a runner, which counts for a lot. However, again, the initial condition of that one looks better than when I first bought mine.
What motivated me to buy was the phrase I found on this forum somewhere:
'If it runs right, it is right.'
If you feel the seller is honest about the quick fix starting issue, then get it and join the fun
Andy

[fintip]

Like I said, he replaced the starter motor. And I'm sure the first thing he did was charge/replace the battery.

I do feel like he's honest, I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything that could be expensive/drastic that might be known here. Electrics on these old bikes are dirt simple, so I'm sure I could trace it with the help on this forum and a multimeter, probably in a few hours. Hell, if nothing's broken, I should be able to hotwire it one way or another.

Bike ain't seized, says he can roll it in 5th gear and there'd be no reason to suspect that anyways. I was wondering... He said he put synthetic oil in it last time he changed it out and it ran a lot better, and that it hadn't 'liked' normal oil. Is there a chance that a starter clutch or something is slipping because of that? (That should at least still make noise, though, from what I've heard, so probably not...).

In any case, if the engine isn't seized and everything's there, I'm pretty confident I can fix it one way or another.

[fintip]

Perhaps colors have changed (perhaps not) between models on wires and such, but how different would troubleshooting the starter on an FJ be from the procedure defined for such troubleshooting on the XJ's here be?

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=17451/view=previous.html

Or, better yet, perhaps someone has written an FJ specific version? (If not, perhaps this would be a good starting point to write such a document, if anyone is inclined?)

[ribbert]

Perhaps colors have changed (perhaps not) between models on wires and such, but how different would troubleshooting the starter on an FJ be from the procedure defined for such troubleshooting on the XJ's here be?

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=17451/view=previous.html

Or, better yet, perhaps someone has written an FJ specific version? (If not, perhaps this would be a good starting point to write such a document, if anyone is inclined?)

Trouble shooting electrics on bikes isn't hard, you can reach it all from the one spot and they are generally not make / model specific ie. principle of operation is the same regardless.

Providing you have an understanding of those principles and a few basic tools you should be able to sort it out.

My preferred trouble shooting tool is a test light with a very sharp pointy end for poking through insulation and a battery powered continuity tester to check earthing ( with the same end )

I only use a multi meter for checking actual voltages, a test light is much easier to use when tracing power.

If you need to refer to colour coding for some reason, I'm sure there is a diagram here on the forum.

Noel

[FJmonkey]

It could be as simple as the starter switch, not the first time it has caused an FJowner grief. And it is a really simple fix.

[Tiger]

My preferred trouble shooting tool is a test light with a very sharp pointy end for poking through insulation Noel

I agree with Noel...I've had one of these for years. They are a superb electrical trouble shooting tool...They tell you in an instant if you do/do not have power to a certain location

I would quite happily acquire that FJ if it were North of the border. I'm quite certain that it wouldn't take that much to get her back up and running ...

John.

[fintip]

The home mechanic that took me under his wing for a lot of the more difficult jobs I did for the first time recommended those over multimeters. I guess I'll bring both so I can keep an eye on the battery as well, but I have a hard time letting go of all the options a multimeter gives you.

Bet you $5 I don't need it, though and you both are right. Anyways, my multimeter is a lightweight tiny thing I got for cheap from harbor freight (and it is already falling apart, and I have superglued it twice to keep it intact, haha. No worries, it was like $6 and it was there when I needed it.)

Anyways, I got the guy to agree to $1100! I hope to have a friend bring him the money today or tomorrow, and to fly up there in two weeks, fix it, and then drive back down to Texas--visiting the west coast for the first time, seeing Portland, Highway 1, San Fran, etc.

I'm pretty excited. A little nervous, hoping someone doesn't get money to the guy before my friend does...

[SlowOldGuy]

I'd definitely ask if it's had a NEW battery in it.  It could be as easy as that.  Lots of owners just try charging the battery.  Batteries will show 12 volts and make the charger "think" they are good (and turnon the green light) when, in reality, they are shot.

I will put a charger on the night before I'm going for a ride.  Every time I had a battery fail on me, it was after the charger "told" me the battery was all charged up. 

If it sat for a year, it will need a carb cleaning.

How much time are you allocating to "fix" it?

DavidR.

[fintip]

A few days. I just need it to be moving and get it home; then I can properly take care of it, strip down the carbs, etc.

[fintip]

My friend is handing the money over for it now. It's as good as mine.

[fintip]

Just maybe worth noting (and anyone feel free to point out something I missed, I only paid 550 of the 1100, the rest upon pick-up), this is the list I gave me friend for looking over it:

Ask him when the chain was last replaced.

Ask if you can see the air filter, and ask when it was replaced; if he's really reluctant to do so because it does involve pulling a  couple things apart, that's ok, but if he's willing, check it out. It doesn't have to be WHITE, but it should not be BLACK. (An exception would be him having a K&N filter, in which case, don't even both pulling it out.)

Look at the foot pegs and brake/clutch levers on the handlebars--look for scuffing/scratches, or seeing if they were bent. (I'm pretty certain you won't find anything like that on this bike, but check.) We're trying to see if the bike has ever fallen over--he's told me it was once, long ago, just in a garage.

Look for any cracks in the sides of the tires, and check the 'depth' of the tread on the tire--He said tires are decent, so I don't expect new, but I do need to be able to drive home. I'm expecting like 2-3cm deep on the back.

This is a HEAVY (560 lbs) bike, please do not drop it--best to have him do most of the handling of it. Ask him to show you what it looks like when he tries to turn it on--if possible, it'd be great to have this filmed so I could look at it. Get him to turn the key on, show what works and what doesn't, and to try pressing the starter button.

Look inside the gas tank with a flashlight. You are looking for rust. Unfortunately, he has made the mistake of storing it without gas in the tank, so this is a real possibility (though we're lucky he stored it inside, so hopefully not too bad). A few small spots are expected, but hopefully not. If it is not metal inside, but lined with a materal, you won't find any rust--ask about that, see when it was done.

If it's not too inconvenient, get him to roll it in 5th gear for you, just demonstrating that it's not seized, as he said. If he looks annoyed, or like you're asking too much, or it looks exasperating, not huge, might want to let off... But it is kind of important to check.

While it's rolling, ask him to show the brakes work--just roll it in neutral and have him pull in the front, and then the back brake--or, he can do this on the center stand, having you roll the tire with your hand and then him pulling the brakes, front and rear respectively.

On the center stand, turn the steering bars back and forth, slowly, trying to feel for any 'notches' or rough spots, any spot that isn't a perfectly smooth rolling back and forth. This will mean replacing the headset bearings, which suck. But it may just come with the package.

Lastly, ask him about the bike's maintenance history. Did he do the oil changes himself, or have someone else do them? Did he ever have the brake and clutch lines flushed? Brake pads replaced?

Thanks again. Really, Tyler, I watch out for my friends. I drove to Mexico city when I did and stopped putting it off because a friend from Israel was going through a hard time and needed to know his friends were there for him. If you need something, and I can help, let me know.

Call me if you'd feel more comfortable while going through the list--or if you'd prefer to have me giving these instructions over the phone.

Apparently, turning the key does *nothing*. No lights. At one point it was so. He claims the battery was fully charged before he came, but that as soon as he put it on the charger, it went straight to 'float' (doesn't mean the battery is good, I know, but shouldn't I see a neutral light pop up?).

But that almost makes me think it should be pretty straightforward--it's even before the key! Not much to troubleshoot there, especially if the solenoid was replaced, no?

[fj11.5]

absolute bargain , going or not

[fintip]

All that hunting paid off! Seriously, I searched every craigslist in the country for "Yamaha FJ." This was option #3... #1 was an '89, running, but in rough shape cosmetically and needing carb tuning, for $650. #2 was a perfectly fine, running, and nice looking '89 for $1350. Both were sold before I got to them, alas.

But I'm happy. I'm already getting so attached... Planning the route back... Looks like this so far.

Includes a brief stop to Canada (since I've never been, and I'll be so close!) that I didn't put on the map. Then portland. Then Hwy 1. Then through the Redwoods on what I read was called "the finest road ever designed" on a certain motorcyclist forum. Then back through the redwoods further down, heading for hwy 1 again. Then to San Fransisco and the Golden Gate Bridge (!), more of Hwy 1, Santa Barbera, Death Valley, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, and finally back home (don't know anything worth seeing in New Mexico, anyone have recommendations? I know there are some roads worth going, but last time I was there I was 13, don't remember a thing--it can't be known as the land of enchantment for nothing though). I'll be living dirt cheap, camping and couchsurfing and making sandwhiches from stuff bought at grocery stores.

Optimistic? We'll see! I'm not opposed to getting a temp job somewhere if I run low on cash. Plan is to sell my current motorcycle ASAP and try and get at least a grand out of it and $500 out of spare parts I have via ebay. That should last me a carefully frugal month and a half.

So excited! Never been west of NM/CO. And I honestly believe I'll be riding this bike for at least a decade, if not the rest of my life.

(As you can see, I'm pretty excited.)