While hunting down a vacuum leak I found....

[Goetz]

1 missing vacuum nipple on #3 carb. Replaced.
1st and 4th carb boot seem to be leaking on engine side, yay. May be a new set of boots for chrismas this year...
aaaaaaaaaaaand. What appears to be an oil leak from the acorn nut in the middle of this photo. the one under the terminus of the air scoop

DSC00426 by goetzjordan, on Flickr

[Goetz]

well, I need new boots. 
The oil leak is PROBABLY the valve cover gasket. Not such a big deal to fix.
Im going to let her cool down, clean her up, and try to pinpoint the oil leak.
May gob some rvt on the boots or wrap em in silicone tape. cant hurt.

[rktmanfj]

If you clean the area really well and spray it with aerosol foot powder (or something similar), it makes the source of minor leaks easier to spot.   

[Goetz]

good idea! thanks
Im pretty sure this will be the first time it has ever had the engine cleaned. Hope the dirt wasnt holding anything important in.

[Goetz]

The culprit is definitely the valve cover gasket. It seems to be seeping at a few spots, is cleaner now, tho.

DSC00428 by goetzjordan, on Flickr

DSC00431 by goetzjordan, on Flickr

[Pat Conlon]

Get a new gasket from RPM and while you doing it, replace your cam cover bolt grommets and be done with it.

[Tiger]

well, I need new boots. 
The oil leak is PROBABLY the valve cover gasket. Not such a big deal to fix.
I'm going to let her cool down, clean her up, and try to pinpoint the oil leak.
May gob some rvt on the boots or wrap em in silicone tape. cant hurt.

Clean the motor and the boots...

Oil leak(s)...Talcum powder sprinkled in the general area will tell you were the oil leak is coming from...

Carb boots...Liquid electrical tape, well brushed on to the boots and in to the cracks will seal them for you...or, you can use a bicycle inner tube, cut to length and stretched over the boots, (apply some rubber glue) will give you a great seal to...

John.

[Goetz]

I like the inner tube idea... Though after replacing the vacuum nipple on #3 and letting the idle mix out to 3 turns its running MUCH better.

[fj12_rider]

Get a new gasket from RPM and while you doing it, replace your cam cover bolt grommets and be done with it.

I find RPM quite expensive on parts some times . That gasket works out at £30 for us in the UK with postage (its only 1$ more in postage than it is in the US) but here in the UK i can buy them for £21 max no matter where I get it from which is almost a third cheaper, so you may want to shop around a bit . I dont know if we have more options than you in the states maybe but RPM definitely isn't the cheapest

[Goetz]

 

[racerrad8]

I find RPM quite expensive on parts some times . That gasket works out at £30 for us in the UK with postage (its only 1$ more in postage than it is in the US) but here in the UK i can buy them for £21 max no matter where I get it from which is almost a third cheaper, so you may want to shop around a bit . I dont know if we have more options than you in the states maybe but RPM definitely isn't the cheapest

David,

I find this very interesting as your are the first person to tell me that I am expensive. Now with that said, the US market does not have as many options for FJ parts compared to other countries who had the FJ later in the production years and then still have the option of the XJ1200 and the current XJR1300. All of these use the same engine platform, and subsequently the same parts.

The latter two bikes were never offered in the US and it has been 30 years since an FJ was stocked in a Yamaha dealership.

Now, there other issue is genuine Yamaha or aftermarket regarding the gasket. I sell genuine Yamaha gaskets and not the lower quality aftermarket gaskets. I have sold the aftermarket gaskets, which were cheaper, in the past. I found the molding of the product to be inconsistent and the rubber compound seems to be softer which allows them to get pinched out when tightened.

I cannot tell you what you are getting from any other vendor unless they are your Yamaha dealer, only then you will know for sure. I can tell you I did a US search this morning and the cheapest Yamaha gasket I found for $49.71 and the rest are all over $55.00.

The cheapest place I found it online in the UK was from the UK FJ owners group. They have there gasket on sale right now, unknown if Yamaha or aftermarket, for $37.01 (22.97GBP) and it is normally $48.89 (26.00GBP). Now take into consideration that their V/C grommets are listed on the website for $2.49 (1.55GBP). So, take into consideration the actual cost of the part comparing RPM to the membership required FJ owners site for the purchase of the gasket & eight grommets.

RPM: Yamaha Gasket $39.25 (24.35GBP) - 8 Grommets $2.02ea (1.25GBP) =  $55.41 (34.38GBP)
UKFJ: Unknown gasket 37.01 (22.97GBP) - 8 Grommets $2.49ea (1.55GBP) =  $56.93 (35.33GBP)

And finally, I cannot control the shipping costs to get the products from the US to the UK. If you are willing to forward your full shipping address to me either via email or PM, I would like to make sure the shipping charges are appropriate for your location. I do know if you have not gone completely through the transaction including entering your actual address, my website is only giving estimates of shipping. You also will have shipping options for international of 1st class mail or Priority shipping. Have you ever gotten to the page for that selection?

I am also interested in the initial comment you have made stating that I am quite expensive on some parts. Please let me know what you are referring to, I would like to know what you are finding expensive. If they are Yamaha parts or aftermarket?

Please forward your shipping information and the parts your are referring as being expensive, to me as I would like to do some research on your comments and see if there is any issue I am not aware of.

Randy - RPM
randy@rpmracingca.com

[Goetz]

 

[Seanextra]

Might be the first person to say it but not first person to think it! No Harm intended but i can source everything you have listed cheaper with a bit of google work its just you have  it one convenient shop but its far from being the cheapest! Just sayin yall !

[ribbert]

I find RPM quite expensive on parts some times . That gasket works out at £30 for us in the UK with postage (its only 1$ more in postage than it is in the US) but here in the UK i can buy them for £21 max no matter where I get it from which is almost a third cheaper, so you may want to shop around a bit . I dont know if we have more options than you in the states maybe but RPM definitely isn't the cheapest

Randy is not expensive!  Like with pretty much everything these days there is a cheap, crappy version available somewhere.  What Randy has done is save you all the trouble of discovering this for yourself the hard way and only sells tried and proven products. There are parts such as seals, bearings, brake parts AND gaskets etc out there that you would not go to the trouble of fitting if they were free.

I'm sure when it comes to fork valves, oil coolers, filter adapters, rear shocks, vibrinators or any of the other FJ specific parts Randy has developed for us or as a source of hard to find OEM parts there will be no price shopping because he is the only bloke on the planet developing and manufacturing these new bits for our 20+ yo bikes and then passing them on at a very modest price and can only be expected to do so with our continued support.

I'm in Australia and I have noticed that freight from the US is, on average, nearly double that from the UK regardless of the seller.

If you want to buy a cheaper gasket locally, do so, but it is not necessary (nor correct) to make a general announcement on the forum that Randy is expensive. Perhaps when you have been here a little longer you will realise the full extent of the service he provides to the FJ community and if you are comparing apples with apples, he is not expensive.

Below is part of a personal exchange I had with Randy when he suggested I could probably buy the goods in question cheaper locally and it sums up my view on the subject.


Yes, I can buy cheaper here, but that's not the point, as I said before, I like to support and establish a rapport with businesses that serve me well rather than always hunting around to save a few dollars (within reason). In the long run this has proven to be much better value and served me well over the years.[/u]

Noel

[racerrad8]

Might be the first person to say it but not first person to think it! No Harm intended but i can source everything you have listed cheaper with a bit of google work its just you have  it one convenient shop but its far from being the cheapest! Just sayin yall !

No foul taken and I am sure you will be able to some find items cheaper through online sources. I am troubled by your statement that you can source "everything you have listed" cheaper. I regularly check pricing on parts that I get in by doing the exact same thing, a Google search, and find that I am either the cheapest or in the top 5% of vendors that are selling the part. The difference with most online sellers, at least in the US is the do not stock the part. You order it, they take your money and you wait.

Everything I have listed on my website is in stock if you are able to order it and it goes out the same or next business day.

I am not a large corporation that buys a large amount of Yamaha parts for all model of bikes and get larger price breaks. I am an single man or individual that specializes in the Yamaha FJ and my purchases from Yamaha are quite a bit smaller.

I do want to know if there is something that I am losing sales on because I am significantly too high in comparison shopping. I will not be able to be the "low price leader" in Yamaha FJ parts because I do not purchase the volume to allow for larger discounts. I spend my money to compile the large inventory I on the shelf to supply those when they need it.

But, if say for instance, I am getting beat on a $100.00 part by $30.00, I need to know about that because I need to search out a better source. If I am getting beat on a valve cover gasket by $2.00 I can't do too much about that, I am in the price range.

That was the point of my post as it was just put out there that, "RPM definitely isn't the cheapest" and I would like to know what I am being compared to and what I am getting beat on. No examples, not reference to specific parts, just the statement. I need that feedback so that I can stay competitive in the market place. If I am not competitive or I am unable to compete then it will be time to close the doors because it is my money that is sitting on the shelf waiting for you to buy the parts you need.

Randy - RPM