I purchased a modified FJ

[fj johnnie]

I purchased a low mileage FJ, 13,000 miles. The bike has an FZ1 swing arm installed by the P O . What could go wrong? Well I would like to chronicle my findings so far.
It was mentioned to me by the PO that a new set of wishbones and a Penske or RPM shock would b all it needs
So I put her up on the lift and had a look. Now all you people who have done a swing arm conversion already know where this is going, but I will continue. The shock linkage of a 90 FJ is roughly 20 mm wider than the attachment point on the 02 FZ 1 swing arm . Rather than mill down the suspension linkage the stock FJ collar was used, which cantilevered out 10 mm on each side. Since the bearing diameter is the same on both, I had the linkage milled down 10 mm on each side and the bearing race? Or bore? Increased 10mm as well to allow for stock FJ bearings to be installed.
This was all done and a new Penske shock wa ordered. However, when doing this work I took a closer look at the swing arm and noticed that it move side to side approx 3mm. Hmmmmm, better take that apart since the shock is already off. As far as I know the swing arm needs to be made narrower to fit on the FJ. Well it is also important to reduce the size of the bearing collar by the same amount as the swing arm. The side to side movement was due to the collar being too long. So well that was made narrower so it was only slightly longer than the swing arm is wide.  Perfect right.? Wrong the spacers that normally reside inside the caps, or dust seals were missing. As I have a spare complete bike I took the spacers from donor bike and installed them. Now it is perfect. No movement side to side and smooth operation
So I thought great once my shock arrived all I neede to do was bolt it on and go. But one day I was reading a thread on this great forum regarding fitting wider wheels. So I followed the thread, and noticed a certain bike with the same swing arm as mine.(racerman). So I asked him a few questions about my bikes conversion. I was wanting to know some details regarding the sprocket. He said the bets thing to do was takeoff the sprocket cover and have a look. So back to the garage . Remove the cover. Oh wow the inside of the sprocket cover has material removed by the chain! That can't be good. Also upon further inspection the sprocket was loose! It is difficult to find a socket that fits inside an offset sprocket. So I messaged racerman and his advice was " call Randy". Or email more specifically. Which I did and now am waiting for XJR sprocket cover, longer clutch pushrod , longer shift shaft, bearings for shift shaft, dust seals etc,etc,etc.
So the moral of the story is don't buy a bike modded by someone else if you don't know what to look for. Although when done I will have a fabulous machine, I must say Thanks for the advice from Racerman. If had ridden that bike as it was who knows what would have happened. if there was no forum there is no way I would even have known what to look for or what to check.
Another person on this site told me about the 3.5 inch 88FZR rim conversion . As I knew of one I purchased it and it has been powder coated and is ready for install when the bearings come in .
  KOkaloo

[fj11.5]

thats all great info mate, thanks for sharing , as im going to be fitting an xjr wwing arm to my modified 84, wont have any problems mounting the fj shock or should i say honda shock, as yet  it has no mounting point for one ,,

[movenon]

"Restored" cars are the same way. Always figure that what was done is questionable unless you know who did the work and understand what to look for.  I am glad you took the time and money to make your bike a safe ride. It is always reassuring to know that you have done the inspections and maintenance yourself. That's why I never let a dealer/mechanic ever work on mine unless its absolutely necessary. good on you for doing your own work.
George

[Steve_in_Florida]

If there was no forum there is no way I would even have known what to look for or what to check.

Good on you!

Sounds like it's time to make a "nominal" donation in order to "prove your love". There's a convenient DONATE button at the bottom of the page, just for this purpose. Marsh (our wizard-behind-the-curtain) can't provide this site for us for free, y'know.

I, for one, really appreciate reading the posts and advice on this site.

Long live our FJ's!

Steve

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Johnnie, you may be in luck.

On my T-Ace swing arm conversions, under the grease cups, I used the Torrington needle bearings (thrust bearings) from the YZF750.

Check them out.


3) SWING ARM PIVOT AREA – The swingarm pivot area needs to be narrowed in order to fit into the FJ frame.  'FJ Tom' Slocum told me that the Yamaha YZF750 used a 3-piece needle thrust bearing on its swingarm to handle side thrust loads.  I thought that would be great on the FJ, as I could machine the pivot for minimum clearance but still have zero friction with no binding.  These thrust bearings are composed of (2) 1mm hardened races, with a 2mm radial needle bearing sandwiched in between.

Discussed here: http://www.fjmods.co.uk/MarcRittner.htm   Cheers!   Pat

[fj johnnie]

  I will make a donation but have no idea what is considered appropriate. I am certainly aware of the value of the information this site has given me. If anyone can suggest to me what is considered appropriate please message me. Any input will help.

[Steve_in_Florida]

I will make a donation but have no idea what is considered appropriate. I am certainly aware of the value of the information this site has given me. If anyone can suggest to me what is considered appropriate please message me. Any input will help.

Well, I wasn't trying to be annoying, but it's been a while since I've seen anyone post a "Jerry Lewis".

Whatever you can afford is appropriate. There is no set minimum (that I'm aware of...), and I have never seen Marsh publicly ridicule anyone for the amount they donated.

Of course, I've not yet been to any of the rallies, so there's NO TELLING just what gets brought up over beers around the campfire!

Think of it as buying the administrator a drink or ten! 

Now *I* feel guilty as it's been a while since I last donated!

Steve

[Pat Conlon]

Don't worry about the amount, we will send you the paperwork to sign up for payroll deduction.....
We will figure out the amount....Trust us.......heh, heh heh....

[oz.fj]

  I will make a donation but have no idea what is considered appropriate. I am certainly aware of the value of the information this site has given me. If anyone can suggest to me what is considered appropriate please message me. Any input will help.

You could come along to the Aussie Rally at Bellingen in a couple of weeks to discuss donation amounts

Darran

[fj johnnie]

 Pat that set up looks awesome. I had to think about the whole setup to visualize how it really works, how to have a tight swingarm, with no movemnet side to side, without friction causing the swingarm to bind. The bearing you are describing is similar to the bearing used on some shocks to make spring pre-load  adjustment easier? Torrington I think?  YZF 750? Hmm , reminds me I need to do some repairs to my FZ 750 as well. It never ends. There are other things that were done by PO. Blue dots, wave rotors, better brake master cylinder, corbin gunfighter. supertrapp stainless 4 into1, and a slightly higher windscreen.
Also I will post a few pics of my Givi trunk mount installation on the tail section of herr FJ. 

[fj johnnie]

 Also to Steve, you are in no way annoying. I needed a subtle kick in the ass.

[ribbert]

Hey Johnnie, you may be in luck.

On my T-Ace swing arm conversions, under the grease cups, I used the Torrington needle bearings (thrust bearings) from the YZF750.

Check them out.


3) SWING ARM PIVOT AREA – The swingarm pivot area needs to be narrowed in order to fit into the FJ frame.  'FJ Tom' Slocum told me that the Yamaha YZF750 used a 3-piece needle thrust bearing on its swingarm to handle side thrust loads.  I thought that would be great on the FJ, as I could machine the pivot for minimum clearance but still have zero friction with no binding.  These thrust bearings are composed of (2) 1mm hardened races, with a 2mm radial needle bearing sandwiched in between.

Discussed here: http://www.fjmods.co.uk/MarcRittner.htm   Cheers!   Pat

This has been nagging at me for a few days now.  While these bearings appear to be standard on some bikes I don't understand why you need them and what forces are applied to the swing arm that the inner bearings don't deal with.
The standard thrust washers are thin and soft and barely show a mark which would suggest they don't take any significant load.

Unless of course this is your corner entry style:



Could someone please explain.

Noel

[Arnie]

Noel,  You asked for an explaination......

Well, that was the only way that Casey could get the Ducati through the corner. :-)
Shame Rossi couldn't learn how.

Arnie

[ribbert]

Noel,  You asked for an explaination......

Well, that was the only way that Casey could get the Ducati through the corner. :-)
Shame Rossi couldn't learn how.

Arnie

[rktmanfj]

Shame Rossi couldn't learn how.

Arnie

Look closely at the picture...