Bought a 1984 FJ 600, Need Advice/Help

[tiedieguy2k7]

I just bought my first bike last weekend and it is a 1984 FJ 600. When i bought the bike (on craigslist) the bike was running, but a little bit rough. Went with a buddy of mine who knows a bit more about bikes than me (i know very little, trying to learn). The bike looked in good shape, no damage from drops, very clean for anything that old from NY. Got the bike home in the bed of a pickup truck and unloaded it fine. Took a little work but we got it started again and my buddy drove it around to be certain everything was in good working order. Parked the bike and a couple days until i had time to get back to it. The first day it did not want to start again. I was careful not to lay on the starter or flood it, but it would not start. Gave it a little throttle spin and still nothing. Then i was afraid i flooded it and saw that my Haynes Manual said that if it is flooded to shut off the fuel switch and try to start it by giving it full throttle on a couple twists. The bike started right up but she wasn't idling properly without using the choke (and the chock lever needs to be babysat or turns off). A few days later i was able to start it up again by just doing the full throttle trick with the fuel tap on, and it started but since then have not been able to start it again!
I am fairly certain that it has vacuum leaks (probably in intake manifolds, and possibly between the airbox and carbs). I also think that the intake manifolds with the vacuum lines are on upside down (the vacuum lines are pointing down, and the parts diagram and haynes manual show them facing up) but they are capped off. Also found out that holes have been drilled into the airbox haphazardly and read somewhere that if you do that you should change the jets in the carbs. The exhaust system does not seem to be tinkered with at all that i can tell. I am trying to get my boss' father to come take a look at it (who my boss says is damn good with anything that has a carb). The previous owner said he had cleaned the 4 carbs and they were gunked up when he got them, it sat over winter where he thought maybe some fuel had seeped in because he left the fuel tap on. The engine oil also has a smell of gasoline to it so i will be changing that once my oil filter comes in. So i figured i would ask some advice from the FJ Owners nation that i just found out about.

Long Story Long, What should i do? What Shouldn't i do? and please let me know of any other good info please. I will try to answer any questions as best i can, but i am still in the learning phase of all this. THanks in advance to anyone who can help me!

[Goetz]

You should need the choke till it starts idling high when its in good tune. If you do have a vacuum leak, it will lean it out even more, Dump a can of seafoam in the tank and ride slow for a couple hours. it does sound like your carb boots are on upside down. Never heard of that before. Anyways, Welcome to the club!

[FJmonkey]

Welcome FNG... The 600 is rare, not many 600s registered here. We will help where we can with what we know. Glad you could joins us...

[RichBaker]

Sounds like you need to pull the carbs and disassemble them. Clean everything good, blow out all the passages and the brass. Then put it all back together and sync them...

[yamaha fj rider]

Sounds like you need to pull the carbs and disassemble them. Clean everything good, blow out all the passages and the brass. Then put it all back together and sync them...

+1 Also the intake manifolds are on the wrong side (right on left-left on right) this would explain vacuum port facing down. Hope this helps.

Kurt

[baldy3853]

  welcome aboard, mmmmm 600 interesting,   

[movenon]

Welcome ! A FJ with 2 cylinders missing 
George

[fintip]

While we're glad to have you, the fj600 was basically the transition between the xj550 seca and the xj600 Seca II. You might find more information at xjbikes.com, though they don't see many fj600's there either.

By the way, it's an inline 4, no missing cylinders. Half the valves, though. Sixth gear. Mono shock. No perimeter frame. Light as a modern bike, though, at 415 pounds. It was a good bike in its time. If I saw one pop up and I had the money, I'd be interested.

[movenon]

While we're glad to have you, the fj600 was basically the transition between the xj550 seca and the xj600 Seca II. You might find more information at xjbikes.com, though they don't see many fj600's there either.

By the way, it's an inline 4, no missing cylinders. Half the valves, though. Sixth gear. Mono shock. No perimeter frame. Light as a modern bike, though, at 415 pounds. It was a good bike in its time. If I saw one pop up and I had the money, I'd be interested.

Just half the power...... I know about the cyl.

[fintip]

To confirm vacuum leaks, try spraying carb cleaner or starter fluid at the suspected air leak. Revs should rise. A cheap-o fix for leaky manifolds is cutting cylinders of rubber bicycle tubes off and fitting them over the manifold after slathering it with black RTV... Not pretty, but doesn't draw attention to itself either. Those manifold boots aren't cheap.

That, and cleaning your carbs, should do the trick. Oh, and might as well get some new spark plugs. Can't hurt, one less thing to worry about. Not a bad idea to check the state of your old spark plugs while you're at it.

Start hunting for a new air box on eBay or craigslists. You can also patch the old airbox somehow, take your pick. You could put pods, but then you'll be getting into jetting and tuning, and that's best not gotten into until you have the bike running right stock, unless you really know what you're doing.

Xjbikes and this forum both have great carb cleaning tutorials, not sure which your carbs are closer to, but read them both. Most UJM inline 4 carbs are pretty much the same. Take some pictures inside, though.

[andyb]

Xjbikes and this forum both have great carb cleaning tutorials, not sure which your carbs are closer to, but read them both. Most UJM inline 4 carbs are pretty much the same. Take some pictures inside, though.

According to this link, the carbs in the 600 are BS series, which is the same as the 11/1200, so should be very similar indeed.

[fintip]

Huh. Who knew.

[fintip]

Just found out Chacal over there stocks some parts for an FJ600.

[tiedieguy2k7]

Thanks for all the information Guys! I have definitely a ton of stuff to learn for sure. It puzzles me the most that the Intake Boots are upside down, but i am getting ready to pull the carbs anyway. I tried starting it again after an oil change and am noticing that the plugs are not getting a spark. The battery drains pretty quick but i think i should at least see a spark once it is charged up. The bike ran recently so now i am confused about it not sparking. Checked the compression (finger test) and it seemed good from what some people say. I am going to get some new plugs tomorrow from Advance Auto and try again. After seeing no spark i am also noticing some issues with Cylinder 1's plug wire... Not good. When i had it running it seemed to not be running the best and i wonder if it was never firing on cylinder 1 because of the damaged wire. Who knows. I also joined XJBikes.com as someone mentioned and they just approved my account, so i will have to look around there as well. Don't forget to wish your Moms/Grandmas/ Baby Mommas a happy Mothers Day!

[fintip]

The end caps that connect to the spark plugs are replaceable. You should take some pictures of the wire damage.

Who knows, though you might have bad coils? Are you not getting any spark on any spark plug? How do you know your battery is charged?

If you can find a manual (ebay, or maybe a scanned version somewhere online), there should be a procedure listed for checking the coils (it will involve something like testing resistance with a multimeter.

manifolds upside down isn't as uncommon as you'd think. I've heard of that before. Make sure when removing them to NOT BREAK THOSE BOLTS. They will SUCK to extract if you snap them. Be extra sensitive and kind to them.