1986 fj1200

[2manybikes]

Like Mike, I was expecting something over the top. I think it was a very conservative bit of work. It would have to be stock for me though. (No surprise there! ), but I think it looks nice.

[kboehringer]

XS11 Friends,
Thanks again for the input on the seat. All-In-All, it isn't horrible and I have the OEM seat so I haven't changed anything that can't be changed back in about a minute. I wanted a little custom touch but also wanted a bike that looked restored. I can't have it both ways.....

The tank painting turned out pretty good and is certainly an improvement.


However, there is a bit of discrepancy in the paint quality. All the original paint on this machine is a pearl finish. Pearl requires three stages to perform properly (or so the guy at the PPG store tells me). I asked him to mix my paints single stage and he warned it would not be the level of quality of the three stage process (Base, Clear w/Flake, Clear). The paint "COLOR" is accurate. However, using single stage the "Flake" is not nearly as pronounced.

If I had a real paint booth, I might have went the other route. However, I'm painting in my backyard dealing with bugs, pollen, and etc. Shooting something three times is gonna be very difficult. I can wet sand off an spec of dust but not under multiple layers.

The difference in the painting methods would also have added another $200+ for supplies but several days before all the coats were on and finished so I have to live with a slightly lesser quality finish. Compared to where we started, the now wet sanded and buffed tank top is much nicer looking....(aside from that sharpie fix ).

[kboehringer]

XS11 Friends,
FINALLY! I received the PROPER tire for my FJ1200. TWO suppliers sent me the WRONG tire! Apparently, many of these retailers get their tires from the same MIS-MARKED warehouse. Everyone kept sending me the ROUTE MT 66 instead of the Sport Demon I ordered. I use the ROUTE tire on all my XS11's and the XJ's. It's a great tire originally recommended to me by Marty as a cost effective and better quality tire alternative to the $hitKO. But it's not the proper tire for this bike.

As usual, the seller mentioned "The Tires Look Great" and they did, from a distance. But, a tire that is 27 YEARS OLD is just not safe! PERIOD. (Tire code reads the 17th week of 1993 as a pre-2000 3-digit date code. All post 2000 tires are a 4-digit code)



So I spent the day pulling this old piece of crap and installing and balancing my new Sport Demon. The front received it's new Sport Demon more than a month ago so now I'm riding on a properly matched pair in perfect condition.



Got a nice ride in and the difference was IMMEDIATELY apparent. The old tire was hard a rock and felt like a rock on every corner.... Hence, the bike had been sitting more than three weeks while I waited for the suppler to get me the CORRECT tire!




A good bit more to do to be ready for the Rally!!!! This ole' girl will be in North Carolina in September!!!

[Bonz]

4 oz of Ride-On through the valve stem would balance that tire right up Kurt. How medieval of you to use a balancer.

Okay, I couldn't resist. Back to your regularly scheduled programming... ...

[2manybikes]

Good thing you posted something about this bike. I was going to give you until tomorrow for an update or I was going to pull your chain! Nothing like a new pair of shoes to enjoy. What do you have left to do?

[kboehringer]

Originally Posted by 2manybikes

What do you have left to do?

Here's the short list:

• OIL PAN: Pull pan and clean, 30k on the ticker there is probably a bit of sludge in there I would like to get removed.
• EXHAUST MANIFOLD: While the exhaust if off for the pan clean, I will replace the exhaust manifold with the perfect one from the '93 donor. The current manifold is probably OK but showing some rust. The one from the donor '93 looks perfect without any hint of rust.
• REPLACE DRIVE CHAIN:. The chain was a rusty mess when I got the bike. I've lubed and worked it and it's loosened up but there still seems to be some sticky/binding areas. The best move is to replace the chain. Normally, one would replace all the components (both sprockets & chain). However, the sprockets look really great and show ZERO signs of wear. I believe the long period of inactivity damaged the chain beyond what lube can do to repair.
• VALVES: Re-Check all the valve adjustments to be certain all 16 valves are as perfect as possible.
• COSMETICS: Still need the accents for the chin spoiler and a little touch-up on some of the red.... I don't plan a full re-paint so I will do what I can.
• CUSTOM BACK REST: There is a guy GERAUD on the FJR forum that makes custom brackets and backrests for the FJR community. He has agreed to fabricate a custom backrest using the chicken handles behind the seat as a mount. Nancy is unwilling to ride on the back without some form of restraint to keep her from sliding off the back during acceleration.
• WIND SCREEN: If I can find a nice one, the lettering on the current windscreen is damaged (It's printed in gold on the underside and was damaged due to weathering when the bike was apparently outside a long time)
• REAR VIEW MIRRORS: Mirrors are total crap with the reflective coating damaged. Again, most likely from the bike spending a LOT of time outdoors. I tried some aftermarket replacements but they were garbage and totally wrong for the bike. Nancy purchased new OEM Yamaha mirrors for me from Partzilla for over $250! . Unfortunately, they won't ship until late June/July. I guess they are coming from Japan....

Most everything else is either new or rebuilt: New Brakes, Brake Lines, Tires, Master Cylinders, Calipers Rebuilt, Carbs Completely Rebuilt....

[2manybikes]

I would hate to think that Mike is making more progress than you are....

[Radioguylogs]

Originally Posted by 2manybikes

I would hate to think that Mike is making more progress than you are....

Now that would be truly embarrassing.

[kboehringer]

Originally Posted by 2manybikes

I would hate to think that Mike is making more progress than you are....

Well, Mike did finish before me.... And he did a stellar job too.

I've had to learn something new this week thanks to the FJ.

Although I've certainly replaced bike chains before, my experience has been with much lower displacement and non-highway bikes, YZ's, DT's, MX's, XR's and similar. With those bikes the traditional clip style master is sufficient. All my XS11's, SECA, and FJR are shafties.

According to all the "Experts", and those experienced with chains on bikes with big displacement, the traditional clippy deal is absolutely unacceptable (?). So, I purchased a kit from Amazon for about $50 to perform the RIVETING of the master. Thankfully a few people that appeared to know what they were doing posted some videos on YouTube as the kit came without a single scrap of paper instruction.



My new chain came with both a traditional clippy and the rivet version. Unfortunately, my "Made in China" chain's master cover plate didn't fit on the rivet posts..... had to break a cover off the excess piece. It looks like this will be secure and safe but I over pressed the forward rivet a little. Chain still moves nice on both rivets without any bind so I sure it will be fine (fingers crossed).



I am making SOME progress, but I can't keep up with Mike on either speed or quality.....

KURT

[Bonz]

Congrats on the forward progress. What brand chain did you choose, is it a non sealed, o-ring, x-ring etc?

What brand chain tool is that from Amazon? Looks similar to the Motion Pro tool I have that comes in a little blue box.

Riveting the master link is the way to go in my estimation, good choice for your chain. A quick search will show many stories of guys missing the clip "when I got home, but it was installed correctly". However, I saw a neat trick where guys safety wire the clip to the side plate. Do a search and that actually would make me feel pretty good about a clip type master link.

[kboehringer]

Originally Posted by Bonz

Congrats on the forward progress. What brand chain did you choose, is it a non sealed, o-ring, x-ring etc?

What brand chain tool is that from Amazon? Looks similar to the Motion Pro tool I have that comes in a little blue box.

Bonz,
The chain is a 530 O-Ring chain. Basic chain replaces what was likely a better/stronger DID O-Ring chain. The bike obviously sat outside for quite a while and regardless of the amount of lube and riding it never really did loosen up completely. Safety said TIME FOR NEW!

I got the whole kit with sprockets from Evil-Bay for about $60. I didn't install the new sprockets as the existing were like-new. Just the chain was crap.

The brand of breaker kit is unknown and unmarked (CHINA). I looks extremely similar to the MotionPro but about 1/2 the price

OTHER PROGRESS:
I had planned a custom passenger backrest but realized it would certainly cost HUNDREDS to get that done. There is VERY LITTLE accessory market for these bikes especially backrests and luggage type stuff. These bikes don't lend themselves too well to most accessories either.

However, CORBIN offered a seat called "Gunfighter & The Lady". The seat has a velcro covered slot in the back where a backrest post could be inserted and secured with a couple bolts underneath. I couldn't find a Corbin backrest assy. but I got this beat up old CORBIN seat from FRED G. for a reasonable price and fabricated my own backrest and post from an old HD back rest (same dimension square post).

This was a real SOB, heating the metal, beating the $hit out of it to re-bend it to a proper shape, drilling and tapping new holes, etc. Test fit, take off, heat & beat some more,Test fit, take off, heat & beat some more, test fit, take off, heat & beat some more, A real PITA!!



My seat guy is out of town right now but will recover the entire seat and backrest before the VYR Rally. It will be similar to the other custom seat and color keyed (red) to this machine. The accent striping on this one is for the 92/93 models.



Nancy is uncomfortable riding any of my bikes that don't have a back rest. When I accelerate, she's afraid of falling off the back...

[Bonz]

For sure on the chain, the lube gets out of the rollers and it will never loosen up.

Motion Pro tool is a good tool, do you have a link to the one from Amazon? Might be something other guys could use.

[2manybikes]

Nice job as usual. When the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" was coined, they had you in mind. It's always interesting to me to see what creative people can do when faced with a problem that would cause most people to say F it. ( Guilty on occasion! ) There is one issue that troubles me though. If these Harley parts keep making their way onto your bikes, you may qualify for induction into the Band Of Brothers with 3Phase, Brent and Scott! It's a slippery slope when the Dark Side starts calling your name...

[kboehringer]

Originally Posted by Bonz

do you have a link to the one from Amazon? Might be something other guys could use.

Qiilu Motorcycle Chain Breaker, ATV Motorcycle Bike Chain Breaker Cutter Riveting Tool Kit 520/525/530/630
by Qiilu
4.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
Price: $39.95 & FREE Returns

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


RE:It's a slippery slope when the Dark Side starts calling your name...
The only parts I can find at garage sales and flea markets are for HD!!!

I hadn't occurred to me that my bikes could now be re-branded as YAMA-Davidsons

• All of my XS11's have HD Mufflers.....
• Dead Duck (Gold One) has a HD Sporty Seat....
• FJ1200 now has HD backrest parts.....

I may have to go get an ugly HD tattoo if I keep this up!

[Bonz]

Thanks Kurt! Sorry to be a bother, how about a web address for where you bought the chain? Interested to see if it could be an option for the ZRX.