Are FJ's welcome in this forum?

I have a thread started in the "Other Motorcycles" forum but it doesn't seem to get much traffic.
Using the search function, I see some threads in this forum pertaining to the FJ. Am I a close enough relative to hang out here? 8)

 

Sure thing, the FJ's are essentially XJ's

 

Cool! Any thoughts on this, then:
http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=27009.html

 

Ah, after hopping over here I see the "Not Starting" sticky. Sounds all too familiar. I've tried many of those things, still some ideas to try, too.

-I've checked for spark, but it might be worth changing the plugs and trimming the leads. We've changed the plugs at least once since she's had the bike.

-I don't know how to check timing on these bikes BUT, I have a manual and a friend who's an electrical engineer...

-The valves were adjusted when we got the bike, only a few thousand miles ago (less than ~3K miles). How often should they need adjusting?

-I seem to remember checking the petcock by sucking on the vacuum line last time we had the carbs off. Haven't done it this time, but I KNOW the prime position works.

I wish the bike was here and not at the shop. I feel like I could do about as much as they're doing right now.

 

BTW, in case it turns out to be the manifolds or boots (which I don't suspect, but they were mentioned in the hard start thread ), where can I find good manifolds that won't get destroyed by the ethanol in today's gas?
I have a source for the airbox boots.

 

My first though would be the carb bowls.... there is a tiny port in the bottom which feeds the enrichment circuit, they clog easily and make cold atarts a royal pain...... Overall I think a thorough carb cleaning will get you going.
Find the threads Carb Cleaning The Whole 9 Yards and Your Carbs Need To Go Clunk and follow those directions and I think that will fix the issue.

 

Will do. I'll search for those threads.
FWIW, the shop is saying the same thing about the circuits in the bowls. We'll see if they can get it fixed. Wish I had just dug into myself, now.

 

The shop just called and said it's ready. They've gone in the last several mornings and started it up with no problems.
Essentially, it was what I thought and what many of you have experienced. Varnish and deposits in the carbs and the enrichment circuit.

I think we'll start running some Seafoam and draining the bowls when we KNOW it will be sitting for a while.

 

And don't forget to add some Stabil to the fuel when you get ready to park it. Run it into the carbs and forget it for 4 or 5 months, no problem. Beyond that you will need to add new gas and more Stabil.

 

Timing is fixed. It's either right or something is terribly wrong.

Pull the carbs and clean them. Or fiddle with them forever.

NO SHORTCUTS (XJBikes law.)

READ This: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=24010.html

You only get to stay if you promise to get serious about your bike, and then take all the plastic off.

 

Good your bike is now ok. Re your carb boots: I think you can get genuine Yamaha and pattern parts. In the UK a set of 4 are about £100 for pattern spares but most XJers repair theirs for about $10! They sleeve the boots but you only need to do this if the cracks go all the way through.

 

Well, I think the bike looks great with the plastic on it. Just enough to make it look sexy before they got too heavy handed with all the plastic.

And I'm sure not scared to get my hands dirty. I'm 98% done with a '72 CB500 that sat in a barn for 29 years before I got it. I'm also getting down to the nitty-gritty on a '75 Yamaha XS650 restoration. Those are two big reasons I recommended she take it to a shop. Otherwise, I'd have done it myself.
I've also redid several XS's in the past. I'm not afraid to get my fingers dirty or knuckles bloody.
Before:

And after:

 

Before:


So far:

 

Before:


After:

 

Before:


After:

 

NICE. I like the last one (directly above) the best.

 

scott-s.. Damn good work you've done on those bikes..n i agree with fitz on th last one

 

Thanks! I recently sold the cafe' racer and the bobber. That's why I'm working so hard on the CB and the XS. I need something to ride this Summer!
I've also done several air-cooled VW's over the years, too.
Here's a "family pic"...

 

Nice the one with the scalups is what I'm planning on doing with my bike (dark blue w/pearl blue scalups with white pin strips) I will post before/after pics aswell.

 

Part of the family Tree.
Welcome.

I always wished the FJ was a Shaftie so I could I could grab one and play with it.

 

jeez rick, if it was a shafty it WOULD just be a seca

 

Well, we didn't even get 100 miles out of the old girl before she started acting up again.

My GF took the FJ to a local bike night last week and a friend of ours emailed me to tell me it sounded like it was dropping a cylinder as she left. This is maybe 75 miles since the local shop went through the carbs.

I tried to crank it the other day so I could listen to it and I bet I turned it over 50 times before she fired. He's right, it doesn't sound quite right. I've been trying off an on today to crank it and she'll make one or two little rumbles, but won't crank.

I noticed that the shop replaced a vacuum line to the petcock and it's sorta loose. I'll replace that with the proper size line.
But, I also noticed that the fuel line isn't full. When I put the petcock on prime I don't see fuel coming out. I wonder if the poor running and hard starting could be due to a petcock (and hence, fuel level in the bowls) problem?
I can see the vacuum petcock not operating properly if that line is loose fitting, but why can't I see fuel flow when I have it on prime. And, yes, there's plenty of gas in the tank.