1986 Fazer FZX700 project

Let the journey begin...

Hello everyone!

I got myself a birthday present in the shape of 1986 FZX700, it's in a rough shape but even in its rough shape you can see the beauty of this machine.

This project will probably occupy me for a long time and I will be happy to share my progress with you all and I will very much appreciate and be thankful for all your advise, tips, wisdom, experienced input and anything else that will help me make this journey being a fun one.

I am not sure when I will start working on it but you can start bombarding me with your general input on how to approach this kind of restore project.

Thank you all, stay safe and healthy and have a great day!

 

Good afternoon all!

First impression from going briefly about and around is that someone with no knowledge and no mechanical capabilities tried to work on this motorcycle.

The result is stripped screws, on the master cylinder of both the brake and the clutch, some stripped allen screws. I will take care of these stripped screws but it's frustrating to see these screws and it also make me think that this motorcycle wasn't taken care off in the best way.

I have also found some cracked plastic parts that were tighten too hard, some missing parts i.e. washers, screws, rubber guards and probably some other stuff I missed.

I started looking for parts and I figured it won't be easy, As seen in the picture I am missing the front fender and I couldn't find not even one front fender for sale. I guess this will be a long journey but...I don't really mind ;-)

Stay safe, healthy and have a great day!

 

Nice looking bike, someone had one in my area (not close enough) for sale. Your bike looks really nice and I hope you are able to get her on the road soon.

 

Seems to be the case on most of these older bikes. There's another thread on here to share what you find:
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/previous-owner-masterpieces.57929/

As for parts, you may find some other Yamaha model parts interchange, like the Radian and FZ750.
But like the Maxim X, so many are unique, and good to see that bike is nearly complete.

Did you see my signature below?

Tony

 

Thanks Tony!

Your Maxim project looks like a masterpiece and I wish myself to have my Fazer project half as nice as your Maxim project.

Thank you for the support, encouragement and tips. I will try to find original Fazer 700 parts and if I won't be able to find anything I will look into interchangeable parts but I hope I will be able to find original parts.

I live in Brooklyn, NY and I work on the motorcycle in my front yard, which is an outside very small space with two other bikes parked there, so I am a little bit limited with the scope of the project I can run. I wish I could strip this bike to the bones and rebuilt it back to it's original glory but I am afraid I can't with my current working space.

I haven't done any work on the motorcycle yet, except for briefly browsing it and finding a devastating neglect and messed up/broken parts. I hope to start with disassembling parts sometime this weekend and hope for the best with my findings.

Thank you again for your, very much appreciated, support.

Stay safe, healthy and have a great day!

Avi

 

Now that you're committed to reviving this one you should be looking into a couple of things.

A repair manual. I found a Haynes and a CD of the Factory one on Ebay
JIS Screwdriver set. Our resident Len @ xj4ever.com has those, and potentially some other items you'll need.

Also, when you take things apart, be very careful and take your time. Most stuff can be repaired, but the less that is broken or damaged, the better.

Seems like these bikes were more popular in Europe, and I've had some luck finding stuff needed "across the pond".
This is a cool site: http://www.fzx750.co.uk/Contents.html

Tony

 

Thank you very much Tony @xHondaHack,

I do have tools that I work with on my other motorcycles but I am embarrassed to say I do not own a JIS set, which is probably what caused all the screws grinding by the previous owner, so I think it's time I stop embarrassing myself and get a set ;-)

I am also aware of the must have bible for every motorcycle, i.e. service/repair manual, which I will get as well.

I hope the weather will be nice and I will be able to start the disassemble process so I can see what lies beneath.

Thanks again for the guidance, the JIS you mentioned did make me feel embarrassed and this is exactly what I need, a guiding figure ;-)

Be safe, stay healthy and have a great weekend!

Avi

 

And the journey begins...

I started disassembling the Fazer and I already have a few questions that I hope to get some help with.

At the attached pictures you can see that I have more than a few screwed screws that I am not sure how to unscrew.

My main concern are the front brake and the clutch cylinder reservoir screws, the clutch has one jammed screw, which is completely rounded, and the brake reservoir has a broken screw. I do have a screw extractor for these kind of situations but I am not sure that this is the best course to take here.

Next I will do my best to deal with the carburetor, which from the air intake looks pretty messy. It's the first time for me dealing with an inline four so I hope it won't be an issue.

It's not a high priority yet but I was looking for a front fender, which I am missing and I couldn't find one anywhere. Any suggestions where I might find one?

I will post some more questions/help request as I run into issues I am not sure about and any help will be much appreciated.

Thank you all, stay safe and healthy!

 

PB Blaster is my best friend when it comes to these old bikes. Spray and let it soak for a wile, not just 30 mins...a while. I would try thisDSCN0047 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
method first. If that does not work, get a small straight blade and hammer, hit the screw to get a good grove started on it, then try to force the it to unscrew that screw. Once it get high enough off the cover you should be able to get pliers or vic grip on it.

The good news is if that does not work, you can drill it out and remove the cover. There will be a little part of the screws sticking out to grab a hold of.

 

Thanks @Timbox for the tip and guidance.

PB Blaster ordered and I thank you again because when reading about it I figured my WD40 go to spray isn't really a rust eliminator/reliever but more of a clean-lube thing. You never stop learning.

On another topic, what are people using for carb cleaning? Is a spray cleaning shortcut worth trying or should I disassemble and clean it thoroughly?

And one last question for this post, I found a front wheel fender, at a shop in the Netherlands, which will make it $130 shipped. Should I pull the trigger on this or should I keep on looking?

Stay safe, healthy and have a great day!

 

Shortcuts to carb cleaning should never be taken. Check this: Church of clean

 

@Huntchuks This is a full college semester study material here...

I will take the carbs off and do my best to be on par with the standard set by Church of clean. It mentioned that valve adjustment is needed, which I never did before but I hope to figure it out.

Thanks, be safe and stay healthy!

 

Glad you are taking the time to do the ready. Most just jump in blindly and then brake something or mess it up. Use the resources this forum has, lean from our/my mistakes and be successful the first time working on a component of the restoration.

As stated above, really take the time with those carbs, they mean so much to a good running motorcycle. If you take the time needed and do it right, it will remove one of the biggest restoration obstacles you will have....I hope. Replacing the "O" rings on the fuel tubes and throttle bodies should be done sense you will have each carb pulled apart and broken down.

Been looking for one of these bikes in my area as a project, they all seem to be running and asking a premium price for them too. Keep on plugging away.

 

@Timbox I am not sure I have the knowledge for the long version of the restoration but I will take my time and hopefully I will be wiser and more experienced when this is done.

What type of solvent should I use for the carb cleaning? I read about all these ultrasonic cleaners but I do n't have the room nor the budget for one so I will go the old fashion way with soaking them for a few hours.

I am looking today into the brakes, front and rear, which are a little sized on both ends and I was wondering if you have a general tip of how to approach this. I was thinking of just taking them apart and maybe be able to clean the calipers instead of a full rebuilt. What's your opinion?

Thank you as always and I'm sure that I will be back with plenty more questions.

Be safe and stay healthy!

 

They're out!

I wonder what's better getting a motorcycle that was sitting for decades but no one messed with it or getting a motorcycle that was only sitting for a couple of yeas but was messed up by someone that shouldn't get close to any mechanical machine nor hold any tool in their hand, unless they do some learning and homework before attempting to fix anything.

I guess I got the later. The deeper I dig the more broken stuff I find that is due to the mentioned above.

This time it was stripped screws on the carburetor clamps that made a simple task becoming a hassle. Anyway it's out and I hope to start working on it soon.

Another find was the state of the spark plugs and the engine bock by the spark plugs (see picture) I will wait for my order of PB Blaster to spray around the plugs so they'll come out easier.

Stay safe and healthy!

 

I hope you are using compressed air on those plug holes before you are unscrewing them? Just blow that junk so it will not drop into the cylinder. I only ask as that one pic of the rusty wet plug.

Those carbs look good if they just came off the bike. Will be interesting to see what the fuel bowls look like, might tell you a lot about the health of those carbs. Making sure you don't miss this hole in the bottom of the fuel bowls.
carbs_floatbowl_choke by Tim Brown, on Flickr
That little hole needs to be very clean, needs to be hit with a thin wire. I use a bread tie that I strip the insulation off, B12 chem tool and compressed air. All 4 of the bowls need to have this hole cleaned well. This will really help when you to start the bike.

 

Thank you very much @Timbox

I also think that the carbs look good, at least on the outside, in comparison to the rest of the bike.

I took off one plug and when I realized what a mess there is down there I used compressed air all over the bike including the spark plugs area.

But this first one came out with no cleaning and I am not sure what got into that cylinder. Should I be worried?

I will try to play with the carbs today and I will look into the enriching tube hole.

As always, thank you for the support and guidance!

Be safe and stay healthy!

 

I would just used some compress air in that one cylinder plug hole to blow out anything that might have fallen in there, just to be safe. Besides that I think you are good to go and well on your way.

 

I’d try a little vacuum hose first.

Tim, in your picture, that is the Enricher WELL. The tube extends from the body into the well.

 

Good evening all!

I got my JIS set and I'm back at it with a lot of questions.

I started working on the carbs and it looks much worse than I thought it will be, which is not an encouraging thing but I hope I will be able to make it to the other side...

On the attached pictures you can see that I have a broken part, which I found on the service manual, I think it's between part #9 and part #10, but I can't figure the name of the part. Also where can I order this part?

Should I get a carb rebuilt kit for the gaskets and whatever else comes with it or can I work it our with the current parts?



This carb is really filthy what's my best approach for cleaning it? I saw a Gunk parts cleaner with a basket that I thought of using or is there a better option?

The fuel tank is also not in an encouraging shape so I will work on cleaning it. I have a broken part there as well, I think it's the low fuel sensor.



I can see that this will be a very long journey...

Thank you, be safe and stay healthy!